By Erin McClary
C & G Staff Writer

CLINTON TOWNSHIP — Jeff Daniels — who wears the hat of actor, director, songwriter, Broadway star, father, husband and, most importantly to the L’Anse Creuse community, Michigander — has signed on to tickle a local audience with his renowned one-man show.

On Dec. 6, Daniels will perform at the John Armstrong Performing Arts Center (JAPAC) to support the L’Anse Creuse Foundation, which provides funding for teacher grants and student scholarships within the district.

Fundraisers for school districts aren’t something the actor does very often, he said. While his one-man show has been around for about eight years, it was only three years ago that he expanded it nationwide from his Purple Rose Theatre Co. in Chelsea.

“I was approached to maybe take this beyond Purple Rose … so I’ve played all over the country now,” Daniels said. “Occasionally, people call and want me to do things. These folks called, so I’m happy to help.”

Daniels grew up not too far from the Detroit area. And while his career can often keep him away from the state for months at a time, he still calls Michigan home, which is one thing foundation member John Siedlik said he and the L’Anse Creuse community have in common.

“He’s a Michigander, he’s a well-known actor; I just thought this would be a nice tie-in for the community because he is local,” Siedlik said. “A lot of our fundraisers are for the arts, so it seemed like a nice connection.”

Siedlik said Daniels caught his attention during the Detroit Tigers’ race for the division pennant a few years ago when he debuted his “Lifelong Tiger Fan Blues” video.

“It was very entertaining and it showed how versed he was — how talented he was — not just as an actor but as a musician.”

Right now, the  “Dumb & Dumber (1994)” star is in New York working on the Broadway comedy “God of Carnage.”

Daniels joked, naturally, about his acting career and being on the road all the time, calling it “a nomadic, gypsy-like career.” Sometimes, he explained, he’s home in Michigan for 10 months at a time; sometimes he’s away from home for that much time or longer.

When it comes to doing his one-man show, aside from maybe the jokes, Daniels said, it hasn’t changed much over the past eight years.

“It’s just me and a guitar — which sounds horrible, because the last thing the world needs is another actor/singer/songwriter — but I make it fun,” he said. “I make sure (the audience) laughed harder than they have in a long time, whether it’s with songs or stories, some of which are about Hollywood.”

The show started out as an annual performance during the week of Christmas and New Year’s, and all the proceeds would benefit his theatre group at Purple Rose.

Paula Rose, L’Anse Creuse Foundation member and assistant director for community relations, said the district hopes to have as many of its performing arts students at Daniels’ show as possible. She said it’s an experience they won’t forget.

His celebrity, wit and clean comedy is the perfect combination of entertainment to sell out the 999-seat JAPAC auditorium, she added.

“We’re pretty excited to be able to offer it to our students and we’re just really happy to have him.”

Tickets to “An Evening with Jeff Daniels” are $35 and can be purchased by calling (586) 783-6520 or by visiting http://johnrarmstrongpac.inticketing.com/events. The show starts at 7 p.m. Dec. 6 at the JAPAC, 24600 F.V. Pankow Blvd. in Clinton Township.

You can reach Staff Writer Erin McClary at emcclary@candgnews.com or at (586) 279-1118.