The Purple Rose Theatre Company is a 501(c) non-profit regional theater located in Chelsea, Michigan. It was founded in 1991 by actor and playwright Jeff Daniels. Its name comes from the 1985 film The Purple Rose of Cairo, which starred Daniels and for which he earned his first Golden Globe nomination.
History In the early 1900s, Jeff Daniels's grandfather owned the building that would one day become the Purple Rose as a car and bus garage. Other business in the same building included a gas station, pizza parlor, and vegetable stand. In 1989, the building was renovated by Daniels to be donated to the Purple Rose.
The building is in the historic district of downtown Chelsea. The lobby features 1930's décor – including marbled glass chandeliers and an art deco box office. In 2018, the lobby (including its bathrooms) was renovated including updated carpeting, new bathrooms, and white walls with purple accents.
The Purple Rose produces four shows a year. In 2017, the Purple Rose produced its 100th production with the revival of Vino Veritas by Michigan playwright David MacGregor.
Performance space In 1999, a capital campaign worth $2.2 million was launched with the aim to expand the building including the stage, lobby, and administrative spaces. During renovations, the building closed for a year and a half to reopen in January, 2001. The mortgage for the building was paid off in March, 2004.
The renovated stage space is a ¾ thrust with 168 seats with each seat five rows back or less.
In 2017, a two-phase roof renovation project was completed that raised the roof in the backstage area to accommodate more ceiling space above the stage – approximately 1,000 square feet. The project was completed with the help of the Michigan Arts and Culture Council.
Notable artists Guy Sanville was artistic director for over 20 years. In those years, Sanville directed over 60 productions, and performed in 12 – including The Tropical Pickle, A Stone Carver and The Odd Couple as Oscar. Sanville resigned in 2021.
Bart Bauer, one of the founding members of the theatre, has designed over 35 sets for the Purple Rose including the Sherlock Holmes world premieres and Annapurna.
Television stars and brothers Matt & Brian Letscher both got both their acting and playwriting starts at the Purple Rose.
Carey Crim is a Michigan playwright with 5 world-premieres produced at the Purple Rose. Crim, daughter of Detroit broadcast journalist Mort Crim, started at the Purple Rose as an actor. Most recently, she had her plays Morning After Grace and Never Not Once appear on the Purple Rose stage. Morning After Grace has since had runs at Royal Manitoba Theatre Company, Asolo Rep, and Shakespeare and Co.
David MacGregor is another Michigan playwright with 6 productions at the Purple Rose. MacGregor is in the process of creating a trilogy of plays about Sherlock Holmes. The first play involves Vincent Van Gogh and Oscar Wilde, and the second involves Auguste Escoffier and Prince Albert Edward.
Emergency! TV star Randolph Mantooth has performed in two productions at the Purple Rose: Superior Donuts by Tracy Letts & the world premiere Morning After Grace by Carey Crim.
Productions World premiereMidwest premiereRevival SeasonFallWinterSpringSummerNotes1991–'92Blush at Nothing by Lisa A. WingShoe Man by Jeff DanielsKuru by Josh C. ManheimerFirst performance - February 7, 1991'92-'93Ties that Bind by Kitty S. DubinMore Fun than Bowling by Steven DietzThe Tropical Pickle by Jeff DanielsNo performances April 13-July 6'92–'93Possessed: The Dracula Musical by Robert Marasco, music by Jason Darrow & Carter CathcartNecessities by Velina Hasu HoustonNational Anthems by Dennis McIntyreNooner by Kim Carney'93–'94The Vast Difference by Jeff DanielsTwo Sisters by T. E. WilliamsKeely & Du by Jane MartinStanton's Garage by Joan Ackermann'94–'95Thy Kingdom's Coming by Jeff DanielsOnly Me and You by Kim CarneyHang the Moon by Suzanne BurrWeekend Comedy by Jeanne and Sam Bobrick5th Season'95–'96Escanaba in Da Moonlight* by Jeff DanielsBeast on the Moon by Richard KalinoskiSpring Comedy Festival: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Lust A collection of short plays by Anthony Caselli, Jeff Daniels, Randall Godwin, Jeffry Herman, Dennis North, Rich Orloff, and Suzi ReganThe Harmony Codes by Michael Grady*1st in Escanaba Trilogy'96–'97Apartment 3A by Jeff DanielsLabor Day by Kim CarneyHot l Baltimore by Lanford WilsonOff the Map by Joan Ackermann'97–'98Escanaba in Da Moonlight by Jeff DanielsJulie Johnson by Wendy HammondBook of Days by Lanford WilsonMarcus is Walking by Joan Ackermann'98–'99Boom Town by Jeff DanielsThe Hole by Wendy HammondThe Big Slam by Bill CorbettCriminal Genius by George F. WalkerRenovations closed the theatre from Aug. 28, 1999 - Jan. 10, 20012001Rain Dance by Lanford WilsonOrphan Train: An American Melodrama by Dennis E. NorthCompleting Dahlia by Annie Martin10th Season'01–'02Guys on Ice by Fred Alley (Book and Lyrics) & James Kaplan (Music)Months on End by Craig PospisilBorn Yesterday by Garson KaninLet it Be by Dennis E. North'02–'03Across the Way by Jeff DanielsStand by Toni Press-CoffmanHope for Corky by Randall GodwinBlithe Spirit by Noël Coward'03–'04The Good Doctor by Neil SimonLeaving Iowa by Tim Clue & Spike MantonThe Underpants by Carl Sternheim
Adapted by Steve MartinDuck Hunter Shoots Angel by Mitch Albom'04–'05The Mystery of Irma Vep by Charles LudlamNorma and Wanda by Jeff DanielsBus Stop by William IngeAnd the Winner Is... by Mitch Albom'05–'06The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee WilliamsGuest Artist by Jeff DanielsThe Late Great Henry Boyle by David MacGregorHonus and Me by Steven Dietz15th Season'06–'07Escanaba in Love* by Jeff DanielsThe Subject was Roses by Frank D. GilroyWhen the Lights Come On by Brian LetscherSea of Fools by Matt Letscher*2nd in Escanaba Trilogy'07–'08The Poetry of Pizza by Deborah BrevoortVino Veritas by David MacGregorGrowing Pretty by Carey CrimPanhandle Slim & The Oklahoma Kid A play with music by Jeff Daniels'08–'09Apartment 3A by Jeff DanielsA Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee WilliamsBleeding Red by Michael Brian OgdenWake by Carey Crim'09–'10Escanaba* by Jeff DanielsGravity by David MacGregorOur Town by Thornton WilderBoeing-Boeing by Marc Camoletti, adapted by Beverley Cross & Francis Evans*3rd in Escanaba Trilogy'10–'11Best of Friends by Jeff DanielsCorktown by Michael Brian OgdenSome Couples May... by Carey CrimConsider the Oyster by David MacGregor20th Season'11–'12Escanaba in Da Moonlight by Jeff DanielsA Stone Carver by William MastrosimoneWhite Buffalo by Don ZolidisOn Golden Pond by Ernest Thompson'12–'13Superior Donuts by Tracy LettsThe Meaning of Almost Everything by Jeff Daniels33 Variations by Moisés KaufmanMiles & Ellie by Don Zolidis'13–'14The Vast Difference by Jeff DanielsRedwood Curtain by Lanford WilsonSpring Comedy Festival: Lovers, Liars, and Lunatics A collection of short plays by Carey Crim, Jeff Daniels, Kirsten Knisely, Lauren Knox, David MacGregor, & Craig PospisilThe Last Romance by Joe DiPietro'14–'15Annapurna by Sharr WhiteSteel Magnolias by Robert HarlingTalley's Folly by Lanford Wilson2AZ by Michael Brian Ogden'15–'16Casting Session by Jeff DanielsThe Odd Couple by Neil SimonGaps in the Fossil Record by Matt LetscherMorning's at Seven by Paul Osborn25th Season'16–'17Morning after Grace by Carey CrimSmart Love by Brian LetscherVino Veritas by David MacGregorHarvey by Mary Chase'17–'18God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza
Translated by Christopher HamptonFlint by Jeff DanielsSherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Elusive Ear* by David MacGregorWillow Run by Jeff Duncan Music by Brad Phillips, Ben Daniels, Jeff Daniels, and Angie Kane*1st in Sherlock Trilogy'18–'19Diva Royale by Jeff DanielsNever Not Once by Carey CrimAll My Sons by Arthur MillerWelcome to Paradise by Julie Marino'19–'20Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Fallen Soufflé* by David MacGregorRoadsigns**
by Jeff Daniels
Music by Ben & Jeff DanielsClosed due to COVID-19Closed due to COVID-19*2nd in Sherlock Trilogy
**Closed 3 performances early due to COVID-19.
Notable productions In 1995, Daniels wrote Escanaba in Da Moonlight about a hunting lodge in the Upper Peninsula (The U.P.) of Michigan. This was the first of three plays Daniels wrote about “Yoopers” (residents of the U.P.), the other two being Escanaba in Love in 2006, and Escanaba in 2009.
In 1997 the Purple Rose produced Hot l Baltimore written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Lanford Wilson. This production was the first play of Wilson's performed at the Purple Rose, and one of only two plays directed by Jeff Daniels. Wilson eventually ended up writing Book of Days (1998) and Rain Dance (2000) for the theatre, his final two plays before he died in 2011.
In 2017, the Purple Rose produced Willow Run, a play about Rosie the Riveters who worked at the Willow Run bomber plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan. On August 18, nine original Rosies attended the performance.
Onstage & Unplugged Starting in 2001, Daniels started performing a holiday concert titled “Onstage & Unplugged” where he sings and plays guitar for a limited engagement of shows as a fundraiser for the theatre. Jeff plays original music and sometimes is joined onstage by close musician friends such as Brad Phillips, the Ben Daniels Band, and Brian Vander Ark.
Critical reception and awards In 1994, Detroit News named The Purple Rose “Theatre of the Year”.
In 1998, the American Theatre Critics Association awarded the “Best New Play” award to Book of Days by Lanford Wilson.
The Purple Rose has won three Edgerton Foundation New Play awards – for White Buffalo (2011), Gaps in the Fossil Record (2015), and Willow Run (2017). The award allows theaters to pay artists for a week of rehearsal and workshops.
In February 2013, the Chelsea Area Chamber of Commerce awarded the Purple Rose with the Large Business Leadership Award.
In September 2016, during their 25th anniversary fundraiser, The Senior Senator from Michigan, Debbie Stabenow, presented a commendation to the Purple Rose, applauding its cultural and economic impact in South East Michigan.
Wilde Awards Since 2002, the Wilde Awards have recognized Michigan's professional theatre community. The Purple Rose has won 24 of these Wilde Awards, out of a total of 129 nominations.