“Irish” every week was this fun

Music

The Florentine Opera will perform tonight (Aug. 13) at 7:30 p.m. as part of the Live @ Peck Pavilion series. The nation’s fifth oldest opera company is a staple in the Milwaukee arts community. Tickets for this show are $15 online, but patrons can also purchase tickets for the entire series.

Milwaukee Opera Theatre partners with Carroll University to present Opericity: Songs about Energy. Located in the Carroll University Plaza, this free show features urban-focused works from classic and contemporary artists alike. This performance is free and will take place on Sunday, August 18 at 5 p.m.

Dance

The Irish are taking over Milwaukee this week. The Trinity Irish Dancers will start the week of celebration with a free concert at the Marcus Center’s Peck Pavilion. Trinity Academy of Irish Dance has several locations in the Milwaukee and Chicago area, and is celebrating their thirtieth anniversary this year. There will be two free performances, at 12:30 and 7 p.m. this Wednesday, August 13.

Danceworks: On Tap presents Joyful Noise on Friday, August 16. This exploration of the history and evolution of tap dancing will cover everything from tap’s orgins to its role on the silver screen. This performance begins at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. Reserved tickets are $18 and general admission seating is available for $15 online.

Theater

This weekend, the Alchemist Theatre opens The Burden of Being, a play by local theater artist Robby McGhee. The show is a puppet musical in the vein of Avenue Q, about a young monster named Aaron Bradway who graduates as the valedictorian of his non-monster community’s high school, but subsequently faces a series of ups and downs that teaches him what success truly is, for humans and monsters alike. Performances start Thursday, Aug. 15, and runs through Aug. 31. Tickets are $15 online.

A new theater company named Cooperative Performance Milwaukee makes its debut at Villa Terrace Monday, presenting a unique take on Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Through casting and restructuring – including the casting of Catherine Friesen to play Hamlet as a woman who identifies with the male gender – Cooperative Performance will emphasize issues of sexual prejudice, political turmoil and – as always – the question of whether the play’s protagonist is, in fact, mad. Performances are weekdays at 7:30 p.m. from Aug. 19 to 30; tickets are $15 and can be purchased online or at the door.

Grand Avenue Mall is the site for two different theatrical productions this weekend. In the Underground Collaborative, the minds behind the local Natalie Ryan series have a third (and apparently, final) installment opening this weekend: Natalie Ryan and the Edge of Eternity. The show runs Aug. 15-25, with shows at 8 p.m. excepting 2 p.m. Sunday matinees; tickets are $15 and can be ordered online. Additionally, a production of My Name is Rachel Corrie, about the peace activist killed in the Gaza Strip 10 years ago, will be presented by director Carole Alt and Bad Soviet Habits right next door, in Suite LL1000, under the TJ Maxx. Performances are Aug. 16-25, with shows at 7:30 p.m. except the Aug. 25 2 p.m. matinee. Tickets are $10 and can be ordered online.

SummerStage at Lapham Peak will present the Over the River and Through the Woods from August 15-24. This is the story of an Italian man from New Jersey who is delighted to move away from his family and begin his dream job in Seattle. His grandparents, all four of them, scheme to keep their beloved boy in town and hilarity ensues. Admission to the unassigned seating arena is $15, with senior and student discounts available by calling 262-337-1560. All performances begin at 7:30 p.m., but audiences are encouraged to arrive early to get good seats. 

Special Events

Irish Fest begins Thursday night at the Summerfest grounds and will run through Sunday, August 18. There’s something for everyone to enjoy, with traditional dancing, family events, a Jameson Lounge, and plenty more craic (Gaelic for fun). Take part in the freckle contest or pet an Irish pooch, but don’t forget the 5K event to benefit the Arthritis Foundation, which will take place at 10 AM on Saturday. General admission is $17 online, but a variety of discounts are available.

Come abide with the dude at Lebowski Fest, on August 16 and 17. This weekend features bowling, White Russians, and a showing of the 1998 Coen brothers’ cult classic, The Big Lebowski. VIP Weekend passes are available for $50 and include a free poster, reserved seating for the movie screening complete with waitress service, and a commemorative wristband for discounts to local vendors. This VIP pass also entitles you to one free White Russian at the Liquid Lunch and free admission to the afterparty.

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 

Boulevard Theatre: Tigers Be Still, through Aug. 18

Ongoing

Milwaukee Chamber Theatre: ‘Art,’ through Aug. 25

Fireside Theatre: Run For Your Wife, through Sept. 1

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

MAM: 30 Americans, through Sept. 8

MAM: Wisconsin 30, through Sept. 8

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

APT: All My Sons, through Sept. 28

APT: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, through Oct. 5

APT: Two Gentlemen of Verona, through Oct. 6

APT: Dickens in America, through Oct. 19

APT: Antony and Cleopatra, through Oct. 20