Arts & Culture

  1. George Gershwin’s first musical rediscovered after nearly a century

    Performances by students at U-M’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance mark the first recordings with full orchestration of music from “La, La, Lucille,” George Gershwin’s first complete score, written when he was just 21 years old. The production opened on Broadway in May 1919, toured the Northeast in 1920 and California in 1922, and then was lost to history.

  2. New commission, world premiere: ‘When the Caged Bird Sings’

    Drawing inspiration from the Black church, American composer Nkeiru Oko fuses elements of oratorio, theater, and opera to celebrate the spirit of rising above expectations. Partly in tribute to the activist and poet laureate Maya Angelou, the work celebrates the transformative ability of Black women. Hill Auditorium: Feb 10.

  3. Art or infrastructure? Depends on the climate

    ‘Migration Stage,’ an outdoor installation along Seattle’s Elliot Bay, serves a once-and-future purpose, says artist Buster Simpson, MFA ’69. Its movable ‘kit of parts’ provides a unique place to gather, while it functions as ‘sea armor’ to protect shoreline infrastructure against extreme storms. (Image credit: Joe Freeman Jr.)

  4. MLK Symposium gets underway with best-selling author, legal scholar, and social justice advocate

    U-M’s annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium kicked off Jan. 15 with memorial keynote lecturer Michelle Alexander. The theme of the 2024 symposium is “Transforming the Jangling Discords of Our Nation into a Beautiful Symphony.”

  5. UM-Dearborn alum shines on the Detroit Lions Drumline

    The Lions’ breakout season is making DeAndre Hicks’ first year with the team’s “Honolulu Boom” percussion group a memorable one. Joining the drumline was a lifelong dream for this social media specialist at U-M’s Center for Academic Innovation.

  6. Christmas, Crosby, and ‘the Code’

    Michigan’s William Clements Library — one of the world’s leading archives of U.S. history and Americana — holds a small but fascinating cache of papers of the singer and actor Bing Crosby, including several items linked to the holiday movie classic, ‘White Christmas.’

  7. Braiding an identity from history and challah

    Baker and blogger Marissa Wojcik, BA ’16, combines her love of Jewish family tradition with a streak of culinary curiosity to adapt centuries-old recipes for the modern-day foodie. Pass the Canadian Poutine Challah, and try the Chicago Hot Dog Babka.

  8. The unsinkable Sarah E. Ray

    In 1945, Sarah Elizabeth Ray was denied passage on a ferry on the Detroit River because she was Black. She fought the injustice, became a civil rights activist, and her case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Now, her legacy is being preserved in a collection coming to the Bentley Historical Library.

  9. When ‘Red Emma’ came to town

    In the 1910s, anarchist, writer, and provocateur Emma Goldman, described by J. Edgar Hoover as ‘the most dangerous woman in America,’ paid regular visits to Ann Arbor. She described one rowdy U-M crowd as ‘pampered parasites, not one of them with enough backbone to fight a flea.’