VISUAL ARTS
Art Hop
May 1
Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo
Art Hop will welcome spring this month with the theme “Play” that celebrates the curiosity that fuels artistic innovation.
This free event in downtown Kalamazoo runs from 5–8 p.m. and features a variety of artists’ works as well as live music and the chance to visit downtown businesses. For a brochure showing Art Hop sites and information about participating artists, visit kalamazooarts.org.
Toru Sugita: Prints
May 1–June 19
Kalamazoo Book Arts Center
Works by Sugita, known for his black and white intaglio and wood engraving prints with strong architectural elements, will be featured at the KBAC’s gallery, 326 W. Michigan Ave.
A reception for the artist will be 5–8 p.m. May 1 at the gallery. For more information, visit kalbookarts.org.
West Michigan Area Show
May 29–Sept. 27
Kalamazoo Institute of Arts
Works by artists from across West Michigan will be featured in this annual juried exhibition that will include paintings, prints and photos to mosaics, ceramics, jewelry, sculpture, and mixed-media works.
The night before the exhibit opens, winners of the $6,000 in awards will be announced at 6 p.m. The show’s juror, Xuxa Rodriguez, curator of Contemporary Art at Duke University’s Nasher Museum, will also present a lecture at noon that day in the KIA auditorium.
The KIA, 314 S. Park St., is open 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.–8 p.m. Thursday and noon–4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $10–$15.
Continuing Exhibitions
Kalamazoo Institute of Arts:
• Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks, through June 7.
• From Cobalt to Indigo: The Power of Blue in East Asia, through July 12.
• 2026 High School Area Show, through May 12.
LITERATURE
Book Releases
May 2 & May 9
Various venues
Two authors will celebrate the release of their latest books this month.
Poet Traci Brimhall will be on hand to celebrate the release of and give a reading from her new book, A Brief History of Falling, at 7 p.m. May 2 at the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center, 326 W. Michigan Ave. Brimhall’s book is a limited edition published by the KBAC. Poet Emily Daniel will also provide a reading of her work at the event.
On May 9, local author and illustrator Emmy Kastner will celebrate the release of her new book, All the Ice Cream in the Land, at 1 p.m. at the Kalamazoo Public Library’s Oshtemo Branch, 7265 W. Main St. The event will feature Kastner giving a reading as well as ice cream-inspired activities and servings of Plainwell Ice Cream.
For more information, visit libguides.kvcc.edu/visitingwriters.
Author Talks
May 28 & 30
Various venues
Best-selling author and spiritual teacher Mark Nepo and Cheryl Neely, author of a 2026 Michigan Notable Book, will give readings this month.
Nepo will discuss his book, The Fifth Season: Creativity in the Second Half of Life, at 5:30 p.m. May 28 at the Kalamazoo Public Library. Nepo has published 27 books, including the New York Times bestseller, The Book of Awakening.
Neely will discuss her book, No Human Involved: The Serial Murder of Black Women and Girls and the Deadly Cost of Police Indifference, at 11 a.m. May 30 at Portage District Library, 300 Library Lane. In the book, Neely, who teaches sociology and criminology courses at Oakland Community College, examines the systematic dehumanization, underreporting and neglect of Black women and girls as victims of violence. Registration on portagelibrary.info is required to attend.
MUSIC
Choral Performances
Throughout the month
Various venues
Several choral groups will perform this month around the area:
Kalamazoo Philharmonia, West Michigan Opera Project and Kalamazoo Children’s Chorus will present a semi-staged production of Giacomo Puccini: La Bohéme at 7 p.m. May 15 in the First Presbyterian Church, 321 W. South St. Tickets are $3–$7 and available at the door. For more information, visit music.kzoo.edu/events.
Poems and different musical styles will be infused in the Kalamazoo Choral Arts’ performance of Love Is (Vol. 9): Considering Matthew Shepard, inspired by the story of Shepard, a young gay man murdered in a hate crime. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. May 19 in the First Congregational Church, 345 W. Michigan Ave. Tickets are $9–$29.50 and available online at kalamazoochoralarts.org.
Blendings Vocal Ensemble will perform songs “of counts, dukes, kings, and queens” in Music Royalty, at 7:30 p.m. May 20 in the Second Reformed Church, 2323 Stadium Drive. Tickets are $10–$20 and can be purchased online at blendings.org.
Finally, the Kalamazoo College Singers will perform a program at 7:30 p.m. May 20 in Stetson Chapel on the Kalamazoo College campus. For more information, visit music.kzoo.edu/events.
Musical Performances
Throughout the month
Crawlspace Theatre
Jazz artists, composers and singers will be featured this month at the Crawlspace Theatre, located in the Kalamazoo Nonprofit Advocacy Coalition building, 315 W. Michigan Ave.
Detroit pianist, vocalist and songwriter Bob Mervak will perform at 7:30 p.m. April 29 and May 1. His April 29 show is part of the Gilmore After Dark series and tickets for that performance are $25. The May 1 performance, titled “Superstar Song Show,” will feature Mervak playing his original songs with improvisers who will act out scenes inspired by music. Tickets are $8–$15.
Two of the Gilmore Jazz Fellows will also perform as part of the Gilmore After Dark series. Saxophonist, composer and bandleader Andrew Rathbun will perform at 10 p.m. May 1 and 2, while drummer Keith Hall will perform at 10 p.m. May 8 and 9. Tickets for these shows are $15.
The Randy Napoleon Octet, featuring jazz guitarist Randy Napoleon, will per-form at 7 and 9 p.m. May 14. Tickets are $10–$25.
The Gilmore Piano Festival
Through May 10
Various venues
There’s something for everyone when largest piano festival in North America returns to Kalamazoo. With more than 75 events, including concerts by world renowned musicians, free concerts for children and a film series, the festival continues to infuse a love for all things piano in the community and beyond.
A full schedule of the concerts events is available online at thegilmore.org.
Stulberg International String Competition
May 15–17
Dalton Center Recital Hall
Audiences can watch as 12 of the top young string musicians in the world compete in Kalamazoo during this annual competition celebrating its 50th year.
The schedule for the festival will be:
• Semifinal performances, 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. May 15, free
• Community master classes, 9 a.m.–noon May 16, free
• Finals, 7:30 p.m. May 16, $10–$25
• Semifinalist master classes, 9 a.m.–noon May 17, free
For more information, visit stulberg.org.edu/music/events.
Seasons
May 16
Kalamazoo Ringers
The handbell choir will perform a program on seven octaves of handbells and six octaves of handchimes in shows at 3 and 7 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church, 212 S. Park St.
Admission is free, but freewill offerings will be accepted. For more information, visit kalamazooringers.org.
90s Throwbacks
May 20
Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra
Boy bands and friends in low places are on the program when KSO musicians play a selection of 1990s pop music at 7 p.m. May 20, at Bell’s Eccentric Cafe, 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave. The show will include songs by TLC, Boys II Men, NSYNC and Garth Brooks.
Tickets are $30 and available online at kalamazoosymphony.com.
Looking Bach: J.S. Bach & the Music of Palestrina
May 30
Early Music Michigan
Giovanni Pierluigi Palestrina, a musician born 500 years ago, and Johann Sebastian Bach’s motets inspired by him, will be the focus of this concert at 3 p.m. First Congregational Church, 345 W. Michigan Ave.
Tickets are on a pay-as-you-will basis and can be purchased online at earlymusicmichigan.org.
THEATER
The Producers
May 1–17
Kalamazoo Civic Theatre
In this musical comedy, a down-on-his-luck Broadway producer and his accountant scheme to produce the most notorious flop in history to hustle their backers out of millions.
Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. May 1–2, 8–9 and 15–16; and 2 p.m. May 3, 10 and 17 at the Civic Auditorium, 329 S. Park St. Tickets are $17–$32 and available online at kazoocivic.com or by calling 343-1313.
Cinderella: The Remix
May 1–9
Face Off Theatre
In a new take on the familiar tale, Cinderella is a DJ who dreams of leaving her stepmother’s basement in a time when hip-hop Hollywood doesn’t allow girls to be DJs.
Show times are 7:30 p.m. May 1–2 and 8–9, and 2 p.m. May 3 in the Carver Center, 426 S. Park St. Tickets are $5–$20 and available online at faceofftheatre.com.
The Adventures of Johnny Forest & Sue McGee: The Dragonfly
May 2
All Ears Theatre
This all-audio theatre production set in 1950s America reveals a criminal element at a county fair’s biplane fly-in event that puts The Dragonfly — a rare plane — in peril.
The free show will be 6 p.m. May 2, Kalamazoo Nonprofit Advocacy Coalition, 315 W. Michigan Ave., allearstheatre.org.
Eleemosynary
May 8–23
New Vic Theatre
Three generations of emotionally disconnected women come together in this play that explores family, communication and the need for connection.
Show times are 8 p.m. May 8–9, 15–16 and 22–23 at the theater, 134 E. Vine St. Tickets are $12–$33.50 and available online at thenewvictheatre.org.
William Wycherly’s The Country Wife
May 14–17
Festival Playhouse
Kalamazoo College thespians will stage an adaptation of the 1675 Restoration comedy that looks at sexual hypocrisy of London society through Harry Horner, a notorious womanizer and Margery Pinchwife, a naive, young newlywed.
Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. May 14–16 and 2 p.m. May 17 in Kalamazoo College’s Balch Playhouse, 129 Thompson St. Tickets are $6–$27 and available online at festivalplayhouse.kzoo.edu.
The Cottage
May 15–31
WMU Theatre
This romantic comedy follows the antics that occur after a woman exposes her affair to both her husband and her lover’s wife, resulting in unraveling more secrets than she intended.
Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. May 15–16, 22–23 and 28–30; and 2 p.m. May 17 and 31 in the York Theatre at Western Michigan University. Tickets are $12–$22 and available by calling 387–6222 or visiting wmich.edu/theatre.
Doctor Voynich & Her Children
May 22–24
Queer Theatre Kalamazoo
This dystopian tale, set in a not-too-distant future where reproductive healthcare and sex education have been outlawed, follows a trans doctor and her apprentice as they travel across the Midwest in their mobile medical clinic.
Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. May 22–23 and 2 p.m. May 24 at the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership, 205 Monroe St. Visit queertk.org ticket information.
Into the Woods
May 28–June 7
Farmers Alley Theatre
Familiar storybook characters set off on a journey to break a witch’s curse, but the consequences of their actions return to haunt them in this Tony Award-winning musical.
Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. May 28–30 and June 4–6, 2 p.m. May 30–31 & June 6–7, Farmers Alley Theatre, 221 Farmers Alley, 343–2727, farmersalleytheatre.com.
COMEDY
Comedy performances
Throughout the month
Crawlspace Comedy Theatre
Those needing a little — or a lot — of levity this month will find a full slate of humor at the theater located at 315 W. Michigan Ave. Scheduled performers are:
• Daddy’s Boys and Rapid Fire, May 2
• Crawlspace Eviction, May 8 and 9
• Blunder Bus and Pop Scholars, May 15
• What Sharp Teeth andOh Hey!, May 16
• We Need A Hero: An Improvised Adventure, May 22
• Bench Back Booth andPiebenga Plumbing, May 23
• The Buttons and Rapid Fire, May 29
• Daddy’s Boys andImprov Trio, 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. May 30
Unless noted otherwise, shows are at 7:30 p.m. at 315 W. Michigan Ave. For more information and tickets, visit crawlspacecomedy.com.
