The Grand Rapids Ballet School Junior Company members, all students between the ages of 10 and 19, have an opportunity to perform limited roles throughout the year in the Grand Rapids Ballet professional shows; however, once a year they present their own performance. It is, in essence, a very sophisticated and demanding recital for developing dancers to push themselves as performers, perhaps before they’re fully fledged artists in their own right.

Danny Gurwin’s tribute to Tony Bennett, Rags to Riches, currently at Farmers Alley Theatre in Kalamazoo, is a sweet love fest. Love for Tony Bennett, love for the music, especially those for which he’s known, and love for friendships that withstand the test of time.

When the lights come up on The New Vic Theatre's new folk musical revue, “Trios," eleven actor singers play stringed instruments and sing "Walk Right in, Sit Right Down," the easily familiar song for those who remember the Rooftop Singers' making it a hit in 1963 as well as those who don't. So much of American folk music is simply part of our collective consciousness because of the ways it has permeated popular culture and music and been handed down through the years from artist to artist.

To close out its “Outsider”-themed season, Kalamazoo College has picked the Pulitzer-nominated, Tony-winning musical In the Heights, conceived by future Hamilton star/creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, with a book by Quiara Alegria Hudes and a score by Miranda.