612. Ringwald Theatre at Affirmations – March 5, 2023 – Ferndale, MI

The Ringwald Theatre has captivated audiences for 16 years! I joined that legion of captivated fans after my visit to the playhouse in early March.

The Ringwald was located at 9 Mile and Woodward in downtown Ferndale until 2021, when it made a home just down the road, inside Affirmations LGBTQ+ Community Center. Many of the plays it produces highlight LGBTQ+ characters and stories.

Venture beyond Affirmations’ bright, inviting lobby, down a corridor, and into a tiny theater, with in-the-round seating for maybe 50 people along the perimeter of the performance space. Take a seat, and you’re right in on the action.

Case in point: my viewing of the play Assassins, a disturbing, thought-provoking, and darkly humorous musical about presidential assassins. At times, actors were no more than a foot or two away from me; one almost backed into me during a scene.

The production was excellent. The performers were talented actors and singers, expertly conveying the raw emotions of the disturbed individuals they portrayed. They roamed across the performance space, playing to all four sides of the audience. Everyone had a clear view of the action: the screaming, singing, joke-cracking, pistol-wielding dramatics.

I will definitely return to the Ringwald for another production, to see the actors making magic in this intimate, inclusive space, captivating audiences for yet another season.

290 W. 9 Mile Rd.

Ferndale, MI 48220

www.theringwald.com

594. Redford Theatre – November 4, 2022 – Detroit, MI

The Redford Theatre is a sweet piece of Detroit history that’s definitely worth experiencing!

The Detroit-based movie theater has a rich past. It opened in 1928, and while the Redford Theatre has had several owners and ups and downs in its 95-year history, it’s belonged to the Motor City Theatre Organ Society for decades. The nonprofit uses proceeds from event sales to maintain not only the pipe organ that’s been with the building since its inception (and that’s often played during show openings and intermissions), but also to restore and maintain the 1,610-seat theater.

The group’s efforts are evident. The Redford Theatre is a work of art. Hand-painted Japanese murals, rich reds and golds, velvet curtains, and intricate artistic detailing make this jewel box of a building a delight to behold. Viewing a film at the Redford makes me feel so fancy!

It also makes me feel like I’m in on a well-kept secret. A visit to the Redford is a magical night out on a budget! Tickets for single moving viewings are generally $5 ($6 if you add the $1 convenience fee when you purchase online), and prices at the cash-only concession stand (which sells water, pop, popcorn, candy, and other snacks) are incredibly modest. It’s a refreshing change of pace in this inflation-riddled time to spend under $10 on a night out.

The origins of the films screened by the Redford Theatre span the decades of its lifetime. There are black-and-white films from the ’20s, ’30s, and ’40s; films from more modern times; and everything in between.

As of the writing of this post, there’s a Three Stooges festival scheduled for the weekend of April 21-22 and a March 10 showing of The Notebook. There’s a Silent Movie weekend in mid-April featuring films from 1928 (to commemorate the Redford’s 95-year anniversary) and those made by modern-day kids (via the International Youth Silent Film Festival Detroit Regional showcase). There’s a showing of 1959 award darling Ben-Hur and the 1988 darling of my childhood, Who Framed Roger Rabbit (I loved that movie as a kid!).

And there are special events that (understandably) fetch higher prices than those $5 movie nights. Examples include the Candlelight Concert series, which has the Redford’s stage awash with hundreds of lit candles, and meet-and-greet movie showings with VIP guests. The latter category includes a sold-out March 11 event featuring William Shatner, who will be here to give a talk and take photos with moviegoers after a showing of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

The theater’s eclectic collection of offerings is reflected in what I viewed during my two visits to it. The first time I visited the Redford Theatre, in early November, I saw the 1979 concert documentary Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. The second time, a month later, I went for the annual Holiday Mystery Movie, which turned out to be the silly-cute 1945 rom-com, Christmas in Connecticut.

I will definitely be making the Redford’s Holiday Mystery Movie an annual tradition! Not only was it fun to be exposed to a classic Christmas movie I’d never heard of, I also enjoyed seeing the already-gorgeous Redford gussied up with holiday trimmings. The stage in front of the movie screen boasted both a tinsel-drenched tree sparkling with colorful lights and a model train set careening through a miniature Christmas village.

Whatever time of year you’re seeking magic, you’ll find it when you step into the Redford Theatre! Check out its upcoming shows on its website, and embrace this beautiful piece of Detroit’s past.

17360 Lahser Rd.

Detroit, MI 48219

www.redfordtheatre.com

583. Detroit Public Theatre – October 2, 2022 – Detroit, MI

Get swept away by story at Detroit Public Theatre!

Season Eight of the local theater company kicked off in a brand-new home: the renovated Third Avenue Garage building in Detroit’s Midtown/Cass Corridor neighborhood. Prior to this, Detroit Public Theatre held its plays at venues around town – most recently at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History.

The theater is a beauty of a building! The airy lobby is an elegant example of the industrial aesthetic, with neat concrete floors, exposed brick walls, and a wood-plank ceiling. A bar along one side serves beer, wine, cocktails, and non-alcoholic libations.

I was there to see Mud Row. Written by lauded playwright and native Detroiter Dominique Morisseau (who is also Detroit Public Theatre’s Executive Artistic Producer), the play explores themes of racism, civil rights, gentrification, and (oft-complex) family dynamics. The intimate theater was an ideal space for this emotionally raw, moving production. Seated a couple of rows from the actors, I definitely felt in on the action.

Mud Row wrapped on October 30. Detroit Public Theatre’s next production, Noura, a tale about an Iraqi immigrant family grappling with their past during the holiday season, debuts November 15. To learn more about Noura and Detroit Public Theatre’s other Season Eight productions – and to buy tickets! – click here.

3960 3rd Ave.

Detroit, MI 48201

www.detroitpublictheatre.org

572. Berkley Coffee – August 5, 2022 – Oak Park, MI

Berkley Coffee has charm for days! From the drinks to the service to the ambiance, the good vibes are on overdrive at this Oak Park-based coffee shop, performance venue, and non-alcoholic bar.

Yes, Berkley Coffee isn’t based in Berkley, but Oak Park. But who cares? It’s Berkley adjacent – and its coffee is delicious. Berkley Coffee roasts it own beans and offers multiple varieties with origins ranging from Ethiopia to India, Nicaragua to Brazil.

The shop has multiple identities by design. By day, it’s the coffee shop, which is how I experienced it. I spent a couple of hours working at Berkley Coffee one morning, at a table bordering the performance stage. I loved the ambiance – both the lively energy (the place was bustling with customers that Friday morning) and the interior aesthetic. Berkley Coffee’s main room has a contemporary feel, with industrial details and neutral hues accented by pops of color (potted plants; stained glass in a pretty pattern of turquoise, white, and gold). Shelves housing nonalcoholic beers, wines, shrubs, syrups, and other drinks and drink ingredients dominate one corner. A room dubbed the East Room offers additional seating, books, children’s toys, a piano, and a plethora of board games.

I learned that Berkley Coffee takes a unique approach to ordering coffee. Cylindrical containers holding individual portions of beans are stacked on shelves facing the customer. When you place your order, you pick one of the vials and hand it to the barista, and they grind the beans and make your drink.

Staff members kindly ushered clueless me through the process, recommending bean varieties based on my preferences. I had two drinks that morning: a cappuccino with Brazilian beans and oat milk and a Japanese iced coffee with Ethiopian beans. Both were fantastic! (The Japanese-style iced coffee was something I’d never heard of but turned out to be a drink I regularly enjoy at home: fresh-brewed hot coffee poured over ice.)

By night, the main room of Berkley Coffee is the performance space. The shop regularly hosts bands and other performers. Amps, mics, PA equipment, guitars and other instruments are available for performers. The bar whips up cocktails that range from non-alcoholic versions of classics such as the Manhattan and Mai Tai to signature drinks with intriguing flavor components such as pine syrup, sesame oil, and blood orange cordial. According to Berkley Coffee’s website, it’s dedicated to offering a space where guests can socialize and enjoy live entertainment while also being sober.

With so much good to experience at Berkley Coffee, days’ and days’ worth of revisits are warranted!

14661 W. 11 Mile Rd., Ste. 500

Oak Park, MI 48237

www.berkleycoffee.com

555. Tipping Point Theatre – April 16, 2022 – Northville, MI

Tipping Point Theatre, weaving the magic of story into my Saturday afternoon!

Is there anything more compelling than live theater when it’s done right? Being able to attend plays again since COVID happened has been such a treat for me. So I was excited to experience a production of The Baxter Sisters at this community theater in downtown Northville.

The experience was wonderful! The Baxter Sisters was a moving tale of four sisters from small-town Michigan attempting to make it big on the dance circuit of the 1930s – until the tragedies and realities of life lead them down different paths. While I’m sure every seat in Tipping Point’s intimate, 100-seat theater is a good one, I felt especially fortunate to be seated in the first row facing the front of the stage – front and center to the singing, dancing, and drama!

Tipping Point Theatre is a non-profit community theater that started in 2007. Check its site for tickets to upcoming performances, and experience the magic yourself!

361 E. Cady St.

Northville, MI 48167

www.tippingpointtheatre.com

540. Open Book Theatre – December 19, 2021 – Trenton, MI

Visiting Open Book Theatre – what a sweet experience!

I was introduced to the Trenton-based playhouse in December, when I attended a performance of The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley. What a delight it was to experience live theater for the first time since COVID’s appearance!

Open Book Theatre Company has been putting on plays since 2014. The theater building is small in stature, nestled between a record shop and a lighting store in a suburban strip mall. But it’s got mega-watt charm! I appreciated the diversions put out for waiting guests in the lobby, including The Wickhams-themed games and a poll asking playgoers whether they’d seen the last Pride and Prejudice-oriented play put on at Open Book (2019’s Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley). It was also fun to learn the rules of the theater via song, in a parody of the “Twelve Days of Christmas.”

But the best part about visiting Open Book Theatre was, of course, experiencing live theater. The auditorium is intimate, seating maybe 75 people. Because admission is general, I got to pick my seat, smack-dab in the middle of the third row. I loved being up close to the actors, soaking in the drama and the set’s cozy ambiance (what’s more enchanting than a 19th-century English manor kitchen decorated for Christmas?). The actors were great; the play was, at turns, fun and funny and serious and scary. It had a happy ending, as holiday plays are wont to have. And it left me with warm-and-fuzzy feelings to savor on the ride home. Oh, the magic of live theater!

If you’re ready to experience live theater again, too, check out the tickets page of Open Book Theatre’s website. As of the writing of this post, the theater’s COVID protocol dictates that playgoers must be fully vaccinated and wear a mask. Playgoers are being asked to show their vaccine cards at the door. Consult the COVID Safety page on Open Book’s website for the most up-to-date protocol.

1621 West Rd.

Trenton, MI 48183

www.openbooktheatrecompany.net

528. Willis Show Bar – October 9, 2021 – Detroit, MI

To be at Willis Show Bar on a Saturday night, savoring live music!

The experience felt singular: not only because it was my first pandemic-times excursion to see live music, but because it happened at this wonderfully one-of-a-kind bar in the Cass Corridor neighborhood of Detroit.

As with many Detroit buildings, the Willis Show Bar venue has a storied past. It was in operation for nearly 30 years as a jazz club of the same name, from 1949-78. Forty years later, the current owners restored and reopened the property as a sleek tribute to its former self.

Stepping into Willis Show Bar is like stepping into a gorgeously glam portal. It’s intimate, dimly lit by candlelight and neon-purple and blue lights. Seating is offered along the sleek bar, via cozy two-top tables and wrap-around booths. The two elevated stage areas are uniquely positioned: one is tucked behind the bar; the other, near the front door. Open floor space beyond the bar leaves plenty of room for dancing.

As of the writing of this post, Willis Show Bar is open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. It offers two nightly sets of live music: from 8-9 and 10-11 p.m. Admission is typically $10 when purchased in advance on Willis Show Bar’s website and $15 the day of the show. Select acts can cost more.

On the night of our visit, my friends and I sat in a booth positioned in a corner near the front door. We were right across from the singer/guitarist and keyboardist playing on the stage near the door. We attended the 10 p.m. set. Willis Show Bar’s house band, The At Will Band, was playing. They were phenomenal! They kicked out exuberant covers of funk, hip hop, R&B, and soul favorites varying from Bill Withers’ “Lovely Day” to Bell Biv DeVoe’s “Poison” (my personal favorite of the night). The male and female singers sharing lead duties that night were both talented, but I found the male singer to be especially fantastic. He had incredible range, adeptly hitting the high notes on a Justin Timberlake cover and bringing the house down with the closer, Montell Jordan’s “This is How We Do It.”

Speaking of incredible: Willis Show Bar’s craft cocktail menu is just that. Such an intriguing menu of offerings! I selected one of the seasonal drinks, the Flannel. The melding of chai tea-infused bourbon, dry curacao, lemon, maple, nutmeg, and salt was so delicious. And it went down so easy!

Enraptured by the music and those Flannel cocktails, I was wholly surprised when the At Will’s hour-long set came to an end. It went by so quickly!

My friends and I lingered a bit after the set, listening to the then DJ-spun tunes and dreaming up our next visit to Willis Show Bar. It’s a visit that can’t come quickly enough!

4156 Third St.

Detroit, MI 48201

www.willisshowbar.com

432. El Club – September 8, 2019 – Detroit, MI

El Club! The venue in Southwest Detroit is an all-ages club that hosts musical acts on a near nightly basis. It’s also where I saw Stef Chura and Ezra Furman perform on a Sunday night in September.

I’d been wanting to experience El Club since I read about it in Hour Detroit a year or two ago and was thrilled when I saw that one of my favorite contemporary musicians, Ezra Furman, was going to be performing there. I ordered tickets right away – and was even more psyched when I saw that closer to the show date, local artist Stef Chura and her band were added to the bill. I was familiar with her music and knew she would rock out!

I’m not familiar, in general, with the artists featured on El Club’s events calendar. I presume most of them are up-and-coming performers or those who appeal to more niche audiences. I’m admittedly not at all hip to the alt-music scene – though after my visit to El Club, I want to be!

The venue’s concert floor is relatively small, looking to accommodate no more than a couple hundred people – and that’s frankly part of its appeal. It’s what makes seeing a show at El Club exciting – you’re going to be right down there on the floor, in the action, a part of a live musical experience that is much more visceral, more alive, than being stuck up in the nosebleeds at some slickly produced yet lifeless stadium show.

The show I attended at El Club was billed as starting at 7 – but that ended up being when the doors opened for the night, which my friend and I discovered when we arrived at the club about 45 minutes early, the sole early birds in sight (LOL). Our early arrival did make parking simple; there’s a lot across the street from El Club where parking is free, so we parked there.

Killing time was easy, as beautiful Clark Park is only a few minutes’ walk away, and we sat on a hill there and watched people being led through square dances by a bluegrass band. It was a surprisingly moving experience, people of all ages and races coming together to joyfully perform these old-timey dance moves.

Back at El Club once the doors opened, I got a beer from the bar (which is a full bar serving beer, wine, and liquor), and my friend and I hung out on El Club’s picturesque patio with its garlands of lights and mural swirling with vibrant colors.

We were waiting not just for the show to start, but for the pizza to appear, because El Club serves slices of the pie. I was under the impression that El Club makes the pizza, but on that night, it arrived via outside delivery. Regardless, it was fresh and delicious.

Sometime after 8, we heard an explosion of music – the show was starting! Stef Chura and her band had boarded the stage; they played for about a half hour to 45 minutes, and they killed it!

Stef Chura’s voice mesmerized me; its got this alt-’90s vibe that I really dig, and I legit found myself thinking “I wanna be a cool rock star like her!” (Maybe in my next lifetime.)

After about a 20-minute break, Ezra Furman and his band hit the stage and also rocked out HARD. It was exciting to see a guy whose music I’ve admired for so long playing that music right in front of me. I actually found myself exclaiming a few times, “He looks the same as in his pictures!” (LOL – bless me with my obvious, fan-girling statement!)

As Ezra thanked us in the crowd for coming out on a Sunday night to support the arts, I felt a proclamation welling up inside of me: “I am going to CHANGE my life: I’m going to see live music more; I’m going to visit El Club all of the time!” I had drank the El Club Kool-Aid – and it felt good.

Flashing forward nearly a month: I haven’t been back to El Club since that night; I’ve let daily life with all of its routines and obligations pull me back into its orbit. But I’m still excited by the memory of my visit there and scan its newsletter every week, seeking the act that will make another magic moment out of my everyday life.

4114 W. Vernor Hwy.

Detroit, MI 48209

www.elclubdetroit.com

427. Cinema Detroit – August 25, 2019 – Detroit, MI

Cinema Detroit is doing the good work, bringing interesting movies to the Metro-Detroit masses!

The independently-run, non-profit movie theater based in the Midtown/Cass Corridor neighborhood of Detroit occasionally screens films that the corporate theater chains show (it ran BlacKkKlansman when it came out last year, for instance). But most of the movies Cinema Detroit features have a smaller reach – think indie films, documentaries, cult classics. Cinema Detroit curates its films with care, favoring those that are thoughtful or artful or have an impactful message rather than those that net mega dollars.

Take the movie I saw at Cinema Detroit on a Sunday afternoon in late August, The Farewell, a comedic drama about a Chinese family’s decision to hide its matriarch’s cancer diagnosis from her. The movie got some mainstream attention – likely in part because it starred Awkwafina of Crazy Rich Asians fame – but it’s no flashy superhero-packed blockbuster. It’s in parts funny and heartwarming, but it’s also quite dark at times, and it poses an important moral question: is it wrong to hide from a loved one that she’s dying? Or is it a kindness, a shouldering of the burden so that she doesn’t have to? The Farewell is a thinker of a film.

Cinema Detroit specializes in such films. The other movie playing that day was a documentary on Toni Morrison, Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am, which I’m kind of kicking myself for not returning and seeing because she’s one of my favorite authors. (Her writing is so beautiful, and her fictional characters are so wonderfully strange! That’s my Toni tangent of the post.)

The movie theater is housed in a brick building with its own gated parking area and a beautiful mural emblazoned on its side, featuring flowers and a quote by Detroit-born poet Robert Hayden: “Undiscovered suns release their light.”

Entering it, I immediately took a liking to it. Cinema Detroit definitely emits indie-theater vibes with its lobby with its homey mish-mash of sofas and stuffed chairs and its combination ticket/concessions counter, where admission (reasonably priced at $9) is sold alongside popcorn and Faygo pop and candy.

Within Cinema Detroit, there are two viewing rooms: the main theater, which appears to be – from the photos I see on Yelp; I didn’t see it in person – a traditionally laid-out theater with cushy red chairs; and the screening room, which is where I viewed The Farewell. That room (captured in the third photo shown above) is a more intimate setting, a small space with a collection of couches and chairs that could seat about 12 to 15 people, depending on how cozy you want to get.

There were eight or nine of us in the screening room viewing The Farewell that afternoon, and from my chair in the back row, I had plenty of room, as I only shared that row with one other person. But if you want to make sure you get your preferred spot to view a movie in the screening room at Cinema Detroit, it wouldn’t hurt to show up early.

I left Cinema Detroit that night jazzed up by the experience I had there. Arts and culture, for me, make life more vibrant and compelling, and it’s exciting for me to have discovered another way I can experience them. Thanks, Cinema Detroit, for doing the good work!

4126 3rd St.

Detroit, MI 48201

www.cinemadetroit.org

384. One Night Stan’s – December 31, 2018 – Waterford, MI

Wayyyyy back when, on the very last night of 2018, I saw a comedy show at One Night Stan’s in Waterford. It was hilarious, and the staff of One Night Stan’s were excellent hosts. And that is about as much as I can say about that, because at the point I’m writing this, that was over five-and-a-half months ago, and yeah . . . the memory is hazy at this point (and not because I enjoyed too many adult beverages during this New Year’s Eve show, I swear!). But I DO know that I had a great time at One Night Stan’s and that I’ll take any excuse to enjoy live comedy, so kudos to its owners for introducing another venue for this hilarious art form to the Metro-D!

4761 Highland Rd.

Waterford, MI 48328

www.onenightstanscomedyclub.com