Weekly Highlights from 6/2-6/8

Science & Surplus, Broadminded Comedy, Alchemist Theatre, 6/4-13
Milwaukee’s only all female sketch comedy group presents Science and Surplus, the second show in its 2010 season, featuring original comedic sketches as well as videos. The show has some adult language and is appropriate for ages 14 and up.
Tickets $8. Showtime 8 p.m.  Visit the Alchemist or call 414-426-4169.

Leading Ladies, Sunset Playhouse, 6/4-26
From the author of Lend Me a Tenor and Moon Over Buffalo comes a story about two down-on-their-luck actors who take a big chance to earn a buck. Jack and Leo have hit the skids acting “Scenes from Shakespeare” on the Moose Lodge Circuit in Amish country. When they hear that a local old woman is about to pass away and leave her fortune to her two long lost nephews, they decide to pass themselves off as the lost boys. But when they find out that the missing nephews are actually missing nieces, Jack and Leo exchange their tights and codpieces for pantyhose and girdles.
Tickets $10-$18.  Showtimes vary, so visit Sunset Playhouse or call 262-782-4430.

Bunny Gumbo's Combat Theatre. Photo courtesy of website.

Bunny Gumbo Combat Theatre, Milwaukee Youth Arts Center, 6/5
Bunny Gumbo writes, produces, and performs 16 plays in 48 hours, with often hilarious results.
Tickets $18 at the door only.  Showtime 8 p.m.  Visit Bunny Gumbo for more information.

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Peter Buffett. Image courtesy of website.

Peter Buffett in Concert, Pabst Theatre, 6/2
Emmy Award-winning musician, philanthropist and former Milwaukeean Peter Buffett performs his original compositions while candidly revealing insights into his work, philanthropic efforts, and life as the son of Warren Buffett.
Tickets $25-$100.  Show begins at 6 p.m.  Visit the Pabst or call 414-286-3663.

Gustav Mahler

Mahler’s Third, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Marcus Center Uihlein Hall, 6/4-6
“Imagine,” wrote Gustav Mahler, “a symphony so vast that it reflects the whole world. An instrument on which the universe plays.” To conclude his first season as Music Director of the Milwaukee Symphony, Edo de Waart leads Mahler’s colossal Symphony No. 3, which seeks to transform all of nature into music. Mezzo soprano Kelley O’Connor is the featured soloist.
Tickets $25-$93.  Friday and Saturday concerts begins at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2:30 p.m.  Visit the MSO or call 414-291-7605.

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Garth Fagan. Image courtesy of website.

Summerdances: Uncovered, UW-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts Mainstage Theatre, 6/2-6/5
The Dance Department concludes its year-long exploration of race and identity with Summerdances: Uncovered. The program features a performance of Garth Fagan’s “From Before”—a signature work by the Tony Award-winning choreographer of The Lion King and the department’s guest artist in 2009-2010. Faculty choreographers Simone Ferro, Elizabeth Johnson, Dani Kuepper, Janet Lilly and Krislyn World Heil take up the theme by investigating how we use our cultural identities to obscure and reveal ourselves. The reconstruction of Garth Fagan’s “From Before,” supervised by Garth Fagan and Natalie Rogers-Cropper, was made possible by American Masterpieces: Dance, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts, which is administered by the New England Foundation for the Arts with Dance/USA.
Tickets $15 general/$9 students, seniors & UWM alumni, faculty & staff. 6/2 preview is pay-what-you-can.  Showtime 7 p.m.  Visit Peck School of the Arts or call 414-229-4308.

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Andrews Sill, Artistic Director of PianoArts. Photo courtesy of website.

PianoArts Competition, Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and the Sharon Lynn Wilson Center, 6/3-9
Based in Milwaukee, PianoArts is a performing and educational organization that presents a national competition and music festival for some of the nation’s most talented musicians, ages 15 through 20. The competition offers prizes, scholarships, and future performances, but the winners – in fact, all of the contestants – receive training and advice on all aspects of performance. Participants have private conferences with well-known judges and participate in classes with professional musicians to hone their skills in playing with an ensemble and in speaking effectively about music. All contestants rehearse and perform a duo for violin/piano or cello/piano with a musician from the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and finalists have the opportunity to perform a full concerto with the MSO during the prize round.
Visit PianoArts for more information, including locations and concert/competition times.

UPAF Ride for the Arts. Photo courtesy of website.

UPAF Ride for the Arts, 6/6
Totaling nearly 250,000 participants since 1981, UPAF’s Ride for the Arts sponsored by Miller Lite is regarded as one of the nation’s largest one-day recreational bike rides. This is the 30th year of this annual summer favorite, which has generated more than $6.7 million for the United Performing Arts Fund (UPAF).  The Ride starts and finishes at the Summerfest Grounds, 200 North Harbor Drive. The various routes travel past several Milwaukee landmarks and continue along the scenic shores of Lake Michigan through numerous Milwaukee-area communities and parks.
For more information, visit UPAF Ride for the Arts.

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For more arts/culture coverage or events leads, check out the TCD Calendar.