Time Warp: EMU Theatre’s “The Rocky Horror Show” Celebrates the Enduring Legacy of the Campy Musical Comedy

THEATER & DANCE PREVIEW INTERVIEW

The cast of "The Rocky Horror Show" during rehearsals.

The cast of The Rocky Horror Show during rehearsals at EMU's Legacy Theatre. Photo courtesy of EMU Theatre.

In April 1993, I took my first step into the world of Rocky Horror.

I went with three high school friends to see a midnight screening and shadow cast of The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the State Theatre in Ann Arbor.

Upon arrival at the theatre, I was greeted by one of the shadow-cast actors fully dressed in her costume. She walked over to me and asked, “Are you a virgin?”

Somewhat taken aback, I asked, “Who wants to know?”

The actor just laughed and said, “You’re my very special virgin.”

Being a naïve, clueless teen and new to Rocky Horror, I didn’t get the reference at first. I thought the actor was nosy and wondered why she asked me such a personal question.

Her question didn’t click with me, though, until the start of the show. As the emcee, she made some announcements and invited me to join her on stage as the “Very Special Virgin.”

Friday Five: Lily Talmers, Brawny Lad, Prol'e, Crypt Watcher, Akropolis Reed Quintet

MUSIC REVIEW FRIDAY FIVE

Cover art for the music in Friday Five.

Friday Five highlights music by Washtenaw County-associated artists and labels.

This edition features indie folk-pop by Lily Talmers, bluegrass-country indie by Brawny Lad, hip-hop by Prol'e, death metal from Crypt Watcher, and jazz-classical hybrids from Akropolis Reed Quintet.

Time to Squirm: "Nate — A One Man Show" is a filthy, goofy production with an intellectually provocative foundation

THEATER & DANCE REVIEW

Nate sitting on a mini motorcycle and letting out a yell.

Photo courtesy of UMS.

When you’re a theater critic, you sometimes drive home from a show and think, “Huh. Not exactly sure what I’ll say about this one.”

Nate — A One Man Show, presented by the University Musical Society at the Arthur Miller Theatre, is one of those shows.

Because by its very nature, Nate will be a little different at every performance with its extensive audience participation and thus, some improv. The brainchild of creator/performer Natalie Palamides, the hour-long production focuses on a man who blasts toxic masculinity out into the world while nursing a broken heart.

The show fittingly starts with what feels like a punch to the face: the blisteringly loud opening chords of George Thoroughgood’s “Bad to the Bone” playing as helmeted, shades-wearing Nate rides around the stage on a mini-motorcycle. Absurdly silly, messy, performative demonstrations of masculinity (the consumption of a raw egg, meat, and whey powder) followed, in case there remained any lingering questions regarding the kind of guy we were dealing with.

Out of the Blue: Ann Arbor hip-hop group Tree City makes a surprise return with “Pure Levels” album

MUSIC INTERVIEW

Tree City's Kyle Hunter, Jacoby Simmons, and Evan Haywood stand against a graffiti-covered wall.

Tree City's Kyle "Silas Green" Hunter, Jacoby "DJ Cataclysmic" Simmons, and Evan "Clavius Crates" Haywood in 2013. Photo by Cy Abdelnour.

A mature tree blooms every year. Fruit trees can take two to five years to produce. It took Tree City 13 years for Pure Levels to flower.

The Ann Arbor hip-hop group spent that time shaping and defining the album’s tracks before releasing it late last year.

“It’s a time capsule, and it’s a good chunk of our personal evolution as artists and as a group,” said Evan “Clavius Crates” Haywood, a Tree City MC and producer, about the group’s first collection of new songs since 2010’s Thus Far.

“It’s exciting that it’s finally at the point where we’re happy with it and we felt like it was ready. We did not want to release it when it was just good enough. We wanted to release it when we felt it was something really timeless, something that would hold up to repeated listens, and something that would hold people’s interest.”

Pure Levels features Tree City’s four MCs—Clavius Crates, Silas Green, DJ Cataclysmic, and Cheeks—rapping candid rhymes about broken relationships, aging family members, systemic issues, and capitalism alongside fantastical space-themed wordplay over sci-fi-sounding beats by producer Michael Dykehouse and several others.

Friday Five: Paul Vornhagen, Martin Babl, Bekka Madeleine, Othercast, Jack de Quidt

MUSIC REVIEW FRIDAY FIVE

Cover art for the music featured in Friday Five.

Friday Five highlights music by Washtenaw County-associated artists and labels.

This edition features jazz by Paul Vornhagen, art-pop by Bekka Madeleine, ambient by Martin Babl and Othercast, and RPG soundtracks by Jack de Quidt.

U-M student designers display their processes and projects at the "BFA Theatre & Drama Design & Production Portfolio Exhibition"

THEATER & DANCE PREVIEW INTERVIEW

A model box designed and constructed by Lauren/Streng of her concept for Jitney.

A model box designed and constructed by Lauren Streng of her concept for Jitney. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Every winter, sophomores, juniors, and seniors studying design and production at the University of Michigan’s Department of Theatre & Drama at the School of Music, Theatre and Dance showcase their work. The BFA Theatre & Drama Design & Production Portfolio Exhibition is a free event at the Duderstadt Center Gallery on North Campus that runs January 28 to February 7.

“The goal of the portfolio review,” says Christianne Myers, who teaches costume design and is head of design and production, “is to get students thinking about how they talk about their work and to contextualize their growth.” They also think about what they might want to study next, to fill in gaps or expand on an interest. “It’s helpful to hear their thoughts in the context of the work they’ve done so far.”

To this end, faculty members meet with students before the review is open to others, ask questions, and look over the work they did during their time at the university; this includes summer projects at other venues between school years but not work they might have done before enrolling. 

Students talk about their process and their goals to the whole faculty, even those who haven’t had them in class. Chip Miller, the associate artistic director of Portland Center Stage, will come from Oregon to serve as a guest respondent so students can get an outsider’s take on their presentations.  

“In the end, it’s an occasion, a chance for students to celebrate their work." 

Novel Idea: Author Breeda Kelly Miller’s Book, “Mrs. Kelly’s Journey Home,” Expands on the Family Immigrant Stories Shared in Her Play

WRITTEN WORD PREVIEW INTERVIEW

The book cover of "Mrs. Kelly's Journey Home" and a portrait of authhor Breeda Kelly Miller.

Writers know that sometimes, no matter what your intentions are when you sit down to work, the process may lead you in another direction completely.

Breeda Kelly Miller, who will appear at Ann Arbor’s Schuler Books on January 30, had planned to tell her Irish immigrant mother’s story, Mrs. Kelly’s Journey Home, in book form first, then perhaps adapt it into a play.

“I started writing, and the play just started taking over,” Miller said. “I thought, ‘What? Fine. I’ll just write the play first. There are no rules. I’ll just break this rule that doesn’t exist.’”

The result was a one-woman play starring Miller that premiered in Ann Arbor in October 2021 and has since played on stages around Michigan, as well as locales nationwide and in Ireland.

The play aired on Detroit PBS this past December, significantly expanding Miller’s audience, but also pressing her to strike while the iron was hot and get the book done.

Friday Five: Blou Reed, J Rowe & Jordan Schug, Petalwave, Stephen Oduro, This Is Not a Franchise

MUSIC REVIEW FRIDAY FIVE

Cover art for the music featured in Friday Five.

Friday Five highlights music by Washtenaw County-associated artists and labels.

This edition features jazz from Blou Reed and J Rowe / Jordan Schug, indie rock by Petalwave, funk by Stephen Oduro, and stoner metal by This Is Not a Franchise.

Cast Away: Ypsilanti’s Premium Rat Finds Connection and Community on Debut Album, “Stranded on Land”

MUSIC INTERVIEW

Premium Rat's Mer Rey screams in the dark.

Premium Rat features evocative lyrics, emotive vocals, and cinematic instrumentation on Stranded on Land. Photo by Levi Hubbel.

Premium Rat knows they can't go it alone.

The Ypsilanti indie-rocker embraces that mindset while exploring the need for connection and community on their debut album.

“That has been the journey of my life because I’ve always been a very independent person and a person who’s not good at asking for help,” said Mer Rey, who performs as Premium Rat, about Stranded on Land.

“This album tells the story of me learning that lesson—that no person is an island—and I can’t do it all myself.”

Premium Rat follows that story arc throughout Stranded on Land’s 12 tracks, which were curated against a backdrop of multi-genre sounds.

“The idea of Stranded on Land is starting the album feeling very disconnected from the world and people around me, feeling like I didn’t understand or belong in the world, and feeling very isolated and alone with that feeling,” said Rey, who features elements of pop punk, indie rock, dance-pop, indie folk, and Broadway music on the album.

“As the album goes on, it tells the story of me finding community, finding other people who also felt that way, and realizing, ‘Oh, I’m stranded on land, but so are a bunch of other people, and we’re actually stranded together.’ And that is how we [find] our way out and claim our freedom—by doing that together.”

UMMA's "La Raza Art and Media Collective, 1975 to Today" highlights the pioneering work of a campus student group

VISUAL ART INTERVIEW

Wide view of UMMA's Irving Stenn Jr. Family Gallery, host of the La Raza exhibit.

Wide view of UMMA's Irving Stenn Jr. Family Gallery, host of the La Raza Art and Media Collective, 1975 to Today exhibit. Photo by Elizabeth Smith.

La Raza Art and Media Collective, 1975 to Today, a new exhibit at the University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA), highlights creative Latinx students and faculty who have influenced the campus for decades but whose presence is too often overlooked.

The La Raza Art and Media Collective (RAMC) was a student group from 1975 to 1977, formed by Ana Cardona, Michael J. Garcia, Jesse Gonzales, Julio Perazza, George Vargas, S. Zaneta Kosiba Vargas, and Zaragosa Vargas. RAMC organized cultural gatherings and art exhibits, and between 1976-1977, the group also produced a journal of Latinx essays, poetry, and art.

RAMC grew out of the late '60s Latinx political movement. Allied with other student groups, RAMC advocated for Latinx and Chicanx students, combating discrimination and stereotypes while building community. But as La Raza members started to move on from college, the group disbanded and became memory-holed to a certain degree even as other Latinx groups emerged.