highlights from 9/3 to 9/8

This week, the highlights are a bit unusual. Many events start early next week. In fact, the Wisconsin fall season is mostly in rehearsals for October stagings, and many more premieres happen in September weeks to come. So, as a service to your plan-making needs, ThirdCoast Digest presents these intriguing openings and musical events.

_

Guys & Does, American Folklore Theatre at Peninsula State Park (Door County), 9/4 to 10/24
An original musical comedy that could only come from this part of the world, from the same guys who brought you Packer Fans from Outer Space and Belgians in Heaven. It’s an excursion into the mindset of the deer hunter, in particular Fritz and his daughter’s boyfriend Duane, as a getaway-up-North goes awry. With book and lyrics by Fred “Doc” Heide and Lee Becker, and music by Paul Libman, Guys & Does includes songs like “Up Nort’,” “Hunting Day,” “Needing the Doe” and “If I Was A Tree.” Oh yah, this sure looks good. Visit the AFT website or call for tickets at: 920-854-6117.

The Government Inspector, the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, starts 9/8 at 7:30 p.m.
This tale, originally by Nikolai Gogol but adapted for the stage by Jeffrey Hatcher, is a wacky comedy farce that starts when a small community learns that a high-ranking government official is coming to town. ‘Madcap’ antics of “panic, greed and silliness” begin in the grandest of theatre traditions. Call the Rep at 414-224-9490 or visit the website for more information on showtimes.

In the Beginning: A Musical Comedy, Mercury Players Theatre, encore begins 9/4
It’s a wild twist on the Biblical Genesis tale, featuring a fundamentalist Adam, determined to start the human race with Eve, and a kidnapped mutant ape who can’t remember from whence she came. For tickets, call the Bartell Community Theater complex at 608-661-9696 or visit the Mercury Players website for more information.
__

Unruly Music, Marcus Center’s Vogel Hall, 9/8 to 9/10 (3 separate pieces)
We’ll be taking a closer look this weekend at this now-annual concert profiling some truly unusual art forms. Each night features a different musical group: Day One is Georges Aperghis’s Recitations — part theatre, “poetic investigation and musical tour de force,” starring soprano Susan Bender. It contains video projections that enrich and illuminate the text and score. Day Two is MiLO: the Milwaukee Laptop Orchestra. It’s part “improvisation collective, fusing live electronic sound, instrumental performance and video projection into a rich multimedia experience.” The final night is C2, a virtuosic new chamber music duo of Lisa Cella (flute) and Franklin Cox (cello). Their concentration is “classical contemporary music, above all for challenging and highly original new works.” All three shows can be purchased separately or as a series. Call the Marcus Center box office at 414-273-7206 or visit the website page for this event. The event is sponsored in part by the Peck School for the Arts at UW-Milwaukee.
_

We would be remiss not to mention the Skylight Opera Theatre company’s open house, going on today, 9/1 with ongoing events from 5 – 10:30 p.m. Now that the gang is mostly back together after an interesting dispute, the supporters, actors and crew will throw open the doors of the Broadway Theatre Center and adjoining Catalano Square to kick off its golden anniversary. There will be backstage tours and displays of famous costumes and props, a benefit concert featuring Skylight players and an evening variety show with Colin Cabot. Read more at Tom Strini’s column, or visit the Skylight website.

Also, bad weather postponed the first All-City People’s Parade,  featuring a host of great puppets and performers. They will try again in conjunction with the Laborfest parade on Sept. 7, starting at Zeidler Park downtown and marching down Wisconsin Avenue. Visit our events page or the Milwaukee Public Theatre webpage for details.

Next week, watch for ThirdCoast Digest’s special Fall Arts Preview section, where we will offer a comprehensive guide to upcoming 2009-10 Performing Arts and Fine Music events. This will launch the start of two months of special features, highlighting our picks for fall shows, companies to watch and in-depth reviews. Such features will continually update with insightful details and interviews profiling the who’s who in the city’s arts scene.

Soulstice Theatre announces auditions for Steel Magnolias. A cast of 6 women ranging from early 20s to 70s is needed for Soulstice Theatre’s production of Steel Magnolias. Auditions will be held starting at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday, September 8 and 9 at the Marian Center for Non-Profits at 3195 S. Superior Street, Suite 102, Milwaukee WI. Auditions will consist of readings from the script. If you would also like to prepare a short 1 to 2 minute monologue, we will hear those as well. However we will have all those auditioning read from the script as well to build combinations. For more information please e-mail Jeffrey7198@aol.com.

Find the latest ticketing and venue information at our partner site,