Ever heard a pre-show “turn off your cell phones” speech delivered by a whistling bird and her human translator before? No?

Well, that’s just the first of many surreal elements in Carla Milarch’s play Jorge Luis Borges Gives a Lecture on Anatomy, now having its world premiere at Theatre Nova, in a production directed by Kat Walsh.

I will confess up front that while I studied literature for years, I never read Borges’ work, so this review comes from a place of ... ignorance? Curiosity? Both?

Yet given the boisterous, life-embracing version of Borges that appears on Theatre Nova’s stage, courtesy of actor Phil Powers, I think it likely that the author himself would approve of me tiptoeing into his literary imagination by way of Milarch’s play.

And make no mistake. Lecture is a trippy vibe of a ride, which shouldn’t surprise those who have read Borges.

When Encore Musical Theatre Company co-founder Dan Cooney, in a pre-show speech, emphatically warned the crowd at West Side Story’s opening night to keep the aisles clear (“They’re 20,” he joked, referring to the cast’s youth), it was for good reason.

Indeed, the production’s performers often bounded onto the stage, swung (or hung, or twirled) from the set’s poles and bars, and prowled the theater’s aisles as if they were the streets of Manhattan.

That’s where this classic American musical theater riff on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet takes place, of course, in the summer of 1957. Instead of feuding families, West Side Story focuses on two territorial teen gangs (the white working-class Jets and the Puerto Rican immigrant Sharks) who regularly fight to “own” the local territory. But when a former Jet named Tony (Conor Jordan) locks eyes with young, Puerto Rican Maria (Daniela Rodriguez Del Bosque) at a dance, the two fall passionately, impetuously in love, despite their differences, and set a series of events into motion that will alter not just the path of their own lives, but those of everyone around them.

Despite its iconic, instantly recognizable music (Leonard Bernstein) and lyrics (Stephen Sondheim), book (Arthur Laurents), and choreography (Jerome Robbins, re-created in Encore’s production by Deanna Aguinaga-Whyte), West Side Story (directed here by Michael Berry) is not a show we have lots of opportunities to see performed live—in part, because this classic American musical demands a lot from the many, many young artists it takes to stage a production.

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

This edition features indie rock by Indle Ray, hyperpop by Dapper Ain't Delirious and Splingus, hip-hop by Gusmão, and punk by Reckless Manner.

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

This edition features rebooted grunge by Tension Splash, electro-metal by The Strange Theory of Light and Matter, indie-folk rock by Lionbelly, techno by The AMX, and moody alt-rock by Iconic Chronic.

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

This edition features synth-pop by Same Eyes, European folk duets by Warren & Flick, a videogame soundtrack by Cereza64, imaginary movie soundtracks by An Angel Submerged, and Latin-steeped hip-hop beats by Gusmão.

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

This edition features jazz by Dave Sharp Worlds Quartet and Elden Kelly, metalcore by Loss of Life, hyperpop by Scoops Lively, emo-punk by Normal Park, and live jams by Pajamas.

The Neighborhood Theatre Group (also known as NTG) is ending its 9th season with an off-the-wall and hilariously funny send-up of the always predictable Lifetime movies.

The original musical trauma comedy is called—take a breath, the title is long—The Stranger in My Breakfast Nook: A 90’s Lifetime Original Musical Parody, written by Kristin Anne Danko and Kylista Geiger. Geiger is the director and Danko, the founder of NTG, directs the music.

NTG’s minimalist approach to theater is a necessity in the tight confines of the Back Office Studio. Those limitations only add to the laughs. Another interesting quirk is something called the Tree County Universe—very Marvelish. The universe was created in 2019 and centers on the sister cities Shouting Oaks and Whispering Pines, home of the Silverspoon’s Serving Spoons, South North University, and a lot of trees.

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

This edition features beat-driven ambient by Jason Engling, gothic-folk by Dollie Rot, folk by Dave & Kristi, organ experiments by Latimer Rogland, and gritty vaporwave by Delos Prismatic.

Evelyn is showing those signs of growing old. The memory isn’t what it used to be, she gets confused at times and longs for a little more fun in her life.

Rory is a drifter, a 25-year-old man always on the go. He wasn’t getting along with his family, especially his father, so he ditched college and has been rambling ever since.

Evelyn and Rory meet on a plane flight to a Caribbean island where Evelyn owns a beachfront house. The two of them hit it off. That’s how it usually goes, young adults often find they get along with people who are two or more generations older. They don’t judge, they don’t presume, but they often pass along some well-earned wisdom.

This is the theme of Julie Marino’s play Welcome to Paradise, a comedy that celebrates a chance encounter. Ypsilanti's PTD Productions is presenting Marino’s play through May 17 at the Riverside Arts Center.

Every so often, I find myself daydreaming: As the members of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) watch their stock portfolios plummet because of Trump’s tariffs, or as they observe the president ignore decisions by other justices, including those he appointed, they have second thoughts about giving Trump unprecedented power—and they find a way to save us.   

I was disabused of this fantasy when I read Leah Litman’s marvelous new book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes. The University of Michigan law professor, who clerked at the high court, will discuss her book with Barbara McQuade on May 14 at Literati Bookstore.

I loved the book—well, as much as I can love something that convinces me that radical right justices are ruling from their feelings instead of the law. Litman’s style is accessible, and her book is full of pop culture references: American Psycho, Arrested Development, Game of Thrones, Taylor Swift. The story she tells is bleak, but there’s comic relief, mostly in the form of snarky comments of the sort some of us are driven to these days.