Local theaters innovate in down economy

When the going gets tough, the tough get... creative. Local theaters, like pretty much everything else, are feeling the pinch. So, to help weather the storm local houses are tweaking their productions a bit and getting a little innovative.

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Corporate sponsorship is down, and season subscriptions are getting harder to sell. For Detroit's professional theater community, that means innovation, extra effort and even creative scheduling are required to keep audiences coming to live shows.

"It seems like now, more than ever, artists are working their butts off to bring audiences something truly amazing," says Joe Plambeck, whose tiny Ringwald Theatre in Ferndale opened in 2007. The Ringwald's third season got off to an early start this weekend with a scaled-down version of the demanding '90s Broadway hit Rent.

Northville's Tipping Point Theatre, which is doing only comedies this season, is getting a jump on fall, too, with A Sleeping Country. The play opened Thursday -- more than two weeks before Labor Day -- partly to attract actors like Sarab Kamoo and Aaron T. Moore before they made commitments to other theater companies.

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