Let’s get quirky

Theater

Emily Dickinson comes to life in Renaissance Theaterworks’ one-woman season opener

Renaissance Theaterworks opens its 2013-14 season with The Belle of Amherst, William Luce’s one-woman play based on the life of Emily Dickinson. The show opens Friday Oct. 18 and runs through Nov. 10 at the Broadway Theatre Center, Studio Theatre. Tickets are $31.50, available online or call (414) 291-7800.

The widely acclaimed Broadway musical Jersey Boys has a long run at the Marcus, premiering Wednesday Oct. 16 and closing Sunday Oct. 27. Dramatizing the success story of the 1960s rock group The Four Seasons, the musical follows each band member’s point of view of its history. See the full schedule and purchase tickets (starting at $43.95) online or call (414) 273-7206.

Part radio drama, part graphic novel and all-awesome live experience The Intergalactic Nemesis comes to the Marcus Center this weekend. Three actors perform dozens of characters while one foley artist and one keyboardist create a controlled cacophony for the live-action graphic novel. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Friday Oct. 18 and Saturday Oct. 19 at Vogel Hall, with a 3 p.m. matinee Sat. as well. Tickets start at $36 online or call (414) 273-7206.

Uprooted Theatre presents Stretch Marks, a theatre fete featuring six new works from emerging and established playwrights. Taking placing in the Next Act Theatre space, Stretch Marks will show each play twice and rely on audience votes to choose which work will be presented in additional cities. The fete runs Thursday Oct. 17 through Sunday Nov. 3. See the full schedule and purchase tickets ($15) online or call (414) 278-0765.

The Peck School’s Labworks Series presents Italian American Reconciliation, a comedy that explores the innate complications of male-female relationships. The play opens Friday Oct. 18 and runs through Oct. 27, with showtimes at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and a 2 p.m. matinee on Sundays. Tickets are $10, $8 students/seniors available online or call (414) 229-4308.

Indie folk band Buffalo Gospel performs at MKE Unplugged

Music

MKE Unplugged, UWM’s free concert series, continues its season with a performance by local indie folk group Buffalo Gospel. Their newest album We Can Be Horses was released this summer, available for your listening pleasure on their website. The Grasping at Straws will open the concert, this Thursday Oct. 17 at 7:30 p.m in the Helene Zelazo Center.

Film

The 28th Annual Milwaukee LGBT Film/Video Festival begins Thursday Oct. 17 and runs through the weekend, premiering a slew of new-to-MKE features. Opening night takes place at the Oriental Theatre with I Am Divine, a documentary about John Waters’ fearless muse. The remaining films will screen at Union Theatre; you can find the full schedule and purchase tickets online ($9, $7 students/seniors).

Visual Art

The Milwaukee Ballet will celebrate its first-ever art installation at its Jodi Peck Center headquarters in Walker’s Point. Titled The Nine Muses, Mequon-area artist Stacey Williams-Ng has created square canvas paintings depicting the nine muses of classical Greek mythology, each representing a worked performed by the Ballet. Though the works have been up since September, Friday (from 5 to 7 p.m.) marks the dedication ceremony, taking place during Gallery Night and Day. Williams-Ng has been blogging about the experience since being chosen for the project.

One of Williams-Rg’s nine muses for the Milwaukee Ballet headquarters. You can see all nine at the dedication ceremony during Gallery Night.

Special Events

Milwaukee’s live storytelling series Ex Fabula opens its 2013-14 season tonight, Tuesday Oct. 15 at the Times Cinema. All “solo” storytellers need only drop your name into a hat for a chance to share your tale. Tonight’s theme: “Trust Me.” Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and stories begin at 7:30 p.m.

Alverno Presents brings very special guests The Hinterlands to Milwaukee, presenting their “left-of-center-high-octane-seize-no-prisoner” take on Vaudeville. The Circuit promises comedic and psychedelic entertainment. There will be two chances to experience the madness, at 8 p.m. Friday Oct. 18 and Saturday Oct. 19 at Pitman Theatre. Tickets are $20 online.

Gallery Night and Day returns this Friday Oct. 18 and Saturday Oct. 19, opening the city’s many artistic doors for your viewing pleasure. Find a full list of participants here and make plans to explore! Call the Historic Third Ward Association for more details at (414) 273-1173.

Uprooted Theatre’s “Against Type” Annual Fundraiser takes place at 7 p.m. Sunday Oct. 20 at Next Act Theatre, allowing Milwaukee’s local performers to cast themselves in favorite roles that will never be theirs, due to race, gender, age or body type. Tickets are $30 online or call (414) 278-0765.

The Brewcity Bruisers rollergirls will host a draft party and silent auction at Turner Hall this Friday Oct. 18. Join the girls for a night of drinking, dancing and general celebratory fun-ness. Tickets are $5 online or at the door.

Last Chance

Frankly Music: Flashback!, last show tonight Oct. 15

APT: Dickens in America, through Oct. 19

APT: Antony and Cleopatra, through Oct. 20

Milwaukee Rep: I Left My Heart: A Salute to the Music of Tony Bennett, through Oct. 20

Ongoing

Theatrical Tendencies: The Laramie Project, through Oct. 26

Milwaukee Rep: Ragtime, through Oct. 27

In Tandem Theatre: Burying the Bones, through Oct. 27

The Alchemist Theatre: Closing Night, through Nov. 2

Theatre Unchained: Fawlty Towers, through Nov. 3

Milwaukee Rep: Venus in Fur, through Nov. 3

First Stage: Shrek the Musical, through Nov. 17

MAM: Thomas Sully: Painted Performance, through Jan. 5