"Slick, exciting, emotionally trenchant - well done all around." - Ty Burr, Boston Globe

Academy Award Winner: Best Foreign Film. The true story of the largest counterfeiting operation in history, set up by the Nazis in 1936. Salomon "Sally" Sorowitsch is the king of counterfeiters. He lives a mischievous life of cards, booze, and women in Berlin during the Nazi-era. Suddenly his luck runs dry when he's arrested by Superintendent Friedrich Herzog and immediately thrown into a concentration camp. Hand-picked for his unique skill, Salomon and a group of professionals are forced to produce fake foreign currency under the program Operation Berhard. Faced with a moral dilemma, Salomon must decide whether his actions, which could prolong the war and risk the lives of fellow prisoners, are ultimately the right ones. Rated R. 98 minutes. German with subtitles.

Official Website      Trailer

"Irresistibly joyous." - John Anderson, Variety

Prepare to be entertained by the inspiring individuals of YOUNG@HEART, a New England senior citizens chorus that has delighted audiences worldwide with their covers of songs by everyone from The Clash to Coldplay. As Stephen Walker's documentary begins, the retirees, led by their strict musical director, are rehearsing their new show, struggling with a discordant Sonic Youth number and giving new meaning to James Brown's "I Feel Good." What ultimately emerges is a funny and unexpectedly moving testament to friendship, creative inspiration, and reaching beyond expectations. Rated PG. 110 minutes.

Official Website      Trailer

"You don't watch this movie, you live it."
- Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Based on the memoir, Touching From A Distance, by Deborah Curtis, Anton Corbijn's CONTROL is as near perfect a filmic telling of the story of Joy Division and Ian Curtis as any fan could hope for. It's also a beautifully rendered piece of cinema about the crippling effects of love and regret, and the salvation we seek in art. Born out of England's post-Sex Pistols punk explosion, Joy Division played a dark, minimalist version of the nascent sound, and became cult heroes thanks in part to their brilliant yet disturbed frontman Ian Curtis (played by an eerily perfect Sam Riley). Rated R. 121 minutes.

Official Website      Trailer

CANCELLED - Jimmy Scott and the Jazz Expressions
Presented by The Ark and the Michigan Theater

Part of the Bright Moments Jazz Series

Friday, May 9 at 8:00 at The Ark.

May 8, 2008 - This concert at the Ark has been canceled indefinitely. Jimmy Scott suffered a hip injury on the evening of May 7th and has been hospitalized near his home in Nevada. The injury is not life threatening. We are working with Mr. Scott's management and the Ark to reschedule the date, possibly in the fall, but no firm information is expected until his condition stabilizes.

Ticket holders for this show have two options:
1. Hold on to your tickets and stay abreast of developments via the Michigan Theater website and the Ark website
2. Refunds will be issued at point of purchase.

We apologize for any inconvenience.

"The most unjustly ignored American singer of the 20th century." - The New York Times

Soulful jazz singer Jimmy Scott, originally billed as "Little Jimmy," was born in Cleveland in 1925 and has had a roller-coaster career with more setbacks than triumphs. A genetic condition kept him from developing a full-sized adult body, and gave him the soaring falsetto that marks his memorable singing. He has performed with many fellow musical greats, including Ray Charles, who recorded Scott on his own label, and Lionel Hampton (who discovered him). He has also worked with pop and rock artists such as Lou Reed and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Absolutely no one sounds like Jimmy Scott. His penetrating, almost feminine tenor, with its wide vibrato and behind-the-beat phrasing, absorbs every nuance of a lyric. It will be Scott’s first area appearance since the 1997 Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival, when he performed four sold-out concerts at the Bird of Paradise in its former home on Ashley Street.

Flight of the Conchords with Arj Barker
Presented by Live Nation

Saturday, May 10 at 8:00

Straight from HBO to the stage, Flight of the Conchords comes to the Michigan Theater for one of only 11 stops on their U.S. Tour! Flight of the Conchords is a Grammy® Award-winning folk, pop, and comedy band composed of Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. Billing themselves as "New Zealand's fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo," the group uses a combination of witty observation, characterization and acoustic guitars to work the audience. They gained a U.S. following after their HBO television series, also called Flight of the Conchords, premiered in 2007. Named Best Alternative Comedy Act at the 2005 US Comedy Arts Festival and Best Newcomer at the Melbourne Comedy Festival, the duo's live performances have gained them a worldwide cult following. They follow the release of their six-track Grammy® Award-winning album The Distant Future with their full-length album debut, Flight of the Conchords, which pays homage to Pet Shop Boys, censorship, Marvin Gaye, sexism, Shabba Ranks, and backhanded compliments.

The Neverending Story

Presented by the Pfizer Family-Friendly Film Series.

Sunday, May 11 at 1:30. Admission is FREE for kids 12 and under!

In this charming fantasy, Bastian (Barrett Oliver), a lonely schoolboy alienated from his father and bullied by his classmates, retreats to an attic where he becomes engrossed in a book entitled THE NEVERENDING STORY. It is the tale of a magical kingdom appropriately named Fantasia, since it is a world born of human fantasies. However, as humanity loses faith in the power of imagination, the once-thriving Fantasia is being destroyed by great storms of Nothingness. Dangerously ill herself, Fantasia's youthful empress sends the young warrior Atreju (Noah Hathaway) on a quest to find a cure for the kingdom. After encountering flying dragons, swamp monsters and a vast assortment of other strange creatures, the young hero discovers that only a human boy can save Fantasia, at which point Bastian is drawn, literally, into the pages of the story. 1984. Rated PG. 94 minutes.

The Lenore Marwil Jewish Film Festival
Presented by The Jewish Community Center of Washtenaw County

Sunday, May 11 through Thursday, May 15

Established with a generous endowment from Milton Marwil in memory of his wife, Lenore, the film festival (now in its 10th year) provides the community with exclusive cinema selected from the world's best contemporary films on Jewish themes. It is designed to enhance a strong sense of community and inclusion for a broad range of audience members, both Jewish and non-Jewish. Ticket information and full descriptions of the films are available on the festival website.

The Life Before Her Eyes
Presented by The Ann Arbor Book Festival and the Michigan Theater.

Friday, May 16 at 8:00.

The Ann Arbor Book Festival and the Michigan Theater present a special presentation of THE LIFE BEFORE HER EYES, the newly-released film based on the book of the same name by local author Laura Kasischke, who will be present at the screening. Uma Thurman and Evan Rachel Wood star in the film about suburban wife and mother who begins to question her seemingly perfect life and perhaps her sanity on the 15th anniversary of a tragic high school shooting that took the life of her best friend. The event will feature the author in conversation about the book-to-film process. For more information, visit aabookfestival.org.

"Thurman does her best work in years." - Graham Fuller, Vanity Fair

Starring Academy Award-nominee Uma Thurman and Evan Rachel Wood, The Life Before Her Eyes is an intense and visually evocative drama about the loss of youth, investigating how a single moment in time can define an entire life. Based on Laura Kasischke’s visionary novel, the story hinges on a pivotal confrontation: two high school girls held captive by a gunman and forced to make the terrifying choice as to who will live and who will die. Rated R. 90 minutes.

Official Website      Trailer

Dr. James Nissen conducts the Ann Arbor Concert Band in a musical tribute to “The Impossible Dream.” Young Artist Scholarship Competition winner Ashley Harris, an 11th grader at Churchill High School in Livonia, will perform the first movement of Mozart's "Concerto No. 2 in D Major" for flute accompanied by an ensemble of band members. The program also includes “Man of La Mancha,” a selection for band by Frank Erickson, the “Romantic” Third Movement from Symphony No. 2 by Howard Hanson, “Ye Banks and Braes O’Bonnie Doon,” a Scottish folk song by Percy Aldridge Grainger; Aaron Copland’s “An Outdoor Overture,” and the lively “Colossus of Columbia March” by R. Alexander. Sing and whistle along to the “Cheerio” march by Edwin Franko Goldman, drift away, and imagine you’re with on vacation at a seaside resort in Rhode Island as the band plays “Rocky Point Holiday,” by Ron Nelson. Visit aaband.org for more information, or call (734) 434-7876.

Temple Beth Emeth presents Kol Halev & Shir Chadash "Songs of Israel at her 60th" with the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra. This event is part of the Ann Arbor Jewish Community’s celebration of Israel’s 60th Anniversary.

Journalist Cokie Roberts will discuss her new book, "Ladies of Liberty: Women Who Shaped Our Nation," which continues the story of early America's influential women who helped shape the United States during it’s early stages, and chronicles their various public roles and private responsibilities. Roberts has covered Congress, politics and public policy for the past 15 years at ABC News. In addition to her responsibilities at ABC, Roberts serves as senior news analyst for National Public Radio, where she was the congressional correspondent for more than 10 years. Books will be on sale at the event courtesy of Borders and a booksigning will follow. For additional information, please visit aadl.org.

"A funny and touching story." - Rex Reed, New York Observer

Adapted from Elinor Lipman's novel of the same name, Helen Hunt makes her feature directing debut with this touching story of schoolteacher April Epner (Hunt) and her very unlikely path towards personal fulfillment. Following the separation from her husband (Matthew Broderick) and the death of her adopted mother, April is contacted by her apparent birth mother (Bette Midler), who turns out to be local talk show host Bernice Graves. As Bernice tries to become the mother to April that she was never able to be, April seems to find solace in the arms of the parent of one of her students (Colin Firth), only to find that the mystery to life's questions cannot be solved by a simple revelation. Rated R. 100 minutes.

Official Website      Trailer

Field of Dreams

Part of the Memorial Day Baseball Doubleheader.
Presented as part of our 80th Anniversary celebration

Monday, May 26 at 1:30. Veterans and enlisted military personnel admitted FREE!
Cracker Jacks, popcorn and baseball-themed organ concerts!

Kevin Costner plays a former Sixties idealist who runs a farm in Iowa with his wife and young daughter. After hearing a mysterious, heavenly voice one day, Costner turns one of his cornfields into a baseball diamond. Of course, everyone thinks he's crazy, but in time "Shoeless" Joe Jackson and other ghostly outcasts, who had previously languished in a sort of baseball purgatory, show up to play the game they still love. Soon men from all over the country join them at this baseball shrine, some just to play with the greats, others to mend the broken relationships they had with their fathers -- But all are trying to get back in touch with simpler times through the purity of America's grandest game. James Earl Jones also stars. 1989. Rated PG. 106 minutes. Advance tickets available at ticketweb.com.

It Happens Every Spring

Part of the Memorial Day Baseball Doubleheader.
Presented as part of our 80th Anniversary celebration

Monday, May 26 at 4:00. Veterans and enlisted military personnel admitted FREE!
Cracker Jacks, popcorn and baseball-themed organ concerts!

It Happens Every Spring premiered at the Michigan Theater in 1949 as a "First Ever Authors Premiere." The writer and screenwriter was Valentine Davies, a University of Michigan graduate, who was the head of the Screenwriters Guild for many years and also served as the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

A chemistry professor's boyhood dream comes true when he invents a substance that repels wood. When Vernon Simpson applies his magic formula to a baseball, no batter stands a chance of hitting it! With his new discovery, he tries out for the major leagues, and ends up as the St. Louis Cardinals' winning pitcher in the World Series. But Vernon also learns that an athlete's life is not all it's cracked up to be. Ray Milland, Paul Douglas and Ed Begley. 1949. Rated NR. 87 minutes. Advance tickets available at ticketweb.com.

"Bright and witty." - Robert Koehler, Variety

A runaway audience smash at the Sundance Film Festival! A hilariously fresh and visually inventive take on friendship, family, film heroes and the death-defying adventures of growing up in the video age. It all begins in 1980s Britain, when young Will Proudfoot, raised in isolation among The Brethren, a puritanical religious sect in which music and TV are strictly forbidden, encounters something beyond his wildest fantasies: a pirated copy of Rambo: First Blood. His virgin viewing of the iconic thriller blows his mind – and rapidly expanding imagination – wide open. Rated PG-13. 96 minutes.

Official Website      Trailer

John Sebastian & Roger McGuinn
Presented by The Ark

Part of the Legends of Rock and Roll Series

Friday, August 8 at 8:00

John Sebastian and Roger McGuinn, best known for the influential bands they played with in the 1960s, will perform together as part of our Legends of Rock & Roll series. John Sebastian has had a varied career as a singer, songwriter, and musician. As the leader of the folk-rock band the Lovin' Spoonful, he was responsible for a string of Top Ten hits in 1965-1967 that included the chart-toppers "Daydream" and "Summer in the City," and he returned to number one in 1976 as a solo artist with "Welcome Back." The Lovin' Spoonful was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. As the frontman of the Byrds, Roger McGuinn and his trademark 12-string Rickenbacker guitar pioneered folk-rock and, by extension, country-rock, influencing everyone from contemporaries like the Beatles to acolytes like Tom Petty and R.E.M. in the process. With a career that includes hits like “Mr. Tambourine Man,” “Turn, Turn, Turn,” and “Eight Miles High,” it's easy to see why the Byrds were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.