Shakespeare’s in the spotlight this week, with two Shakespeare-themed productions including The Bard’s most controversial play, The Merchant of Venice, and a world premiere of a brand new play that reframes several of his most popular plays as though they had been written by other prominent Western dramatists, A Bard by Any Other Name.

What’s left to say about arguably the most famous and influential author in Western history? Well lots, apparently. It seems that not only are Shakespeare’s plays more oft-produced than any other playwright, but various concepts have set his plots on Mars, in the Appalachian Mountains, the Congo, and in futuristic and post-apocalyptic locales galore.

That’s not to mention the many updates and reworking of Shakespeare’s stories, which are numerous, Humble Boy by Charlotte Jones, Taking Leave by Nagle Jackson, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard, to name just a few. Aside from the theatrical realm, how has Shakespeare’s writing affected our lives? Check out this website to see just how ingrained Shakespearean language has become in the English lexicon: absoluteshakespeare.com/trivia/quotes/quotes.htm

Show: “Frog and Toad” adapted from the book by Arnold Lobel, through Oct. 20
Company: Wild Swan Theatre
Type of Company: Professional Non-Equity Theatre for families
Venue/location: Towsley Auditorium, Morris Lawrence Building, Washtenaw Community College.
Recommended ages: 3-8
Description: Wild Swan Theater kicks off its 33rd season of bringing the finest professional theater to families with Frog and Toad, an enchanting production especially created for younger theater goers. Based on Arnold Lobel's stories by the same name, Frog and Toad uses storytelling, puppets, and props to explore the adventures of these two beloved characters and their friendship.
More information
Fun fact: Rebecca Brunner provides American Sign Language interpretation for all four performances.
For tickets and information: www.wildswantheater.org, 734-995-0530.

Show: Cultural Conversations Series - A conversation with “Glass Menagerie” director Tim Rhoze, a one-time event, Sunday, Oct. 21 at 6:30 pm
Company: Performance Network Theatre
Type of Company: Professional Equity SPT
Venue/location: Performance Network Theatre, 120 E. Huron, Ann Arbor
Recommended ages: 14+
Description: Many an actor has heard the question, “how do you learn all those lines” - but what about all of those other behind the scenes questions: “how do you keep it fresh every night?” “Why did you decide to stage it the way you did?” “Where did the inspiration for your design choices come from?” - these questions and more will be answered as Performance Network introduces a new series of intimate onstage talks with Michigan’s finest theatre artists, entitled Cultural Conversations, exploring the nuances of the process that goes into making theatre magic.
Fun Fact: Cultural Conversations run approximately 1 hour and admission is $10. Seating is limited, reservations are recommended.
For tickets and information: www.performancenetwork.org/, 734-663-0681

Show: “A Bard by Any Other Name” by James Ingagiola, through Oct. 21
Company: Ann Arbor Civic Theatre
Type of Company: Community
Venue/location: A2CT's Studio Theater, 322 West Ann St, Ann Arbor
Recommended ages: 13+
Description: In A Bard by Any Other Name, local playwright and actor James Ingagiola re-imagines some of Shakespeare’s most famous plays in the style of iconic contemporary writers. Hamlet becomes a pause-intensive Pinteresque tragicomedy, Two Gentlemen of Verona gets roughed up in the style of David Mamet, and Macbeth becomes a Southern Gothic tragedy under the influence of Tennessee Williams.
More information
Fun fact: The playwright, James Ingagiola, is a local actor who has performed in numerous Shakespeare plays, including A2CT's 2012 production of Much Ado About Nothing, playing Benedick.
For tickets and information: 734-971-2228, www.a2ct.org

Show: "Sunday in the Park with George" by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, through Oct. 21
Company: U-M School of Music, Theatre and Dance Department of Musical Theatre
Type of Company: Higher Education
Venue/location: Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre, 911 North University Avenue, Ann Arbor
Recommended ages: All
Description: Sunday in the Park with George won the 1984 Drama Desk Award for Best Musical and the 1985 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Featuring a soaring score and insightful lyrics, Sunday in the Park with George offers a glimpse into the conflicts between artistic passion and everyday life.
Review from AnnArbor.com
Fun fact: Currently on display at the Art Institute of Chicago, Georges Seurat's painting "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” took the artist two years to complete. The 7x10 foot painting is a magnificent example of pointillism - a technique where small dots of pure color are placed closely together. When viewed from a distance, the eye fuses the colors together to create a wide range of secondary and intermediate colors. Seurat was only 25 when he created the work. He died at the age of 32 in 1891.
For tickets and information: 734-764-2538, tickets.music.umich.edu

Show: “The Fantasticks” by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt, through October 21
Company: The Encore Musical Theatre Company
Type of Company: Equity Special Appearance Contract
Venue/location: The Encore Musical Theatre Company, 3126 Broad Street, Dexter
Recommended ages: All
Description: The Fantasticks is a beautiful coming-of-age story, with an amazing score. You may recognize songs like "Try to Remember", "Soon It's Gonna Rain", and "They Were you."
Review from Encore Michigan
Fun fact: Paul Hopper, who plays Hucklebee, has appeared in The Fantasticks two time prior to this: as Matt and Mortimer.
For tickets and information: 734-268-6200, www.theencoretheatre.org

Show: “The Merchant of Venice” by William Shakespeare, through October 28
Company: Eastern Michigan University Theatre
Type of Company: Higher Education
Venue/location: Quirk Theatre, Quirk Dramatic Arts Building, intersection of East Circle Drive and Best Hall, EMU Campus, Ypsilanti.
Recommended ages: 13+
Description: One of William Shakespeare’s most popular yet controversial comedies. When everything in life is for sale, true value becomes uncertain. Survival depends upon asking the question, “How is the authentic disguised and the counterfeit revealed?” Crafted to reveal the judgmental masking and unmasking of society, The Merchant of Venice grapples with questions of justice versus mercy, honor versus betrayal and the truth of lust versus love in a world where cash is king.
Fun fact: Arrive early to participate in pre-show activities including mask-making and a Shakespearean insult contest! Activities begin 30 minutes prior to showtime.
For tickets and information: 734-487-2282, www.emutix.com

Show: “Evil Dead, the Musical” by George Reinblatt, through Oct. 28
Company: Dexter Community Players
Type of Company: Community Theater
Venue/location: Copeland Auditorium, 7714 Ann Arbor St, Dexter
Recommended ages: 16+
Description: Based on Sam Raimi’s ‘80s cult-classic films, Evil Dead: The Musical tells the tale of five college students who travel to a cabin in the woods where they accidentally unleash an evil force. Hilariously campy and bursting with more farce than a Monty Python skit Evil Dead: The Musical unearths the old familiar story: Boy and friends take a weekend getaway at secluded cabin, boy unleashes ancient evil spirit which turns friends into Candarian Demons, boy fights until dawn to survive. As musical mayhem descends upon this sleepover in the woods, “camp” takes on a whole new meaning with uproarious song and dance numbers.
Fun fact: Coveted Splatter Zone tickets are limited and provided on a first-come/first served basis.
For tickets and information: dextercommunityplayers.org, 734-726-0355

Show: “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams, through October 28
Company: Performance Network Theatre
Type of Company: Professional Equity SPT
Venue/location: Performance Network Theatre, 120 E. Huron, Ann Arbor
Recommended ages: 14+
Description: Faded Southern Belle Amanda Wingfield will stop at nothing to find a husband for her painfully shy daughter, Laura, still living at home with her brother, Tom, a would-be writer working in a shoe factory. When Amanda enlists Tom's help in bringing home a "gentleman caller" from the factory, the family's dreams hang in the balance as they struggle to escape the hopelessness of their world. Set in 1937 St. Louis, this wistfully poetic memory play is regarded by many as Williams' most personal story, and his greatest masterpiece.
Article from Patch.com
Fun Fact: The play was reworked from one of Williams' short stories Portrait of a Girl in Glass. Certain elements have been omitted from the play, including the reasoning for Laura's fascination with Jim's freckles (linked to a book that she loved and often reread, Freckles by Gene Stratton-Porter). Generally the story contains the same plot as the play, with certain sections given more emphasis, and character details edited (for example, in the story, Jim nicknames Tom "Slim", instead of "Shakespeare").
For tickets and information: www.performancenetwork.org/, 734-663-0681

Show: “Woyzeck” by Georg Büchner, adapted by the New Theatre Project Ensemble, through Nov. 4
Company: The New Theatre Project
Type of Company: Pre-professional
Venue/location: Mix Studio, 130 W. Michigan Ave. in Ypsilanti,
Recommended ages: 16+
Description: As The New Theatre Project’s inaugural show of the Reinvention season, Woyzeck will provide audiences with a theatrical experience unlike anything seen before on the Mix stage. The play, remaining incomplete after the playwright Georg Büchner’s early death in 1837, has no ending and only fragmented scenes. TNTP has restored the play with it’s own version of Büchner’s creation that allows the audience to choose how best to complete this mysterious and enticing piece.
Fun fact: Audience members will literally travel through this immersive production. In fact, most of the action will take place below the stage in the depths of the basement, the original mid-nineteenth century foundation filled with remnants from the early days of the opera house at the corner of Michigan and Washington.
For tickets and information: 734-961-8704, thenewtheatreproject.org/
Special ticket offer: Have dinner at Bona Sera Cafe across the street and receive $1 off your ticket price, with receipt.

Show: “Superior Donuts” by Tracy Letts, through December 15
Company: Purple Rose Theatre Company
Type of Company: Professional Equity SPT
Venue/location: Purple Rose Theatre Company, 137 Park Street, Chelsea
Recommended ages: Contains Adult Language & Content
Description: Arthur Przybyszewski has just about given up on everything: a social life, the chance of romance and most of all his family’s long standing Chicago donut shop. But when idealistic dreamer, Franco Wicks walks through the door of his vandalized storefront, Arthur realizes through their unlikely friendship that life still has more to offer him. Written by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Tracy Letts (August: Osage County) the comedy-drama Superior Donuts will make you a believer too.
Review from AnnArbor.com
Fun fact: National Doughnut Day is on the first Friday of June each year, succeeding the Doughnut Day event created by The Salvation Army in 1938 to honor the women who served doughnuts to soldiers during World War I.
For tickets and information: 734-433-7673 (ROSE), www.purplerosetheatre.org