Filmmakers A.E. Griffin and Michael McCallum may be the hardest working men in Michigan show business. It s impossible to count how many productions they have worked on, both independently and collectively, because they don t stop working long enough to draft a proper curriculum vitae.

Michigan State University s Department of Theatre s production of The Beaux Stratagem is a sweet comedy of errors that reminds one of Brach s Neapolitan Sundaes candies found in the bulk  candy bins. Those colorful coconut-covered chewy candies look and taste good at first, but after a while your taste buds.

Those who saw Michigan State University Theatre Department s Two 9/11 Plays in September may find The Guys to be slow and sedate. In actuality the pieces complement each other well. The MSU plays were fast-paced, chaotic vignettes, which captured the immediate impact on a broad swath of people.

As director James W. Houska said in his welcome last Saturday night, “Conspiracy” is not a show to be enjoyed. It is, however, an important event in history that people should experience and talk about, and Riverwalk Theatre’s production provides that opportunity.

It is interesting that Dowd warms up to the role after doffing the iconic baseball cap, and really hits his stride as Oscar prepares for a double-date with neighbors Gwendolyn and Cecily Pigeon (Charlotte Ruppert and Angela Dill, respectively). As Dowd prances around, slapping on Old Spice and crooning classic love songs, he owns the stage.

In 1990 Aussie band The Church released a single called “Terra Nova Cain,” which sounds like just the remedy needed after enduring Riverwalk Theatre’s production of “Terra Nova.” Despite how that sounds, it is a high compliment. Among the finest productions to grace the stage of Riverwalk’s Black Box since its grand opening.

In its second season, Stormfield Theatre is proving itself to be the little theater that can ' that is, they can produce high-quality shows that so transfix an audience that one easily forgets there is a sports bar to the rear and a Sears across the parking lot.

While not a flameout, Riverwalk Theatre’s production of “Flaming Idiots” is not quite as funny as it could be. In his directorial debut at Riverwalk, Josh Martin displays skill in staging physical comedy, but his direction of dialogue needs work, as this play relies heavily on equally good timing of both.

“The more things change, the more they stay the same” is one of those truisms that is not always true. And it’s probably something that Eppie Lederer said at some time in the 47 years she wrote as columnist Ann Landers. She was known to drop the occasional cliché or bon mot, to be cute and clever and sometimes a wee bit snarky.

Reading the description of Williamston Theatre’s latest production “Eleemoynary” before heading to the theater, you might wonder if the play will leave you bawling over unresolved mommy issues. In retrospect, that would be a far more rewarding outcome than the way “Eleemosynary” does leave you Review feeling: underwhelmed and unaffected.