“Singing is living to me,” declares Desiree Montes as a deeply inebriated Billie Holiday in one of her final performances in a South Philly club. This is the proclamation we must keep in mind throughout this phenomenal yet bleak performance of Hope Repertory Theatre’s “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill” because otherwise it could merely be an exercise in trauma voyeurism.

Currently on display at Grand Rapids Public Museum now through September 3 are three captivating new exhibits, delving into the intriguing world of the most recent North American Ice Age, highlighting the significance of snow, and offering a thought-provoking exhibition examining the troubling legacy of the Jim Crow era.

It all starts out quietly enough, with a group of musicians killing time before the arrival of Ma Rainey, their singer. They joke a little; they bicker.

The road to The Barn Theatre in Augusta is paved with yellow bricks for a reprise of The Wizard of Oz, a faithful musical adaptation of the beloved 1939 MGM film last produced at the theater in 2006. 

Are you looking for Broadway-caliber performances at a fraction of New York City prices? What about a beautiful outdoor setting to explore and enjoy while listening to eclectic showtunes and beloved standards?

In 2023, arts organizations are largely back on their feet and offering incredible seasons of art, conversations, fun and community involvement.

If ever there were a rock musical fit to be staged in a music venue with a bar, it’s “Rock of Ages”, the hilarious five-time Tony Award nominated 1980s hair metal parody.

Without a stage to call their own, it may seem that Betka-Pope Productions is hidden from the view of Grand Rapids’ wider theater community.

Established in 2018, the biannual Bennett Prize fosters the artistic careers of women figurative artists by providing winners $50,000 and the opportunity to create, over the next two years, a solo exhibition, which afterward tours.

The very best theatre hits you on many levels. Great performances of excellent material that make you laugh, make you feel, make you think, and maybe even make you change are what theatre enthusiasts know is possible—and hope for every time we sit down to see a show.