A week of wounds, and wine to wash them down

Theater

Sibling rivalry opens the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre season this week, in the Pulitzer Prize-winning Crimes of the Heart. Beth Henley’s 1980 tragicomedy gives us the Magrath sisters — Lenny, Meg and Babe. They reunite for Lenny’s 30^th birthday party and must finally face the emotional damage they’ve wreaked. The show runs Aug. 11- 28, with shows at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays (except for a 1:00 p.m. show the 24^th), 8 p.m. Fridays, 4 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets start at $15, with a $5 discount for students and seniors. Call (414) 291-7800 or buy online.

Fresh off the success of their last show, An Apology, Youngblood Theatre is back in business this week with not one, but two new shows. Their main show is Gruesome Playground Injuries, opening Friday, Aug. 12, at UWM’s Kenilworth Studio Theater, 1925 E. Kenilworth Pl. Injuries is the sort of love story where the meet-cute occurs in the nurse’s office and the main characters are masochists that make Romeo and Juliet just look a little angsty. Shows are at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through Aug. 27, with one pay-what-you-can show August 22 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15, online or at the door.

The other Youngblood show is a secret. So come in really close to the screen, so no one else can see. It’s Minnesota Moon, about a pair of high school friends postponing their goodbyes, to be staged at a secret location near Southridge Mall. Sign up for Youngblood’s mailing list or buy tickets to Gruesome Playground Injuries. Either tactic will earn you the location of the free outdoor show, which runs at 8:30 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays Aug. 15-25.

The Cure at Troy, the last show in American Players Theatre’s summer roster, opens this weekend at their indoor Touchstone Theatre. The play is an adaptation of Sophocles’ Philocetes, set within the 10-year Trojan War. The title character, abandoned by the Greek forces after being wounded on the way to Troy, is approached years later and asked to return for the cure—a cure he may be too angry and prideful to accept. The show opens Aug. 11 and runs through Sept. 25. Tickets are $40 and up depending on date, time and seat location. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit APT’s website or call the box office at (608) 588-2361.

Rounding out theater for the week is the Imagination Theatre of Germantown, which is opening Broadway classic The Music Man this Friday. The show runs through August 21, but dates and times vary, so check their website for more details. Tickets are $10 in advance or $12 at the door, and can be purchased at (262) 957-0399.

Dance

Add a little tap to your life. TAPtivating, the latest show from Danceworks On Tap, opens this weekend. The show, rooted in Irish and African tap heritage, will feature both traditional dances and contemporary styles  developed from them. Shows are at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Aug. 12 and 13, and at 4 p.m. Sunday,  Aug. 14. Tickets are $15 general admission, $20 for reserved seats, and $10 for students and seniors and at Danceworks’ website.

 

 

Special Events 

The Wisconsin State Fair is gearing up for a second week of gigs at their Potawatomi Main Stage, and the selection has something for everyone. Tuesday opens with the most famous beards in music: ZZ Top, joined by fellow Southern rockers The Cadillac Black. On Wednesday, country gets contemporary with Blake Shelton and special guest Jerrod Niemann. For those of you not normally in the country loop, Shelton’s also a judge from hit summer TV show The Voice. Oh yeah, now you remember.

Thursday, Whitesnake takes a bite out of the State Fair, with original lead singer David Coverdale still going strong. Opening for them are fellow ‘80s hard rock acts Skid Row and L.A. Guns. On Friday, we’re graced by the presence of the Oak Ridge Boys, one of the oldest ongoing acts in music. Formed by its original members in 1947 as a gospel group, the Boys have since developed a more traditional country sound. The current lineup’s been in place since 1995, but most of the members have been with the band much longer — including lead singer Duane Allen, who joined in 1966. Billy Dean opens for the band.

Saturday and Sunday, spectacle takes center stage. First, Cirque Sublime brings their brand of circus acrobatics to Milwaukee, in what is sure to be a remarkable performance. Equally remarkable, though, is their opening act The Tempters, a Milwaukee-area a capella group that performs in the style of The Temptations. Sunday features the Ives Brothers, the youngest stunt bikers in the country. They’ll be performing two FMX and “ball of steel” stunt shows that afternoon, but the most thrilling part is the price — free with admission to the fair.

The Wisconsin State Fair runs through August 14. Hours are 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, 8 a.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays, and 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. the final Sunday. Ticket prices for main stage shows (which include fair admission) vary, so check the fair’s website for more information. Tickets for just the fair itself are $9 general admission, $6 for seniors, military/veterans and children 6-11, and free for kids 5 and under.

State Fair not your festival of choice? Try the Milwaukee Wine Festival instead, August 12-13 at the Milwaukee Art Museum. There are more than 270 wines and dozens of craft beers available, and experts will be spread across the festival to supply information on each and every one. Tickets come with a souvenir wine glass, ten tastings of wine and/or beer, and discounts on wine purchases. Wine or beer tasting tickets are $27 in advance and $35 at the door, combination wine and beer tasting tickets, which come with 10 of each, are $43 in advance and $50 at the door, and designated driver tickets, which come with two nonalcoholic drink tickets in place of tastings, are $10. Anyone under 21 is admitted free with a paying adult. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the festival’s website or call (877) 772-5425.

Ongoing

In Tandem Theatre: Tea at Five, through Aug. 21

Fireside Theatre: David, through Aug. 21

American Players Theatre: Blithe Spirit, through Sept. 9

APT: The Critic, through Sept. 10

APT: The Tempest, through Sept. 30

APT: Of Mice and Men, through Oct. 1

APT: The Taming of the Shrew, through Oct. 2

APT: The Glass Menagerie, through Oct. 15

APT: Crime and Punishment, through Oct. 16

Last Chance

Marcus Center: Jersey Boys, through Aug. 14