The Second Time Around

In Milwaukee, it’s so rare to see a piece of theater restaged with its original cast and crew that it immediately commands attention. Skin Tight, is getting revived by Renaissance Theaterworks a full decade after its original production in 2004, led again by director Laura Gordon and featuring actors Leah Dutchin and Braden Moran.

They have all returned for this production, the latter two coming all the way from Los Angeles. The decision was easy for all three. Skin Tight, says Gordon, “had always been a project we had a real fondness for.” As she and Dutchin describe it, you understand why: The play is a tight, one-hour work on a sparse stage that takes as its subject the life-long relationship between a man and a woman named Tom and Elizabeth, with a poetic sensibility and intimate connection.

Of course, when the production wrapped after rave reviews in 2004, there were no plans to bring it back. But about a year and a half ago, Gordon says, Renaissance reached out to see if she would be interested in getting the gang back together.

She wasn’t sure. “Last time,” Gordon says, “it was close to perfect.” Could they catch lightning in a bottle twice? But they couldn’t resist trying, and this time Dutchin and Moran immediately rediscovered the connection they spent the entire rehearsal process developing a decade ago, which has given them a chance to go even deeper.

They’re finding that 10 years away from the script has made their understanding of it stronger. Skin Tight was Gordon’s first directorial project, recommended to her by Next Act Theatre’s stage manager Jessica Connelly (then working with her at the Milwaukee Rep). It was an early project for Moran and Dutchin as well, the first professional job for the latter.

And while that production was a success, Dutchin says time has given them a maturity that helps her and Moran better become Tom and Elizabeth. She herself is recently married, giving her a real-life tie to the material, and, on a simpler level she and Moran are both in their 30s, having lived a lot more life since the last time they approached the play.

Of course, Gordon points out, the play is in some ways tougher to pull off with that 10-year age difference – Skin Tight is an intensely physical play, with extensive movement and fight choreography. Last time around, she split those duties between the late Ed Burgess and Lee Ernst, but for this production Gordon is relying on UWM dance faculty member and choreographer Maria Gillespie for both. It’s Gillespie’s first time doing choreographic work for the theater, Gordon says, but she came highly recommended as an artist whose style was similar to that of Burgess.

Still, Gordon had worries that the production might not work. But she’s relieved to see that she, Dutchin and Moran have been able to recreate this work so important to them. It’s also a chance for the many theater goers who missed it last time around to see this poignant reflection on love, relationships and life itself.

Renaissance Theaterworks’ Skin Tight runs April 5 to 27 at the Broadway Theatre Center. Tickets range from $31.50 to $39.50 and can be purchased at (414) 291-7800 or RTW’s online box office.

 

PREVIEW: Three Views of the Same Object at Next Act Theatre

This show hooked me from the moment Next Act announced it, for two completely different reasons. The most obvious would be its storyline. Three Views of the Same Object starts with a simple premise: a long-married couple finds themselves forced to consider fulfilling the mutual suicide pact they made years before once one of them gets sick. But then the story splits into three parallel narratives, each going beyond that super-dramatic premise to explore new possibilities of life and love.

The other reason it hooked me: look at the cast. Director Shawn Douglass has assembled some of the most talented actors currently in Milwaukee and Madison (Jim Pickering, John Kishline, Flora Coker, Susan Sweeney and Jenny Wanasek), and even the only out-of-towner, Laurie Birmingham, is a returning Milwaukeean, having spent 25 years of her career here until moving to New York. It’s the sort of cast that only gets assembled every so often, and between that and their three stories this looks like a tough production to ignore.

Three Views of the Same Object runs at Next Act Theatre from April 4 to 27. Tickets are $30, $25 for Wednesday matinees and $35 for Saturdays. Call (414) 278-0765 or visit the Next Act website to order.

 

PREVIEW: Mr. Marmalade at Splinter Group

Every kid has an imaginary friend. Nobody has an imaginary friend like Mr. Marmalade. In one of the most outrageous but intriguing premises I’ve seen in a while, Mr. Marmalade is a play about a four-year-old girl named Lucy whose overactive imagination conjures up a playmate who’s not too interested in hanging out with her. That’s on account of the cocaine addiction and the pornography habit, although him beating up his personal assistant doesn’t help much either. Director Jim Farrell leads a cast headed by Karen Estrada and Zach Thomas Woods in this production, originally the last in Splinter’s inaugural season until their early success prompted them to add on another, Dog Meets God, later this summer. Take Marmalade here as the opportunity to find out what’s so likable about the company.

Splinter Group’s production of Mr. Marmalade runs at The Marian Center for Non-Profits at 3211 S. Lake Dr. from April 4 to 19. All shows are at 7:30 p.m., and tickets are $15 online, $20 at the door. To order, visit their online box office.

 

CLOSING THIS WEEK:

Off the Wall Theatre: Romeo and Juliet, through April 6

Sunset Playhouse: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, through April 6

 

ALSO ON STAGE:

First Stage: Crash, through April 13

Villa Terrace: Creatures of Doubt (NEW!), through April 14

Soulstice Theatre: Still Life (NEW!), through April 19

Fireside: Mary Poppins, through April 20

Alchemist Theatre: Use No Place Soon (NEW!), through April 26

Milwaukee Rep: Ain’t Misbehavin’, Stackner Cabaret, through May 18