Photo Flash: Two Muses Presents Same Time, Next Year 2/3-19

Two Muses, a new non-profit professional theatre in West Bloomfield, is presenting Same Time Next Year by Bernard Slade. The play runs February 3rd-19th with special Wednesday matinees. Reduced price previews are on February 1st and 2nd.

About the show: The romantic comedy directed by Nancy Kammer of Grosse Pointe Park, follows the once-a-year rendezvous between George and Doris, who meet and fall in love at first sight. The trouble is, they have spouses and children back home. They agree to meet the following year in the same place at the same time. During the next 25 years, their once-a year affair develops into a connection that seems untouched by time or distance. Even so, they continue to cope with the realities of their marriages.

“A spontaneous moment turns into a lifetime commitment neither one imagined,” says Kammer. “These are fully funny and honest characters to journey with!”

Diane Hill, who co-founded Two Muses with Barbie Amann Weisserman, plays Doris. It’s a role Hill tackled in a dinner theatre production 25 years ago, and one she’s thrilled to handle once again after racking up some “life experience.”

“Same Time, Next Year” is not just a play about two people having an affair,” says Hill. “These two people fall in love, and they don't take the impact of this lightly. They develop a deep bond and, as a result of this relationship, they are able to be better people in their own marriages.”

Kammer says, “I hope it will be an interesting "ride" for the audience as they see the decades from l951-1975 reflected in the behavior and relationship of two people who are able to value their own lives more for having the special time every year with one who truthfully, deeply, cares.”

The play starring Ellen Burstyn and Charles Grodin was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play and won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New American Play. It was also made into a popular film starring Ellen Burstyn and Alan Alda.

Performance Location:

Two Muses Theatre performs in the Barnes and Noble Booksellers Theatre Space, 6800 Orchard Lake Rd, West Bloomfield, MI 48322 (south of 15 mile in West Bloomfield. Enter the bookstore and the theatre is on the left.)

Tickets

Advance Tickets are $18/Adults; $15/Students and Senior citizens 62 years and older; Tickets are $2 more when purchased at the door.

General admission seating. House opens 30 minutes prior to performance.

Purchase tickets: ONLINE: at www.twomusestheatre.org; BY PHONE: call 248.850-9919

Dinner Deals

Dinner Packages at the No.VI Chophouse in Novi are available before all evening performances for Two Muses Theatre ticketholders. For more information, see www.twomusestheatre.org or call 248.850-9919.

Cast and Staff

Diane Hill (Farmington Hills) plays Doris, has performed professionally on many stages across Michigan, including Meadow Brook Theatre, Purple Rose Theatre, The Theatre Company, Jewish Ensemble Theatre, Cherry County Playhouse, the Fisher Theatre, Croswell Opera House, the Gem Theatre, Tipping Point and Performance Network. She won acting awards for her work in Wit (Wilde Award) and ‘night, Mother (Rogue Critic Award) with Breathe Art Theatre Project. She is a member of Actors’ Equity and has a busy career in television, film and voiceover. She earned her Master’s in Theatre from the University of Michigan and has a Ph.D. in Theatre from Wayne State University. Diane is the co-founder of Two Muses Theatre and coordinates the theatre program at Oakland Community College where she also teaches acting. Diane performed this role of Doris previously at Cornwell’s Dinner Theatre in Marshall, Michigan and is excited to see how it feels more than twenty years later.

Aaron Alpern (Ann Arbor) plays George. A member of Actors’ Equity, Aaron has also worked at Meadow Brook Theatre, Performance Network, Jewish Ensemble Theatre, along with several Chicago theatres including First Folio, Chicago Shakespeare, Writers Theatre, Timeline, Circle Theatre. In addition, he has performed with several other regional theatres including Next Act-Milwaukee, Theatre at the Center-Munster, Northern Stage- Milwaukee, Quantum-Pittsburgh, and the Apollo Fine Arts-Peoria. Aaron received his M.F.A. in Acting from The California Institute for the Arts and his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan.

Nancy Kammer (Grosse Pointe Park) director, has worked in the Regional and New York Theatres, as well as TV and film for over 30 years. She recently directed world premiere, Sunday Punch, at the Planet Ant. Other Michigan theatres include: The Trinity House, Jewish Ensemble Theatre, Park Players, Meadowbrook, Waterworks, Matrix, GrandValley State, Michigan State, Lansing Community College, and BoarsHead Theatre, where she was Artistic Director for Two Seasons and where she created a six-week festival, Winterfare.

Two Muses Theatre’s design team includes co-founder, Barbie Weisserman (Costumes, Set Dressing and Props-Farmington Hills), Bill Mandt (Set Designer. Dresser and Builder-Southfield), Lucy Meyo (Lighting Designer-Milford), Johnathan Smick (Stage Manager-Madison Heights), and Diane Hill (Sound and Projections-Farmington Hills).

Show Dates, Times

February 3-19, 2012 (Friday & Saturday evenings at 8pm, Wednesday and Sunday matinees at 2pm)

Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2pm Preview (reduced ticket price: $10)

Thursday, Feb. 2, 8pm Preview (reduced ticket price: $10)

Friday, Feb. 3, 8pm Grand Opening

Saturday, Feb. 4, 8pm

Sunday, Feb. 5, 2pm

Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2pm

Friday, Feb. 10, 8pm

Saturday Feb. 11, 8pm

Sunday, Feb. 12, 2pm

Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2pm

Friday, Feb. 17, 8pm

Saturday, Feb. 18, 8pm

Sunday, Feb. 19, 2pm

ABOUT TWO MUSES

Two Muses: noun 1. Any goddess presiding over a particular art. In this case, there are two.

About Two Muses: "The Two Muses Theatre in West Bloomfield began simply with two women musing; two accomplished theatre mavens and friends on a journey to create their own professional company of actors performing powerful productions. Diane Hill and Barbie Amann Weisserman, both of Farmington Hills, are now making their dream come true, providing opportunities for women in theatre while promoting female artists and artisans."

Why Two Muses? “We were brainstorming names for the company and one of our board members came up TwoMuses” says Hill. “We liked the sound of it and when we looked up Muses in the dictionary we read: ‘any goddess presiding over a particular art.’ So the two of us thought: Goddesses? OK!"

Hill and Weisserman began working together on a production at Oakland Community College Orchard Ridge. They quickly discovered they shared similar aesthetic values, and could speak in shorthand when it came to making artistic decisions. At Two Muses Theatre, they balance each others’ strengths, with Hill directing and acting, and Weisserman designing and acting. They collaboratively produce the shows.

The Theatre Space: Hill calls the Barnes & Noble stage a “hidden gem.” It’s located at 6800 Orchard Lake Road in West Bloomfield in an internal theatre that holds approximately 140 seats. It’s located behind those black "emergency" doors next to the Starbucks Cafe. Hill says: “In the lobby of the theatre, we display the work of local artists, and theatre patrons can browse the bookstore before the show and during the intermission. It's a very pleasant theatre experience here.”

The Mission: Additionally, the mission to promote women also involves a commitment to family. Two Muses Theatre intends to present live theatre performances for children. “We would like to encourage the love of theatre from early childhood,” says Hill. “We will also conduct a benefit performance each year from which the Theatre will donate all proceeds to an at?risk women’s or children’s charitable organization.”

Aaron Alpern and Diane Hill

Aaron Alpern and Diane Hill