“We are thrilled to be bringing back “Ernie” and “Hockey – The Musical!” to our favorite “home” – the City Theatre,” said Mitch Albom. “Audiences have been amazingly responsive to “Ernie” for the last six years, and embraced “Hockey” beyond our expectations last summer. Traversing the warm, moving story of Ernie Harwell and the bawdy, crazy, foot-tapping world of ‘Hockey” represents our best efforts at a broad spectrum of theatrical entertainment. We look forward to welcoming new audiences and familiar “second-time-around” faces this summer.”

Summer Series, Summer Deals

While individual tickets are not yet on sale, a special 25% discount for show goers who wish to see both performances is available now for individuals and groups of 8 or more through Olympia Entertainment Group Sales by calling 313-471-3099.

Groups of 8 or more who wish to see either show may also receive a 20% discount by calling Group Sales.

Ernie’s seventh anniversary season will again feature the doubleheader experience with convenient showtimes to provide fans the ability to watch the play and catch a Tigers game in the same day. To take advantage of the “doubleheader”, patrons must present their Ernie show ticket stub at the Comerica Park Box Office. Fans can receive $5 savings on select seating and at select regular season home games. Game tickets will only be available for pick-up at the Comerica Park Box Office.

An on-sale date for individual tickets for both shows will be announced at a later date.

On the Road

In its sophomore run, Hockey – The Musical! will spend August in Traverse City at the City Opera House, at the Wealthy Theatre in Grand Rapids, and at the Pasant Theatre of the Wharton Center in East Lansing. Tickets are available now at the City Opera House, on February 8th

Ernie is set on Ernie Harwell’s last night at Comerica, when the Hall of Fame broadcaster is about to give a moving thank you to a grateful city. Just before he walks onto the grassy field, he encounters an unusual boy who is eager to know all about him, coaxing Harwell into giving one final broadcast – the “broadcast of his life.”

The play features actual footage from historic baseball moments, supplied courtesy of Major League Baseball, and boasts many unmistakable Harwell calls. Tiger fans will get a glimpse of the time that Ernie met the Great Bambino and Ty Cobb. They’ll witness how he “recreated” games in his early days, and what was behind his broadcasts of the Tigers’ 1968 and 1984 World Series.

Opening night VIP reception: Includes pre-performance reception, meet and greet with award-winning author Mitch Albom, hors d’oeuvres, one complimentary drink and one Tier 1 ticket to the performance. Quantity is limited.

Click here for tickets.

Mitch Albom and Olympia Entertainment are proud to announce a three-week extension of the acclaimed author and playwright’s first musical, Hockey – The Musical!. The new show dates for the extended run (listed below) will run from Thursday, June 23 thru Sunday, July 10 (evening performances Thursday-Sunday with additional matinee performances Saturday & Sunday). The “coolest show of the summer” has received praise from audiences and critics alike.

“… laughed nearly non-stop.”  – MLive

“I suspect that it will be performed in every hockey town in America and Canada.” – Encore Michigan

 “On behalf of the actors, crew and producers, we are so thrilled that “Hockey- The Musical!” has been received so warmly,” said Hockey – The Musical writer and executive producer Mitch Albom. “It’s always good to laugh, and there’s something fittingly funny about an ice hockey musical being popular in the summer.  We’re very grateful to all those who have seen it and given it such good buzz.”

Those looking for a truly special night, or overnight, in The D needn’t look far – a number of local hotels and restaurants are now offering deals and specials to ensure hockey and theatre fans won’t be shorthanded.

Dinner & Show Package (10% off tickets, 10% off dinner)

• Available from: DaEdoardo Foxtown Grille, The Whitney and Harry’s Bar. Harry’s Bar offers shuttle service to and from the City Theatre and should be requested at time of purchase.

Group Discounts for eight or more offer $5 to $10 off tickets.

• Call Olympia Entertainment at 313.471.3099 for details and to purchase Group Tickets and Dinner & Show packages.

Hotel Discount (20% off tickets) Contact: Individual hotel for room and show ticket reservations.

• Available from: Aloft Detroit at the David Whitney, Atheneum Suite Hotel, Best Western-Greenfield Inn, Caesars Windsor, Country Inn & Suites, Courtyard Detroit, Crowne Plaza Detroit, Detroit Marriott @ Ren Cen, Detroit Regency Hotel, DoubleTree by Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn, Detroit Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Hotel St. Regis, Roberts RiverWalk Hotel & Residence, The Dearborn Inn/Marriott, The Edward, The Henry, The Inn on Ferry Street and the Westin Book Cadillac.

NEW PERFORMANCE DATES

• Thursday, June 23:  7:30 p.m.
• Friday, June 24:  8 p.m.
• Saturday, June 25:  2 p.m. & 8 p.m.
• Sunday, June 26:  2 p.m. & 5:30 p.m.
• Thursday, June 30:  7:30 p.m.
• Friday, July 1:  8 p.m.
• Saturday, July 2:  2 p.m. & 8 p.m.
• Sunday, July 3:  2 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.
• Wednesday, July 6:  7:30 p.m.
• Thursday, July 7:  7:30 p.m.
• Friday, July 8:  8:00 p.m.
• Saturday, July 9:  2:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m.
• Sunday, July 10:  2:00 p.m.

Tickets are $39.50 and can be purchased through:

• olympiaentertainment.com
• Fox Theatre and Joe Louis Arena box offices
• Hockeytown Authentics in Troy (no service charge)
• Ticketmaster locations, Ticketmaster.com or phone: (800) 745-3000.

When the Lord decides the world has too many sports, He decides to wipe out one – hockey – to teach mankind a lesson. Only five mismatched fans can try and save their beloved game in this hysterical, raucous, foot-tapping musical with book, original music and lyrics by Mitch Albom.

Hockey the Musical opens May 19th at the City Theatre. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased over the phone at 1-800-745-3000 or online at ticketmaster.com or olympiaentertainment.com.

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For most of my adult life, my mother urged me to have a close relationship with my brother. For much of it, I failed. Or we both did. There were differences. And distance. Too much distance. We actually started our working lives in the same place, New York City — me in music, him in acting and dancing — but while we lived subway stops apart, we were clearly heading in different directions.

His passions drew him to London, then Spain, then Amsterdam and Montreal, where he became an accomplished choreographer and director. Mine brought me all around America and eventually here to Detroit, as a journalist. Over the years, in conversations with my mother, I would hear her say, “Have you talked to Peter?” … “You should call Peter.”

It rarely happened. We saw each other at holidays. Funerals. Weddings. When I got married, Peter and my sister, Cara, performed an hysterical musical tribute to our childhood together. It reminded me of how the three of us used to sing for our family, a little trio of high voices set against a guitar I was learning to play.

But we stopped that a long time ago.

Last year, in the middle of the night, my mother passed away at age 84. Peter and I were the last two kids to see her.

Typically, it was not at the same time.

Brothers brought together

A few months back, I began creating a show, a musical comedy about hockey. I was hoping for some laughs in my life, after the tough emotions of last year. Typically, when I create such things, I shoot an e-mail to my brother and offhandedly mention that, should he be interested, you know, Mom always wanted us to work together, etc. Typically, there is a short “can’t do it” response.

This time, just when I was about to hire a director, I got an unexpected e-mail.

“I hope you’re sitting down …” Peter began. “Because I’m saying yes.”

He flew in from overseas, got set up in downtown Detroit and, for the last five weeks, we have been going to work together, at rehearsal spaces and now the City Theatre, him as director, me as the writer and composer, of “Hockey — The Musical!”

It is probably the furthest thing we ever imagined (he was not much of a sports fan growing up). But it may be the nicest chance fate has provided us.

After years of intermittent communication — a birthday wish, the occasional phone call — we now speak every day. We lean against theater chairs and laugh, we bounce ideas that don’t require us to finish the sentences, we invoke imitations of voices from our old neighborhood.

We don’t have to “catch up” with months of absent memories.

We are making new ones.

Making Mom proud

What is it about siblings working together? Some do it effortlessly. Some never mesh. Some want to kill one another.

I imagine there’s a tinderbox of emotions involved — resentment, childhood jealousies, the like. And in your younger years, these things can seem more important than togetherness.

But as time browns an apple, it also softens the shades of difference between loved ones.

If you’re lucky.

I have been. For the first time in my adult life, I can tell those I work with, “This is my brother.” I can listen to him at work and say, “Oh, that’s a great idea.” I can chuckle with him as we watch flying octopi and songs about penalty boxes and marvel at how he directs dancers to move as if they’re skating down a lake.

And something else. I look like my father. Peter looks like my mother. Sometimes when I watch him, with his glasses down on his nose, studying something, nodding quickly and saying “mmm-hmmm, mmm-hmmm,” it’s like I am watching her all over again.

Maybe that’s why siblings soften over the years. The more family they lose, the more they search for it in the family they have left.

Today, on Mother’s Day, I will meet my brother at the City Theatre, and we will do as Mom always wanted, be alongside one another, as we prepare for an opening next week. I only wish she could see it.

Not the show. The relationship.

Contact Mitch Albom: malbom@freepress.com. Check out the latest updates with his charities, books and events at MitchAlbom.com. Catch “The Mitch Albom Show” 5-7 p.m. weekdays on WJR-AM (760). Follow him on Twitter @mitchalbom. To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/mitch-albom.

Back by popular demand! Returning after last season’s sellout run, Mitch Albom’s hit play brings beloved Hall of Fame broadcaster Ernie Harwell to the stage. “Looong gone,” but never forgotten, Ernie is about to give a moving thank you to grateful Detroit fans. Albom has written a love story of baseball and 20th-century Americana. Ernie witnessed the Depression, World War II, the desegregation of sports – he also called some of the grandest ball game moments. The play features historic baseball footage and unmistakable Harwell calls.

On Opening Night (Wed. August 24th) join us for a pre show VIP meet and greet opportunity with Mitch Albom. A limited number VIP Tickets are available at $70 each. The meet and greet begins at 6:30pm in the Jackson Lounge.

Sponsored by Capital Region Community Foundation; Marketing Resource Group; The Christman Company; and Plante Moran, PLLC. 

Click here to get tickets.

Ernie’s sixth anniversary season will again feature the doubleheader experience with convenient showtimes to provide fans the ability to watch the play and catch a Tigers game in the same day. To take advantage of the “doubleheader”, patrons must present their Ernie show ticket stub at the Comerica Park Box Office. Fans can receive $5 savings on select seating and at select regular season home games. Game tickets will only be available for pick-up at the Comerica Park Box Office.

“Having Ernie return for a 6th season is a testament to the kind of person Ernie was and all that he represented, as well as our loyal audience who returns year after year for this theatrical experience,” said Mitch Albom. “We are honored to once again share Ernie’s life story, and look forward to another great run!”

The show welcomes back local favorite TJ Corbett in his role as ‘The Boy’ along with veteran stage actor Peter Carey in the lead role of ‘Ernie.’ Carey’s uncanny portrayal of Harwell, the broadcasting legend, was hailed during his leading role debut as Ernie in 2014 and again in 2015. Carey was an understudy during the play’s 2011, 2012 and 2013 seasons.

Albom, who was asked by Harwell if he’d consider a play about the announcer’s life, began writing the script after Ernie’s passing in May of 2010. The two-actor play debuted in April 2011 to coincide with the Tigers baseball season and has since become the highest-attended show in the history of the City Theatre; with more than 86,000 patrons in five seasons.

Ernie is set on Harwell’s last night at Comerica Park in September of 2009, prior to his moving thank you speech to his adopted and beloved city of Detroit.  Just before he walks onto the grassy field, he encounters an unusual boy who is eager to know all about him, coaxing Harwell into giving one final broadcast – the “broadcast of his life”.

The play features classic footage from historic baseball moments, supplied courtesy of Major League Baseball, and boasts many unmistakable Harwell calls.  Tigers fans will get a glimpse of the time that Ernie met the Great Bambino and Ty Cobb.  They’ll witness how he “recreated” games in his early days, and what was behind his broadcasts of the Tigers’ 1968 and 1984 World Series.

“Yeah, hi, it’s Lee, I’ve got some issues with the microphones … Yeah, it’s Lee, the house is full and we can’t wait any longer … Hey, it’s Lee, I can’t talk right now, I’m with the Rolling Stones … ”

Some folks are married to their spouses, some are married to their jobs. Lee Rifield was married to the Fox Theatre, the City Theatre and anything and anybody that hit their stages, from “Sesame Street” to Prince. He was of the venues, by the venues, for the venues. I sometimes thought he lived in the rafters.

Born in 1966, Lee spoke like a teenager from that decade. A lot of “Hey, man” and “That’s cool” that made him the perfect guy to book everything from one-man concerts to Paul McCartney extravaganzas.

He handled 200-plus events and 80-plus productions a year, often sleeping just a few hours a night. For a long time, he worked with me on “Ernie,” a show about Tigers broadcasting legend Ernie Harwell. Whenever we sat together during rehearsals, he’d put this bug in my ear. “Do a musical, man … You can do it … We could run it here, man … It’ll be great …”

Eventually, thanks to his endless harangue, I wrote the show he wanted, a musical comedy about hockey, something Lee loved. Last Monday, we were on stage together in an empty City Theatre, planning for the show’s opening.

And the next morning he was dead.

Empty feeling in the auditorium

He died upon arriving at work Tuesday, dropping and falling backward, an apparent massive heart attack just days after his 50th birthday. Death is an abrupt curtain call. Lee’s huge audience of colleagues and loved ones is left alone in the seats now, stunned and heartbroken.

Have you ever known a person who was always in a certain place? And then all of a sudden, he or she is gone? I know of no word for that emptiness, but if silence could talk, that would be its sound.

“He will be missed beyond belief,” said Dana Warg, who technically was Lee’s boss but described himself as part of Lee’s “family on the fifth floor” of the Fox Theatre building. “What he did was stunning. It’ll take three of us to try and fill his shoes.”

Officially, Lee’s title was manager of booking and production for Olympia Entertainment. But those are just words. Lee did everything from bring in the shows, handle lighting, music, sound or labor issues, count the ticket revenue and make sure the artists had everything from perfect acoustics to their favorite bottled water.

He chitchatted with Keith Richards, Aretha Franklin, ushers and backup guitarists. He treated them all the same — with a sly smile, a calm voice, an eye roll, a sway on his back feet and an encouraging piece of advice.

‘I have what I need’

In six years together, I never heard a bad word about him. He loved rock ‘n’ roll, thrived on drama, talked people off the ledge and held things together when they were falling apart.

Apparently, he had a history of that. He grew up in Florida, and when he was 16, his father, a biochemist, died suddenly at 52, also of a massive heart attack. Lee, one of three kids, took care of his younger sister and his fragile mother, eventually saving enough to buy a house that he and his mother shared for many years.

He finally left, coming to Detroit 10 years ago and throwing himself into his work. He never married. His job would have been too jealous.

“I used to say to him, ‘Don’t you want to settle down?’ But he said, ‘Why do I care, I have what I need,’ ” related his sister, Ilyne Barten, who said she lost her best friend with Lee’s passing, a brother who phoned her every day. “He loved his job. He loved me. And he loved my two kids. If you go to his office, that’s the first thing you’ll see, photos of them.”

But there’s no more going to his office, asking about ticket sales or electrical outlets or where a speaker is hidden. Those of us who loved him have been walking around gut-punched all week, wondering how the walls of the Fox are still standing without him.

None of us can believe he is gone.

Here’s to all the folks who do so much behind the scenes they actually become the scene. When the curtain finally rises on that musical, Lee, please know, wherever you are, it’s for you. Then again, it always was.

When the Lord decides the world has too many sports, He decides to wipe out one – hockey – to teach mankind a lesson. Only five mismatched fans can try and save their beloved game in this hysterical, raucous, foot-tapping musical with book, original music and lyrics by Mitch Albom.

The musical, which takes place in a mythical hockey rink and combines original compositions with popular classics, will be directed by Peter Albom and choreographed by Gabe Nesser. Several of the original songs include “Put On Skates,” “Kill Baseball,” “Oh, Octopus, My Octopus,” “God is a Canuck” and “When You’re A Wing.” Familiar melodies will include everything from 50’s and 60’s rock and roll to “Toot, Toot, Tootsie Goodbye.”

Pre-sale tickets go on sale tomorrow, February 12, 2016 at 10:00AM. Tickets can be purchased at OlympiaEntertainment.com, The Fox Theatre and Joe Louis Arena box offices, Hockeytown Authentics in Troy (without service charge), all Ticketmaster locations and Ticketmaster.com.

“I’m so happy to announce this new project. Most fun I’ve ever had making a show. We will follow on the wonderful reception to ‘Ernie’ for the last six years with a new effort – a comic musical! – at the same theater. Singing. Dancing. Video. It’ll be a raucous fun show for anyone who loves underdogs, laughing, and, of course, the crazy great sport of hockey” says Albom.

Hockey – The Musical will be making its debut at the City Theatre Thursday, May 19th and run through Sunday, June 19th.