On June 27th, 2020, Dog Story Theater closed its doors. COVID-19 had pushed the organization, which operated with thin margins at the best of times, past its breaking point. At the time, there was no clarity as to when live theater might resume or when audiences would feel safe returning. “We will feel its loss keenly,” the group announced.

The first thing you may notice when visiting Abdoulaye Conde’s “Raining Wisdom” mural at 45 Ottawa NW, besides its impressive size, is its intriguing use of bold, black lines to separate colors and create an unfolding mosaic pattern.

Amid the sea of musicals adapted from film, some work better than others. And in the case of “Mean Girls”, now on tour at Miller Auditorium in Kalamazoo, based on the cult classic 2004 film written by Tina Fey, the musical in many ways improves upon the film.

It’s the final year for a failing Chicago high school, just one of many that graduates fewer than half their students and is therefore slated for the sledgehammer. Not only do they have 20 computers for 3,000 students, they can’t sufficiently stock the bathrooms with toilet paper.

Given how few and far between women killers have been in history, as a culture we can’t look away when a murderess emerges. We’re fascinated—so much so that an up-close-and-personal story of women who murdered more than 100 years ago is exceptionally gripping.

In an area like West Michigan, where art and nature so oftentimes mingle in harmony, there is still perhaps no place quite like Ox-Bow.

In Grand Rapids Ballet’s season opener, “Contemporary Visions”, “contemporary” refers to the once revolutionary style of dance that offers storytelling through a blend of classical ballet, jazz, lyrical, and modern dance; as well as breath and emotionality with freedom of movement and musicality; but it also speaks to this particular revolutionary cultural moment.

“Trifles”, Susan Glaspell’s 1916 one-act play regarded as a classic piece of first-wave feminist literature, is based on a true story of how two women protected a battered wife who murdered her husband by hiding evidence that otherwise went undetected by police.

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

The original 1974 musical Working is very much of its time. Based on celebrated Chicago radio journalist Studs Terkel’s oral history, it told the individual stories, in their own words, of working class Americans.