Michigan Travel · Ann Arbor
Things to do in Ann Arbor Oct. 23–25: The Lord of the Rings Symphony at Hill Auditorium, “Jekyll & Hyde” and Michigan vs. Indiana at noon
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A symphony orchestra takes audiences to Middle-earth at Hill Auditorium on Friday, a community theater stages a Victorian thriller all weekend, and Michigan Stadium fills for a noon kickoff against Indiana on Saturday, as Ann Arbor heads into its last weekend before Halloween.
Friday, Oct. 23: The Lord of the Rings Symphony. The Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra performs Howard Shore’s music from the film trilogy at 7:30 p.m. at Hill Auditorium, 825 N. University Ave., joined by singer Kaitlyn Lusk and the University of Michigan Men’s and Women’s Glee Clubs. Guest conductor Robert Boardman leads the concert. The orchestra notes that the performance does not include film projections. It also says it is the only authorized seller of tickets and does not sell through resale websites.
Thursday through Sunday: “Jekyll & Hyde.” Ann Arbor Civic Theatre stages Frank Wildhorn and Leslie Bricusse’s musical at the Arthur Miller Theatre, 1226 Murfin Ave., at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 22, 23 and 24 and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25. General admission is $29, with seniors paying $26 and students $20. Ella Soto directs. The theater recommends the show for ages 13 and up because of dark themes, stage violence, adult language and suggestive dialogue.
Saturday, Oct. 24: Michigan vs. Indiana. The Wolverines host No. 6 Indiana at noon at Michigan Stadium, with the game on Fox, according to Michigan’s schedule. The university has made it the Block Cancer Game, presented by U-M Health Rogel Cancer Center, and it falls on Parents Weekend, so plan for game-day crowds around the stadium.
Saturday and Sunday: The Tallest Man on Earth. The folk act plays The Ark, 316 S. Main St., at 8 p.m. Saturday and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, with Gwenifer Raymond opening both nights. The Ark lists Saturday’s show as sold out. Tickets for Sunday are listed at $51.50 to $81.50.
Halloween. For Sunday’s downtown trick-or-treat parade, Animal Haunts at Leslie Science & Nature Center and the library’s not-so-scary haunted house, see our Ann Arbor Halloween guide.
Sources:
Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, “The Lord of the Rings,” 2026-27 season, https://a2so.org/lord-of-the-rings/
Ann Arbor Civic Theatre, “Jekyll & Hyde: the Musical,” show page, https://www.a2ct.org/jekyll-hyde
University of Michigan Athletics, 2026 football schedule, https://mgoblue.com/sports/football/schedule
The Ark, “The Tallest Man on Earth,” Oct. 24 listing, https://theark.org/event/the-tallest-man-on-earth-261024/
The Ark, “The Tallest Man on Earth,” Oct. 25 listing, https://theark.org/event/the-tallest-man-on-earth-261025/
Photo: w_lemay, “Hill Auditorium, University of Michigan, University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI.jpg,” Sept. 8, 2024, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hill_Auditorium,_University_of_Michigan,_University_Avenue,_Ann_Arbor,_MI.jpg
More from Ann Arbor
Election 2026 · October 19, 2026
Saline-area voters weigh a 2.98-mill fire authority tax that would raise $6.5 million a year, which the department calls about a mill above today’s funding
The Saline Area Fire Authority wants its own 10-year property tax in place of yearly payments from Saline and Lodi, Saline and York townships. A house with a $250,000 taxable value would pay up to $745 a year.
News · October 19, 2026
Ann Arbor opens Fire Station 4 on the southeast side, the city’s first new fire station since 1981
Engine 1-4 has moved into the rebuilt station at Huron Parkway and Platt Road, which replaces a 1966 building on the same site. A grand opening is set for Oct. 30.
Election 2026 · October 17, 2026
Ann Arbor voters decide whether to keep paying $21 million a year in street and sidewalk taxes through 2032
Proposals A and B renew existing levies, not new ones: up to 2.125 mills for street, bridge and sidewalk repair and 0.20 mill for new sidewalks, about $232.50 a year per $100,000 of taxable value.
News · October 16, 2026
U-M Regents clear a 100,000-square-foot sports medicine institute on the old Wolverine Tower site
The Nathan and Catherine Forbes Sports Medicine Institute is budgeted at up to $155 million and is scheduled to open in fall 2028 near State and Eisenhower.