Swans, spider women, and Tupperware

Theater

Dixie Longate

Alabama belle Dixie Longate, brings her (adults-only) trailer park humor and some of the finest Tupperware to be sold on a stage to the Marcus Center from May 14 to 26. But Dixie’s Tupperware Party has more than salad spinners and serving platters. During the show, Dixie shares personal stories and jokes and gives away free prizes for the audience. Tickets start at $45 and are available online.

Kander and Ebb’s Kiss of the Spider Woman is a story of two men being held in an Argentinean prison, for very different reasons. The two grapple with their fate, love, and where their loyalty lies. Jeremy Welter stars in this award-winning show that runs May 16 to 26 at Off the Wall Theatre. Tickets start at $25.50 and are available online or by calling (414) 484-8874.

The 1935 Gershwin classic Porgy and Bess opens at Skylight Music Theatre on May 17 and runs through June 9. The opera tells the story of a disabled beggar, Porgy, and his attempts to save his love Bess from her violent paramour and a drug dealer attempting to reel her in. Set in Charleston’s Catfish Row, the controversial show has been seen as both progressive for its all-black cast at a time when such casting was radically uncommon and problematic for its potentially racist portrayal of its characters. Tickets are available by calling (414) 291-7800 or visiting the website.

The Milwaukee Ballet presents Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece Swan Lake at the Marcus Center on Thursday, May 16. The ballet, last presented in 2006, depicts the princess Odette, turned into a swan by a sorcerer. The show runs just this weekend, through May 19. Tickets start at $30 and can be purchased online or by calling (414) 902-2103.

Music

The Basilica of St. Josaphat

The MSO’s Basilica Series III: Remembrance returns with the United States premiere of Polish composer Mieczyslaw Weinberg’s Symphony No. 2. Under the direction of Francesco Lecce-Chong, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra will also perform Prokofiev’s Andante, Opus 50a, from String Quartet No. 1, Vaughan Williams’ Concerto in D minor for Violin and Orchestra and Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. Tickets are $30 to $40 and are available online. This performance will take place at the Basilica of St. Josaphat, located at 2333 S. Sixth St., on Friday, May 17, and Saturday, May 18.

Milwaukee’s premiere choral group Bel Canto presents Brahms’s Requiem. Richard Hynson will conduct this group featuring Bel Canto Chorus members, select soloists and guests from the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. The Oconomowoc Arts Center will host Bel Canto on Saturday, May 17 and Sunday, May 18 at 7:30 PM. Tickets are available online starting at $20.

Special Events

Bill Cosby

The Riverside Theater will host one of America’s favorite comedians – Bill Cosby – on Saturday, May 18 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets to see the man who needs no further introduction are available online for $35.

Ex Fabula All-Stars come to Turner Hall Ballroom for an evening of storytelling. The evening’s theme is “Lost In Translation” and is part of a series of shows open to anyone with a story to share. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. on May 16. Tickets are available online for $12.

To read a Third Coast Daily article about a particular show, please click on the show title. For more information about the show itself, please click on the venue.

Last Chance

Windfall Theatre: A Little Night Music, through May 18

Soulstice Theatre: The Memory of Water, through May 18

Theatre Gigante: Electra, through May 18

Skylight Music Theatre: Sing Me A Story, through May 19

In Tandem Theatre: Apartment 3A, through May 19

Milwaukee Art Museum: Color Rush, through May 19

First Stage Young Company: Gathering Blue, through May 19

Ongoing

Next Act Theater: The Mystery of Irma Vep, though May 25

Milwaukee Rep: One Night with Janis Joplin, through June 2

Milwaukee Art Museum: 125th Anniversary Celebration, through Aug. 10

Milwaukee Art Museum: Veterans Book Project: Objects for Deployment, through Sept. 2