Curtains up across the city

THEATER 

The musical version of the DreamWorks movie Catch Me If You Can will open this week at the Marcus Center. This award-winning show tells the true story of Frank W. Abagnale Jr., a teenage con artist who poses as a pilot, doctor, and lawyer and lives off millions of dollars in forged checks. But all bets are off when Frank falls in love and FBI agent Carl Hanratty catches onto his schemes. Catch Me If You Can runs April 23 to 28. Tickets are available online or at 414-273-7206.

Boulevard Theater will open Lisa Loomer’s Living Out this Wednesday. The play delves into the complex relationship between two women – a white lawyer and her Salvadoran nanny. In the end, both women are simply working for a better life for their children, but learn lessons about race, gender and class status along the way. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online or at 414-744-5757.

The Alchemist Theater‘s “Year of Fear” continues with House of Horrors, a story of serial killer H.H. Holmes and his torture chamber specifically for patrons of the Chicago World’s Fair. House of Horrors runs through May 11 and tickets are available online. General admission tickets are $17, but tickets including three beverages and refillable popcorn are available for $30, if you want dinner with your terror.

In Tandem Theater will end their fifteenth season with a lighthearted and well-loved show about hope. Apartment 3A, by Jeff Daniels, tells the story of Annie Wilson, whose mysterious neighbor teaches her the true meaning of forever after she loses who she believed to be her one true love. Apartment 3A runs through May 19. Tickets are available online; matinees are $22 and weekend performances are $26.

Join actor and director Frank Ferrante for his award-winning impersonation of Groucho Marx at the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center. This 90 minute performance is packed with one-liners, monologues, and infamous songs to commemorate the life of one of the most memorable comedians, a man who once said he “intends to live forever or die trying.” Ferrante will perform Friday, April 28 at 7:30 p.m.; tickets are available now from $9-$33.

DANCE

Danceworks is partnering with Milwaukee Opera Theatre and Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra to present Façade – An Entertainment, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 4 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 25-27. Façade’s origins lie in 1922, when young composer William Walton was living in the home of British avant-garde poet Edith Sitwell and put together the show for home entertainment, never imagining the public success it would later have. In 1931, Frederick Ashton made a ballet out of the music, but Sitwell refused permission for the poems, so Danceworks’ choreographer Dani Kuepper has chosen to forgo Ashton’s choreography and make her own to accompany the poems and music. The three groups have chosen an unconventional venue: the multi-level atrium of the Milwaukee Theatre. They are also encouraging live tweeting while the event is in progress. So keep those mobiles out and tweet #FacadeMKE to win a free ticket for this summer’s DanceLAB! For tickets and further information, visit the Danceworks website or call 414 277-8480.

MUSIC

The Wisconsin Philharmonic Orchestra will close its 65th anniversary season with Cosmic Grandeur, a special performance with the Brookfield East High School Women’s Ensemble and Andrew Armstrong on piano. This performance will take place on Sunday, April 28, at 3 p.m. at the Oconomowoc Arts Center. Tickets range from $17-$37 and can be purchased online.

Festival City Symphony will end their season at the Pabst Theater with their performance of From The Steppes. As requested by audiences, this evening will feature Mussorgsky’s “Pictures At An Exhibition” and Borodin’s Symphony No. 2. The show begins at 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 28. Tickets can be purchased online now for $14.

To read a ThirdCoast Daily article about a particular show, please click on the show title. For more information about the show itself, please click on the venue.

ONGOING 

The Quasimondo: Bacchanalia, through May 5

Milwaukee Rep: Ring of Fire, through May 5

First Stage: Jackie and Me, through May 5

Sunset Playhouse: Lucky Stiff, through May 12

Milwaukee Art Museum: Color Rush, through May 19

Milwaukee Art Museum: 125th Anniversary Celebration, through Aug. 10

Milwaukee Art Museum: Veterans Book Project: Objects for Deployment, through Sept. 2

LAST CHANCE 

Next Act Theatre: Grace, through April 28

Milwaukee Chamber Theatre: Jeeves in Bloom, through April 28

Carte Blanche Studios: Sweeney Todd, through April 28

Renaissance Theaterworks: The Road To Mecca, through April 28