Throwbacks and Halloween ramp-up

Music

The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra welcomes the Grammy-Award winning folk rock duo Indigo Girls to the Milwaukee Theatre on Thursday, Oct. 24 at 7:30 p.m. For the first time ever they will combine their music with orchestral arrangements. Tickets start at $22, available online or call (414) 291-7605.

The Broadway hit Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles, a musical journey through the life and times of the Beatles, comes to the Milwaukee Theatre. The show is on Friday, Oct. 25 at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $36, available online or call (800) 745-3000.

Milwaukee’s premier independent choral organization, Bel Canto Chorus, opens its 2013-14 season with Requiem/Gloria.  The show is on Saturday Oct. 26 at 7:30 p.m. at Christ King Parish. Tickets are $28, $25 students/seniors, available online or call (414) 481-8801.

The Waukesha Choral Union opens its season with a performance of John Rutter’s Requiem, Saturday Oct. 26 at at 7:30 p.m. at First United Methodist Church. Tickets are $15, $13 students/seniors, available online.

The Concord Chamber Orchestra kicks off their 2013-14 season with Clubs, a concert that focuses on the struggles of humanity through the eyes of different composers from the past three hundred years. It will be held on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 8 p.m. at St. Matthew Evangelical Lutheran Church in Waukesha. Tickets are $18, $12 students/seniors, available online. 

Chris Tomlin returns to the Milwaukee Theatre for The Burning Lights Tour with his friend and pastor, Louie Giglio. The show will be held on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 7:30 p.m. and tickets start at $31.90, available online.

Theater

Milwaukee Repertory Theater presents Forever Plaid, a musical about four singers from the 1960s that pays homage to the male singing groups of the past. It will be held at the Stackner Cabaret and runs Oct. 27-Dec. 29. Tickets start at $20, available online or call (414)-224-9490.

Off the Wall Theatre presents The Divine Sister, a kooky comedy about indecent nuns that celebrates Hollywood films such as The Singing Nun and The Sound of Music. The show runs Oct. 24-27, Oct. 31, and Nov. 1-3. See the full schedule and purchase tickets ($25) online or call (414) 484-8874.

Sunset Playhouse presents Inherit the Wind, a fictional depiction of the legendary Scopes “Monkey Trial” in which two lawyers argue the two sides of the case when a science teacher is accused of the “crime” of teaching human evolution. The show runs from Oct. 24-Nov. 10. See full schedule and purchase tickets ($20, $18 for students/seniors) online  or call (262) 782-4430.

The Carroll Players start their 2013-14 season with a midnight performance of Stop Kiss on Friday, Oct. 25. The show will also run on Oct. 26, Nov. 1 and Nov. 2 at the Otteson Studio Theater. Although the show is only open to Carroll University students, faculty and staff (who can reserve seats here), five minutes before the start of each show, non-University affiliated patrons will be able to take seats at a first-come basis. Admission is free of charge.

Milwaukee Youth Theatre presents The Phantom Tollbooth, based on the novel by Norton Juster. In the story, a tollbooth appears in the young protagonist’s bedroom and takes him on a magical journey filled with unforgettable characters. The public performance will be held on Friday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for high school and middle school students and $6 for elementary students, available online.

The Racine Theatre Guild presents Deathtrap, a thriller that will bring twists, chills, and even some laughs. The show runs from Oct. 25-Nov. 10 and tickets are $17, $15 for seniors and $12 for students, available online or call (262) 633-4218.

500 Clown uses action-based performance, improvisation, audience involvement and circus art to enact dramatic stories. They will bring their rendition of Frankenstein to the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $18, $16 for seniors and $12 for students, available online or call (414) 766-5049.

Film

The Milwaukee LGBT Film/Video Festival presents Vic + Flo Saw a Bear, a story about two women who met in prison and try to make a new life together in the backwoods of Quebec. The screening will be held at the UWM Union Theater at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 22. Admission is free.

The Milwaukee Independent Film Society will host the 15^th annual Milwaukee Short Film Festival this weekend at the Lubar Auditorium inside of the Milwaukee Art Museum. The festival will feature more than 50 films from all over the world, including some from local filmmakers. Opening night starts at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 25 and closes out with a new feature film at 9:15 p.m. The screenings on Saturday, Oct. 26 start at noon and end with the Juried film selection closing the festival at 7 p.m. Tickets for all of the screenings are $10, available online. There will also be a free screening of Petty Cash on Saturday at 9:15 p.m.

The classic 1984 film Ghostbusters will be screened at the Rosebud Cinema this weekend for their special Halloween feature on Friday, Oct. 25 and Saturday Oct. 26 at 10:30 a.m. Tickets are $5, available online.

Visual Art

Renaissance Diva Dolls present Stage Left- A Fine Art Show. This mixed media art show will benefit Renaissance Theaterworks by showcasing works for sale from regional artists. The event will be held Friday, Oct. 25 and Saturday, Oct. 26 from noon to 8 p.m at the Broadway Theatre Center. There will also be a free reading from The Belle of Amherst at 1 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Special Events

The Festival City Orchestra will be dressed in costume for their Halloween Spooktacular Pajama Jamboree on Wednesday, Oct. 23 at the Bradley Pavillion  at 7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear costumes to the fall-themed show, which is best suited for kids in K4 through fifth grade, but all are welcome. Admission is free.

Made in Milwaukee and 88Nine Radio Milwaukee are hosting the Creatures and Creators Halloween Party at Turner Hall on Friday, Oct. 25. Expect a dance party, costume contest, fashion show and lots of tomfoolery. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $12, available online.

Magician David Seebach‘s Illusions in the Night Halloween-themed magic show comes to Milwaukee this weekend at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 25 and at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26. The show will be held at Serb Hall and tickets are $21, $11 for children 12 and under, available online or call (414) 327-6244.

Last Chance

Theatrical Tendencies: The Laramie Project, through Oct. 26

Milwaukee Rep: Ragtime, through Oct. 27

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

Marcus Center: Jersey Boys through Oct. 27.

Ongoing

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