Why local arts groups need our support

When a festival that only takes place every two years was scheduled to begin at the peak of a pandemic, you don’t just throw it all away.

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Actors’ Theatre retells ‘Paradise Lost’ with a modern edge

Why three local art museums are revisiting their permanent collections this spring

Neil Simon is one of the most prolific and enduring American playwrights, beloved for his nostalgia, humor and witty one-liners, even winning a Pulitzer in 1991 for “Lost in Yonkers,” arguably his finest work. Farmers Alley Theatre chose that finest work as their first foray in Neil Simon material, and it’s a wonder to behold.

In an unpublished chapter of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, candy magnate Willy Wonka leads a group of wide-eyed children into the alarmingly named Pounding and Cutting Room. There, a machine slices fudge into small squares. A wire strainer serves to catch any children who might slip, preventing them from being similarly chopped up. “It always catches them,” he reassures the children. “At least it always has up to now.”

Jumpstart 2020 is an eclectic showcase of world premiere dances created and danced entirely by Grand Rapids Ballet dancers. It offers an eclectic mix of themes, moods, and styles, and the show is a hit among the company’s fans, judging by the spontaneous standing ovations opening night after several of the 10 pieces in this two-hour show.

At the beginning of David Mamet’s fascinating 2009 drama “Race,” a black lawyer poses a bold question to a potential client, a wealthy white man accused of raping a black woman.

The great American writer James Baldwin’s quote “Your crown has been bought and paid for. All you must do is put it on” is interpreted in a biblical light, an acknowledgement of the suffering people of color endure.

West Michigan Symphony showcases cello whiz and African-American composers