A weekend of song and dance

Music

Russian Masters from the MSO, featuring conductor/pianist Ignat Solzhenitsyn and trumpeter Mark Niehaus.

The MSO welcomes powerhouse conductor/pianist Ignat Solzhenitsyn in its Russian Masters concert this weekend. Also featuring the talents of trumpeter Mark Niehaus, the program includes Liadov’s Baba-Yaga, Shostakovich’s Concerto No. 1 in C minor for Piano and Orchestra, and Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 6 in E-flat minor. Concerts are at 8 p.m. Fri. Feb. 8 and Sat. Feb. 9.Tickets are $22 to $102 online or call (414) 291-7605.

The Florentine Opera performs That’s Amore: A Concert of Love Songs. Get ready to be romanced by the Florentine Opera Studio Artists as they sing the classics. Performances are at Vogel Hall at 7:30 p.m. Fri. Feb. 8 and Sat. Feb. 9, with 2:30 p.m. matinees Sat. Feb. 9 and Sun. Feb. 10. Tickets are $30 to $55 online or call (414) 291-5700 ext. 224.

Prometheus Trio continues its season at the Wisconsin Conservatory with a concert featuring guest narrator Nathan Wesselowski. The concert includes contemporary pieces by Jennifer Higdon (Piano Trio, 2003) and Harold Meltzer (Sindbad, 2004-05) as well as Brahms’ Trio in C Major. Concerts are at 7 p.m. Mon. Feb. 11 and 10:30 a.m. Tues. Feb. 12. Tickets are $22 online or call (414) 276-5760.

Turner Hall Ballroom will be busy this weekend with back-to-back-to-back poppy dance parties, beginning with the experiential club-inspired Lotus at 8:30 p.m. Thurs. Feb. 7. Next up at 8 p.m. Fri. Feb. 8 are British pop-rockers The Vaccines, headlining for the first time in MKE. Finally, FM 102.1 will host a Winter Formal at 8 p.m. Sun. Feb. 10 with Willy Moon, whose claim to fame is the bright tune “Yeah, Yeah.” Lotus tickets $22, The Vaccines $15, and Willy Moon $10.21 (get it?); all available online or call (414) 286-3663.

Dance

Milwaukee Ballet presents the much-anticipated international choreography competition Genesis, taking place at the Pabst Theater. Director Michael Pink has challenged three hand-picked choreographers to create cutting-edge performances in only three weeks, inviting the audience to vote for the winner. Pieces are 20 minutes, perfect for ballet newcomers to absorb dynamic new dance works. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thurs. Feb. 7 through Sat. Feb. 9, with a 1:30 p.m. matinee Sun. Feb. 10. Tickets are $30 to $99 online or call (414) 902-2103.

Theater

The sexy and dramatic "Closer" opens Thursday at Off the Wall.

Off the Wall Theatre brings new meaning to their “intimate” stage with a production of Closer, a sexual, dramatic story of the intertwined lives of two couples. The play was written by Patrick Marber in 1997 and became a feature film in 2004. The complex thriller opens Thurs. Feb. 7 and runs through Feb. 17. Showtimes are at 7:30 p.m. Thurs. Fri. and Sat., and at 4:30 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets are $23 online or call (414) 327-3552.

Theatre Gigante brings “the curse of the lottery” to the stage with Dust, a play by contemporary Hungarian playwright György Spiró. The dark comedy follows a couple, played by John Kishline and Isabelle Kralj, as their fortunes instantly shift with a winning lottery ticket. Performances are at UWM’S Kenilworth Studio Fri. Feb. 8 through Feb. 16, with performances at 8 p.m. Fri., Sat. and Sun. Tickets are $26 online or call (414) 229-4308.

UWM’s Musical Theatre Department presents Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party, the story of one wild evening in a Manhattan apartment in the Roaring Twenties. The musical, part of the Peck School’s Year of the Arts, is adapted from a book-length poem and is guest-directed by Paula Suozzi. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Fri. Feb. 8 and Sat. Feb. 9, and at 2 p.m. Sun. Feb. 10. Tickets are $17 online or call (414) 229-4308.

ART Milwaukee continues to plan fun, interactive arts events for the city.

Milwaukee’s creative minds are teaming up for a special one-night production at Grand Avenue Mall called interACT, in conjunction with ART Milwaukee. Each participating theater company will perform a different one-act play from David Ives’ All In The Timing. Show-goers are free to roam the different rooms in any order over the course of the event. The event is Fri. Feb. 8, from 7 to 10 p.m.. Ticket prices ($15) include samples from Jake’s Deli and Potbelly’s, one free beer or wine, and lots of entertainment, including music from Skylight Music Theater and the Jazz Orgy. Purchase online or at the door, at the Underground Collaborative on the mall’s lower level.

Special Events

As the DIY Network has made abundantly clear, remodeling isn’t just remodeling anymore, it’s entertainment. Kitchens, decks, spa baths have become TV stars. Get to know them up close and personal at the 51st annual Milwaukee/NARI Home Improvement Show Thursday through Sunday, Feb. 7-10, at the Wisconsin Exposition Center at State Fair Park in West Allis. theme for the Show. than 700 booth spaces covering the entire exposition center will feature providers of thousands of home improvement products and services, including kitchens, decks, cabinets, windows, bathrooms, siding, lighting, landscaping, media rooms, wall coverings, lower levels, roofing, fireplaces, and much more.
 Inc.

Make the Patio Stroll at the Milwaukee NARI home improvement show, through Sunday.

NARI Show hours are 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. and 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Sundayu. Admission is $5 in advance, $8 at the door. Tickets for 60 and older are $5, with a special price of $4 at the door on Thurs., Feb. 7, for Senior Day sponsored by Callen Construction, Inc. Children 12 and younger and all military personnel with a military ID card admitted free. For more information, visit the Milwaukee NARI website or call 414-771-4071.

"Elvis Lives" opens at the Milwaukee Theatre Friday night.

The Milwaukee Theatre packs in big entertainment this weekend, first with Elvis Lives: The Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artists Tour. The multi-media musical features winning artists from Elvis Presley Enterprises’ worldwide Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest. The show is at 8 p.m. Fri. Feb. 8. Tickets are $38 or $55. Next up is the Royal Comedy Tour, featuring Smmore and guests Mark Curry, Bruce Bruce and Earthquake. The show is at 7 p.m. Sun. Feb. 10. Tickets are $45, $55 and $75 online or call (800) 745-3000.

UWM presents its 16th Annual Festival of Films in French, showing 14 French language films from worldwide stages. The event runs Fri. Feb. 8 through Feb. 17, spotlighting four films from Quebec including critically acclaimed Roméo 11 and Donoma. All films are free in the Union Theatre. See the full schedule online.

Ongoing

For ticketing info, click on the company name. For related TCD stories and reviews, click on the name of the show.

Sunset Playhouse: Lumberjacks in Love, through Feb. 17

Next Act Theatre: The Clockmaker, through Feb. 24

Milwaukee Rep: Clybourne Park, through Feb. 24

Milwaukee Rep: How the World Began, through Feb. 24

Milwaukee Rep: Mind Over Milwaukee, through Feb. 24

The Alchemist Theatre: The Canonical Five of Jack the Ripper, through Feb. 29

Last Chance

Soulstice Theatre: Completely Hollywood (abridged), through Feb. 9

Danceworks: Serendipity, through Feb. 10

Skylight Music Theatre: Edith Piaf Onstage, through Feb. 10

First Stage: To the Promised Land, through Feb. 10

Renaissance Theaterworks: Educating Rita, through Feb. 10