2008-05 Vital Source Mag – May 2008
A New Brain
By Charise Dawson A real-life personal experience with arteriovenous malformation and the healing power of art inspired a Broadway musical now debuts in Milwaukee. Windfall Theatre closes its 15th season with A New Brain at Village Church Arts, 130 E. Juneau Avenue. The production runs May 2 through 17. William Finn’s A New Brain is a musical journey through the author’s real life. Finn, who was hospitalized shortly after winning Tony Awards for Falsettos, was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, and the musical is an attempt to recreate what it was like when he thought he would die and ended up living. The main character, Gordon Michael Schwinn, is a middle-aged songwriter who becomes ill with a brain disease. Actor Larry Birkett captures the characters’ struggle ably, balancing the news of his illness with the often exhausting comfort of his mother, lover and those around him. Meanwhile, he is charged with the task of writing the song that he hopes will become his legacy before undergoing a dangerous and risky operation. Supporting roles include Mr. Bungee, a children’s television star, who torments Schwinn’s psyche by telling him he is an artistic failure. The character is played by Thomas Rosenthal, who wears a bright frog costume and roams the stage on a green vintage bicycle. Roger Delli-Bovi is Schwinn’s lover, played by Marty McNamee. McNamee creates some of the play’s most vulnerable moments, including a song in which he invites Schwinn to spend the night before his operation sleeping in his arms. When the character believes his lover will not recover from his operation, he delivers a truly memorable performance of “A Really Lousy Day in the Universe.” Mimi Schwinn, the main character’s mother, is played by Marilyn White. White brings the perfect amount of sass and heart to the role, reminding the audience that a mother is a mother, no matter how old her son is. David Flores brings laughter to the role of as Richard, Schwinn’s nurse – a quirky gay man with hilarious facial expressions and physicality and a strong, idiosyncratic bass voice to boot. Tamara Martinsek, Kristin Pagnekopf, Carol Zippel, Bob Hirschi and Ben Geroge complete the cast. Each actor shines in his or her role while managing the ensemble pieces wonderfully. A personal favorite, “Gordo’s Law of Genetics,” is a funny number, showcasing the casts’ ability to coordinate various melodies and vocal parts. The musical direction by Chris Wszalek is solid, Kim O’Brien’s choreography is lively and thoughtful. Director Shawn Gulyas moves the action through the music seamlessly, a difficult and commendable task, considering the play’s complex settings and that it was almost completely sung-through. VS A New Brain runs May 2 through 17 at Village Church Arts at 130 E. Juneau Avenue. For tickets and information, call Windfall Theatre’s box office at 414-332-3963.
May 6th, 2008 by Vital Archives
Life’s remedy
By Charise Dawson One Milwaukeean has no trouble likening medicine to art. Dr. Curt Kommer, a Milwaukee artist and physician, will exhibit his artwork in his first gallery show at Lakeshore Gallery. The exhibit, Travelogues, a collection of oil and acrylic paintings, runs May 2 through May 31. According to Kommer, being an artist is like being a doctor: both roles require discipline and detail. “When I sit down, I can bring a lot of focus in it. A lot of the qualities of a doctor require the same focus and detail that artists need.” During his work as a family physician, Kommer made house calls to former UWM Professor of Art Joseph Friebert. The two discussed art and the late Friebert asked Kommer to show him his paintings. His encouragement inspired Kommer to continue showing other people his artwork. “He passed away about two years ago. I know he’d be so proud of me,” Kommer said. For the internationally known artist, painting was Friebert’s lifetime work. According to Kommer, he was still painting at 89 years old and reworking pieces he had done 30 years ago. “I used to be so sensitive about revising my work. You don’t want a physician who isn’t a perfectionist. You want him to get it exactly right the first time. But in art, you can start over. Friebert showed me that art is a living thing. It evolves. As it develops, we may change our minds,” said Kommer. Kommer, a Chicago native, had never left the city until he was 18. As a Chinese interpreter in the military, he took watercolor classes in Asia to relax. Ten years ago, his wife bought him a set of oil paints. He now uses oils and acrylics to create textures in his paintings. He received his M.D. from the University of California at Davis. Kommer has been with Columbia St. Mary’s since 1985. He is semi-retired from his family practice and works half-time in urgent care. Since his semi-retirement, Kommer wanted to see if any gallery would consider showing his paintings. Roger Tsang at Lakeshore Gallery was the first person he approached, and though Tsang really liked Kommer’s work, Cranston in the Third Ward was the first to show his art. Kommer and Tsang kept in touch, and about a year ago, the gallery showed and sold some of Kommer’s artwork. He was delighted when Tsang offered to have an entire show of Kommer’s work at Lakeshore Gallery. Kommer, who paints in the back bedroom of his house, said that seeing his paintings on the wall of the gallery, professionally lit, was thrilling. The exhibition is the first time the artist has seen all of his paintings in one place. “I’ve got some butterflies,” Kommer admitted about his first opening night reception at Lakeshore Gallery, a chance for art-lovers to meet the artist. “I don’t know if they are expecting me to walk around with a pipe and talk about every detail of each painting,” he […]
May 6th, 2008 by Vital Archives
Spamalot
By Jim Cryns Like so many great comedy sketches, Monty Python’s antics tend to have an incredible life-span. From rather humble beginnings on PBS back in the ‘70s as Monty Python’s Flying Circus, the Python empire has churned out some of the most enduring cult hits of our time, including Life of Brian, The Meaning of Life and Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which was “lovingly ripped off” for Broadway three years ago in Spamalot. The production at the Marcus Center, part of Milwaukee’s Broadway Across America series (now – May 4), has something up its sleeve for everyone. If you know the films, you’ll have a pretty good idea of what’s coming, and I mean that in a good way. Spamalot is a hit with both women and men, a rarity where most musicals traditionally draw women. The loose plot follows King Arthur has he attempts to round up a cast of suitable knights to assist him in his quest for the Holy Grail: Sir Lancelot, Galahad and the timid and trouser-fouling Sir Robin. Tony Award winner Gary Beach is King Arthur, and you never get the feeling that Beach is a stage-glomming prima donna. He’s very giving onstage and present throughout the performance, save for a brief respite during the gay Galahad number. Brad Bradley, also a member of the original Broadway cast, says he loves his character Patsy: “He’d truly die for the king,” Bradley says, “and that’s an amazing quality. Patsy is dedicated, selfless, he truly cares.” Bradley admits the Python humor went over his head in high school, but he made up for lost time in college. “People come into the theater excited, even before the show starts.” American Idol phenom Clay Aiken joined the Broadway production as Sir Robin, the chicken-hearted knight who shits his armor throughout the show. Rocky Horror alumni Tim Curry originated the role of King Arthur on Broadway; Bradley says he was also great to work with. “Whenever you were with Tim,” Bradley says, “you always felt you were with the King. We’re all having a great time; we get to laugh for a living.” Familiar scenes from the movie come to life on the stage: the Trojan rabbit worked to perfection, as did the cow over the castle wall and blood-thirsty rabbit. Monks cross the stage chanting while smashing themselves in the head with wooden boards. You’ll see King Arthur defeat the Black Knight by cutting off his arms and legs, and in the “dark and very expensive forest” where the crew meets the Knights who say Ni, Patsy delivers one of the most popular Python bits, “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.” Bradley says numbers are cut from shows with regularity. “They cut the ‘lighter than a duck’ scene from the play, and that was kind of depressing.” Part of the convention of Python is different roles played by the same actors. Bradley says producers have to ‘kill their babies’ periodically and take out songs […]
May 2nd, 2008 by Vital Archives
Fever Marlene
Milwaukee’s Fever Marlene have a serious work ethic – they’ve unflaggingly made their presence known since taking up residence in their Historic Fifth Ward creative/living space, absorbing the industriousness of their neighborhood. Scott Starr (guitars, keys, vocals) and Kevin Dunphy (drums, vocals), a duo whose sound is more fleshed out than many a four- or five-piece can claim, received solid praise for their 2007 release Civil War, and their songs spin through the airwaves of local radio stations not just because they’re “Milwaukee music,” but because their music is that good. With White China, Starr and Dunphy are striding it out after a run of successful previous releases. Recorded in the infamous Chelsea Hotel in New York City, Fever Marlene have returned home to release it on their very own Rev Pop label. Dense with pianos, synthesizers, strings and various percussion and held together by Starr’s expressive tenor and Dunphy’s lovely shadow-harmonies, White China shows that the band is comfortable enough to make slight alterations, but clever enough to stick to the formula. On “Oh Berlin,” the piano intro sets an echo-y Motown backbeat, but when brassy guitar chords and Starr’s soft voice kick in, the effect is anything but dated. The sincerity of the songs lies in the vocals and lyrics, and the instrumentation follows suit by default. The upbeat “Lemon King Mahoney” and country-tinged “How Do You Love?” are diversions from the duo’s blanket of rainy-day pop. “Check for Pulse” gets closer with its looped beats and distantly drawled-out guitars – the only thing missing is the hushed sound of raindrops. White China is not Fever Marlene’s pluckiest album, but it is solidly pretty and genuinely enjoyable. Starr and Dunphy have proven that they are more than capable of the songsmith careers they have chosen.
May 1st, 2008 by Erin Wolf
The Black Keys
When music nerds think of Akron, Ohio, they usually conjure images of proto-punk college nerds as much influenced by neighboring Cleveland’s industrial wasteland as by whatever they were learning down the road at Kent State that semester — i.e. DEVO. But thanks to Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney, aka The Black Keys, the new sound of Akron dates past devolution and slinks back into the primordial ooze of dirty, gritty delta blues. Their latest, Attack and Release, shuffles and shambles like the soundtrack to one of those run-down city skyline montages in some old ‘70s film where the main character is just driving and driving through town. The music’s rusty, broken-in and comfortably warm. Although the Keys are a duo, Attack and Release takes advantage of the recording studio and fills out its riffage with bass, organ and even flute (!) in the intro to “Same Old Thing.” The extra instrumentation never gets in the way, leaving plenty of space for the songs to breathe. You don’t need to get the band back together to hear their brand of blues (although I doubt they’d refuse the whole chicken and toast). Drums and guitar will suffice just nicely. The Black Keys sound like road movies and cigarettes smoked at 3 a.m. while drunkenly drifting away on your couch after another Friday night at that same damn bar again. In a good way. Seriously, if I don’t turn on TBS in another 10 years and hear “Things Ain’t Like They Used to Be,” Attack and Release’s dynamite closing track, in some flick involving either Patrick Swayze and truckers or Dennis Hopper and motorcycles, I will have lost faith in Hollywood.
May 1st, 2008 by DJ Hostettler
Exercising Ideals
“Give a man a fish, he eats for a day, teach man to fish, he eats for a lifetime.” Dave Casillas, of the newly founded Echo Base Collective, is not only familiar with this proverb; he is actively trying to live by it. “People don’t appreciate what they have. They’ve got cars, but don’t treat their cars with respect; they don’t drive respectfully. Bike riders, too. They should stop at stop signs instead of plowing through them.” This motivated 23-year-old isn’t merely preaching Utopianism. Echo Base Collective (Milwaukee’s second bike collective – the other is at 2910 W. Clybourn Street) is located in the industrial environs of Walker’s Point, between Milwaukee’s Third Ward and Bay View. It’s an exercise in idealism, but with the proper pushes from the right people, it could become a place where anyone can not only find a bicycle to get them out of doors and into a more active lifestyle, but also learn how to maintain their own bikes and help build bikes for others. Casillas’ motivation comes from his own volunteer experiences and via a cross-country biking expedition that introduced him to collectives on the west coast. He was impressed with what he encountered there. “In Portland, there are four different free bike programs. [In Milwaukee] I’ve gone through the hard work of finding the space and providing the ability to create something. It’s up to everyone else to own up to the fact that they can better their community and own lives.” Ready The collective, a bare-bones space for the moment, houses over 50 bicycles, both kids’ and adults’, mostly donated by The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee and salvaged from Casillas’ own scouting for discarded bikes. They hang from racks on the wall of the collective, ready to be worked on; many wait in storage. The trick is to find enough people to pitch in and make them all working machines. “I’m very motivated, more so than most people,” Casillas says of his mindset towards his collective. “When someone says, ‘Oh, yeah, I’ll totally help you,’ I would have to go to their house, wake them up, drag them out and probably dress them just to get them to come down. I’m really looking for people who are motivated enough to take their own initiative.” “[The other collectives I’ve worked in before] have already been established for two or three years,” explains Casillas. “Starting out is the hardest part – it’s as grassroots as you get. I need teachers, people who just want to sweep the floor – anything – even to sort through all these tires. I want to create an environment where you can just enjoy the company of other people.” Set This is the bottom line from which Casillas is building the foundation of the collective: enjoying the company of others and developing mutual respect through hard work. “I pretty much started Echo Base as a facility to put a bike between every pair of legs – […]
May 1st, 2008 by Erin Wolf
Story of the Year
By Kyle Shaffer Defining one’s sound on a passing trend can prove a death blow for most acts. But, perhaps even more daunting a thought is that of trying to reformat a band’s sound to remain relevant. Story of the Year’s heyday was the release of Page Avenue amidst an explosion of screamo bands. Two albums and a few Warped Tours later, the St. Louis crew emerges with The Black Swan, a supposedly seamless integration of the catchiness of their debut with the heavy riffing of 2005’s In the Wake of Determination. While this album may mark the group’s ability to survive without major-label support, it’s full of enough generic guitar riffs and less-than-inspiring lyrics to make the dudes in Avenged Sevenfold hold back chuckles. Throughout, this record is shaking with the fear of committing to a sound. Opener “Choose Your Fate” attempts Thrice-like energy and lands somewhere between 30 Seconds to Mars and whatever “band of the week” Vagrant Records is promoting. This is not a giant step forward in Story’s growth. Lyrically trying to tackle more serious subject matter, songs like “Message to the World” struggle to articulate communication problems between the U.S. and the rest of the planet. Even more painful is listening to lead singer Dan Marsala feign his concern for racial equality in “We’re Not Gonna Make It.” These are serious issues in the modern world, but Story of the Year’s contrived sound minimizes their importance. For a band that left a major label for ethical reasons, The Black Swan sure sounds like a record written for a paycheck.
May 1st, 2008 by Vital Archives
Beloit
The winter had been cruel and callous, leaving the author teetering on the brink of insanity. Could a simple trip to Beloit – complete with 60-degree weather and a ridiculous house party – finally turn things around, as well as begin to rectify a decades-old sin? Of course it could. When I was 16 years old, I took a trip with my then-girlfriend to her hometown of Shawano, Wisconsin. We stayed with the family of one of her childhood friends, a family that seemed to be a Midwest version of Salinger’s Glasses – all artistic brilliance and deep-seated neuroses set loose in a picturesque northern Wisconsin town. Appropriately, our weekend was filled with an endless array of off-center adventures: smoking pilfered cigars in a nearby park, cutting each other’s hair in the driveway while blasting the Violent Femmes, trying our hands at hot-wiring a car, getting drunk at a play that one of the family’s older siblings had written. It was one of those improbable, perfectly summer-tinted weekends that stay with you for the rest of your life, and one that I managed to totally cock up at the last minute. Saying our goodbyes on a bleary Sunday morning, my girlfriend’s friend politely asked how I had slept the night before. For whatever reason, I decided to give her a nasty, semi-sarcastic response, something along the lines of, “Pretty lousy. Thanks for sticking me on the smallest couch you could find!” My incredibly lame sense of humor lost on her, she shot me an icy glare and hissed, “I think it’s time for you to go home.” Fourteen years later, this inexplicable faux pas rattles through my head as I arrive in lovely Beloit, Wisconsin. Vital’s own Amy Elliott has graciously agreed to spirit me across county lines – and to the home of her alma mater – in hopes of saving me from certain doom at the hands of an unrelenting winter and increasingly suffocating city. Scenic strolls, cocktail parties, and absolutely no benefits for injured roller-girls have been promised (joking!). The weather calls for 60 degrees and uninterrupted, unprecedented sunshine. We’ll be staying with Amy’s friend Lynn, operating under the assumption that my houseguest manners have improved slightly in the past decade-and-a-half. Having never visited before, I’m pleasantly surprised to find Beloit a charming little getaway of a town, and absolutely nothing like the awful Kenosha/Racine hellhole I had envisioned (not joking!). Checking in at Lynn’s, we decide to take a walk through the nearby campus. Beloit College is everything my 16-year-old self imagined a college would be: sprawling, idyllic, and home to at least one guy named “Davis.” Far from the concrete nightmare of UW-Milwaukee, it’s the kind of place that reminds you that college, in fact, is a good thing. Well-worn student houses dot the grounds, and an on-campus bar/venue – the C-Haus – is busy with out-of-town bands loading in their gear. Amy even points out a dorm tower where all the, um, “indoor” kids […]
May 1st, 2008 by Matt Wild
Sentimental outing
The Cuckoo Then, on Every Tree: Three Artists Celebrate Spring May 16 – June 28 Portrait Society Gallery 207 E. Buffalo St., Suite 526 The word cuckold is derived from cuckoo. A song in Shakespeare describes spring as the time when, “the cuckoo then on every tree, mocks married men, for thus he sings: Cuckoo!” It’s said that three birds in hand are worth three in a bush – or something like that. The Cuckoo Then, on Every Tree, is what you’ll see at the Portrait Society Gallery, 207 E. Buffalo St., May 16 – June 28, with an opening reception on Friday, May 16, in Suite 526 (5-9pm). Three artists define the season via trees, wee animals and birds. It’s been a grim winter, but the willows are greening along the Milwaukee River, the squirrels are scampering, and near my home a cardinal hopefully whistles for a mate. Get out your Crocs and toe-revealing sandals. Fire up the grill. We’ve survived yet another winter. Trees are a turn-on for Slobodan Markovic (or “Bob” if you prefer), though why that is remains a mystery for this artist. It could be that with fewer and fewer trees populating the globe, memorializing the remaining ones defines his art. The same could be said of artist Michael Kasun – the bird guy – who, with Markovic, attended MIAD’s predecessor, The Milwaukee School of the Arts, in the late ‘70s. Keiler Sensenbrenner paints small-scale images of animals, for example a majestic goat. Gallery owner Debra Brehmer describes Sensenbrenner’s style as fluid and painterly, “reminiscent of Courbet or Manet,” which is a fine thing for a goat to be. Or a squirrel. A teacher at DePaul University, she makes clothes to replace her commercially manufactured wardrobe when she’s not enlightening students or making art. The third artist in the “Green” trio, Michael Kasun, began painting images of birds for the “mini” exhibit at the popular Art Bar in Riverwest. Half of his 4” x 5” (or 4”x 6”) gouache paintings in the Portrait Gallery show are of birds he has actually sighted. Kasun’s favorite spring spot for observing his feathered friends is at Perot State Park above Trempeleau, Wisconsin, and wisely, his winter spot is Florida’s Everglades. On his 2008 spring list of sightings are brown creepers, vireos, nuthatches and even tundra swans in Lake Michigan off of North Point. “The most unusual bird I’ve seen is the least bittern, an amazing small heron that looks like a feathered dinosaur or a collared lizard when it displays,” he says. Don’t ask if he has caged birds in his home, or he’ll tell you they should be “free agents on this earth,” though $50 – $80 will buy you a Kasun bird, forever captured in paint. For strictly sentimental reasons, I popped for a spunky bluejay – they were everywhere in the cornfields in the state of Iowa where I grew up. So go ahead and admit you are sentimental. Should you have a particular tree, […]
May 1st, 2008 by Vital Archives
Be careful what you wish for
Essure claims to provide non-surgical sterilization with no cutting. But there are risks with Essure's rewards, so be sure you do your homework first.
May 1st, 2008 by Lucky Tomaszek
Mom’s sweet comforts
Food has always been a human fascination that far surpasses its integral role in survival. We love things that taste good; we crave the flavors that remind us of our childhood, that excite us and that make taking nourishment an experience beyond simple sustenance. Some of us enjoy expanding our palates at a trusted bistro. For others, the sampling of new flavors invites us to recreate the experience in our own kitchens. In this new VITAL column, we’re pairing recipes from area gastronomic gurus with those of community contributors who just love to cook. All are here for your enjoyment, and for you to try at home. We hope these recipes will open up fresh and fabulous culinary territory for you, while introducing local resources for high quality and inventive foods and beverages. This month we celebrate Mother’s Day with two recipes that embody the spirit of Mom’s kitchen magic. The first is an elegant spin on an old chestnut by Chef Cristopher Taube of the Milwaukee Chop House; the second is one of my own mother’s favorite cakes that’s easy and delicious. Photo by Kevin Groen Chef Christopher Taube’s Grilled Peach Melba Milwaukee Chop House 633 N. 5th Street Milwaukee 414-226-CHOP milwaukeechophouse.com This dessert, first created in the late 19th century, was seminal French chef Auguste Escoffier’s panegyric to his favorite opera singer, Dame Nellie Melba. The original was made with vanilla ice cream and fresh peaches with a raspberry sauce. La Melba, who worried about the effect of cold ice cream on her valued vocal chords, would appreciate the unfrozen mascarpone substitution in Chef Taube’s luscious version. For the whipped mascarpone: ½ c mascarpone cheese ¼ c crème fraiche (or sour cream) 1 T honey 2 T granulated sugar In a mixing bowl with a wire whip, combine the crème fraiche, sugar and honey. A little at a time, add the mascarpone cheese, incorporating well after each addition. Cover and refrigerate until needed. For the Apple brandy gastrique: ¼ c cider vinegar ¼ c apple brandy ¼ c granulated sugar 1 T unsalted butter Combine vinegar and sugar in a small saucepot and bring to a boil, reducing until just before the caramel stage. Add the apple brandy. Continue cooking until reduced by half and remove from fire. Whisk in butter and hold warm. For Grilled Peaches and to Assemble: 1 fresh peach, halved ¼ c apple brandy gastrique ¾ c whipped mascarpone Place peaches on the grill over moderate heat and cook until tender, turning often. (You may sauté the peach halves in a small amount of butter in a saucepan instead.) Remove from the grill and cut halves into quarters. Lay two quarters on a plate in an X. Top with mascarpone mixture and drizzle generously with apple brandy gastrique. Mary Miller’s Apple Walnut Cake (Adapted from Cate Miller’s book, The Gutless Gourmet) My mother took great pride in her cooking and this cake was one of her triumphs because it’s simple, sensational and so moist […]
May 1st, 2008 by Cate Miller
