Tipping Point Theatre’s Season 18 Promises More Than Just Entertainment!
When nostalgia isn’t just a fleeting indulgence but the beating heart of a season, you know something deliberate—and daring—is brewing. Tipping Point Theatre’s Season 18 leans into that powerful emotion, not just indulging it, but interrogating and celebrating it across five bold and eclectic productions.
Thematically, Season 18 is united by nostalgia’s magnetic pull. As the theatre states, “When you hear the theme music from Jaws, do you feel your muscles tense up? … Does the smell of pine and peppermint bring you tidings of comfort and joy?” Those questions aren’t rhetorical—they’re invitations. An invitation to sit with how our memories shape us, comfort us, and sometimes challenge us. Tipping Point isn’t simply offering entertainment—they’re engineering emotional experiences with courageous intent.
The Shark Is Broken: Season Opener
Dates: September 17- October 12
A sweet and savage meta-tribute to Jaws, this Michigan premiere opens the season, uncovering the hilarity behind the scenes of a cinematic legend as the cast grapples with a mechanical shark that doesn’t cooperate. It’s a shrewd opener: a collision of blockbuster tension, nostalgia, and backstage irreverence. As Entertainment Weekly dubbed it: “A wild ride worth taking.” The production smartly primes the audience to expect thoughtful laughter wrapped in cultural commentary.
A Very Northville Christmas
Dates: November 19- December 21
Where Shark twists nostalgia into comedic chaos, this original spoof tenderly lampoons Hallmark holiday tropes—set in none other than Northville itself. By situating the narrative in our actual community, this piece doubles as both affectionate parody and mirror. It says: “We see the charm of the holiday cliché—and we revel in it, because it’s ours.” It’s a moment for the local audience to wink at themselves, to laugh hard, and feel connected.
Broke-ology: Family, Hardship, Hope
Dates: February 11- March 8, 2026
In Kansas City, 2008. Two brothers gathering at their childhood home confront the realities of aging and familial responsibility, embroiled in both painful tension and enduring love. This is nostalgia refracted through realism. No sugar coating, just echoes of memories you wish you could bottle, illuminated by the rawness of all that’s broken. A play like this confirms that nostalgia isn’t always comforting—it can sting. And yet, in those tensions, hope emerges.
Gene & Gilda: Funny Icons, Real Loss
Dates: April 8- May 3, 2026
The Michigan premiere of a play that resurrects two comic legends—Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner. Set in the late ’80s, Wilder’s posthumous interview about his beloved Gilda turns into an intimate remembrance, as she crashes the conversation with vibrant, spectral presence. This is nostalgia elevated to homage, blending laughter, love, and heartache. It’s a gut-punch of joy that reminds us comedy isn’t escapism—it’s testimony.
The Revolutionists: A Riotous Reset
Dates: June 3-28, 2026
Closing the season, Lauren Gunderson’s irreverent comedy transports us to 1793 France, where four audacious women—an assassin, a playwright, a former queen, and a Caribbean spy—gather to change history’s course while daring to keep their heads. It’s not nostalgia in the traditional sense—not warm and fuzzy—but revolutionary nostalgia. A longing for courageous memory, for rewriting a world that didn’t allow them to flourish.
What This Season Signals
At once reflective and provocative, Season 18 at Tipping Point Theatre dares its audiences to embrace both the soft warmth and sharp edges of nostalgia. It doesn’t shy away from complexity. Instead, it leans in.
This programming isn’t passive. It’s combustible. It’s saying: “You think nostalgia is comfortable? Good. Let’s sit with that feeling—for a while. But then let’s challenge it, expand it, humanize it.”
Practical & Forward-Thinking Notes
- Subscriptions are now available, offering up to 24% savings compared to single tickets. If you’re serious about the season’s thematic journey, this is the no-brainer investment.
- Ticket pricing is accessibility structured: previews run $25, while most regular shows cost $47. Discounts are available for seniors, military personnel, and groups, although group discounts don’t apply to previews or opening nights.
Final Thoughts of Tipping Point Theatre’s season 18
Season 18 at Tipping Point Theatre is not content with safe nostalgia—it wants meaningful memories. From the absurd behind-the-scenes of Jaws, to homegrown holiday parody, to intimate grief, to iconic comedy, to revolutionary zeal—the season wrestles with memory in all its jagged, joyous, contradictory forms.
If you’re ready for theatre that doesn’t leave things tidy, that laughs while it wrestles, and that honors the past even as it lights the way forward—grab that subscription. Tipping Point isn’t just staging plays—they’re staging a reckoning with how we remember—and with who we’ll dare to become.
