A Jeff Daniels play and New York art in Detroit: Theater and art shows to see this weekend

Great live theater and arresting visual art are available all around metro Detroit this weekend as the region finally shakes off the deep frost of the past few weeks. Here are just some of your arts options for this weekend.

An August Wilson classic

Detroit Repertory Theatre (DRT) is running an acclaimed August Wilson play, “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,” through March 24. Set in 1911, a group of strangers share a boarding house as they search for lost ones, love, work, identity and their place in America. Herald Loomis arrives at Seth and Bertha’s house with his young daughter, Zonia, in search of his wife. Resident “conjure man” Bynum shows him that he is really searching for himself. DRT holds performances Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 3 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.

Detroit Repertory Theatre, 13103 Woodrow Wilson St., Detroit. 313-868-1347. www.detroitreptheatre.com. Advance tickets $25, $30 for general same day.

A Noël Coward comedy

The Players Guild of Dearborn presents its closing weekend of the timeless farce “Blithe Spirit,” playing at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and wrapping with a 2:30 p.m. matinee Sunday. Fussy, temperamental novelist Charles finds himself in a supernatural love triangle when a medium’s séance summons the spirit of his first wife, who begins competing with his new wife for his affections. This lighthearted romp has been drawing laughs and raves for nearly a century, with no end in sight.

Players Guild of Dearborn, 21730 Madison, Dearborn. 313-561-8587. www.playersguildofdearborn.com. Tickets $24.

New York art in Detroit

Detroit’s Library Street Collective is exhibiting New York-based artist Natalie Wadlington’s “Pollards” through Feb. 21. Her second solo show with the gallery features a range of work including paintings, drawings and sculpture. “Pollards” refers to trees whose upper branches are routinely pruned, an ancient practice that continues today for various uses. Likewise, the pieces in this show explore moments of growth and pruning, expansion and recoil, and the pollarding of our highest branches as we continue to reach upward and outward.

Library Street Collective, 1274 Library St., Detroit (in The BELT). 313-600-7443. www.lscgallery.com.

Poor Mr. Banks

His jacket is too tight, he can’t get a cocktail, and he’s footing the bill... He’s “Father of the Bride,” in Meadow Brook Theatre’s production of the beloved comedy classic running through Feb. 4. Stanley Banks is just your ordinary suburban dad. He’s the kind of guy who believes that weddings are simple affairs in which two people get married. But when daddy’s little girl announces her engagement, Mr. Banks feels like his life has been turned upside down.

Meadow Brook Theatre, 378 Meadow Brook Rd., Rochester. 248-377-3300. www.mbtheatre.com. Tickets $43.

'La Belle Epoque'

The last to occupy the violin chair in the legendary Beaux Arts Trio, the visionary violinist Daniel Hope makes his first recital appearance at Chamber Music Detroit with pianist Maxim Lando.  Their exquisite program conjures up “La Belle Epoque,” when the beauty of Paris and Vienna dominated music making of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. One performance only: Saturday, Jan. 27, at 8 p.m. in Beverly Hills’ Seligman Performing Arts Center.

Seligman Performing Arts Center, 22305 W. 13 Mile Rd., Beverly Hills. 313-335-3300. www.chambermusicdetroit.org. Tickets start at $30. Digital streaming tickets also available for $12.50.

Weather-delayed artist discussion

On Saturday, Jan. 27, from 3 to 6 p.m., art lovers can convene at Ferndale’s M Contemporary Art to take in an artist talk aligned with a stellar group show, “Interpersonal,” featuring work from Andre Barker, Kaleigh Blevins, Alicia Brown, Cydney Camp, Gregory Johnson, Richard Lewis, Joshua Rainer, Rashaun Rucker, Mieyoshi Ragernoir and Shonobi. The show’s Jan. 12 opening was plagued by awful winter weather, so Saturday’s event is being called a RE-opening reception.

M Contemporary Art, 205 E. 9 Mile Rd., Ferndale. 347-665-7011. www.mcontemporaryart.com.

Extended by popular demand

Written and directed by Jeff Daniels, crowd-pleasing comedy “Diva Royale” was first performed at Chelsea’s Purple Rose Theatre in 2018 and is back in another hit run. The rollicking journey follows three Midwestern, stay-at-home moms whose love for Céline Dion makes them plan a last minute trip to New York City, with disaster and laughs along the way.

Purple Rose Theatre Company, 137 Park St., Chelsea. 734-433-7673. www.purplerosetheatre.org. Tickets start at $30.

Contact Free Press arts and culture reporter Duante Beddingfield at dbeddingfield@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Theater, chamber music and art to see in metro Detroit this weekend