Flash Mob Architects Invade Milwaukee
Monday I was standing on the corner of 1st Street and Pittsburgh Ave. in Walker’s Point, chatting with a co-worker, when we eyed an organized ruckus underway in the abandoned parking lot across the street. “Parking lot” is actually a rather generous term for the space, which could more accurately be classified as a thin, vaguely triangular strip of gravel littered with debris. But what was happening on that strip was nothing short of a transformation.
May 6th, 2009 by Jon Anne Willow
Meet ANVIL director Sacha Gervasi
This is a film about undying friendship, the pursuit of true art and of course, melting faces. TCD and Gervasi spoke, and now you listen. ANVIL opens throughout the Midwest this week.
May 6th, 2009 by Howie Goldklang
‘Romantic Fools’ at the Tenth Street Theater
Fools and their fantasies: Perhaps at one time or another every person plays a fool for love. Portraying both the foolish and the fantastical through the course of a loosely related romance, In Tandem Theatre Company closes its season with Rich Orloff’s comic revue Romantic Fools. Twelve short sketches travel down a wayward path between the first date and first walk down the aisle for one attractive couple, with bizarre twists and turns along the way. While much of the script runs through highly humorous material, it crosses some sexually explicit subjects with a kinky bent, somewhere between Saturday Night Live and a Dr. Laura therapy session. Playwright Orloff’s prolific one-act plays are often featured in the annual Best American Short Plays collections. Here the comedic elements are provided within the subtle format of a game show with the main contestants being Lori (Georgina McKee) and Andrew (Ryan Schabach) who, along with other assorted characters on this path to love, reveal an intensity and complete compatibility which gave credibility to the absurd situations on stage. Sometimes characters speak directly to the audience, eliciting smiles and giggles. Director Jane Flieller also keeps the skits fresh and flowing with minimal props on a red and gold stage reminiscent of television’s matchmaking games of the past – but here using only one door instead of three. Sometimes the situations and dialogue entice the audience into uncomfortable territory for conservative mindsets, leaving little romance but considerable foreplay. While several great scenes incorporate some very funny lines that anyone can relate to, one special sketch provides classic appeal. After her engagement, Lori tries to find a wedding planner. A guest appearance by the artistic director surprises everyone as a figure from the comics past. Smoking a large cigar with heavy eyebrows and a mustache, the planner promises Lori a perfect event from “married to buried,” and puns ensue in rapid succession. This Romantic Fools resists the overly sweet and sentimental moments of courtship by employing sexuality, a contemporary and open vision of dating and mating. These fantasies may appeal to mature audiences for an evening of pure delusional entertainment. While the theater company presents this play as “a comic collection of dating do’s and don’ts”, some fools for love may prefer observing more heartfelt emotion and less dysfunction. Still, InTandem successfully delivers a provocative night of fun.. InTandem Theatre Company presents Romantic Fools at Tenth Street Theatre until May 17. Also enjoy supporting an innovative mission for the promotion of theater arts in Milwaukee by attending their annual fundraiser, Bottoms Up – a casual evening of beer tasting on June 5. For more information and tickets for either the play or fundraiser: 414.271.171 or visit In Tandem’s website. For venue, tickets, showtimes and more, visit Footlights Milwaukee online.
May 4th, 2009 by Peggy Sue Dunigan
There is Nothing Green About Greenfield Development
There is nothing green about greenfield development.
May 4th, 2009 by Dave Reid
Weekly Bookmarks – Monday, 04. May 2009
“Neighborhood Project”: Week Three, A Milwaukee Melting Pot « Unified Milwaukee OnMilwaukee.com Travel & Visitors Guide: Growing Power plants change in Chicago Milwaukee Businessman Says Water Is City’s Future – Milwaukee News Story – WISN Milwaukee Milwaukee pops a wheelie | Features | City Life | Milwaukee | Decider Joint Finance votes to separate transit authorities – The Business Journal of Milwaukee: State headlines: Joint Finance Committee OKs RTAs – BizTimes RTAs approved for southeast Wisconsin, Dane County « The Daily Reporter OnMilwaukee.com Milwaukee Buzz: First State, then Kilbourn, next Clybourn Finance panel backs transit board, sales tax – JSOnline Wauwatosa business groups support county land sale to UWM – The Business Journal of Milwaukee: Planners temporarily stymied in determining stimulus spending – JSOnline Environmental group challenges Waukesha water rate increase plan – JSOnline WHEDA announces $300 million in tax credits for affordable housing project – BizTimes Cognitive Dissidence: More Izzy And The Monarchs OnMilwaukee.com Marketplace: May is Project EverGreen month in Milwaukee “Be Heard”: Downtown Milwaukee Dreaming « Unified Milwaukee Calm Down « Walker’s Point The Political Environment: WisDOT Should Not Be Allowed To Disregard Federal Stimulus Law Pedal power : The Bay View Compass Santiago: ‘Biggest difference’ to be made at UWM – The Business Journal of Milwaukee: High-speed rail pushed to connect Chicago, Twin Cities – The Business Journal of Milwaukee: Making bad sausage – JSOnline Stritch kills Cousin’s Center project « The Daily Reporter
May 4th, 2009 by Dave Reid
May 4-10, 2009
This week: experimental music, Milwaukee Underground Film Festival and a Mother's Day brunch guide that will FINALLY get your mom off your back. Maybe.
May 3rd, 2009 by Erin Petersen
Better Stadiums & Beer Gardens (13-12)
Dear Ken Macha, You must be feeling like a bankruptcy attorney in Detroit, Ken. Everything might not be going well around you, but somehow you’re making a killing off of it. You finished the 7-game home stand with a 5-2 record, in spite of an apparently right call on Friday and potential fisticuffs throughout the series against the Pirates. Your pitching has kept you in games, except when the bullpen surprisingly fails to hold a lead. Your offense is thriving, except that your base runners are caught stealing all the time and J.J. Hardy is describing his struggles at the plate like a bad acid trip. Nevertheless, you’ve steered the Brewers to a winning record in April. Bravo to you, Ken. Yet there are a few areas where I feel the team could benefit. If we’re going to win games, we might as well win them in style, amiright? . So here are three suggestions based on my experience at the games on Tuesday and Thursday night. Maybe you can pass them along during one of your stadium operations pow-wows. 1) Make Prince Fielder bring back “Moments In Love” as his entrance song Have you ever listened to the Quiet Storm on V100, Ken? I’m going to go out on a limb and guess you haven’t, but if you’re a Brewer fan that’s not from Brookfield then you know that the intro jam to Quiet Storm used to be Prince’s entrance song. “Moments In Love” by Art of Noise was the greatest entrance song ever, until Prince had to ruin things by using that crappy THX intro or the current air raid siren (get it? he’s dropping bombs!). Don’t just trust me, Ken; take a look at Prince’s numbers and watch how they’ve plummeted since he dropped “Moments In Love.” You can even tell the Miller Park audio crew that it was your idea. 2) Make Jason Kendall use another picture for his at-bat image. Kendall really conveys his tough-as-balls demeanor via his entrance song — something by Pantera, I think, but I really couldn’t tell ya — and his entirely creepy image on the videotron. Have you looked at it, Ken? He looks like he eats babies. The Brewers are supposed to be family friendly. There’s an entire section in the upper deck where people can’t drink alcohol so kids feel safe. Well, I hope those tikes’ are kept away from the parking lots, concession stands and the scoreboard when Kendall is at bat. Maybe you could take your Minolta and surprise Jason while he’s doing something around the clubhouse that doesn’t involve being eerily focused. Even this picture would be an improvement: Found at The Jason Kendall Connection! — a preserved, 1999 Geocities fan page for Jason Kendall 3) Tweak Trevor Time Imagine you’re the scoreboard operator, Ken, and you need to really pump up fans for Trevor Hoffman’s high-leverage save situations. The audio guy has it easy — Hoffman mailed him […]
May 3rd, 2009 by Rob Vosters
May 4-12, 2009
It's a splashy week in Milwaukee performing and visual arts: Marvin Hamlisch, old-time radio, The Great Divorce, Beauty and the Beast, 42nd Street, Willy Wonka, Mad Hot Ballroom, Cirque du Soleil and more.
May 3rd, 2009 by Brian Jacobson
‘Cabaret’ at Carte Blanche Studios
...many of the players have to deliver lines, sing, and kick kick twirl kick while in various stages of provocative wear only inches from the front row. A series of invisible doors and narrow entryways rush players onstage and props switch back and forth. With no abundance of space, every inch becomes amorphous and left to the audience to imagine further.
May 3rd, 2009 by Brian Jacobson
Upcoming Events for the Week of May 4th, 2009
May 4, 2009 Revised Downer Ave DPD & Streetscape Project Meeting May 4, 2009 6:30 pm Please join Ald. Nik Kovac, your neighbors, Van Buren Management and representatives from Rinka Chung Architecture for a neighborhood meeting to review and discuss a proposed revision to Van Buren Management’s N. Downer Ave. detailed planned development (DPD) and the updated Downer Ave. streetscape plans.Both project revisions will require Common Council approval. Before the […] May 5, 2009 Common Council May 5, 2009 9:00 am City Hall 200 East Wells St. Common Council Chambers Milwaukee, WI 53202 […] SARUP Lecture Series: Historic Preservation and Smart Growth in Wisconsin May 5, 2009 12:00 pm to 1:20 pm Speaker: Rick Bernstein – Wisconsin Historical SocietySARUP is the acronym for School of Architecture & Urban Planning lecture Series are Free and Open to the Public. All presentations will take place at the UWM School of Architecture and Urban Planning (SARUP) from 12:00 – 1:20 pm in Room 345. SARUP is located at […]
May 3rd, 2009 by Dave Reid
Revised Downer Ave DPD & Streetscape Project Meeting
Please join Ald. Nik Kovac, your neighbors, Van Buren Management and representatives from Rinka Chung Architecture for a neighborhood meeting to review and discuss a proposed revision to Van Buren Management’s N. Downer Ave. detailed planned development (DPD) and the updated Downer Ave. streetscape plans. Both project revisions will require Common Council approval. Before the formal review process begins, Ald. Kovac wants to know what you and your neighbors think of the changes. WHERE: St. Mark’s Church – 2618 N. Hackett Ave. Postcard
May 3rd, 2009 by Dave Reid
Common Council
City Hall 200 East Wells St. Common Council Chambers Milwaukee, WI 53202 Agenda
May 3rd, 2009 by Dave Reid
