Summer Stages: BWW's Top Summer Theatre Picks - Michigan

With so much to choose from in Michigan theatre this summer, BWW's Cassandra Sandros lists her top picks:

Michigan Shakespeare Festival

In their 20th Anniversary season, the Michigan Shakespeare Festival of Jackson, Michigan, presents Shakespeare's Hamlet and Cymbeline, along with the Oscar Wilde comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest. With something for every taste, Hamlet is the tragedy of a young prince of Denmark who seeks revenge against his murderous uncle, Cymbeline follows the romance between a princess and her lowborn lover, and The Importance of Being Earnest is a raucous comedy of mistaken identities. Running July 17 - August 17, 2014 at the Michael Baughman Theatre of Jackson Community College. For more information, visit http://www.michiganshakespearefestival.com/

Circle Theatre of Grand Rapids

Winner of three Tony Awards, including "Best Musical", Monty Python's Spamalot is a musical loosely adapted from 1975's Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Irreverently mocking the tale of King Arthur and his knights of the round table as well as pop culture and other Broadway musicals, Spamalot will run August 7-23 at the Performing Arts Center of Aquinas College. For more information, visit http://circletheatre.org/

Meadow Brook Theatre

A Michigan premier, and based on the play By Candlelight by Geyer, Frakas and Katscher, and adapted by Rowland Leigh, Cole Porter's You Never Know features the music of Cole Porter set against the backdrop of 1920's Paris in a comedy of mistaken identities. Running May 28 - June 22 at Meadow Brook Theatre in Rochester Hills. For more information, visit http://www.mbtheatre.org/

Stagecrafters of Royal Oak

Click your heels together three times and follow the yellow brick road to see The Wizard of Oz at Stagecrafters. Adapted from the classic film, this family-friendly musical will whisk you away to Oz for an evening of music and magic. Running June 6-22 at The Baldwin Theatre in Royal Oak. For more information, visit http://www.stagecrafters.org/

The Purple Rose Theatre Company

In this heart-warming romantic comedy, The Last Romance, a widower named Ralph takes a different path on his daily walk, leading him to an unexpected second chance at love. The Purple Rose is an AEA professional theatre, founded by Michigan's own Jeff Daniels. Running June 12 - August 30 at The Purple Rose, in Chelsea. For more information, visit http://www.purplerosetheatre.org/

Pigeon Creek Shakespeare Company

Reprising their roles from the 2012 production of Pigeon Creek Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, the cross-gendered/multi-part cast will be performing Shakespeare's most famous play in The Rose Theatre at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Twin Lakes. Modeled after the Globe Theater in London, The Rose is one of America's few Elizabethan theaters and will give viewers a more authentic view of how Shakespeare was performed in his own time. Running August 24, for a one-time-only show. Visit http://www.bluelake.org/ or http://www.pcshakespeare.com/ for more information.

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