Author Archives: susannisbett
Hot Summer, Hotter Fall: A Sizzling Season for Music, Dance in 2014-15
By Susan Isaacs Nisbett Ann Arbor, Mich. May 14, 2014 My colleague Roger LeLievre says it’s a hot summer ahead on the folk and pop scene. But when the temps start cooling down in September, and all the classical … Continue reading
Chamber Music from the A2SO: A Sweet Way to Spend an Afternoon
By Susan Isaacs Nisbett Ann Arbor, Mich. (May 4, 2014) I’d probably like any event where you get dessert before the meal. And that’s just what the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra Chamber Recital Series offers: dessert first, then an hour-long … Continue reading
Exuberant “Rent” at Pioneer High another in a series of buzzworthy musicals, but was it the last?
By Roger LeLievre Ann Arbor, Mich. (May 3, 2014) Pioneer High School’s Theatre Guild, known the past several years for staging talk-of-the-town productions of popular musicals, just finished a run of the groundbreaking-for-its-time “Rent.” The show was a worthy successor … Continue reading
R.I.P. Ann Arbor native / soul singer Deon Jackson
Roger LeLievre Ann Arbor, Mich. (Apr. 23, 2014) Deon Jackson, a soul and R&B singer from the 1960s, died April 19. He was born in Ann Arbor Jan. 26, 1946. Jackson, who was 68 at the time of his death, … Continue reading
Hot town: Ann Arbor’s entertainment scene heats up along with the weather
By Roger LeLievre Ann Arbor, Mich. (Apr. 22, 2014) In some locales it might be natural to think that with the arrival of spring and summer comes a slowing of the arts scene. Not so Ann Arbor. There’s plenty coming … Continue reading
Not All Ballet Birds are Swans: “Firebird” comes to Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre
By Susan Isaacs Nisbett Ann Arbor, Mich. (Apr. 19, 2014) “The Firebird” was a breakthrough piece for composer Igor Stravinsky, who composed it for the 1910 Paris season of Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. Maybe it will be a local breakthrough, too, … Continue reading
U-M Musical Theater offers a polished, emotional “Les Miserables”
By ROGER LeLIEVRE Ann Arbor, Mich (Apr. 18, 2014) I’ve seen “Les Miserables” so often I’ve lost count. Besides professional productions in Detroit and Chicago, the long-running Broadway musical hit inspired by Victor Hugo’s novel has been performed in the … Continue reading
Mix-n-match from Folk Festival bands leads to memorable night at The Ark
By Roger LeLievre Ann Arbor, Mich. (Apr. 12, 2014) The headline act at The Ark Friday night was a favorite from this year’s Ann Arbor Folk Festival, The Pigpen Theatre Co. The opening act was The Spring Standards, a band … Continue reading
Some opening night missteps at ‘Gondoliers,’ but all in all another solid performance from UMGASS crew
By Roger LeLievre Ann Arbor, Mich. (Apr. 12, 2014) You could almost hear the collective groan when, at the opening of “The Gondoliers” Thursday night, an announcement proclaimed that due to unforeseen circumstances the role of one of the title … Continue reading
Q & A with David Requiro
Ann Arbor, Mich. (Apr. 10, 2014) Naumburg Award-winning cellist David Requiro plays with the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra Saturday evening at the Michigan Theater. Since he’s an Ann Arbor “regular” – Saturday’s his second concert with the A2SO and he … Continue reading
The Downbeat 