Tours, galleries and guests galore

Music

Abbamania members Monica Tietz, Michelle Truman, Nick Pattison and Matt Whale will perform this weekend with the MSO. Photo courtesy of MSO.

This weekend, take a chance on ABBAmania, performing with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Friday and Saturday. The Canadian group, considered one of the most prominent ABBA tribute bands, will play a collection of the Swedish sensation’s greatest hits, including “Dancing Queen,” “S.O.S.,” and “Mamma Mia.” Members include Monica Tietz (Agnetha) and Michelle Truman (Anni-Frid) on vocals, Nick Pattison (Bjorn) on vocals/guitar and Matt Whale (Benny) on vocals/keyboard. Francesco Lecce-Chong will conduct. Both performances are at 7:30 p.m., and tickets range from $25 to $75. Call (414) 291-7605 or visit the MSO website to order.

German a cappella group Calmus Ensemble Leipzig will perform with recorder collective Quartet Next Generation at Early Music Now Saturday. Photo credit Calmus Ensemble Leipzig.

Early Music Now presents its last concert of the year, Celebrating Renaissance Grandeur: Blaze of Glory, at St. Joseph Center Chapel this Saturday. The concert brings together two winners of the Concert Artists Guild International Competition, German a cappella quintet Calmus Ensemble Leipzig and recorder collective QNG: Quartet New Generation, to perform music composed for the royalty and clergy of the time. The concert begins at 5 p.m. April 21, and tickets are $25 and $10 for students, or $40 and $20 for preferred seating, respectively. To order, call (414) 225-3113 or visit their online box office.

Monday and Tuesday, the Prometheus Trio performs for the last time this season. On the program are trios by Arno Babajanian and Robert Schumann, as well as a Mozart piano duet rearranged as a trio. Concerts are at 7:30 p.m., and tickets are $22 or $12 for students. Call (414) 276-5760 to order.

The Marcus Center hosts the United States Air Force’s Band of Mid-America for a free concert this week. The 45-piece ensemble performs outreach and recruiting concerts throughout the Midwest year-round, and has a repertoire ranging from the classics to modern jazz and pops. The concert begins Thursday at 7:30 p.m., and tickets are required. Reserve those at their online box office or (414) 273-7206.

The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra pulls double duty this weekend, adding a Kinderkonzert to their planner. This time, they go Bach to the Future, for a musical, time-traveling journey that moves beyond the pun to include works by Mozart, Beethoven, Dvorak and Shostakovich as well. The concert starts at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 22, although “family fun” is promised for early arrivers. Tickets are $7 and can be ordered at the MSO’s website or at (414) 291-7605.

Visual Art

This Friday marks the beginning of Spring Gallery Night (and Day), and that means galleries across the city are staying open late and offering special engagements and openings. Fellow TCDer Carly Rubach’s put together an extensive advance guide, and we’ll be covering the night itself in words and photos. But here are a few expanded discussions on some of those galleries. Keep in mind, though, this is only a miniscule sampling of the 62 venues registered for the two-day event.

Dutes Miller and Stan Shellabarger, husband and husband, explore topics including their relationship’s (in)visibility in their Inova exhibition, “Hiding in the Light.” Photo credit Western Exhibitions.

UWM’s Inova gallery opens Miller & Shellabarger: Hiding in the Light, an exhibition of collaborative work by Chicago-based artists Dutes Miller and Stan Shellabarger, husband and husband. Their collective work includes performance art, printmaking, drawing, video and installations, and commonly fixates on the idea of visibility and invisibility, particularly how modern culture can overlook or ignore their relationship. The exhibition opens April 20 and runs through July 15, with an opening night reception 5 to 8 p.m. Miller and Shellabarger will also perform Saturday, April 21, as part of Kenilworth Open Studios, and again at noon on both May 4 and 5.

C.J. Pyle’s “Nothing in Return” shows the braided style characteristic of his debut exhibition: “If You Only Know.” Photo credit Tory Folliard Gallery.

The Tory Folliard Gallery presents new works from sculptor Mark Chatterly and self-taught artist C. J. Pyle. Michigan native Chatterly’s works, hand-built ceramics, blend human and animal forms into dream-like states. Pyle debuts with If You Only Know, an exhibition of surreal portraits on vintage paper featuring a distinctive braided style rooted in a childhood fascination with ropes and knots. Both will be on display from April 20 to May 26, with extended Gallery Night and Day hours.

MIAD presents its annual senior exhibition during Gallery Night and Day, with the college’s 150-odd artists and designers presenting their capstone projects for discussion and, in many cases, sale. New this year is an additional segment Saturday, “Gallery Day Conversation,” where students will be available for more intimate discussion. The exhibition is open 5 to 9 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, with the “Conversation” from 1 to 5 p.m.

Theater

Sunset Playhouse finds itself a singer short for its latest production, but don’t feel obligated to volunteer: It’s all in the script. Lend Me a Tenor opens on the opening night of an Othello opera, but the tragedy comes earlier, when the lead tenor shows up drunk. Their tragedy is our comedy, as the theater’s general manager scrambles to re-establish order. The play runs April 20 to May 6, with shows at 7:30 p.m. weeknights, 8 p.m. Fridays, 5 and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $20, $16 for students/seniors; to order call (262) 782-4430 or visit their online box office.

It’s dinner time at Carte Blanche Studios, at least for the monstrous plant at the heart of Little Shop of Horrors. Carte Blanche brings the off-Broadway hit to their South Side stage, complete with its doo-wop and Motown-flavored songs, including “Somewhere That’s Green” and “Suddenly, Seymour.” The musical runs April 20 to May 6, with performances at 8 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $20 at Carte Blanche’s website.

While Milwaukee Chamber Theatre may still be running their season-ender Bus Stop in the Cabot Theatre, there’s still time and space Sunday night for an Old Time Radio Drama, presented in concert with Wisconsin Public Radio. The event will feature two performances of classic dramas (murder plot “The Lonely Road” and sci-fi thriller “Rocket from Manhattan”), broadcast live on WPR, with gypsy swing combo group Last Gaspe playing beforehand. WPR host Norman Gilliland will introduce both pieces, with Lawrence University professor Timothy X. Troy directing. The show will begin broadcasting at 8:30 p.m., with Last Gaspe performing at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at (414) 291-7800 or the MCT box office.

This weekend, Soulstice Theatre presents a reader’s theater-style production of David Ives’Polish Joke, a play loosely based on Ives’ growing up in Pole-heavy South Chicago, as a fundraiser. The readings, April 19, 20 and 21, are paired with a Polish dinner beforehand, catered by Cindy’s Kitchen, and a raffle to be drawn at the Saturday night show (Attendance at that last show isn’t necessary, if you buy tickets at the Thursday or Friday shows.). Doors open at 6 p.m., while performances begin at 7:30 p.m.

Special Events

He’s famous for what he does in front of a green screen, but when Daniel Tosh comes to the Milwaukee Theatre Friday night, it’s all about his stand-up. The star of Comedy Central’s Tosh.0 will visit on his second network-produced tour, Tosh Twenty Twelve. He’ll perform twice, at 7:00 and 9:30 p.m., and tickets are $59.50 or $49.50 ($64.50 or $54.50 at the door, respectively). To order, visit the Milwaukee Theatre’s Ticketmaster account.

Milwaukee Chamber Theatre: Bus Stop, through April 29

Next Act Theatre: One Time, through April 29

Fireside Theatre: 9 to 5, through May 5

Milwaukee Rep: Othello, through May 6

First Stage: Diary of a Worm, a Spider and a Fly, through May 13

Milwaukee Rep: Always…Patsy Cline, through May 20 (EXTENDED)

Last Chance

Alchemist Theatre: Outliers, through April 21

Milwaukee Rep: In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play), through April 22