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.

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

This edition features jazz-steeped indie by Mei Semones, hip-hop soul by Nadim Azzam, Americana by Bill Edwards, '60s-style folk-rock by Chip Kramer, and jazz-dada jams by Tinn Parrow and His Clapfold Platune.

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

This edition features R&B from Vonsíwel, a Whitney Houston cover from French Ship, piano ambiance by Optigan Conservatory, hip-hop from M.I.C. Book & HUES, and modern dance/hyperpop by GVMMY.

Oscar Wilde’s most famous play, The Importance of Being Earnest, has a subtitle: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People.

In a time of strife, trivial comedy is just what people need. Even better is a play that mocks the well-to-do who are never serious (at least in Wilde’s point of view).

The Encore Theatre, usually a musical theater, makes way for an energetic, well-choreographed, and expertly staged presentation of Wilde’s masterpiece.

For some reason, the Titanic seemed to have one of its biggest cultural moments in 1997, 85 years after the maritime disaster occurred.

Not only did the stage show Titanic: The Musical make its Broadway debut on April 23, 1997 (just days after the anniversary of the ship’s demise), and then go on to win five Tony Awards, including best musical; but also, in November 1997, James Cameron’s blockbuster film Titanic premiered, broke numerous box office records, and bagged 13 Oscars (including best picture and best director).

Of course, when I told people I’d be seeing a production of Titanic: The Musical at the Power Center, presented by the University of Michigan Department of Musical Theatre from April 17-20, I quickly felt compelled to add, “It’s not about Jack and Rose.”

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

This edition features electronica by Doogatron, instrumental rock by Mickey Richard, tribal hypnosis by simulatent, outsider music by Klobur, and classic college rock by Suburbo.

In 1925, Dr. Ossian Sweet and his wife Gladys moved out of Detroit’s Black-only neighborhood, Black Bottom, into an all-white Detroit neighborhood. They wanted a better life for themselves and their infant daughter.

Ossian Sweet was afraid that they had made a dangerous decision.

They moved on September 8, 1925. The first night there were racist catcalls but nothing serious. The next evening a mob surrounded the new home as Sweet, his brothers, and others gathered again in the house. Ossian was prepared with guns as the mob attacked the house, but the police ignored pleas from the Sweets. A white man was killed. The police raided the Sweet home and arrested 12 people including Ossian Sweet, Gladys Atkinson Sweet, Ossian’s brothers, and friends.

This led to a historic trial that brought the renowned civil rights lawyer Clarence Darrow to Detroit.

Playwright D.L. Patrick takes a different view of these historic events and shifts the attention from Ossian Sweet to his wife, Gladys. Patrick’s title for the play is a good summary of yet another example of a woman not given her due, Eclipsed: The Sun, The Moon, and Gladys Atkinson Sweet.

Theatre Nova is presenting the world premiere of Patrick’s play. It’s an emotional, intimate look at a family that struggles to lead a better life and is trapped by the vile racism that is still a major mark of shame in America’s history.