Blog Post
The Play Ground
by Albert
Who doesn't love Charlotte? Or Wilbur? Or E.B. White? Or the Wild Swan Theater? Well, The Play Ground certainly loves them all and we are all in luck. E. B. White's classic play Charlotte's Web with Charlotte, Fern, Templeton, Goose and a host of others including some pig named Wilbur will be performed by the Wild Swan Theater at the Towsley Auditorium in the Morris Lawrence Building at the WCC on May 2-7. Information & Tickets: 734/995-530.
Blog Post
The Play Ground
by Albert
The Play Ground welcomes Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg back to the UMS after a 15 year absence. Salerno-Sonnenberg burst onto the scene in 1981 as a young violinist star and is known as original and fearless. She is accompanied by Anne-Marie McDermott who is described as a "luminous, boldly emotive pianist who conveys great sensitivity" in her playing. Sounds like a concert that is not to be missed. Friday, April 21, 8pm at Hill Auditorium.
Blog Post
The Play Ground
by Albert
"Willow, titwillow, titwillow" You may be hearing this outside your window as Spring is most definitely here. You can also hear it on April 6-9 at the Michigan League when The University of Michigan Gilbert & Sullivan Society presents one of Gilbert & Sullivan's most beloved operas "The Mikado." With an outstanding cast of old favorites and some new faces, one of UMGASS's most elaborate sets ever, and the most gorgeous silk costumes imaginable, it is sure to be an event you won't want to miss.
Blog Post
The Play Ground
by Albert
Several years ago The Play Ground was privileged to see Ewa Podles when she stepped in for Cecilia Bartoli who was ill. She was marvelous and since then, her reputation has soared. The University Musical Society is lucky to have her back, this time performing in Rossini's Tancredi with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, March 25 at Hill Auditorium. This opera, based on a play by Voltaire, tells the story of a banished 11th C knight who secretly returns to his homeland only to discover that his king is now allied with his archenemy.
Blog Post
The Play Ground
by Albert
Get those big, round sunglasses out. The UM School of Music Opera Theatre is presenting Jackie O from March 22 to 26 at the Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre. Society’s fascination with celebrity and pop culture is the theme of Jackie O, a playful pop opera of facts and fancies about one of America’s most enduring icons, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Jackie attends a 1968 avant-garde New York “happening” with Andy Warhol, meets the seductive Aristotle Onassis for the first time, has a dream duet with Maria Callas, and embraces her fate as a symbol of JFK’s idealism. Jackie O captures the mystery, the tragedy, and the glamour that epitomized this pop icon. Oh Darling, don't miss it.
Blog Post
The Play Ground
by Albert
Who needs the Westminster Kennel Club?
The Detroit Kennel Club Dog Show is back and it returns to Cobo on March 18th & 19th. Visitors will have up-close and personal time with breeders, owners, handlers and over 150 different breeds of dogs. Show highlights include conformation competition, terrier racing, demonstrations by the Michigan Technical Rescue Operations Team, American Kennel Club Agility Trials, specialty retail booths and more. More than 2,000 dogs from nearly 167 different breeds are expected to compete for honors at each show. You can check out all the breeds ahead of time in the The Complete Dog Book, an official publication of The American Kennel Club but, The Play Ground is rooting for the West Highland Terrier to win.
Blog Post
The Play Ground
by Albert
The Play Ground has attended all Life Science Orchestra concerts since the group's inception and, not coincidentally, is related to one of the players. We are therefore thrilled that members of the orchestra will be performing Downtown at the Library on March 5th at 2pm. There will be several small ensembles and the players will speak briefly about their careers in medicine, science and related fields, and why they make music a part of their lives. The Play Ground has heard that there will be at least one Haydn and one Beethoven piece.
Blog Post
The Play Ground
by Albert
The Play Ground likes to sample all of Ann Arbor's cultural offerings so
The University of Michigan Museum of Art is one of our favorite haunts.The Museum will be closing in July to get ready for its expansion so hurry over to view the current, fabulous exhibit: Landscapes of Longing: Journeys through Memory and Place. With subjects as disparate as life along the highways of early modern Japan, the great stone temples of Cambodia’s ancient royal city of Angkor, scholars’ retreats among the soaring mountains of China, and a series of meditatively abstract seascapes by one of our great contemporary photographers. Try this good primer before you go: How to look at Japanese art by Stephen Addiss.
Blog Post
The Play Ground
by Albert
"Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow." So the refrain goes, but it didn't play well when The Play Ground was stranded in Providence, Rhode Island during the blizzard of '06. One definite plus was getting to hear Paul Farmer speak at Brown University on Monday evening. This amazing person has proved that one man can make a difference with his medical work in Haiti, Rwanda and Russia. He is a magnetic speaker who gets things done. A medical rock star for sure. Mountains Beyond Mountains:The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder reads like fiction and will inspire you.
Blog Post
The Play Ground
by Albert
Murray Burns. Chuckles The Chipmunk. Nick, Wilbur Malcolm, Theodore, Raphael Sabatini, Dr. Morris Fishbein, Woodrow, King, Rover, Lefty, Chevrolet, Big Sam Burns.
The Play Ground has never forgotten the first time he saw A Thousand Clowns with
Jason Robards, Barbara Harris, Gene Saks and Martin Balsam. Never mind that
cast of thousands himself, Barry Gordon as a very man-like child. Funny, tragic, sad.
Bring your tissues and your empathy to the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre from March 2-5 or
borrow the Robards version from our library.