Planet Ant To Premiere THE DETROIT MUSICAL MOVIE

Planet Ant Theatre is set to premiere The Detroit Musical Movie with several showings March 11-13 at Ant Hall in Hamtramck, Mich. The film was created with the help of 18 independent filmmakers with Michigan roots and funded with support from a Michigan Humanities grant. The Detroit Musical Movie, an adaptation of its popular stage production, which presents a comical interpretation of Detroit's history. The world premiere of the resulting feature-length anthology movie will take place on Saturday, March 12. Ticket prices are $10 for general admission.

The Detroit Musical Movie tells the story of the fictional LaMerde family as they live through 320 years in Detroit. Jacques LaMerde arrived with Cadillac in 1701, and his unsung progeny have been fighting the good fight in Detroit ever since. The musical recounts tales of the LaMerde family as they live through some of Detroit's most famous historical moments. The 1805 fire? A LaMerde was there. The birth of the auto industry? A LaMerde was there too. The death of Harry Houdini? You guessed it. A LaMerde was there as well.

The musical was created by Planet Ant stalwarts Shawn Handlon and Mikey Brown. Handlon is an alumnus of The Second City-Detroit. Brown is an award-winning local musician. It was originally staged at Planet Ant's black box theater in 2010, and it has been re-staged three times since, including in 2017 when it was the inaugural production at Ant Hall.

Michigan Humanities is a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Its mission is to inspire us to come together in creative and freely expressed ways to deepen our understanding of ourselves and enrich our communities. The Detroit Musical was one of only three projects in Wayne County selected for funding in 2020.

Preceding the 8 PM premiere on March 12, Planet Ant will host a cocktail hour with hors d'oeuvres. Immediately following the movie, there will be an audience talkback about the movie and the city that inspired it, featuring a panel comprised of host Ryan Patrick Hooper (WDET's Culture Shift) and panelists Shawn Handlon (Co-Creator of The Detroit Musical Movie), Mikey Brown (Co-Creator and composer of The Detroit Musical Movie), and Jeanette Pierce (Founder of City Institute and the Detroit Experience Factory) with additional panelists to be announced.

There will also be a screening of the movie on March 13, which in recent years, has become a celebration of Detroit, called "313 Day", in reference to its famous area code. Additionally, on March 13, at 4 PM, there will be screenings of two short Detroit documentaries by Carrie LeZotte, a Detroit independent filmmaker and graduate film student at Wayne State University. This is a separately ticketed event, costing $10.

For Tickets and more information please visit planetant.com/events/detroitmusicalmovie

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