The Barn Theatre School — Attraction in Charleston Township

A STAR IS BORN in MY FAIR LADY I have seen real transformation in HANNAH EAKIN singing Eliza Doolittle in a single moment that brings tears to your eyes and an audience to its feet. If you are on the way from nowhere on the road to somewhere (or between Chicago and NYC going either way) this week you must stop by the BARN THEATRE in Augusta, Michigan, between Kalamazoo and Battle Creek.

I have attended fifteen years of Barn productions (not to mention thousands of others) and while always fun, good, talented, brilliant, as Eakin’s performances always are, MY FAIR LADY here is incomparable. I have never felt compelled to write things like this: THIS WEEK Eliza Doolittle transforms from a gutter snipe into a genuine lady and Eakin transforms with her into a star. Skillful, controlled, incomparable, her singing of “I could have danced all night” is indeed transformational, a kind of apotheosis! EAKIN with the slender swan-neck and noble silhouette of an Audrey Hepburn achieving perfect annunciation—even if she just swallowed a marble doing it—and with the demeanor and voice of a Julie Andrews at her perfect form, transforms herself and the whole Barn and brings us with her. A star is born and all the cast brings the transformation to fruition.

The Barnies and the Ragotzy family turn a country barn into as lively and skillful as any theatre anywhere. They are always hard working, always talented, always a joy. And omg, ERIC PARKER as Professor Higgins and RICHARD MARLATT as Colonel Pickering, and (wow) the man of many disguises JOHN JAY ESPINO as Alfred Doolittle show off how truly foundational and multifaceted their parts are and how talented they are at bringing it out—. That along with CHARLIE KING whose hair alone (much less his superb characterization of Karpathy) makes him brilliant and delightful, and MYCHELLE HOPKINS, IRIS LIEBERMAN and PENELOPE ALEX—just simply unmatchable. If you have never seen the Barn in action, this is the time—come see talented Barnies like DAKOTA MORENO and MICHELLE HOPKINS and WILL NYSSE and SAM HOPPER (who sings one of the best songs of all time “On the Street Where You live”). Along with all the cast and crew of excited and exciting Barnies, this is the street where theatre lives. And truly great actors are born.

Again, I have written nothing like this before (coming from disciplines of self-restraint)—or you could say this is just bias. Don’t miss this birth. And the rebirth of...

This venue is adorable. There probably isn't a bad seat in the house because it is small enough that I think even the very back gets a good view. The idea of having a theatre in an old barn is awesome and it turns out barns are remarkably well-suited for the task.

We saw Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street a couple weeks ago. The sound was great, the lighting was great, the cast members were great. It was an all-around good experience and well worth the cost of tickets. Though we both had work the next morning and couldn't stay -- they do have a burlesque show next door in a bar after shows that they mentioned before the show began.

My only complaints are that the seats weren't particularly comfortable for any length of time and there was a bit of a musty smell. Our play was over 2 hours and, even with an intermission, I was sore. I noticed many of the more seasoned theatre goers had brought cushions and the like with them to sit on. It might just be time to update those seats instead of having the crowd split between sore and lugging their own...

Our whole family LOVES The Barn Theatre (TBT)! We've been enjoying Barn productions for a long time. We may get older, but TBT keeps staying fresh. Every year, they hire and train some of the sharpest young apprentices from around the country - led by enormously talented veterans. Each summer stock season includes a variety of shows: newer musicals (e.g. Mystic Pizza, Rock of Ages, Margaritaville), classic musicals (e.g. Oklahoma, Anything Goes), comedies (e.g. Clue, The Play that Goes Wrong), plus some original productions or ones with a local theme (e.g. The Gift, Escanaba in da Moonlight). The singing, dancing, and acting are all excellent, but it's the incredible onstage ENERGY that continues to amaze. Also, after each mainstage production, they put on an optional (but highly recommended) cabaret show in their Rehearsal Shed Lounge - that is more than worth the minimal cover charge (and they have...