Memorable performances from the year in entertainment

Robert Plant and Band of Joy in concert Friday night, January 21st at Hill Auditorium. Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com
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Robert Plant and Band of Joy in concert Friday night, January 21st at Hill Auditorium. Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/2011 Entertainment Photos of the year/cache/012111_ROBERT PLANT 1-2 LON_fullsize.jpg
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The Michigan Theater marrquis on the second night of the Sundance Flim Festival USA. The film "Cedar Rapids" was featured Friday night. The movie was shot on location in Ann Arbor. Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/2011 Entertainment Photos of the year/cache/012811_SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL 1 LON_fullsize.jpg
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Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Mavis Staples greets members of the Hill Auditorium crowd during the second and final night of the 34th Ann Arbor Folk Festival, Saturday, January 29th. Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/2011 Entertainment Photos of the year/cache/012911_FOLK FESTIVAL 11 LON_fullsize.jpg
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David "Honeyboy" Edwards, left, plays guitar and sings with Big Head Todd during the Blues at the Crossroads: The Robert Johnson Centennial Concert at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor, Mich. on Feb. 10, 2011. Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/oops/cache/021011-AJC-Blues-at-the-Crossroads-Robert-Johnson-concert-10_fullsize.JPG
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Huron High School Symphony Orchestra harpist Celisa Gutierrez warms up during rehearsal Tuesday afternoon, February 15th at Hill Auditorium for Tuesday night's Ann Arbor Public School's Orchestra Night. The annual event features performances from every high school and middle school orchestra in the Ann Arbor Public School sysytem. Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/2011 Entertainment Photos of the year/cache/021511_ORCHESTRA NIGHT REHEARSAL 4 LON_fullsize.jpg
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The BitterRoots perform during The Love Hangover a benefit for 826 Michigan and the Huron River Arts Initiative at Woodruff's in Ypsilanti on Tuesday night. Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/2011 Entertainment Photos of the year/cache/021511_ENT_Woodruff's_MRM_04_fullsize.jpg
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A cucumber-melon martini at The Alley Bar in downtown Ann Arbor during Friday night, February 18th's "Artini" Martini Crawl 2011 in downtown Ann Arbor. The fundraising event for the Ann Arbor Art Center pitted several downtown bars against each other to see who could come up with the most artful martini. Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/2011 Entertainment Photos of the year/cache/021811_FACES ARTINI 8 LON_fullsize.jpg
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Dan Kloss enjoys a drink in the balcony lobby of the Michigan Theater during Thursday night, February 24th's Vintage Hollywood II fundraiser for the Neutral Zone. The evening was filled with red carpet glamour, film, music, food and drinks, as well as a silent auction, all to benefit the Neutral Zone. Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/2011 Entertainment Photos of the year/cache/022411_FACES VINTAGE HOLLYWOOD 15 LON_fullsize.jpg
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Local DJ and performance artist Forest Juziuk DJs during the opening reception of the Ann Arbor Film Festival at the Michigan Theater in on March 22th, 2011. Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/oops/cache/032211-AJC-Ann-Arbor-Film-Festival-opening-reception-02_fullsize.JPG
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University of Michigan student Cecilia Latiolais, center, helps Ann Arbor resident Kit Eagal carry his giant squid luminary down Washington St. at FoolMoon, a procession of luminaries associated with FestiFools, downtown Ann Arbor, Mich. on April 1, 2011. Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/2011 Entertainment Photos of the year/cache/040111-AJC-FoolMoon-luminary-parade-08_fullsize.jpg
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Rapper Wiz Khalifa performs for a sold out crowd at the Eastern Convocation Center on Monday night. Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/2011 Entertainment Photos of the year/cache/040411_ENT_Wiz K_MRM_269_fullsize.jpg
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Singer songwriter Kina Grannis performs for a small crowd at Borders in downtown Ann Arbor on Tuesday afternoon. Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/2011 Entertainment Photos of the year/cache/040511_ENT_Kina at Borders_MRM_02_fullsize.jpg
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The Space Age Toasters open up for Iggy Pop and the Stooges during a tribute to the late Ron Asheton at the Michigan Theater on Tuesday night. Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/2011 Entertainment Photos of the year/cache/041911_ENT_Iggy Pop_MRM_43_fullsize.jpg
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Iggy Pop and the Stooges perform during a tribute concert to the late Ron Asheton at the Michigan Theater on Tuesday night. Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/2011 Entertainment Photos of the year/cache/041911_ENT_Iggy Pop_MRM_47_fullsize.jpg
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Michigan graduate student, singer songwriter Vienna Teng performs to an invite-only concert held at a private Ann Arbor residence on Tuesday. Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/2011 Entertainment Photos of the year/cache/042611_ENT_Vienna Teng_MRM_32_fullsize.jpg
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Fake snow was put in place on Liberty and Main for filming of Five Year Engagement in Ann Arbor, Mich. on May 26, 2011. Angela J. Cesere /calendar/photologue/photos/2011 Entertainment Photos of the year/cache/052611-AJC-5-year-engagement-01_fullsize.jpg
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Crew members stand in front of a light being set up for the filming of Five Year Engagement at Liberty Plaza in Ann Arbor on June 10, 2011. Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/oops/cache/061011-AJC-Five-Year-Engagement-filming-liberty-plaza-02_fullsize.JPG
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Nicole McUmber, far left, plays alto saxophone with the Detroit Party Marching Band during the first day of Ann Arbor Summer Festival on June 17, 2011. Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/oops/cache/061711-AJC-Ann-Arbor-Summer-Festival-first-friday-11_fullsize.JPG
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Inside of Amococo, a 10,000-square-foot network of inflated domes and pods created by Architects of Air. Visitors will be able to walk through the inflatable attraction starting Thursday, June 23 at 4pm. Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/oops/cache/062211-AJC-Amococo-preview-summer-festival-05_fullsize.JPG
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k.d. lang and The Siss Boom Bang performed at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor, Mich. on July 1, 2011 for Ann Arbor Summer Festival. Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/oops/cache/070111-AJC-k.d.-lang-and-The-Siss-Boom-Bang-02_fullsize.JPG
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Members of the Australian group Tom Tom Crew perform at the Power Center on Thursday night. Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/2011 Entertainment Photos of the year/cache/070711_ENT_Tom Tom Crew_MRM_38_fullsize.jpg
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5-year-old Temperance, Mich. resident Aidan Presley Ortiz poses for a photo in his Elvis outfit during ElvisFest in Ypsilanti, Mich. on July 8, 2011. Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/2011 Entertainment Photos of the year/cache/070811-AJC-ElvisFest-01_fullsize.jpg
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Shadow puppets by Patrick Elkins' Ypsilanti Intergalactic Puppet and Maze Co. at the Shadow Art Fair at Corner Brewery in Ypsilanti, Mich. on July 16, 2011. /calendar/photologue/photos/2011 Entertainment Photos of the year/cache/071611-AJC-Shadow-Art-Fair-05_fullsize.jpg
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Black Jake plays a banjo with his band the Carnies during the Michigan Roots Jamboree at Riverside Park in Ypsilanti on Friday. . Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/2011 Entertainment Photos of the year/cache/080511_ENT_Roots Jamboree_MRM_88_fullsize.jpg
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Volunteer and performer Alexis King, Ypsilanti, dances during a set by Black Jake and the Carnies during the Michigan Roots Jamboree at Riverside Park in Ypsilanti on Friday. . Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/2011 Entertainment Photos of the year/cache/080511_ENT_Roots Jamboree_MRM_91_fullsize.jpg
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Muscian Scotty Karate has started a Kickstarter campaign to raise money to print a vinly record for his band Scotch Bonnet. Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/2011 Entertainment Photos of the year/cache/081711_ENT_Scotty_Karate_MRM_02_fullsize.jpg
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October Babies performs for the AnnArbor.com summer concert series in Ann Arbor, Mich. on Aug. 19, 2011. Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/oops/cache/081911-AJC-October-Babies-AnnArbor.com-Concert-Series-11_fullsize.JPG
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Gordon Lightfoot preforms at the Michigan Theatre on Wednesday night. Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/2011 Entertainment Photos of the year/cache/092111_ENT_Gordon_Lightfoot_MRM_01_fullsize.jpg
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From left to right, director and writer Chris Farah tells a story as producer Mike Farah, and actor Chris Parnell listen during a question and answer portion after a screening of "Answer This!" at Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor on Sunday evening. Joseph Tobianski I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/2011 Entertainment Photos of the year/cache/102311_ENT_Answer This Q and A_JT_03_fullsize.jpg
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A orchestra member dressed as a banana plays precussions. Joseph Tobianski I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/2011 Entertainment Photos of the year/cache/103011_ENT_Halloween Concert_JT_10_fullsize.jpg
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Joan Baez performed at the Michigan Theater Tuesday November 1, 2011. Jeff Sainlar I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/2011 Entertainment Photos of the year/cache/11111_ENT_JOAN_BEAZ_JNS_06_fullsize.jpg
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Bob Seger performed at the Eastern Michigan University Convention Center Wednesday November 2, 201. Jeff Sainlar I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/2011 Entertainment Photos of the year/cache/110211_BOB_SEGER_JNS_18_fullsize.jpg
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Lupe Fiasco performs at Eastern Michigan University's Convocation Center on Saturday evening. Joseph Tobianski I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/2011 Entertainment Photos of the year/cache/110511_ENT_Lupe Fiasco_JT_02_fullsize.jpg
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Michael Moore came to Ann Arbor to promote his new book, Here Comes Trouble, Thursday December 1, 2011 at the Michigan Theater. Jeff Sainlar I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/2011 Entertainment Photos of the year/cache/120111_ENT_MICHAEL_MOORE_JNS_04_fullsize.jpg
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Greg Gillis, also known as his stage name, Girl Talk performed at The Blind Pig Wednesday December 7, 2011 Jeff Sainlar I AnnArbor.com /calendar/photologue/photos/2011 Entertainment Photos of the year/cache/120711_ENT_GIRL_TALK_JNS_12_fullsize.jpg

Iggy Pop and Scott Asheton perform during the Stooges' homecoming concert at the Michigan Theater in honor of the late Ron Asheton.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
What will you remember most from this year's entertainment? Leave a comment at the end of the story.
• Ann Arbor Civic Theater’s “God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater”, January: The Civic unearthed this lost treasure—with a story by Kurt Vonnegut, and music and lyrics by super-duo Alan Menken and Howard Ashman—and it was a terrific show with some great songs. A2CT did itself proud.
• Lyle Lovett / John Hiatt, January: The laid-back singing-songwriting veterans proved a perfect pairing at a Michigan Theater acoustic concert. The two traded songs for nearly 2.5 hours in a superb show that became even better when a surprise guest— Jeff Daniels, Chelsea-based bluesman, actor and playwright—strolled out to join them and more than held his own with the bigger musical talents.
• Renee Fleming at Hill Auditorium, January (presented by the University Musical Society): What else is there to say? It’s an immense privilege, and in this case, an immense treat, to hear America’s reigning diva in recital. We gave her the Ford Honors Award—it was the least we could do.
• “Equus” at the Blackbird Theatre, February: A darkly moody, atmospheric production—rendered all the more affecting by a small performance space—of Peter Schaffer’s classic psychological drama.
• Merce Cunningham Dance Company “Legacy” Tour , February (presented by the University Musical Society): This concert offered a last chance to see Merce’s dancers perform together as a company. Under a plan devised by Cunningham before his death in 2009, the company made a final tour before disbanding this month. To have seen that remarkable repertoire and his remarkable dancers once last time was poignant and thrilling.

Jason Segel relaxes in Ann Arbor.
Photo by Jessica Webster Sendra
• “Piano Lesson” (March) and “Next Fall” (June) at Performance Network: From top to bottom, the Network’s take on August Wilson’s family drama was a magical, memorable night of theater; and “Next Fall” offered a well-acted drama for our complicated times, exploring weighty issues of sexuality, family, identity and religion in a dramatically compelling, thoughtful way.
• University Musical Society’s theater series: Propeller’s innovative, all-male productions of “Richard III” and “Comedy of Errors” (March) were a marvelous feast for the eyes and ears; the Gate Theatre’s productions of “Watt” and “Endgame” (October) honored Beckett’s stark, absurdist work by making us laugh—hard, in some cases; and Druid Theater Company’s “Cripple of Inishmaan” (March) was a pitch-perfect production of a play that’s become a contemporary classic. We’re so lucky that UMS brings shows from all over the globe right here to our backyard.
• “Some Couples May “ (April) and "Escanaba in da Moonlight" (September) at the Purple Rose Theatre: With "Couples," playwright Carey Crim offered up her funniest, most fully realized work to date, telling the story of a happily married couple who struggling to have a child of their own. The comic drama took risks and had unexpected twists, and it was all the better for them. And 16 years after "Escanaba"'s world premiere at the Rose, Jeff Daniels' Yooper comedy—which wasn't Daniels' first play, but it quickly became the Rose's signature, blockbuster show—got a first-class revival in its original home.

• The Stooges' homecoming/tribute concert, April: Around 1,700 people showed up to hear punk rock pioneers Iggy Pop and the Stooges play a benefit concert in honor of their late bandmate Ron Asheton at the Michigan Theater in April. The raw power of Iggy Pop and band provided a double dose of musical nostalgia and solid musicianship, charging through their hits while offering a heartfelt tribute to one of Ann Arbor's overlooked musical heroes. (One AnnArbor.com writer wrote, “I'll never forget watching everyone run up on stage. It's the wildest ‘party’ at the Michigan Theater I've ever attended.”) In a remarkable turn, it was the first of a two-part homecoming by the two Ann Arbor-bred acts who have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
• Bill Maher at the Michigan Theater, April: Maher's sharply hilarious stand-up show at the Michigan left the crowd wanting more.
• Frank Allison, once the leader of the super-popular local band Frank Allison & the Odd Sox, made a most welcome re-emergence on the scene following a struggle with an unusual medical condition.
• U-M’s productions of “The Crucible” and “Brigadoon” (April): Had Miller himself been in the audience for this “Crucible,” he would have been pleased with the edge-of-your-seat staging; and “Brigadoon” was, in every way, musical theater perfection.

The Water Hill Music Fest
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
• Steve Martin, and kd lang, at the Ann Arbor Summer Festival: kd lang is playing with a true band, the Siss Boom Bang, for the first time in years, and she seems to be loving it; her AASF show in early July showed the performer having a great time on stage, and the audience followed suit. Martin, meanwhile, brought his catchy, witty, and original bluegrass music—as well as a phenomenal band, the Steep Canyon Rangers—to town, and the show became one of the hottest tickets in town, selling out immediately.
• The year (especially the second half) brought new albums, and accompanying live shows, from some of the area's top local music acts, including (but not limited to) Chris Bathgate, George Bedard, Black Jake & the Carnies, Timothy Monger, the Macpodz, Nervous But Excited, Orpheum Bell and Dave Boutette. Meanwhile, local mainstay Ella Riot went on hiatus, but two core members introduced a new sound as s/he.
• The Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra’s September concert, opening night: A concert that went from high to high, commencing with music of Ann Arbor’s own William Bolcom and ending with a powerful reading of the Shostakovich Symphony No. 5.
• Mark Morris Dance Group at the Power Center, September (UMS): Any visit by the MMDG is an occasion; this one was no exception, but the repertoire—Morris’s “Excursions,” “Socrates” and Morris’s new and brilliant “Festival Dance”—was particularly choice.
• Audra McDonald at Hill Auditorium, November: Our reviewer wrote, "Blessed with a honeyed, multi-octave soprano, McDonald also has amazing audience rapport, which she used to offer a bit of backstory for the songs performed in her nearly two-hour program."
• Neo-soul singer Mayer Hawthorne, an Ann Arbor native, had lots of fun—as did those of us watching—with the mini-controversy over the choice of Nickelback to play at halftime of the Detroit Lions' Thanksgiving game, culminating with plans for a webcast concert from his parents' home.

Bob Seger performs at EMU.
Jeff Sainlar | AnnArbor.com
• The London Philharmonic Orchestra (December, UMS): It’s not just that the memory is fresh; this was a concert that demonstrated the vitality of the symphony orchestra and its repertoire, from elegant Mozart (with soloist Janine Jansen) to dramatic Tchaikovsky (“Manfred” Symphony) and the modern sonic explorations of composers like Matthias Pintscher (“Towards Osiris”).
• Ellen Tweets up a stir: Though Ellen Degeneres didn't physically come to Ann Arbor, she Tweeted, on Dec. 8, that fans in the area should grab a new toy and come to the Jackson Road Walgreens in holiday garb. Hundreds turned out for the Toys for Tots fundraising event, and not only did they see Ellen via satellite—one lucky attendee won a $5,000 Walgreens gift card, while another won a trip to see a live taping of Degeneres' "favorite things"-style show.
Jenn McKee, Roger Lelievre, Susan Isaacs Nisbett, Jen Eberbach and Bob Needham contributed to this story.
Comments
Halter
Sun, Jan 1, 2012 : 2:30 a.m.
Hmm....I would add to that list a few shows nobody bothered to review from AnnArbor.com.... The entire production of Encore Musical Theater company's THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA, which was probably the best musical performed locally in the past year... and just down the road, both the superb THE WEDDING SINGER musical, as well as the hilarious EVIL DEAD THE MUSICAL at Dexter Community Players -- a group that is outdoing most of the other community theaters around here lately. Of course, most people wouldn't know that, considering you choose to ignore them show after show in your reviews.