Northville's Tipping Point Theatre Focuses 5th Season on Comedy

With its fifth season in full swing, The Tipping Point Theatre has plenty to celebrate.

"A fifth year is a big milestone for any arts organization," said James Kuhl, Producing Artistic Director for the theater.

In five short years, the playhouse has become a fixture of Northville's already healthy arts scene. In celebrating its first major milestone -- the first of many, said Kuhl -- Tipping Point Theatre wanted to celebrate with a collection of plays that examine some of life's more memorable moments.

The theater kicked off the 2011 - 2012 season last month, with The Mystery of Irma Vep: A Penny Dreadful.

Its next play, The Importance of Being Earnest, opens November 3rd.

Sam Walton serves as the board Vice President for the Tipping Point. He agreed with Kuhl, saying that five years is a big milestone for any business, let alone an arts orginzation.

Reaching this first milestone means a lot of things to the theater.

"We have established ourselves as the 'must attend' live theater destination in the state over the past years," said Walton. "Five years means that we are now able to apply for certain grants that require a solid track record.  Five years means many, many, many satisfied patrons from our over 1,000 shows."

As the Tipping Point begins to reach toward its next 1,000 shows, theater-goers can expect this season's productions to lean heavy toward the comedic side.

In addition to Irma Vep, Tipping Point will be presenting The Importance of Being Earnest, The Love List, Fiction, and The Cemetery Club.

Four of the five plays -- with the exception of the dramatic Fiction -- are comedies.

"It's definitely centered around comedy," said Kuhl. "I feel that right now, with so much bad news in newspapers and on TV, audiences want a good laugh."