As a lover of community theatre, I'm happy to drive an hour to see a Theatre Nova production! We usually see one show per season (because we spread the wealth among other theatre companies). Theatre Nova shows are done in an intimate setting (50 seats or so) with a small cast (ranging from 1 to maybe 5). Prices are reasonable and there is free parking right outside the theatre venue, which is an old barn! We enjoyed their current production Relativity, which delves into the personal life of Albert Einstein. Superb!! In the last 5 years, we've also enjoyed Kim Carney's Katherine (with only one actress!), Lauren Gunderson's The Revolutionists, The Devil's Music about singer Bessie Smith, and Slipstream's A Night of Stars recounting Tennessee William's life. Theatre Nova is walkable from Main Street so it's easy to park there and walk to dinner, returning for the show. And since resuming productions following a long COVID shutdown, they are employing COVID protocols to keep the audience and the cast safe....vaccination cards checked and masks worn. <Applause>

It saddens me to write this review. Because I am an art lover and a radical supporter of any initiative the empowers local artists to create and present their work in an independent, uncompromising manner. Also, because I have a sweet spot for this cozy stage and what happens there since it was called “The Yellow Barn”. But the truth is that after purchasing tickets online for their current play, one of us arrives 3 mins late, and although I was there on time and had mentioned at will call the name and that I was waiting for my companion, we are informed by the house manager herself (no less!) that one of our tickets has been sold (wtf???), and she can either accommodate us the next day (which doesn’t work for us) or refund “ONE” of the tickets!!! Needless to say that in several decades enjoying live performances in many cities we had NEVER found that the tickets we bought had been sold to someone else, nor presented with such an unsatisfactory (“half-assed” comes to mind!) “solution” to their screwing up. I don’t anticipate we will be coming back. Consider yourself warned!

Taking a slight detour to visit my gf in Ann Arbor rather then drive home to Traverse City from Louisville, we were primed for something a bit out of the ordinary. So our search ended when I found a tiny theatre production of a play, Clutter, by Brian Cox from Detroit. The show had premiered just the day before at NOVA. So we saw a fresh premiered play, with fresh actors who did a marvelous job at the tiny and intimate theatre called NOVA. How great to be just a few feet from the actors! We loved it. And in Ann Arbor, NOVA had its own parking, which is important! It's also just a short walk from many good restaurants! Perfect different date night for us!