MICHIGAN EARNS COLLEGE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP CONVINCINGLY BEATING WASHINGTON!!!
GO BLUE! – The largest theater crowd anywhere in the nation watched the game at the Michigan Theater!
MUSICAL EVENTS COMING TO THE MICHIGAN THEATER
Mandy Patinkin: Live-On-Stage — TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6 AT 7:30 PM AT THE MICHIGAN
Before he was a movie star, ("The Princess Bride," "Yentl," "Ragtime"), Emmy-winning TV star ("Homeland," "Chicago Hope"), and TikTok phenom, Mandy Patinkin was a Tony-winning Broadway legend ("Evita," "Sunday in the Park With George," "The Secret Garden"). He will be live-on-stage at the Michigan Theater in concert for his musical show BEING ALIVE. “Mandy Patinkin is in the business of showstopping,” raves The New Yorker, and that’s exactly what he does in this powerful, passionate evening of song. BEING ALIVE is a collection of many of Mandy’s favorite Broadway and classic American tunes. From Irving Berlin to Stephen Sondheim, from Cole Porter to Harry Chapin, Mandy Patinkin takes you on a dazzling musical journey you’ll never forget.
Gershwin Centennial - 100th Anniversary "Rhapsody in Blue" Concert — SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 11 AT THE MICHIGAN
Michigan will present the original 1924 jazz band version of Rhapsody in Blue at the Michigan Theater, with a U-M jazz ensemble, featuring George Gershwin’s piano as solo instrument. Commissioned by bandleader Paul Whiteman, the work premiered in a concert titled "An Experiment in Modern Music" on February 12, 1924, in Aeolian Hall, New York City. Whiteman's band performed the rhapsody with Gershwin playing the piano. This all-Gershwin program will also feature classic and recently discovered works this seminal American composer.
The celebration will also include these Gershwin scored films:
- "Funny Face" (1957) – Sunday, January 28th at 4 or 5pm
- "An American in Paris" (1951) – Wednesday, February 14th at 7:30 PM
- "Shall We Dance" (1937) – Friday, February 16th at 7:00 PM
OPENING THIS WEEK
"Mean Girls" — OPENS FRIDAY, JANUARY 12 AT THE STATE AND THE MULTIPLEX
A 2024 American musical teen comedy film directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr. in their feature film directorial debut, from a screenplay by Tina Fey. It is based on the Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was based on Mark Waters's 2004 comedy film, both written by Fey and based on Rosalind Wiseman's 2002 book "Queen Bees and Wannabes." It features an ensemble cast that includes Angourie Rice, Reneé Rapp, Auliʻi Cravalho, and Christopher Briney, while Fey and Tim Meadows reprise their roles from the original film.
New student Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) is welcomed into the top of the social food chain by the elite group of popular girls called "The Plastics," ruled by the conniving queen bee Regina George (Reneé Rapp) and her minions Gretchen (Bebe Wood) and Karen (Avantika). However, when Cady makes the major misstep of falling for Regina's ex-boyfriend Aaron Samuels (Christopher Briney), she finds herself prey in Regina's crosshairs. As Cady sets to take down the group's apex predator with the help of her outcast friends Janis (Auli'i Cravalho) and Damian (Jaquel Spivey), she must learn how to stay true to herself while navigating the most cutthroat jungle of all: high school. From directors Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr.
"American Fiction" — OPENS FRIDAY, JANUARY 12 AT THE STATE
A 2023 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Cord Jefferson, in his feature directorial debut. Based on the 2001 novel "Erasure" by Percival Everett, the film follows a frustrated novelist-professor who jokingly writes an outlandishly stereotypical "Black" book out of spite, only for the book to be published and receive widespread fame and acclaim. It stars Jeffrey Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross, Issa Rae, Sterling K. Brown, John Ortiz, Erika Alexander, Leslie Uggams, Adam Brody, and Keith David.
Director Cord Jefferson's hilarious directorial debut, which confronts our culture's obsession with reducing people to outrageous stereotypes. Jeffrey Wright stars as Monk, a frustrated novelist who is fed up with the establishment profiting from "Black" entertainment that relies on tired and offensive tropes. To prove his point, Monk uses a pen name to write an outlandish "Black" book of his own, a book that propels him to the heart of hypocrisy and the madness he claims to disdain.
SPECIAL SCREENINGS DOWNTOWN
"Pulp Fiction" — PLAYS TONIGHT AT 7:30 PM AT THE STATE
Part of the Late Nights at the State series
Celebrating its 30th anniversary! Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) are hitmen with a penchant for philosophical discussions. In this ultra-hip, multi-strand crime movie, their storyline is interwoven with those of their boss, gangster Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames); his actress wife, Mia (Uma Thurman); struggling boxer Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis); master fixer Winston Wolfe (Harvey Keitel) and a nervous pair of armed robbers, "Pumpkin" (Tim Roth) and "Honey Bunny" (Amanda Plummer). From writer/director Quentin Tarantino.
"Quantum Cowboys" — PLAYS FRIDAY, JANUARY 12 AT 7 PM AT THE MICHIGAN
This is an old-fashioned western about two haplessly charming drifters, Frank and Bruno, who team up with Linde, recover her land and trek across 1870s southern Arizona in order to find an elusive frontier musician. But it is also the director’s love letter to Quantum Physics, Animation, Music and Memories. Through a combination of Hugh Everett’s Many Worlds Theory, Erwin Schrödinger's Paradox of Quantum Superposition and Richard Feynman’s Posterior and Anterior Time Wave Theory, the film presents human memory as only comprehensible through art...and each type of art in the film in turn represents its own competing timeline.
Using a vibrant mix of 16mm live action film, paper cut outs, hand drawn animation, oil paintings, 8k video, collages and digital animation, with live musical performances by Neko Case, John Doe, Howe Gelb and Xixa. The wide-open spaces of the southwestern desert are as much a part of the cast as the eclectic performers. And oh, yeah...there’s a lot of gun fights, horses, cacti and time travel. From director Geoff Marslett and starring Lily Gladstone, Kiowa Gordon, David Arquette and more...
"Harold and Maude" — PLAYS FRIDAY, JANUARY 12 AT 9:30 PM AND THURSDAY, JANUARY 18 AT 7:30 PM
Part of the Late Nights at the State series
From writer/director Hal Ashby, this cult classic pairs Bud Cort as a deadpan disillusioned 20-year-old obsessed with suicide and a loveable Ruth Gordon as a fun-loving 80-year-old eccentric. They meet at a funeral, and develop a taboo romantic relationship, in which they explore the tired theme of the meaning of life with a fresh perspective.
"Common Ground" — PLAYS SATURDAY, JANUARY 13 AT 7 PM AT THE MICHIGAN
A hopeful and uplifting story of the pioneers of the “Regenerative Farming Movement” who produce tremendous quantities of nutritionally dense food and are working to balance the climate – all while bringing our entire ecosystem back to life. The film explores how Americans from different walks of life, different political backgrounds, and different parts of the country share one thing in common – the very soil beneath their feet. The film investigates the power of “regenerative” farming systems – from large to small-scale farmers who are the champions of soil health as the key to unlocking more (and healthier) food to feed America and the world. From director Joshua Tickell and Rebecca Harrell Tickell, featuring Laura Dern, Rosario Dawson, Jason Momoa, Woody Harrelson, Ian Somerhalder and Donald Glover.
"The Phantom Carriage" — PLAYS SUNDAY, JANUARY 14 AT 1:30 PM AT THE MICHIGAN
Part of the Films We Love series
Presented with Live Accompaniment from Andrew Rogers on the Barton Organ!
On New Year's Eve, the driver of a ghostly carriage forces a drunken man (Victor Sjöström) to look back at his wasted life. Directed by Victor Sjöström.
"John Lewis: Good Trouble" — PLAYS MONDAY, JANUARY 15 AT 4:45 PM AT THE MICHIGAN (FREE!!!)
Part of the Films We Love series
From director Dawn Porter, the film explores the Georgia representative's 60-plus years of social activism and legislative action on civil rights, voting rights, gun control, health care reform, and immigration.
"Selma" — PLAYS MONDAY, JANUARY 15 AT 7:30 PM AT THE MICHIGAN (FREE!!!)
Part of the Films We Love series
Celebrating its 10th anniversary! Although the Civil Rights Act of 1964 legally desegregated the South, discrimination was still rampant in certain areas, making it very difficult for Blacks to register to vote. In 1965, an Alabama city became the battleground in the fight for suffrage. Despite violent opposition, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) and his followers pressed forward on an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, and their efforts culminated with President Lyndon Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
"Aattam (The Play)" — PLAYS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17 AT 7 PM AT THE MICHIGAN
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2023 Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles.
When the sole actress in an all-male theater troupe claims she was molested at an after-party, the other members convene to discuss whether to expel the accused. But what starts out as a straight-forward decision threatens to fracture the group as doubts, secrets and hidden agendas bubble to the surface.
First-time writer-director Anand Ekarshi developed this chamber drama with actors from his own theater group, constructing a narrative filled with surprising twists and a building to a powerful climax.
CONTINUING DOWNTOWN
From director Yorgos Lanthimos ("The Favourite," 2018) and starring Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo and Willem Dafoe. Brought back to life by an unorthodox scientist, a young woman runs off with a lawyer on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, she grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.
A sports drama based on the #1 New York Times bestselling non-fiction novel written by Daniel James Brown. The film, directed by George Clooney, is about the 1936 University of Washington rowing team that competed for gold at the Summer Olympics in Berlin. This inspirational true story follows a group of underdogs at the height of the Great Depression as they are thrust into the spotlight and take on elite rivals from around the world. Starring Joel Edgerton.
Based on the extraordinary character at the center of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," Roald Dahl’s most iconic children's book and one of the best-selling children's books of all time, "Wonka" tells the wondrous story of how the world's greatest inventor, magician and chocolate-maker became the beloved Willy Wonka we know today. From director Paul King ("Paddington") and starring Timothée Chalamet and Hugh Grant.
Has screenings of both the subtitled and dubbed versions of the film.
A 2023 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Produced by Studio Ghibli, loosely based on the 1937 novel of the same name by Genzaburō Yoshino, but the film has an original story that is not connected to the novel. Described as a "big fantastical film", it follows a boy named Mahito Maki (Soma Santoki) during the Pacific War who discovers an abandoned tower in his new town after his mother's death and enters a fantastical world with a talking grey heron.
Miyazaki announced his retirement in September 2013 but later reversed this decision. Production spanned approximately seven years, facing delays as it navigated challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic and Miyazaki's slowed animation pace. According to producer Toshio Suzuki, this is the most expensive film ever produced in Japan. The screenplay draws heavily from Miyazaki's childhood and explores themes of coming of age and coping with a world marked by conflict and loss. Joe Hisaishi composed the film's score, while Kenshi Yonezu wrote and sang the film's theme song, "Spinning Globe".
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