There’s a great debate raging in American theater today, which asks the question “has our theatrical identity become too much about the grand edifices in which we produce and not enough about the work itself?” I find this fascinating, when it seems here in Ann Arbor, plays are popping up in new and unusual venues all over town.

This season, shows have been staged in a refurbished band shell, a converted carriage house, a flower and garden shop, the back end of a resale store, and an arboretum. Why, even the Purple Rose and Performance Network are a converted garage and hotel, respectively.

So as we close out this season and get ready to launch the next, I’d like to congratulate all of the producers of all of the plays, on all of the stages this year. More than any building, it is their passion to create inspiring work, wherever and however they can, that keeps us all coming back for more.

Theater listings for the week of August 31 - September 4

Show: “Bronzeville Gold” by Anitria Cole, one-time event: Wednesday, Aug. 31, 7 p.m.
Company: Performance Network Theatre
Type of Company: Professional Equity (reading contract)
Venue/location: Performance Network Theatre, 120 East Huron, Ann Arbor
Recommended ages: 16+
Description: Set in 1933 Chicago, this powerful African-American family saga revolves around a gambling numbers wheel, and a young Mississippi newcomer as he chases the elusive American dream. Willie Jenkins, a 22-year-old African-American sharecropper, wants to live the American dream, but Tupelo, Miss. will not afford him that opportunity. When he meets a numbers runner from Chicago, who promises him the good life, Willie escapes. Are the streets of Bronzeville really paved with gold? Or is the American dream just a dream?
Fun fact: The show will be followed by a panel discussion at 9 p.m.—a moderated talk with the playwrights on the state of new work in American theater, with refreshments in the lobby immediately following.
For tickets and information: 734-663-0696, www.performancenetwork.org/1011fireside.php


Show: “in a word” By Lauren Yee, one-time event: Wednesday, Aug. 31, 8 p.m.
Company: The New Theatre Project
Type of Company: Professional Non-Equity
Venue/location: Mix Performance Space, 130 W. Michigan Ave., Ypsilanti
Recommended ages: 16+
Description: Two years have passed since Fiona’s 8-year-old son mysteriously vanished. As Fiona goes back over the events she remembers leading up to that fateful day, logic buckles and language breaks. Will she uncover the truth? And what happens if she does? A lyrical, absurdist journey on how to get over, get around, and get through what haunts you.
Fun Fact: Admission is by roll of two dice. You pay what you roll, from $2-$12.
For tickets and information: Call or text 734-645-9776 or email tickets@thenewtheatreproject.org.

Show: “Bartleby” By Brooklyn Demetrie, one-time event: Thursday, Sept. 1, 8 p.m.
Company: The New Theatre Project
Type of Company: Professional Non-Equity
Venue/location: Mix Performance Space, 130 W. Michigan Ave., Ypsilanti
Recommended ages: 16+
Description: Adapted from the short story by Herman Melville, Bartleby is a model employee. Others in the office are put off by his quiet eccentricities and machine-like perfection. The Boss, however, is very pleased with Bartleby’s work—that is, until the day Bartleby decides that he will do no more work because he would “prefer not to.” However, even after being fired, he refuses to budge from the office, preferring instead to stand and stare at the wall of his cubicle. Bartleby’s will to do nothing persists, ad absurdum, culminating in death by starvation because he preferred not to eat.
Fun Fact: Admission is by roll of two dice. You pay what you roll, from $2-$12.
For tickets and information: Call or text 734-645-9776 or email tickets@thenewtheatreproject.org.

Show: “Consider the Oyster” by David MacGregor, through Sept. 3
Company: The Purple Rose Theatre Company
Type of Company: Professional Equity (SPT)
Venue/location: Purple Rose Theatre, 137 Park Street, Chelsea
Recommended ages: 16+
Description: During the celebration of a Detroit Lions Super Bowl victory, Gene Walsh impulsively proposes marriage to the love of his life. When she joyously accepts, he tumbles over the coffee table. This chance fall begins a hilarious cascade of startling twists that turn the happy couples’ future upside down and inside out.
Preview from AnnArbor.com
Fun fact: The Green graffiti monster painted on the set is Zartog from the movie "Space Chimps." Jeff Daniels did his voice for the movie!
For tickets and information: www.purplerosetheatre.org/onstage/production-archive/consider-the-oyster


Show: “Marie Antoinette, the Color of Flesh” by Joel Gross, through Sept. 4
Company: Performance Network Theatre
Type of Company: Professional Equity (SPT)
Venue/location: Performance Network Theatre, 120 East Huron, Ann Arbor
Recommended ages: 12 +
Description: Called “A touching story of love" by The New York Times, this play gives history a refreshingly sexy face. A sumptuous blend of fact and fiction, it creates an imagined love triangle between Marie Antoinette; her official portraitist, Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun; and a fictitious aristocrat and lover to both, Count Alexis de Ligne. Spanning two politically explosive decades surrounding the French Revolution, this boudoir drama weaves politics, history, romance and art.
Broadway World article on extension
Fun fact: Convicted of treason, Queen of France Marie Antoinette's final words before being executed by guillotine were "Monsieur, I beg your pardon" which she said to the executioner after she stepped on his foot.
For tickets and information: 734-663-0696, www.performancenetwork.org/

Did you know that…?: The term “site specific theater” is open to interpretation. Some argue that any performance that takes place outside a theater or in a non-traditional setting can be labeled site-specific. Others argue that the title can only be applied to a production that has been developed in, developed from, and performed in, a specific place.