Theater

After a holiday intermission, Milwaukee’s theaters are ramping up for the second half of their 2011-12 seasons. For some companies, it’s a victory lap, having stacked their premieres more frequently on the autumn side. Others have pushed more to the back nine or eschewed the August-to-May format entirely.

Drama abounds year-round in Milwaukee. Let us help you plan your theatrical winter and spring.

The latter half of the Milwaukee Rep’s season is looking mighty literary. At the Quadracci Powerhouse, the Rep will interpret two classics: To Kill a Mockingbird (Jan. 31-March 4), a faithful adaptation of the Harper Lee novel produced in tandem with Milwaukee’s The Big Read initiative; and Othello (April 3-May 6), which transposes the Shakespeare tragedy to the modern setting of motorcycle gangs.

It’s not all traditional book-larnin’, though; the next room over is (fittingly) staging In the Next Room (or the vibrator play) from March 7 to April 22. The Stiemke Studio show, a Victorian-themed comedy by contemporary playwright Sarah Ruhl, is about a emotionally distant couple whose lives are jolted by his invention of…well, read the title.

Family drama is the subject of Renaissance Theaterworks’ remaining plays. Neat, which opens later this week (Jan. 13-Feb.5), is both a one-woman show with 20 characters, all played by Marti Gobel. Gobel will embody people in the life of writer/character Charlayne Woodard. Renaissance closes its season with Honour (March 23-April 15), a story of a family shattered when its patriarch leaves after 32 years of marriage to take up with one of his daughter’s former schoolmates.

Milwaukee Chamber Theatre’s second half comprises of two collaborations in a row. In A Thousand Words, a world premiere, MCT partners with Madison’s Forward Theater. Originally part of MCT’s 2008-2009 play development series, A Thousand Words is the story of a museum curator and the woman who could lead her to a series of rare Walker Evans photos. It will run in Madison Jan. 19-Feb.5 and in Milwaukee Feb. 16-March 11. Then, students and faculty from UW-Parkside join professional performers for the third show in MCT’s three-year college-collaborative series: Bus Stop (April 12-29), a tale of strangers stranded in a diner amid a raging blizzard.

Windfall Theatre has a particularly quirky pair of plays on tap. In February, they open Wittenburg (Feb. 17-March 3), a play that appears to be your typical college comedy until you learn its main character is Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, and his philosophy/theology profs are John Faustus and Martin Luther, respectively. Hard graders, I bet. Then there’s their final show of the season: Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins (May 4-19), a darkly comic musical that dares to ask what makes men and women take a shot at American presidents.

The Alchemist Theatre is well-known as one of the prime places for other theater companies to stage their shows, but in recent months, the Alchemist has been taking that openness to new extremes with Project Empty Space, an initiative that seeks to help people tell the stories they want to get onstage. This spring, that initiative bears fruit with a variety of new, inventive shows, including an adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984 (March 1-17) that focuses entirely on the capture of Winston Smith; Outliers (April 12-21), a show about the only boy in a Gifted and Talented program  and an exploration of the nature of the public school system; and In Love… Yet Again (April 26-May 5), a musical comedy by Jason Powell. The Alchemist will host a show of its own again in June—Help Wanted, a play by Aaron Kopec about 1940s office and sexual politics.

After keeping mum for months, Youngblood finally announced their next four shows—although they’re only telling us the name of the first one for now: The Flu Season (March 1-17), a reluctant love story set in a hospital and theater. They’re keeping the other three a secret for now, but perhaps to compensate, Youngblood has announced the addition of a sixth member: production manager Colin Gawronski, who helped stage manage Gruesome Playground Injuries and Freakshow.

More? Well, there’s the remainder of Next Act’s season in their new space to consider of course, with deathbed-themed black comedy Vigil (Feb. 2-26) and the intriguing, secret-sharing premise of One Time (April 5-29). Or perhaps the upcoming staging of The Tempest at Off the Wall (March 29-April 8), with Dale himself as Prospero? Or In Tandem‘s offerings for the spring, Jewish drama The Chosen (March 2-25) and political comedy Veronica’s Position (May 4-20)?

Unfortunately, these—and many, many more—must wait for now,  but TCD will cover these offerings and others throughout the spring season. So keep your eyes on us. For more of a broad-spectrum view, you can check out our 2011-2012 Performing Arts Guide. Also, check out our spring coverage in the Dance Guide published earlier this week, and watch for our upcoming Music Guide.