Northern Lights Friday night show

Milwaukee is a little too far south to see northern lights often, but this fact won’t stop you from enjoying them during the Friday night shows at the Manfred Olson Planetarium at UW-Milwaukee this fall. Not only do you marvel at the beauty of the aurora borealis — as they are also known — you explore why they occur and where to see them. As always, you look at the stars and other special astronomical objects such as galaxies and nebulae in the current night sky displayed on the newly renovated dome of our theater. You might be surprised to see the difference between city skies and country skies. At the end of the program you have a chance to ask the presenter questions that she gladly answers. When: 7:00-7:55 pm, September 5 to October 31, 2008 Admission: $1 per person. Location: 1900 East Kenwood Blvd in the UW-Milwaukee Physics building. This show is not intended for children under 6 years old. Our theater is wheelchair accessible. Tickets go on sale at 6:30 pm, 30 minutes before the show begins. We recommend arriving at that time because sometimes the shows are sold out. Unfortunately, latecomers cannot be allowed to enter so plan to find your seat a few minutes early. For additional questions, please contact the planetarium director, Jean Creighton, at (414) 229-4961. www.planetarium.uwm.edu

The Misanthrope

Boulevard Theatre opens its season with a modern twist on an old comedy as it presents its production of Moliere’s The Misanthrope – moved from 17th-century France to contemporary Quebec, set in an art gallery and spiced up with a liberal dose of gender-bending. The new floor of the renovated Boulevard is a rich, deep wood that suits the setting well. A single bench sits center stage, in tune with the clean, modern set dressing and costuming — a nearly flawless visual presentation from beginning to end. The rhythm of Moliere’s story may not be perfectly rendered, but the production more than redeems itself elsewhere, in jovial performances and impeccable presentation. David Flores stars as Alceste – in this production, a visual/performing arts critic falling for Cesarmene (Cesar Gamino), a flirtatious gallery owner. “Cesarmene” is the Boulevard’s male adaptation of Célimène – a coquettish young lady in the original script. As the play opens, Alceste is having a philosophical discussion with his friend Philinte – another gender-swapped role, played with charisma by Beth Monhollen. Philinte and Alceste discuss the difference between tact and honesty in modern society. Dramatic presentation usually offers a more casual introduction to characters before barreling into abstract philosophical debate, and with less sophisticated treatment, this conversation might be an immediate turn-off for a contemporary audience. But Flores and Monhollen deliver Moliere’s rhythmic rhyming couplets with understated drama and intellectual passion, making the first scene bearable and even exciting. The Misanthrope was selected as a vehicle for Flores, and he justifies the choice marvelously. Joe Frasee delivers a fun performance as Oronte, a poet in the original play framed here as a “spoken word/performance artist,” a flamboyant gentleman every bit as enamored with Cesarmane as Alceste. Oronte demands Alceste’s frank impression of a sonnet he’s written, and Alceste, despite his better judgment, agrees to hear the piece – which Oronte performs wearing nothing more than a pair of shiny red underpants. Cesar Gamino as Cesarmene plays Alceste’s decisive opposite. There is balance between opposing forces in the ensemble, but the balance between Gamino and Flores as Alceste and Cesarmene is most striking. Alceste’ longing for truth and honesty is matched by Cesarmene’s innate desire for pleasantly flattering dishonesty. Their dynamic is captivating and carries the tension of the play. We’re no longer at the point in art history where gender-bending is a shock, but even more conservative theater-lovers should be pleased by this production – besides the gender and name changes and cheeky choices, this is Moliere’s original Misanthrope – performed with total respect and deference. VS The Boulevard Theatre’s production of The Misanthrope runs through August 24. For more information, call 414-744-5757 or visit the Boulevard online.

Well

Milwaukee Chamber Theatre opens its season with the Milwaukee premiere of Lisa Kron’s Well — a pseudo-meta-theatrical drama. Angela Iannone stars as Kron, who is trying to develop a theatrical exploration into the nature of health and illness in modern society. Ruth Schudson plays Lisa’s mother, who has unsuspectingly been framed onstage as Lisa’s case study in human health. In spite of Lisa’s persistent affirmations that she is not doing a play about her mother, her mother slowly takes over the production, leaving Lisa to wonder what she was trying to say in the first place. The set, designed by Lisa Schlenker, splits the stage down the middle. On the right, the set is furnished and domestic, with bookcases, knickknacks, furniture and – at the outset of the play – Lisa’s mother, asleep. Stage left is bare, with a video screen high above the floor. Angela Iannone’s stage presence is fascinating – she deftly portrays Lisa Kron ass a magnetic, witty playwright. Ruth Schudson, who has taken on a great many roles over the years, looks absolutely at home onstage, rendering Mrs. Kron’s wizened confidence with comely clarity. The supporting ensemble includes local stage veterans Bo Johnson and Tami Workentin, rising talent Travis A. Knight and relative newcomer Marti Gobel. All performances here are well-executed, but there seems to be something missing, and it isn’t due to any lack of skill on the part of talented director Laura Gordon. There’s a level of cohesion that the script never quite manages to attain. Through its post-modern construction, it directly addresses Well’s lack of cohesion, which grows to become the central conflict of the play. But simply making note of the disconnectedness of scenes doesn’t make them any easier to bear. A lack of cohesion is a lack of cohesion, even if you choose to make it the play’s driving conflict. Kron’s script is clever, but it fails as a piece of meta-theatre on a fundamental level. Throughout the play, each character in the production is revealed to be the actor or actress playing them except Lisa herself, who is never completely revealed to be Angela Iannone. Iannone excels in the role of an artist who is losing track of her statement, but the production is never allowed to acknowledge that a talented actress is playing the role of the playwright. In this respect, every production of Well that doesn’t star the real Lisa Kron in the female lead is limited. Make no mistake – this is a satisfying production, but in a play so narrowly focused on striking the ore of human emotion, the play’s central figure is merely speaking the same lines all the rest of the actors are. It’s a flaw that cuts to the heart of what Kron is trying to say. VS Milwaukee Chamber Theatre’s production of Well runs now through August 24 at the Broadway Theatre Center’s Cabot Theatre. Tickets can be purchased by calling 414-291-7800 or visit the Chamber Theatre online.

Goll Mansion Project Renderings

New Land Development has made renderings available of their Goll Mansion project. We've reposted them here to continue discussion on the proposed development.

Eye of the Beholder

Maybe you heard that Marie Claire magazine has opined that Milwaukee is one sexy city. Apparently, our rocking lakefront and neighborhood festivals suggest that we know how to have a good time. I won’t argue with that though the magazine didn’t bother to send anyone here to check it out. You gotta wonder if we’d have still merited the honor if a reporter had actually visited and seen the sweaty beer bellies hanging over the cutoff shorts and the hairy necks and backs. And I don’t even want to think about the guys. I kid, I kid! I love Milwaukee and today it’s a happening town. The reconstruction of the Marquette Interchange is officially declared completed today, under budget and ahead of schedule! To policy wonks like me, that’s sexy! And, of course, today is the long awaited unveiling of the Bronze Fonz sculpture along the riverfront (across from the Pabst Theater on Wells) intended to cash in on the nostalgia for Happy Days, the popular television show of the ‘70s. Henry Winkler (the Fonz), Anson Williams (Potsie), and Cindy Williams (Shirley of Laverne and Shirley) are expected to appear at the festivities. Visitors will be treated to a little harmless fun (not to mention free custard) and a good time should be had by all. There is no truth to the rumor that Mike Brenner has rented a plane to pull a banner declaring that “Milwaukee Has Jumped the Shark.” The diminutive sculpture may make you wonder what all the fuss has been about. Meanwhile, enjoy the rest of the summer, y’all. Middle of August and it hasn’t reached 90 yet. Now that’s sexy!

A portrait is an image of a person

J. Shimon & J. Lindemann, Elise at Work, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, 2007. Inkjet pigment print from 8 x 10 transparency, 20 x 16 in. Ed. 2/10 What is wrapped up in a portrait? We see so many each day that we never really stop to think about what the creation of a person’s image encompasses and implies. When you make a portrait, whether it’s a marble bust, a painting, a professional photograph, or a snapshot of a friend, you are capturing the essence of a real, live person: someone that lives and breathes, that works and feels and exists in the world. A portrait is an image of a person. Unmasked & Anonymous: Shimon and Lindemann Consider Portraiture brings this most basic and oft-forgotten aspect of portraiture to the forefront of our consciousness. A portrait is an image of a person. Through works of their own and carefully culled works from the Milwaukee Art Museum’s collection of photographs and daguerreotypes, John Shimon and Julie Lindemann (with help from hotshot MAM curator Lisa Hostettler) bring us face to face with all of the ambiguities and inherent contradictions of taking a portrait, an image of a person. While there are many threads of meaning to pluck at, perhaps the central theme is in the exhibition’s title. A portrait is an image, and an image is also the conscious projection of a person. An image is a mask we put on to make ourselves anonymous, to prevent others from knowing us. When faced with a camera, either consciously or unconsciously, we put on a face, a mask, that we think hides us. We smile big, or we glower threateningly, or we smirk, or purse our lips. We stand up straighter, or perhaps slump deeper into a hunch. Regardless of the image we are attempting to project, we are projecting an image, and it is this image the camera captures. James Van Der Zee, Distraction, 1930. Hand-colored gelatin silver print, 9 9/16 x 7 9/16 in. Milwaukee Art Museum Purchase, African American Art Acquisition Fund, Photography by John R. Glembin And yet this mask often reveals as much as it conceals. In “The Hanson Brothers,” for instance, one sibling is slightly in front of the other, and both stare directly into the camera, serious expressions that show how seriously they take this business of sitting for a portrait. This seriousness, their gravitas, is affected, though. It is belied by the playful Hawaiian shirt and Captain Hook mustache of one brother, and by the ironic tilt of an eyebrow and the hint of a smirk at the corner of the other’s mouth. Some of the posturing we do in portraiture is unconscious. We become accustomed to having our likeness taken at young ages, inured to the process by the ritual of school pictures. We learn head up, chin down, eyes on the camera but face tilted slightly away from it. We learn sitting up straight and the acceptable ways to cross our arms and hands and […]

An Alternative to Grilling Brats

This may be the finest exhibit anywhere. It’s happening NOW in the Koss Gallery at the Milwaukee Art Museum. “Unmasked & Anonymous: Shimon & Lindemann Consider Portraiture,” was previewed by this writer for the Shepherd Express. Adding to the event, are works by various photographers, including Francis Ford and Stanley Ryan Jones of Milwaukee-based fame. If you know about photography, you’ll know about Francis and Stanley. Multiple works from Julie & Johnie are seamlessly hung with many from the museum’s permanent collection, no small thanks to Lisa Hostetler, MAM’s curator of prints, who, over the past two years, gave the show her considerable and undivided attention. The leaves of brown will soon tumble down. What a way to bid adieu to summer and hello to Manitowoc’s finest, a pair of pros. Lucky are those students who fall under J & J’s professorial spell at Lawrence University up Appleton way. Museum members can see it free until it this superb show ends on November 30. Who says Wisconsin-based artists get the short end of the museum’s stick? Love xxxooo, Dem Bones Plus it will likely be a party to end all parties. Edtior’s Note: Read VITAL’s review of Shimon & Lindemann @ The Milwaukee Art Museum here!

99 Bottles Documentary – World Premiere Thursday 8/21

99 Bottles – WORLD PREMIERE! The world premiere of “99 Bottles Documentary“, directed by Jason Williams and produced by Glen Popple and David Oplinger is happening in it’s home town of Milwaukee WI. August 21st, 2008 7:00pm Oriental Theatre 2230 North Farwell Ave (414) 276-8711 Ticket prices are $10 with half of the box office sales from the premier going to the Kiwanis Club to assist their annual 2008 Metro Kiwanis Brew Fest fundraiser. you gotta love this: Mission Statement: Promote exposure and public awareness of the rich and vibrant craft brewing industry. Journey with us into the unique and exploding industry of the microbrewery industrial movement. Focusing on the region of southeastern Wisconsin, we will explore how this industry began to grow from a lose knit circle of home brewer basement boilers to an industry gaining an increasing foothold in a once oligarchic marketplace. Come with us as we search for the taste, people, culture and history of Wisconsin’s craft brewing industry.

Do we ever learn

Guilt Free Bones

I finally got around to visiting the Gilbert & George show at MAM’s Baker/Rowland Galleries. It was coordinated by Chief Curator Joe Ketner, who will be moving on shortly before G&G moves out on September 1. Anyway, I decided to see the show after visiting with Dean Jensen, who runs a Water Street venue bearing his name. He was sitting alone at his desk, clad in a splendid suit, smart shirt and tie, complaining about computer trouble. Eventually our chatter got around to the G&G event, and Jensen said he was working on an appraisal of a G&G piece owned by a generous local couple who are donating it to the Milwaukee Art Museum. He had attended a lecture, a basic Q & A with the London duo, and commented that G&G had been around for so many years that they’d answered every possible question about their careers. However, I was in Jensen’s gallery not to talk about G&G, but to select a frame for a Laurence Rathsack watercolor (“Skeletal Church”), purchased by my son who is now grown up enough to appreciate what art is. By way of comparison, Rathsack’s work, quiet and unassuming, is the exact opposite of the bodacious work of G&G. One whispers, the other shouts. One is a candle, the other a bottle rocket. Jensen has been around for what seems like forever, and for much of that forever, I’ve been around to view his exhibitions. Like me, he’s getting a bit long in the tooth, but it takes time to develop a great career and a great following, and he’s certainly done that. If anyone is a survivor, he is. In addition to being a fine gallerist, he is a fun interesting writer (perhaps because he cut his writing chops at the Milwaukee Sentinel in the long ago). The work in his various shows is frequently of the narrative kind, a perfect fit for a chap who knows how to spin a tale. Should you doubt me, buy a copy of 2006’s Daisy & Violet Hilton: The True Story of Conjoined Twins. In an earlier blog, I wrote about my “feelings of guilt” and those of the others who hadn’t yet seen the G&G show. You may have been somewhat confused by the image (“Bacon & Eggs for Gilbert & George”) accompanying that particular blog. Stella sez the art (made from Play-Doh) is definitely not for sale, though it may be on eBay someday. For more on G&G, look up www.mam.org/gandg, then go to Cedar Block’s MAM event on August 15 to see what Milwaukee area artists are up to. Inspired by G&G, it’s a one night stand, 8pm – midnight.

Scary Movie 3???

Well it’s the dog days of August but things are anything but slow in the world of politics. As many of you may be aware, there is a presidential election coming up in November and once again it’s time to exercise our constitutional right and have a say in what direction we want our country to go. And once again I believe the right choice is obvious. And once again I have that ominous feeling that our marvelous but sometimes wacky country could very easily elect the wrong guy and continue us on a path of boneheaded policies and misguided diplomatic and military high jinks that will lead to dangerous and deadly conflicts around the world, a worsening economy home and abroad, increased polarization between the haves and the have nots, and a continued diminishment of our personal freedoms ranging from reproductive choice to habeas corpus. There is, to coin a phrase, hope. Barack Obama is a superb candidate who is connecting with voters in ways we have not seen since the two Kennedy campaigns of the ‘60s. He draws unprecedented crowds everywhere he goes, not because he is a vacuous celebrity, but because he combines a command of the issues with the ability to present common sense solutions that connect with the average citizen. But, just like in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and other great struggles from history and literature, powerful forces are gathering to oppose the champion of the people. This may prove to be a nasty and difficult election with Obama’s opponents resorting to attacks and innuendoes that appeal to the baser sides of our hearts and minds. It may get ugly; very, very ugly. But don’t panic or despair. Organize and participate. Let’s not let this year’s election send the wrong person to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. What we need here in this country is nothing less than a People’s Revolution in which the disenfranchised rise up and assert themselves not through violence or conflict but by voting and participating in the electoral process. Barack Obama’s campaign is calling on the people of Wisconsin to stand up and be counted. A new office will be opened here in Milwaukee at 744 N. 4th Street (Wells) on August 20 beginning at 5 pm and everyone is invited. Wisconsin is in play and there is something wonderfully exciting and energizing about living in a so-called swing state. The McCain camp is not taking Wisconsin for granted either and if that’s the way you swing, then by all means go out and support your candidate. But as we’ve learned over and over the last eight years, Elections Matter. Register, Volunteer, Have Your Voice Heard, and above all, VOTE. It’s really, really important.

Bringing sexy back

The Journal Sentinel reported today that Marie Claire magazine has named Milwaukee its sexiest city. Back story: we’re all a little bleary in the office this morning, recovering from Random Exposure, our annual photo contest party at the sexy (and one-of-a-kind) Eisner American Museum of Advertising and Design in the Third Ward, executive-directed by the extremely sexy and awe-inspiring Cori Coffman. Diamonds, one-half of the sexy and super-hot-right-now DJ duo The Glamour, provided the dance party and the aroma of horseradish-braised short ribs, marsala-soaked mushrooms and handmade port-infused chocolate and croquemboche from The Social and Times Square Pizzeria and Bistro wafted through the room. The turn out was incredible, everyone looked sexy and the photography – the party’s raison d’etre – was amazing. After the show, I rode my sexy bicycle down to the beautiful Pabst Theater, where a huge crowd of attractive young people had amassed for the sold-out Bon Iver concert. Justin Vernon, the pensive, haunting falsetto from Eau Claire, is a certified world-wide phenom, and I have never seen a show at the Pabst as packed to the gills as this one; Vernon himself kept telling us how amazing he felt to be playing at home, in Wisconsin, for a crowd so massively loving. During the incredible, captivating performance, I thought about Unmasked and Anonymous, the new Koss Gallery show at the Milwaukee Art Museum of portraiture by, primarily, Wisconsin photographers John Shimon and Julie Lindemann. Ryan and I went to the press preview on Wednesday, where we had the chance to preview the stunningly installed exhibition and hear Julie and John talk about their work. We met them at lunch afterward, where Julie told us about their decision to come back to Wisconsin after grad school in southern Illinois and a stint in New York City; they were fascinated, she said, by rural life, Wisconsin Death Trip, Orson Welles. Unmasked and Anonymous features portraiture from dozens of other photographers, including some important figures from Wisconsin art history like Walter Sheffer, Francis Ford and Stanley Ryan Jones. It was such a revelation to see robust and vivid evidence of Wisconsin’s art life in a way that’s not regionally ghettoized or superficially trendy. Julie and John are based in Manitowoc, an almost archetypically un-sexy city. But they love it. “We’re basically hicks,” she said. If it’s true, they’re the most glamorous hicks I’ve ever met: impeccable, mod, retro and devastatingly sexy. Holy shit, I thought to myself leaving the Museum. Wisconsin is so great. So you get my drift here: yeah, Milwaukee is sexy, and it’s about time somebody had the gall to say so. Unfortunately, the Journal Sentinel, after deciding to put this ultimately irrelevant fluff piece on the front page, poised the article in quizzical terms: what? Sexy? Aren’t we all just drunk, dairy-chubby cheese lovers? Once again, faced with an opportunity to live up to our burgeoning reputation as a sexy, cool, young, fun city, we stumble over our dogged insistence that we’re all a […]