Paul Taylor Dance Co.: Dancing In The Streets of Detroit
“Modern is like ballet, only uglier.” ~~Paul Taylor on Modern Dance My college roommate my sophomore year was a dance major. Madonna was, too, at […]
Articles by Mike Wrathell
Opera Review: Tosca Delivers Verve and “Verismo” to Detroit (Thanks, Cincinnati!)
“He had sung Tosca and it had been wonderful.” ~~~Ernest Hemingway from A Farewell to Arms In the course of my somewhat wizened 56 years, I’ve […]
My Voyage to the 2018 NAIAS in Detroit
“It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what […]
Cyborg Triumphant in “The Mother of All Catfights”
LAS VEGAS — Cris Cyborg won a 5-round decision against Holly Holm in UFC 219 before an appreciative, blood-thirsty crowd at T-Mobile Arena, seeing a […]
Opera Review: Mozart’s “Figaro” Flies Thru Detroit!
DETROIT —“The Marriage of Figaro” is said by many to be the best opera of all time, not only in all of Westerndom, but of Global […]
Opera Review: ‘Rigoletto’ Invigorates Detroit, Rigorously
“Blackbird singing in the dead of night….” The Beatles Verlander may be gone; but Verdi is back in town. One of his best operas, with […]
WATCH: Total Solar Eclipse from Sweetwater, Tenn.
AmericaJR’s Mike Wrathell was LIVE in Sweetwater, Tenn. on Monday afternoon to watch the Great American Eclipse. The city is within what’s called the “path […]
Travel Diary: A Passage To Chicago
“Feed your head….” ~~~~Jefferson Airplane I just got back from Chicago. I hadn’t been there since I went and saw an exhibition of Byzantine […]
PREVIEW: Ford Arts, Beats & Eats celebrating 20th anniversary
ROYAL OAK, Mich. — The 20th Annual Arts, Beats & Eats is almost upon us, and is bigger and better than ever. A slew of […]
Review: “Baywatch” Movie is a Risque, Rowdy Romp
I went to an advance screening of the new “Baywatch” movie at the MJR Troy Grand Digital Cinema 16 on Tuesday night and had a […]
U of M: A Friend of Student-Athletes?
“One does nothing who tries to console a despondent person with word. A friend is one who aids with deeds at a critical time when […]
WATCH: 420 Day celebrated in Ann Arbor, Michigan (U of M campus)
AmericaJR’s Mike Wrathell reports from the University of Michigan central campus in Ann Arbor, Mich. 420 day is known as “marijuana culture’s high holiday.” April […]
Opera Review: ‘The Girl of the Golden West’ Hits Detroit
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” ~~~Ben Franklin I’m trying to get myself edumacated. So, when I saw that a relatively […]
The Hidden Language of Modern Dance
Dance is the hidden language of the soul of the body. ~~~Martha Graham Last Saturday night in Detroit was a veritable urban petri dish of […]
The North American International Auto Show of Detroit Must Go On!!!!!
“…the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions — everything, now […]
Election 2016: Trump Rebounds Roaringly in Detroit
DETROIT — The Trumpster delivered a flawless address to the Detroit Economic Club, the media, Secret Service agents with strawberry-shaped lapel pins on their suits, […]
Opera review: Mozart Mows Through Motown
Anyone who’s ever seen the movie about Mozart from the 80’s called Amadeus knows that little Wolfgang was a wild thing as a little boy. […]
Play review: ‘Macbeth’ Strings Up Detroit
DETROIT — I went and saw the opening night of Macbeth at the Detroit Opera House on Saturday. There’s always an excitement in the air […]
Crain’s Detroit Business Awards The Ilitch Clan
DETROIT — Crain’s Detroit Business, a publication spewed out by Crain Communications, a local publishing conglomerate, honored Christopher and Mike Ilitch at MotorCity Casino on […]
Eisenhower Dance Repackages Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” for their 25th Anniversary Show
I took my sister to the Detroit Opera House on Saturday, January 23rd to see a live performance of Igor Stravinsky’s masterpiece “The Rite of […]