Public Museum’s U.S. Debut of Nelson Mandela Exhibition

Images of Healing a Nation a space that celebrates unification and reconciliation. It
highlights Nelson Mandela’s dedication and determination to fulfil his life’s mission. Photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Public Museum.

There’s plenty to do in Milwaukee this weekend while practicing safe social distancing. Florentine Opera Company’s Little Mahagonny performance will give Milwaukeeans the chance to be the first guests to visit the newly renovated Uhlein Hall, closing out its Return to Stage performances. The Milwaukee Public Museum debuts Nelson Mandela: The Official Exhibition, and its your last chance to catch the 2021 MIAD Senior Exhibition.

Ongoing: Florentine Opera Presents Shakespeare

The Florentine Opera is celebrating music inspired by Shakespeare with performances of Britten, Gounod, Verdi and more. The hour-and-a-half long program will take place in a secret room in a Milwaukee landmark home with ties to England and bootlegging. Historian John Eastberg will make an appearance to provide some historical background. The performance is digital only and can be purchased for $25 by following this link.

The Mitchell Park Domes is putting on its spring floral show titled “Seasons of Legend.” The show will look at the ways different cultures have crafted intricate stories to explain the changing of the seasons. The show will be divided into five sections, each exploring a different folklore legend. For safety purposes, the domes are now offering time slot reservations. For more information on admission fees and reserving your time slot, click here.

Ongoing: Florentine Opera’s La Vie en Rose Digital Performance 

Florentine Opera has returned to the stage, but is maintaining some of its digital options from its experience with virtual performances. A digital copy of a recent sold-out performance is now available for purchase. The performance, titled “La Vie En Rose” after the famous song by Edith Piaf, can be purchased for $25. To purchase virtual tickets, click here. To read Urban Milwaukee’s coverage of the opera’s current season, click here.

Ongoing: Florentine Opera’s Eric Ferring Performance Available Digitally

As part of its return to the stage, Florentine Opera welcomed young break-out tenor Eric Ferring to perform in Milwaukee for the first time accompanied by Laurann Gilley, a pianist and coach with the Ryan Opera Center. That performance will be available to stream digitally on April 30th, and tickets are $25. Click here for more info.

Skylight Music Theater presents KidsWrites, a writing workshop for students in grades three through eight designed to inspire them to write lyrics and dialogue based on a theme. Those pieces of writing are then turned into musical numbers and performed by Skylight Music Theater actors. This year’s theme — Time Capsule — is pandemic-inspired. This year’s performances are entirely virtual and available for free streaming on Skylight Theater’s website.

May 6-21: Milwaukee Film Fest

The Milwaukee Film Fest returns! Once again, due to COVID-19 precautions, the film fest will be entirely virtual. Traditionally the festival ran each year during the fall. But the organizers have shifted it to spring to better attract guests in future years. There are 202 films being shown at the festival. You can buy a pass to access them all, or purchase individual tickets. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the festival website.

May 6-8: MIAD Senior Exhibition 

The Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design is hosting its annual Senior Exhibition, where students will showcase their senior projects. The event will feature the work of 60 Illustration, New Studio Practice: Fine Arts & Product Design students. Preregistration to the event is required 48 hours in advance due to limited capacity. Click here to register.

May 6: PEARLS for Teen Girls Inspired to Lead Benefit

PEARLS, an organization that focuses on improving quality of life for young girls by empowering them with self-development tools and guidance, is virtually hosting its annual Inspired to Lead Benefit. The event will be hosted by Denise Thomas and will feature a performance by Milwaukee’s SistaStrings. The benefit will give PEARLS Girls a platform to speak and will give a behind-the-scenes look at the organization. There will also be a raffle, with prizes including an overnight stay at Geneva National and a private backyard BBQ party package courtesy of Yummy Bones BBQ. The event will run from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Click here for more info.

The Milwaukee Public Museum is teaming up with America’s Black Holocaust Museum for the U.S. debut of Nelson Mandela: The Official Exhibition. This virtual tour will take visitor’s on a journey through Mandela’s life, highlighting his work as a freedom-fighter and political leader. The educational event will feature previously unseen film and photos and will showcase over 150 historic artifacts and personal items from the Mandela family and museums from all over the globe. Click here for more information.

May 7-June 7: Florentine Opera Presents Little Mahagonny 

Florentine Opera is rolling out the final production of its recent Return to Stage: Little Mahagonny. The Baumgartner Studio Artists will perform the Kurt Weill musical in the newly renovated Uhlein Hall — the first production to do so. The performance is available in person and digitally. For more information on ticket pricing and how to watch the performance virtually, click here.