Summer Song and Dance

 

Theater

The beloved musical adaptation of Victor Hugo’s novel Les Miserables will open at Greendale Community Theatre this Thursday, July 25. Les Miserables is a story of love, loss, courage, and country set in 19th century France. This theater company is working to redefine “community theater,” just as the Barricade boys worked to redefine what it meant to be a citizen of France. This classic show will be performed on July 25-28, 31, Aug 1-3 at 7:30 PM.  Tickets are $15 online or at the door.

Join Bill, Lolly and all your favorites at Soulstice Theater’s Schoolhouse Rock Live! This blast from the past runs from July 25 – August 10. Tickets are available for an evening of learning and laughter online for $21.

Dinner and a show? That’s just what you get with Run for Your Wife at the Fireside Dinner Theater in Fort Atkinson. This tale of two households is a comedic look at what life is like for John Smith, a man with two separate lives who is taken home to the wrong wife on the wrong night after being mugged. While you watch his careful plans unravel, enjoy a variety of dinner and dessert options. With two show times every Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, its no wonder Mr. Smith has such a tight schedule. Tickets begin at $63 and are available online. This show runs through September 1.

Dance

Nomadic Limbs will go into motion at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday (July 25-28) at Next Act Theatre, 255 S. Water St. The company, which draws its eight dancers from the Milwaukee Ballet and from around the country, is in its second year as a summer project organized by Thom Dancy. Dancy spent two years in Milwaukee Ballet II and now dances elsewhere, but hasn’t cut his ties to our city. Dancy, Justin Leaf, Cheyla Clawson and the Milwaukee Ballet’s Isaac Sharratt. The Next Act Theatre box office is handling tickets; $15, $12 for students with ID.  (Full feature story coming to TCD Wednesday.)

Each summer, seasoned dancers and choreographers take breaks from their careers to come to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for intensive weeks of resident work on their Master of Fine Arts degrees. And each summer, they present an evening of dances, some polished and some in progress in a showcase format. This summer’s two Dancemakers programs are set for Thursday through Saturday, July 25-27, at the Mitchell Hall Studio (Room 254). Program A: Thursday* at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 4 p.m. Program B: Friday* and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The asterisks indicate adult language that might offend some.

Tickets: $12 adult/$10 seniors, UWM faculty, staff, alumni & other university students/$9 UWM students/$5 ages 13-18 and PSOA students/Free for under 12 & Dance majors. Box office: arts.uwm.edu/tickets or 414 229-4308. Purchase a ticket to Program A, and receive a ticket for Program B at half price — phone or walk-up orders only.

This just in Thursday: The Peck School of the Arts is giving away 15 pairs of FREE tickets to Dancemakers, showing tonight through Saturday. Call our box office at 414 229-4308 before 4 p.m. today to claim your tickets (you pick the day). Quantities are limited, so get them before they’re gone!

Music

The Wilson Center’s final Starry Night concert of the summer is happening this Friday. This week’s guest is Jenny Thiel accompanied by the Wilson Center Big Band. Together they’ll be playing hits from Glen Miller to  Count Basie and everyone in between. The free show begins at 6:30 PM at Brookfield’s Mitchell Park. As always, food and drinks are available for purchase, but picnics are encouraged!

The Live @ Peck Pavilion concert series will present four shows throughout the summer. The series will begin with The Slide Brothers on Tuesday, July 23, at 7:30 p.m. This quartet of musicians are some of the most highly regarded slide steel guitar players in America. Calvin Cooke, Darick Campbell, Chuck Campbell and Aubrey Ghent make up this renowned musical group. Lawn seats are free, although reserved seating can be purchased for $15 at (414) 273-7206 or online.

Special Events 

The self-proclaimed “original Haus party,” Germanfest comes to the Summerfest grounds with some of Milwaukee’s favorite things – music, beer, and brats. In its 32nd year, Germanfest will run from Friday, July 25 through Sunday, July 28. Adult tickets are $15 at the gate or online, but there are a variety of discounts available, as the practiced festival goer knows. The weekend will begin with a 5K event to benefit St. Ben’s Meal program and the House of Peace. Other events include the Dachshund Derby, traditional dancing, and a soccer tournament, and, as always, great food.

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 

Alchemist Theatre: King Lear, through July 27

On-Going

Milwaukee Art Museum: Celebrating 125 Years of Art, through Aug. 10

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

Milwaukee Art Museum: 30 Americans, through Sept. 8

American Players Theater: Too Many Husbands, through Sept. 14

American Players Theater: Two Gentlemen of Verona, through Oct. 6

American Players Theater: Dickens in America, through Oct. 19