Weekly Highlights from 1/13-1/19

Almost, Maine, Milwaukee Rep’s Stiemke Theater, 1/13-2/7
Almost, Maine tells the story of several residents from the fictional town, Almost. One winter night, the aurora borealis shines down on the town, causing strange happenings. Told through a series of eight stories, the experiences of the people of Almost run the emotional gamut. It’s directed by Rep Resident Acting Company Member Laura Gordon, straight off of her completion of The Lady with All the Answers, and features Resident Acting Company members Gerard Neugent and Deborah Staples and  guests Elizabeth Ledo and Steve Haggard.
Tickets $25. Showtimes vary, so visit The Rep’s website or call 414-224-9490 for more information.

Those Fabulous ’50s and ’60s, Fireside Dinner Theatre, 1/14-3/7
Fireside’s musical revue features hits by Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Ricky Nelson, Dave Brubeck, Richie Valens, Connie Francis, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Patsy Cline, Simon and Garfunkel, The Mamas and the Papas, Bob Dylan and more.
Tickets $65.95. For arrival, dining and show times, visit the Fireside website or call 1-800-477-9505.

 

Bunny Gumbo’s Combat Theatre, Milwaukee Youth Arts Center, 1/15-1/16
It’s the 10th anniversary of Bunny Gumbo and the 20th edition of Combat Theatre, boasting 372 works of original theater and 330 Milwaukee artists lending their talents. Auctions, raffles, giveaways and special appearances are all in the mix for this round of Combat. Combat Theatre challenges eight playwrights, eight directors and 30 actors to bring 16 original scripts from initial concept to performance before a live audience in only 24 hours. Topics, locations, directors and actors are all, literally, “pulled from a hat.” Combat Theatre contains adult themes and language and is not recommended for children.
Tickets are $18 each at the door only. Buy the weekend package and see both nights for $30. Showtime 8 p.m. Visit Bunny Gumbo for more information.
Milwaukee Youth Arts Center, 325 W. Walnut (on the corner of Walnut and MLK)

Cattywompus, Broom Street Theater, 1/15-2/21
Written by Christina Beller and Justin Lawfer, this comedy centers on a groom whose wedding has to survive various types of sabotage: a brother with multiple personalities, a mother and her stoner nursing home friends, nuns, pirates and more.
Tickets are $9 on Friday and Saturday. Sunday Matinee is $6. Curtain time 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, visit Broom Street Theater.
Broom Street Theater, 1119 Williamson St. Madison, Wisconsin

Rehearsal for Murder, The Bay Players at Whitefish Bay High School Auditorium, 1/15-1/23

At the first read-through of a new play, the connections of everyone involved — producer, playwright, director, actors — to the murder of the playwright’s beautiful fiancee and leading lady on an opening one year before slowly come to light.
Tickets $10-12. Showtime 8 p.m. For more information visit The Bay Players or call 414-299-9040.

Our Town, Shorewood Players at Shorewood Auditorium, 1/15-1/24
This 1938 Pulitzer Prize-winning play recalls the era of the founding of the Shorewood Players, now celebrating its 80th season. The playwright, Thornton Wilder, was born in Madison. And the town at the center of the play, Grover’s Corners, has much in common with the Shorewood of the early 1900s.
Our Town will also be a fundraiser for Gilda’s Club of Southeastern Wisconsin. A key message in the play is the importance of a supportive community when one faces a life challenge — Gilda’s Club is a free cancer support community for anyone living with cancer as well as their family and friends. Educational programs, emotional support, networking and social activities are all offered by Gilda’s Club at no cost.
Showtime at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 15, 16, 22, and 23; 2 p.m. on Jan. 17 and 24. For more information, visit the Shorewood Players or call 414-737-3421.

Blackbird, Renaissance Theaterworks, Broadway Theatre Center’s Studio Theatre, 1/15-2/7
In this play, written by David Harrower, 15 years after the tragic conclusion of their forbidden affair, Una unexpectedly appears in Ray’s office. Terrified that she will expose their secret, Ray is forced to confront the past. Together they reveal a dark, painful tale of desire and damage. This play was a hit at the Edinburgh Festival and winner of the 2007 Olivier Award. Directed by Susan Fete, featuring Carrie Coon and Brian Mani. Contains mature subject matter.
Tickets $32. For more information visit Renaissance Theaterworks or call 414-291-7800.

Mid-Life! The Crisis Musical, Sunset Playhouse, 1/15-1/31
A musical comedy look at the joys of middle-age and dealing with gravity and gray hair. Book, music and lyrics by Bob Walton and Jim Walton. Directed by Sunset Artistic Director Mark Salentine.
Tickets $10-$20. Visit Sunset Playhouse or call 262-782-4430.

 

Hotel Milwaukee, Turner Hall Ballroom, 1/16
Original Hotel Milwaukee cast members come together for one night only to benefit City Year Milwaukee. Featuring Rip Tenor, AKA Art Kumbalek, Bill Clifford, Marcie Hoffman, Jonathan Wainwright, Mike Neville, Jeana Stilmanand, and Hotel Historian John Gurda. Live performances by Jeana Salzer, Five Card Studs, Jim Liban, Terry Coffman, Tom Schwark and John Will Balsley, plus the house band with pianist Dean Lee and Adekola Adedapo.
Tickets $15. Showtime 7:30 p.m. Visit Turner Hall Ballroom for more information.

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Moser Plays Shostakovich, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Marcus Center Uihlein Hall, 1/15-1/16
Johannes Moser performs Shostakovich’s haunting First Cello Concerto. Plus, Carl Nielsen’s bracing Symphony No. 4, “The Inextinguishable” – with its twin timpani – resounds throughout Uihlein Hall. Watch for Tom Strini’s review this week.
Tickets $25-$93. Concerts begin at 8 p.m. Visit the MSO or call 414-291-7605 for more information.

 

Quarteto Vivace Brasil, Wisconsin Lutheran College, 1/15
One of the most exciting new groups on the Brazilian music scene, four master players from South America perform on two guitars, percussion and flute, bringing sizzling energy to Brazilian sambas and jazz. The group is adept at a variety of genres including Argentinian tangos, American ragtime and even arrangements of classics such as Bizet’s Carmen and Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals.
Tickets $12-$24. Showtime 8 p.m. Visit Wisconsin Lutheran College for more information.

Wisconsin Lutheran College Jazz Festival, 1/15-1/17
High school and junior high school instrumentalists and their directors will attend Wisconsin Lutheran College’s ninth annual Jazz Festival January 15-17, 2010. This event culminates in a joint performance of the high school ensembles at 2 p.m. on Sunday, January 17 in the Schwan Concert Hall.
Tickets to the festival concert are free, but seating is limited. Visit Wisconsin Lutheran College for more information.

Founder’s Concert, Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, Sharon Lynn Wilson Center, 1/17
Conducted by Margery Deutsch, MYSO’s Senior Symphony will perform Copland’s Lincoln Portrait for Narrator and Orchestra (featuring the MSO’s Laura Snyder as the Narrator), Stella Sung’s Lincoln’s Battle (2008), the first movement of Dvorak’s Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra (featuring Joseph Johnson), Max Bruch’s Kol Nidrei, and Respighi’s The Pines of Rome.
Tickets $5-$10. Concert 2 p.m. Visit the MYSO or call 414-267-2950 for ticket information.

Conservatory Sundays: Chamber Music at the Conservatory, Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, 1/17
Featuring Margaret Butler, oboe; Daniel Roberdeau, clarinet; Joseph Ketchum, violin; Nathan Hackett, viola; John Babbitt, bass. Program includes Prokofiev’s Quintet Op. 23 from 1923. Works by Morton Gould and Paquito D’Rivera are also included on this program.
Tickets $5. Concert 3 p.m. Visit the Wisconsin Conservatory for more information.

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Bill Blagg III: A Night of Magic, South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center, 1/16
A Night of Magic attempts to shatter the barrier between the audience and the performer by utilizing a high level of audience interaction.
Tickets $8-$22. Showtime 7:30 p.m. Visit SMPAC for more information.

Masterclass with Johannes Moser, UW-Milwaukee Recital Hall, 1/16
Cellist Johannes Moser, guest artist with the Milwaukee Symphony, offers a master class for String Academy students. The German-Canadian cellist has been hailed by Gramophone Magazine as “one of the finest among the astonishing gallery of young virtuoso cellists.” The Milwaukee Symphony is collaborating with the Peck School and the String Academy of Wisconsin (their pre-college partner) to present a series of four guest artist master classes in 2009-10.
These master classes are free and open to the public. Visit PSOA for more information.

26th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration, Marcus Center Uihlein Hall, 1/17
This multi-cultural performing arts salute to Dr. King will include representation from community organizations such as the Milwaukee Chinese Orchestra, Discovering Our Destiny, Latino Arts Mariachi Juvenil and more. Another highlight of the program will include honoring those students who have interpreted Dr. King’s words through art, speech, and writing. The United States Postal Service will be unveiling another stamp as part of the Black Heritage Stamp Series. The event will conclude with a public reception at 4 p.m. in honor of Paulette Copeland, featuring a performance by the Riverside University Gospel Choir.
1 p.m. This event is free and open to the public. For more information please visit The Marcus Center.

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Notice from Sunset Playhouse:
Auditions for Rumors: One of Sunset’s most popular hit comedies is back in this farce. A group of friends meet at Charley and Myra Brock’s home for an anniversary party, but they find Charley bleeding from a gunshot wound to the ear lobe and Myra missing. Since the party must go on, the gang scrambles to keep face while coming up with more belly laughs than cold hard facts.
Auditions: January 18 & 19, 2010 (6:00pm-9:00pm); Possible Callbacks: January 20, 2009; Rehearsals: March 15-April 15, 2010; Production dates: April 16-May 8, 2010
Roles available: 5 women and 5 men, 30s-50s.
Please show up at 6pm on either January 18 or 19 at The Sunset Playhouse, 800 Elm Grove Road, and be prepared to read selections from the script.
Scripts can be checked out at the box office Monday-Friday (1-5pm) and Saturday (1-4pm) with a $10 deposit.
Contact Artistic Director Mark Salentine at msalentine@sunsetplayhouse.com with further questions.

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