Weekly Highlights from 2/24-3/2

Alverno presents Bill T. Jones this week. Photo courtesy of website.

This Little Light of Mine, Next Act Theatre at the Off-Broadway Theatre, 2/25-3/7
Adrienne Danrich returns to the intimate Off-Broadway Theatre with her own one-woman musical tribute to Marian Anderson and Leontyne Price. The ground-breaking careers of these two extraordinary opera legends will be celebrated in photographs, speeches, famous recordings and Adrienne’s own “fresh liquid-silver” voice.
Tickets $25.  Showtimes Thursday, Friday and Saturday: 7:30 p.m., Sunday: 2 p.m.  Visit Next Act or call 414-278-0765.

The Secret Garden, Acacia Theatre, Concordia University, 2/26-3/7
Acacia stages the celebrated story of the blossoming of the earth and of hearts. As she adjusts to her new home at secluded Misselthwaite Manor, Mary Lennox discovers an overgrown garden locked away behind a row of hedges. Mary plants the seeds of new life for the family as they are drawn into her secret refuge.
Visit Acacia for ticket information and showtimes.

Stuck, In Tandem Theatre, Tenth Street Theatre, 2/26-3/14
A modern-day screwball comedy finds Ella, an agoraphobic elevator operator in a Midwestern hotel, privy to one wife’s obsession with proving her traveling husband is unfaithful. A light-hearted lesson in trust and compassion as performed by In Tandem.
Tickets$20 Wednesday and Thursday nights and matinees; $25 Friday and Saturday nights.  Showtimes vary, so visit In Tandem or call 414-271-1371 for more information.

Wake Me When I’m Dead, Schauer Arts & Activities Center, 2/26
The O’Brien family has gathered for Uncle Seamus’ wake. Shocked as they are by his departure, they’re determined to give him a send off only an Irish family can. An Irish band of local musicians will start the festivities one hour prior to curtain time. May not be suitable for children.
Tickets $34 including dinner and the show.  Showtime 7 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays; 1 p.m. on Sundays (with arrival times one hour prior to curtain).  Visit the Schauer Arts & Activities Center or call 262-670-0560.

Escanaba in Love, Sunset Playhouse, 2/26-3/20
This prequel to Sunset’s deer hunting comedy Escanaba in da Moonlight takes place back at Soady deer camp forty years before the action in Moonlight. This time it’s not ten point bucks in the Soady sights; it’s a lady named Big Betty Baloo.
Tickets $10-$18.  Showtimes vary, so visit Sunset Playhouse or call 262-782-4430.

Flashback to Motown, African American Children’s Theatre, Milwaukee Youth Arts Center,  2/27
Celebrate Black History month with timeless Motown classics.
Tickets $10 in advance, $15 at the door.  Showtime 2 p.m.  Visit African American Children’s Theatre or call 414-461-5771.

_

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra presents: Stars of Tomorrow, Pabst Theatre, 2/25
This concert showcases a competition amongst three featured high school soloists who were selected via competitive audition to perform a concerto movement with the MSO.  Featuring conductor Stuart Chafetz, violinist Alice Huang, harpist Emily Melendes, and percussionist Greg Riss, the program will include Ravel’s Tzigane, Ginastera’s Harp Concerto, and Abe’s Prism Rhapsody.
This concert is free and open to the public, though reservations are recommended.  Concert begins at 7:30 p.m.  Visit the MSO or call 414-291-7605 for more information.

Folklore Urbano. Photo courtesy of website.

Folklore Urbano, Latino Arts, Inc., 2/26
Composer and pianist Pablo Mayor’s 11-piece band presents seductive Colombian rhythms entangled with sophisticated jazz harmonies and form that are dance-able, festive, and intriguing.
Tickets $25 for general admission, $20 for seniors 60 and over, and $15 for full time students.  Showtime 7:30 p.m.  Visit Latino Arts, Inc. for more information.

John Knowles Fingerstyle Guitar Concert, UW-Milwaukee Recital Hall, 2/26
For more than 40 years, John Knowles has distinguished himself as an important performer, arranger, scholar and educator in the world of fingerstyle guitar. In addition to important contributions to numerous guitar publications such as Guitar Player and Fingerstyle Guitar, Knowles has written several books transcribing and analyzing the music and styles of other notable musicians and has been twice inducted into the National Thumbpickers Hall of Fame.
Tickets $15 general/$9 students, seniors and UWM alumni, faculty & staff. Concert begins at 7:30 p.m.  Visit PSOA or call 414-229-4308.

Pictured L to R: Nnenna Freelon, Harolyn Blackwell, and Mike Garson. Photos courtesy of website.

Nnenna Freelon, Harolyn Blackwell and Mike Garson: Dreaming the Duke, Sharon Lynn Wilson Center, 2/27
Award-winning vocalists Nnenna Freelon and Harolyn Blackwell are joined by noted pianist, arranger and musical director Mike Garson in this one-of-a-kind celebration of the music of Edward “Duke” Ellington, marking the 110th Anniversary of his birth.  This concert will feature beloved jazz standards (“Prelude To A Kiss,” “It Don’t Mean A Thing” and “Love You Madly”) classical Ellington fare (“Come Sunday” from his famed Black, Brown and Beige Suite) and a few surprise gems from the Ellington canon including “Solitude” and “Black Butterfly.”
Tickets $25-$48.  Showtime 8 p.m.  Visit the Sharon Lynn Wilson Center or call 262-781-9520.

Craig Hirschmann concert, Wisconsin Lutheran College Chapel, 2/27
Organist Craig Hirschmann, an adjunct organ instructor at Wisconsin Lutheran College, will perform a concert as part of the Faculty and Friends Series. Hirschmann will play on the college’s two manual tracker action Schlicker organs. The performance will feature music from the Baroque and Romantic eras, including the Toccata, Adagio, and Fugue in C Major by J.S. Bach, the Prelude and Fugue in G Major by Nicolas Bruhns, and several chorale preludes by Johannes Brahms.
This concert is free and open to the public.  Visit Wisconsin Lutheran College or call 414-443-8802.

YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED IN…. Student concerts at Peck School of the Arts (Symphony Band, Wind Ensemble, UWM Youth Wind Ensembles).

_

Photo by Peter DiAntoni courtesy of website.

Lights, DPC, Action!, Danceworks Studio, 2/26-3/7
The resident choreographers of DPC, including Kelly Anderson, Melissa Anderson, Liz Hildebrandt, Kim Johnson-Rockafellow, Holly Keskey, Dani Kuepper, Diana LeMense, Steven Moses and Christal Wagner, will turn to the big screen for inspiration for an evening-length collaboration. Genres will generate dances that seek to revel in romance, heighten suspense, cultivate comedy and thrill with action-packed physicality.
Tickets $15-$25.  Showtimes vary, so visit Danceworks or call 414-277-8480 for more information.

Bill T. Jones Dance. Photo courtesy of website.

Alverno Presents: Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Dance Co.: Serenade/The Proposition, Pitman Theatre, 2/28
Serenade/The Proposition explores the passage of time and the unique moral conflicts America has struggled with since its founding, through the use of movement, plainsong and text. The piece approaches the legacy of Abraham Lincoln as rumination on the nature of history. On the eve of the Bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth, some of his documented words, his contemporaries’ writings and speeches and other texts are used to set up the push and pull of historical perspective. Our connection to history is evoked with video by Janet Wong and an original score blending classical and folk music in a contemporary pastiche by electric cellist Chris Lancaster.
Tickets $40. Showtime 3 p.m.  Visit Alverno or call 414-382-6044.

_

First Stage Children’s Theater’s 16th Annual Make Believe Ball, Hilton Milwaukee City Center, 2/27
This annual black-tie, family friendly event is an opportunity for the community to provide financial support for First Stage Children’s Theater. Last year’s Make Believe Ball raised more than $93,000 for First Stage. Tickets for the Make Believe Ball are $50 per child, $75 per teen and $175 per adult. Family and corporate tables (for up to ten people) are also available. Ticket prices include a formal dinner, one-of-a-kind voice and silent auction, children’s entertainment and music and dancing for guests to enjoy throughout the evening. The theme for this year’s Make Believe Ball is centered on First Stage’s upcoming production of The Wiz, a world premiere production of the new Theater for Young Audiences adaptation of the original Broadway musical, running March 5–28.
Visit First Stage for more information.

_

For more arts/culture coverage or event leads, check out the TCD Calendar.