Nov. 4 through Nov. 27, 2022
​
Showtimes are
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8:00 pm,
Sunday at 2:00 pm
​
​
Single Tickets: $22
(Pay-what-you-can tickets available)
​
Friday, Nov. 4 - 8:00 pm
Saturday, Nov. 5 - 8:00 pm
Sunday, Nov. 6 - 2:00 pm
Thursday, Nov. 10 - 8:00 pm
Friday, Nov. 11 - 8:00 pm
Saturday, Nov. 12 - 8:00 pm
Sunday, Nov. 13 - 2:00 pm
Thursday, Nov. 17 - 8:00 pm
Friday, Nov. 18 - 8:00 pm
Saturday, Nov. 19 - 8:00 pm
Sunday, Nov. 20 - 2:00 pm
Friday, Nov. 25 - 8:00 pm
Saturday, Nov. 26 - 8:00 pm
Sunday, Nov. 27 - 2:00 pm
​
​
THEATRE NOVA PRESENTS THE MICHIGAN PREMIERE OF
SANCTUARY CITY
by Martyna Majok
​
B and G are DREAMers/Lovers/High school friends negotiating the broken promise of safety and the weight of responsibility in the so-called sanctuary city of Newark. When B learns that his mother will return to her country of origin, these two young people must fight like hell to establish a place for themselves and each other in America. “I have rarely seen a play that so effectively embodies the way external forces - in this case, immigration policies in the United States - distort the inner lives of actual humans. What love is, and can ever mean, is lost in the muddle between the heart and the law.” - New York Times.
Directed by Carla Milarch. Featuring Marie Muhammad, Jose Martinez-
Chavarria (Spin), and Mike Sandusky (DJ Whittington's Kool Kat: A Hip-Hop Panto, I'm Streaming of an Alright Christmas). The production and design team includes Forrest Hejkal (scenic design), Jeff Alder (lighting design), Marley Boone (costume design), Meme Resnick (sound design), and Briana O’Neal (stage manager/
props).
​
For the health, safety, and well-being of our patrons, staff, and artists, Theatre NOVA's current COVID-19 policy requires patrons to present proof of vaccination and wear masks while in the building. In addition, we currently limit our seating capacity to 70% to allow social distancing. This policy is subject to change anytime, following fluctuating local, state, and federal guidelines. Please check our current COVID-19 policy before your scheduled performance date.
PrideSource
THIS MICHIGAN PLAYWRIGHT HAS SOME IMPORTANT THINGS TO SAY ABOUT RACE, QUEERNESS, GOD, AND TUPAC. HE'S FINALLY SAYING THEM.
​
“I’m so glad that people are having conversations, finally, about the disrespect that the American educational system has for teachers,” Rodriguez says. “I think it’s a long overdue conversation, but it also makes me wonder, OK, and now what are we going to do about that?”
​
What Rodriguez has done, and will continue to do, is pose these questions to live audiences. Reflecting on the process of creating this play, he thought it was “completely unproducible” in 2015. Still, even as conversations about race and identity have become more mainstream, Rodriguez chose not to rewrite the play for a 2022 audience.
​
“It makes me wonder how much is still relevant,” Rodriguez says, “which in some ways that can feel kind of sad, that we’re still having the same conversations that were in my forefront in 2015. But I think it showed that 2020 gave us a lot of pause and reflection to think about these conversations and think about these problems. And now we’re in the phase where we can start to take action on them and start to really delve into that conversation where I think so many more people are invested in it now than 2015 or 2010.”
EncoreMichigan
‘Sanctuary City’ at Theatre NOVA is exceptional and timely
​
“The strength of 'Sanctuary City' is the smallness of the story, which seems to perfectly capture the humanity of people caught in America’s political shit-show over immigration, and Majok’s gift for situational dialogue. When we are present for the showdown among the three players, every word feels natural, steeped with personal pain and desperation. We are, indeed, flies on the wall of superbly written human drama.
Muhammad and Martinez-Chavarria are both extremely good in their depictions and grasp of the characters. Sandusky, too, is exceptional in his stage minutes when he asserts himself as more knowing than the two and his affection for the boy, and apprehension and skepticism about the girl.
Immigration has been at the heart of what has built the country, and it is at the heart of what divides us.
Understanding the differences is what superior storytelling, art and theatre is all about.
”