drama
Tick, Tick...Boom! Explodes Into Song
by (John Kissane)
Submitted 05-24-2024 under OPINION
In high school, faced with yet another rejection slip, I hit upon what seemed to me an irresistible idea: write a poem about rejection on the back of the slip and submit it. The editor to whom I’d sent the first poem rejected that one, too....
To Kill A Mockingbird remains shattering and tragic
by (John Kissane)
Submitted 04-24-2024 under OPINION
When the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) lost a reservation clerk, America gained a masterpiece. Harper Lee, an Alabama native turned New York City transplant, had taken the position at the airline as her day job, but her real dream was...
Grand Rapids Civic Theatre Stages Murder On The Orient Express
by (John Kissane)
Submitted 04-22-2024 under OPINION
Sherlock Holmes was so popular that Arthur Conan Doyle, his creator, having killed the detective (in "The Final Problem," 1893), later ended up resurrecting him, compelled by the demands of the public and barrels filled with money. Nearly...
In "Disney's Descendants: The Musical," youth choose their own path
by (John Kissane)
Submitted 03-04-2024 under OPINION
In fifteenth century France, a seventeen-year-old girl was sent by the king to a battle—the outcome of which was very much in doubt. She arrived wearing armor and raising her banner high. The king's faith was justified. Rallied by the...
Clyde's dramatizes the hopes and struggles of post-prison life
by (John Kissane)
Submitted 01-21-2024 under OPINION
You made a mistake. And it's a big mistake – the kind they could throw you in prison for. So that's what they do. You grind your sentence out, keeping your head down, dreaming of freedom. Then, finally, you get that freedom. But here...
Sweeney Todd Cuts As Sharply As Ever
by (John Kissane)
Submitted 09-13-2023 under OPINION
At first, you don’t see him. You see others, though: the citizens of long-ago London. Horror-struck, they sing operatically of Sweeney Todd, a man they call “the demon barber of Fleet Street.” Todd shaved his customers, yes, shaved...
Filmmaker Spotlight: Allison Riley (Open Projector Night Audience Vote Winner)
by (Grand Rapids Fi...)
Submitted 03-03-2023 under NONPROFITS
We'd like to congratulate our last Open Projector Night audience vote winner, Allison Riley and their film 'In the Blood.' Nicholas Hartman from Grand Rapids Film Society sat down to have a conversation with Riley to learn...
Broadway Grand Rapids Announces 35th Anniversary Season
by (John Kissane)
Submitted 03-01-2023 under NEWS
On Monday, February 27th, Broadway Grand Rapids announced its 35th anniversary season, which will run from September of this year through June of 2024. Featuring seven shows, it's the organization's biggest season yet. The shows' broad...
Tuesdays With Morrie Reveals, Conceals
by (John Kissane)
Submitted 09-06-2022 under OPINION
Twenty-five years ago, Tuesdays With Morrie was published. Its author, Mitch Albom, had written it to pay for a dying friend’s medical bills. Beyond that, he had modest hopes. He would later joke that he envisioned himself selling copies out...
University Wits presents: 'Jeffrey'
by (The University Wits)
Submitted 06-01-2018 under NONPROFITS
Set to open at Dog Story Theater on the first evening of Pride Month this year, is the University Wits’ production of "Jeffrey" by Paul Rudnick. In the play, originally published in the early 90’s, Rudnick delivers to his...