2008
Ripper!
In the autumn of 1888, a series of murders shook London’s Whitechapel district. The victims were all women, all murdered in similar ways, leading police to suspect they were all perpetrated by one person — now known to the world as Jack The Ripper. Possibly the most infamous serial killer of modern times, dozens of dramatic fictionalized presentations about the murders have appeared over the course of the century. Locally, a recent staging of the story featured Sherlock Holmes versus Jack the Ripper starring playwright Dale Gutzman as the detective. This month, the legendary serial killer finds a local stage again as Jackie Benka’s Ripper! debuts at the Alchemist Theater. While it is thoroughly entertaining, Benka’s script is not terribly intricate. The ending and a few plot details may, no doubt, seem novel to people with a passing interest in the killings, but those who are familiar with Ripper lore should not expect anything new. Indeed, some anachronisms in the script would irritate fans and scholars. But the production is fantastic for anyone looking for an affordable, entertaining evening of pop theatre in an intimate venue. Enter the bar/lobby area at the Alchemist to find it decked out in the nineteenth-century manner, with the actresses destined to be the Ripper’s victims offering escort into the theatre next door through the stylishly eerie alleyway behind the building. Alchemist has put a great deal of work into locking in the atmosphere of the play, and it really pays off. Inside the theatre, every open area not taken up by seating is made to look like a Whitechapel alley. Costuming may not be precise, but there is more than enough here to deliver an immersive mood. Seamless pacing starts the play as Alice Wilson escorts Aaron Kopec to center stage. Wilson plays streetwalker to Kopec’s London doctor — a gentleman named Sydney Pearcey. And so begins the story. Kopec’s Pearcey is a tragic figure that the audience is neither allowed to entirely empathize with or entirely hate; Kopec expertly plays the part somewhere between hero and villain. Briana Ziebell cuts an admirably strong figure as his wife, who suspects his infidelities. On the whole, the women in this play have exceptional emotional strength, which is a refreshing change of pace from many Ripper stories. The most notable female portrayal amongst the prostitutes is Liz Shipe in the role of Mary Kelly. Currently studying theatre at UWM, Schipe shows considerable promise. Also making a notable appearance is Mark Lonteen in the role of police Detective Abberline, a character written somewhere between actual policeman and dramatic hero. His performance is the heart of this production — moody and entertaining without being particularly dark or heavy-handed. VS Alchemist Theater’s production of Ripper! runs now through September 27. 414-426-4169 or visit Alchemist online for more info.
Sep 16th, 2008 by Russ Bickerstaff
The Only Thing
Making its way to Milwaukee after its debut in Madison last year, Eric Simonson’s Lombardi: The Only Thing arrives at the intimate Off-Broadway Theatre with an updated script and a stellar cast. Next Act Producing Artistic Director David Cecsarini stars as legendary Packers coach Vince Lombardi in a story that mixes fact with fiction and drama with comedy. Next Act balances extremes in a thoroughly satisfying production to open to a promising season. As the story opens, professional football is in a crisis of leadership. It’s 1965 and the league is changing. New money is flowing into game as popularity skyrockets and players pair up with high-powered agents who are pitting themselves against team coaches. The Packers have just lost another playoff game and the team is in disarray. Enter Cecsarini as Lombardi — a man wracked with stress who never seems to have enough Pepto Bismol on hand. Cecsarini may not have Lombardi’s physical bulk, but he carries himself with an extensively studied gait that feels remarkably true to the towering sports legend. The opening scene also features John Kishline as assistant coach and yes-man Phil Bengston, Mark Ulrich as sports reporter Bud Lea, an open critic of the team who needs them to succeed to advance his own career, John Taylor Philips as star player Jim Taylor, whose position with the team is on edge, and Reese Madigan as Paul Hornung, largely considered to be the heart of the team. Though some liberties are taken here, this opening is powerful in its gritty realism. Things grow markedly more surreal after intermission as we see Lombardi at Mitchell Field preparing for a flight to New York. Ailing health finds him drifting off into hallucinatory conversations with his late father (John Taylor Phillips), military football coach Red Blaik (John Kishline), the late John F. Kennedy (Reese Madigan) and Saint Ignatius (Mark Ulrich). The five men have a discussion about leadership and the nature of winning over a game of sheepshead. It’s an inherently comic moment with layers of serious philosophical meaning. On the whole, this part of the play is charming and cleverly-written, but while there are some savvy performances from Cecsarini and the actors portraying the dream figures, there are moments when the lofty philosophy drags the action of the play. Had the sequence been cut just a bit shorter, it would’ve been flawless. But the play in its entirety is an immense joy. Ulrich’s performance as Ignatius sparkles with wit. Kishline’s confidence as Blaik is every bit as effective as his passivity as Bengston. Phillips’ performance as Lombardi’s father carries a warmth that balances well with his cool portrayal as Taylor in the play’s beginning. Madigan renders a very deep performance as JFK. All of this is more than enough to keep the play together. With an inherent appeal to a far wider Next Act audience than average, this one is sure to sell out, and with a production this good, there’s a fair chance that many of […]
Sep 16th, 2008 by Russ Bickerstaff
Love’s Labour’s Lost
By Jaymee Sherman Lights … camera … Shakespeare? Milwaukee Shakespeare’s opening night performance of the comedy Love’s Labour’s Lost was not just another go at the Bard in a modern day setting, for these renditions are recently legion. No, this was a headlong jump into the deep end that successfully brought a hilarious Elizabethan era play to a media-savvy, pop-culture-drenched, 21st-century audience. As you take your seat in the hip studio theater in the Broadway Theatre Center, don’t expect to see the stage set with turret or tower, in throne room or great hall. Instead, the trappings of a television studio beckon you into the world of reality TV to eavesdrop on the goings-on of a group of royals who have agreed to live their lives transparently for you and for the cameras as they battle out the emotions of everyday life. As the play begins, Ferdinand, King of Navarre has summoned three of his courtiers to consider a worthy proposal. Would they agree to join him in near-monastic life, devoting three long years to study without the distraction of all things worldly – namely, women? Though ill-received at first, the King’s gift of persuasion prevails to ennoble the suggestion and, in time, the three young men consent. The rub? – the imminent arrival of the Princess of France and her three lovely, eligible attendants. No sooner do the four men finish congratulating themselves on the merits of their intended intellectual pursuits and the forsaking of the baser pleasures than they are confronted with temptation and hurled down the garden path of unbridled romantic emotion. Director Jennifer Uphoff Gray has assembled a strong, talented cast to bring this classic comedy close to home. Kevin Rich is brilliant in his portrayal of reluctant Berowne, who struggles most with making the commitment to sterile scholarship. On the surface, an unreasonable, combustible sort, Rich’s Berowne is at once the most reasonable as he weighs and measures and over-thinks with a passion unfelt by his less complex, if milder cohorts. He is the perfect foil to Wayne T. Carr’s calm, noble, self-deluded King, whose vulnerability to love and its ensuing frustration is both touchingly down-to-earth and hopelessly funny. Chris White is charming as the easygoing Longaville. Jake Russo, as the slow-witted, ever-present cameraman, Anthony Dull, gives a minor role the personality and presence of a major character. Molly Rhode plays the dignified, self-assured Princess of France with grace, and Victoria Caciopoli brings a wonderful depth and exuberance to her portrayal of feisty Rosaline. Norman Moses’ performance of Don Adriano de Armado may have you purchasing tickets to see this comedy more than once. His love-sick Spaniard, a manly man swamped by his emotions, is a hilarious study in contrasts. Angela Iannone brings a mischievous sense of play to her portrayal of the impish instigator Boyet, and T. Stacy Hicks is the consummate Shakespearean clown as Costard. Although schoolteacher Holofernes is slightly histrionic, Richard Ganoung’s adeptness at verbal high jinks in this role is delightful. […]
Sep 11th, 2008 by Vital Archives
Spiritualized @ Turner Hall, 9/9/2008
Spiritualized @ The 2008 Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago About a decade ago, Spiritualized all but tore down The Rave with an evening of musical pummeling and a head-shearing light show. The several dozen other fans in attendance will back me up. Anyone at Tuesday night’s show realizes how fortunate we are that Jason Pierce and band came back to Milwaukee. Emerging from the fog, Pierce — along with his four bandmates and two backup gospel singers — set the stage with a riveting, heavy version of “Amazing Grace”. With that they set the controls for the dark side of Turner Hall as the band’s modus operandi built on chaotic, driving crescendos and walls of sound only to bring songs back down to stark vocal arrangements. Even the sound man played the board like another instrument. There have been few musical nights like this since the U.S. Government took codeine off the shelves. Touring in support of the album Songs in A&E, whose back story might have been Pierce’s brush with the reaper during a nasty bout of double pneumonia, except the material was writ beforehand. Thus tunes like “Death Take Your Fiddle” (which sounded like an ancient Appalachian ballad) or “Soul on Fire” (which could rival anything on the modern hipster radio stations) already fit like a glove. And incandescent wailing vocals at the end of “Come Together” sounded less like a wake than a Baptist revival meeting down by the river. In the beginning (well, the ’80s at least) there was Spacemen 3, a Rugby, England band that pillaged the best of American music (Velvets, Elevators, Bo Diddley, Suicide, MC5, Sun Ra, Red Krayola), dipped it in morphine and created a quiet storm. Following an acrimonious/not acrimonious split (take your pick) with co-leader Sonic Boom, Jason Pierce (aka J Spaceman) formed Spiritualized in order to take the next logical steps. These days, Pierce’s voice has weathered to a fine, weary patina, reminiscent of Peter Perrett of the Only Ones, a fellow traveler familiar with the power of a script. Never straying far from the twin towers of spiritual transcendence and escapism, at Turner Spiritualized’s take on “Lay Back in the Sun” (“Good dope and good fun”) – something of an homage to Brian Wilson and Beach Boys — made groups like The Jesus and Mary Chain and The Raveonettes seem like kids who just got a fuzzbox for Christmas. “Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space” was transformed in to an elegiac waltz that segued into just Pierce and the gospel voices singing a stunning last verse of Elvis’ “I Can’t Help Falling in Love With You”. Thought it’s doubtful that many from the religious right were in attendance, Pierce’s affinity for blending rock and religious themes was well represented on “Lord Can you Hear Me,” as well as Spacemen 3’s “Walking With Jesus” and “Take Me to the Other Side.” All good things must come to an end as the evening’s finale built to a maelstrom […]
Sep 10th, 2008 by Blaine Schultz
Those Crazy Ladies in the House on the Corner
The Sunset Playhouse opens its 49th season with Those Crazy Ladies in the House on the Corner by Pat Cook. The comedy revolves around three aging sisters who’ve created an insular world for themselves in their family home. The three are proud of their independence and of their reputation. When the town doctor tricks them into taking in a boarder who happens to be a nurse, they discover more about their own capabilities and their family history. The sisters, Maggie, Dora and Lydia – played by Dolores Ivanchich, Inge Adams and Frances Klumb respectively – impress and delight from the first moments on stage. In a demonstration that proves why the town thinks they are, indeed, crazy and cranky, all three simultaneously talk, listen and respond to one another. Adams’ impeccable timing makes Dora’s sarcasm crisp and smarting, while Ivanchich radiates sweetness as the slightly memory-challenged sister; she’s especially lovely in the last scene after ‘tasting’ a bit too much egg nog. Klumb is no-nonsense as a former teacher still able to rule over her son and the town doctor. The three connect on stage with such ease that it’s almost impossible to imagine that they haven’t lived with or near each other their entire lives. As Dr. Arnold “Doc” Lomax, Pat Perkins is fresh and able to match the three feisty leads. His physical comedy is authentic – he makes getting wrapped up in a telephone cord while drunk look natural and not a choreographed venture. Less successful is Nasreen Ameri as nurse and boarder Jean Mitchell. Each line is delivered with the same faux enthusiasm no matter what is happening on stage, and she struggled to connect her character with anyone else on stage. Occasionally she even looked uncomfortable, breaking character. An entrance-and -exit comedy can sometimes look cramped if adequate space and doors are not provided, but Scenic Designer Paul Meeusen, interning under technical Director, J. Michael Desper, designed a marvelously open set that provides the room needed for a play that takes place in just one room with a nine-person cast. Meeusen and Despar utilized three levels to make answering the doorbell and going upstairs a more dynamic aspect of each scene. Artistic Director Mark Salentine should be commended for choosing a play that shows elderly women not as just grouchy or doddering, but as individuals with vigor, defiance and love. Though the writing and plot itself in Pat Cook’s play often falters, the problem of children trying to decide when their elderly parents can no longer live on their own is or will be shared by almost everyone. Salentine’s rendition will appeal to multiple generations of families. VS The Sunset Playhouse’s production of Those Crazy Ladies in the House on the Corner runs through September 17th. 262-782-4430, or visit Sunset online.
Sep 8th, 2008 by Russ Bickerstaff
Tantalizing belly dancers shake it
The Shape Up Shoppe has been a fixture on Kinnickinnic Street since 1980. The building features an exercise room geared toward women, a whirlpool and sauna. On the second level, there are a few spaces for classes, and even a Magaritaville-themed deck that overlooks the neighborhood. Tina Skenadore has been an instructor at the Shoppe for 17 years. She teaches many classes, including aerobics and Zumba. When I admit I don’t know what “Zumba” is, she informs me that it is an aerobic exercise combining Latin flavors including tango, salsa, merengue, reggaeton, hip hop, mambo and calypso. Skenadore also teaches belly dance classes and heads the belly dance troupe India, which has had a steady flow of festival gigs this season including at the Wisconsin State Fair, during halftime for the Brew City Bruisers and at Pridefest. They will perform outside the Shape Up Shoppe at the upcoming Bay View Bash on September 15. Belly dancing as a dance form can probably be traced to ancient Egypt; famous advocates include Alexander the Great, Thomas Edison and the Mata Hari. The art has enjoyed a popular resurgence in recent decades, and troupes can be found in most major cities, shimmying and shaking from coast to coast. I talked with Skenadore at the Shape Up Shoppe and then sat in on a class. In the large room, one wall was covered with mirrors, a giant trampoline rested against the wall and a cargo net held a dozen exercise balls. The class consisted of six women – normally there are more, but several students were on summer vacation, Skenadore explained. The group started with some stretching and warm up moves, the abdomens flexing dramatically, the arms waving and flowing. The women were wearing T-shirts, shorts, and coin-covered hip scarves. The jingling from the hip scarves sounded out in a rainy splash. They moved into a dance routine, and Skenadore counted off the moves. “Up up up up, up 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Up … and down. Up … and down. Up for two, down for two. Up up, down down.” They move into a new routine. “You’re gonna LOVE this one!” One of the students yells to me as they break into a routine heavy on the thrusting, rotating and swaying of the chest. Then they fling their arms up, spin, CLAP CLAP CLAP, shake shoulders and hips, CLAP CLAP CLAP. The next routine involves moving to the left eight steps, then to the right eight steps. “Now, without getting too crazy, let’s move a little faster!” Skenadore instructs. Skenadore says they are always looking for new students to learn this ancient art of sensual intrigue, so sign up for a class and shake it! VS The Shape Up Shoppe is located at 2697 S. Kinnickinnic Street. You can find a performance schedule for India and info on belly dance classes at bellydanceinbayview.com. More information about the Bay View Bash available at bayviewbash.org.
Sep 8th, 2008 by Tea Krulos
Isn’t it Romantic?
The Milwakee Rep opens its 2008-2009 season at the Stackner Cabaret with a classy, romantic evening of music. The first of three openings in as many weeks for the Rep, Isn’t It Romantic? features the powerfully rich voice of singer Jimi Ray Malary leading William Knowles on piano, Don Linke on bass and Scott Napoli on Drums. The jazzy quartet swims through a selection of songs assembled by playwright and director David Hunter Koch, whose work last graced the Stackner stage in last year’s Hula Hoop Sha-Boop. Koch also put together Ellington: The Life and Music of the Duke for the Rep Cabaret’s 2005-2006 season — a show which also featured Malary, Knowles and Napoli. Isn’t it Romantic? carries a series of songs through a typical cycle of romance: Solitude “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” among others) gives way to new love (“S’Wonderful,” a particularly swinging version of “My Funny Valentine” and more), which follows through into the deepening of the relationship (“Lady is a Tramp”) and moving in together (“Love is Here to Stay’) before exploring the difficulties that come with a long-term relationship (“Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off”). After intermission, the cycle swings in the other direction, peppered with clever, poetic observations about love and relationships from David Hunter Koch – marriage, he says, is life’s way of keeping you from arguing with strangers. Scenic designer Susannah M. Barnes has put together a beautiful art deco set for the show that is stylish and rich in detail. Four paintings show the backs of four women dancing with four men. Light spills onto the stage through stained glass. The atmosphere may lack the smoky clinking of glasses and ambient chatter one might expect from a traditional romantic cabaret atmosphere, but Barnes’ set gives the impression of a jazzy little slice of virtuoso perfection. You’re not hearing the scratches or pops and imperfections that make this style of music so appealing to modern ears, but the clarity and purity of the experience here makes for some really great cabaret theatre. VS Isn’t it Romantic? runs through November 2nd at the Stackner Cabaret. 414-224-9490 or visit the Rep online.
Sep 8th, 2008 by Russ Bickerstaff
The Wonder Bread Years
John McGivern returns to the Marcus Center this month for another run of Pat Hazell’s comedic monologue The Wonder Bread Years. One of the most recognizable actors in town, McGivern’s memories of growing up in a quirky Milwaukee has natural appeal for his fellow boomers and beyond. While Hazell wrote The Wonder Bread Years as something of a cross between a motivational speech and a standup comedy routine, John McGivern’s distinctive performance style turns it into a theatrical monologue that maximizes an audience’s empathy. McGivern’s enthusiastic delivery infuses these stories with the commonality of American youth – even for those of us not a part of the generation in question. McGivern mixes his own memories of childhood with those written for the stage by Pat Hazell, which localizes the monologue in Milwaukee – just enough. The show hopes to remind everyone of the wonder of their childhood regardless of age, but for someone born in the mid-1970’s, it’s interesting to see people from another generation audibly reacting in unison to pop cultural references from nearly half-century ago and commenting on them during intermission and idle moments. From those tiny boxes of cereal to tough skin jeans, bag lunches and a number of other icons of a generation, much of the show is pretty specific. As pop culture continues to fragment into an endless miasma of pop subcultures under the engine of emerging user-driven media, it’s fun to hang out with one of the last generations to share the same narrowly slices of pop Americana as they are brought to the stage and rediscovered one by one. There is no question that McGivern is the primary reason why so many people see this show, and the reason why continues to be sparklingly clear. He has incredible stage presence that is alarmingly natural, even when he’s delivering the same story he did dozens of times at the Marcus Center last year. When he interacts with the audience, he seems to have a genuine appreciation for the people who have come to see him perform. Clearly he’s enjoying what he’s doing here and it’s an enjoyment that is conveyed to the audience in a way that seems almost effortless. VS John McGivern stars in Pat Hazell’s The Wonder Bread Years now through September 21 at the Marcus Center’s Vogel Hall. 414-273-7206 or marcuscenter.org.
Sep 5th, 2008 by Russ Bickerstaff
Emilíana Torrini
Icelandic songstress Emilíana Torrini is not Björk, but she certainly sounds like her. It’s not just her heritage or soprano, but her irreverence and eclecticism, too. Torrini’s voice is quirky and youthful, yet emanates street-smarts, which also brings anti-folk singer Regina Spektor to mind. Unfortunately, Torrini is best known for contributing a track for the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers ending credits. Not a Peter Jackson fan? Then Torrini has probably already slipped two full-length critically acclaimed releases over your head. Hopefully her third release to the U.S., Me And Armini, will reach an audience beyond geek. To the effect of “Gollum’s Song” from LOTR, “Birds” and “Bleeder” are moody and stunning, but what makes Torrini worth listening to is her affinity for the weird and witchy. Though “Gun” features a riff so close to the O’Jay’s “For the Love of Money” that it sounds like Donald Trump is at the door, its breathy almost-barks and hostile finger snaps carry it and give it edge. Likewise, “Jungle Drum,” a scat about the thrill of new love, and “Ha-Ha,” a scoff at a washed-up former lover, are extravagant originals that make it apparent that Torrini is not in denial about her onomatopoeia obsession. Less extreme opener “Fireheads” and the sexy island-vibe title-track still show Torrini in good form, but “Big Jumps,” which plays like Jack Johnson, is too radio-friendly. If she wants to keep her cred, and comparisons to Björk, Torrini should dial down the pop and keep barking, snapping, scatting and scoffing though her next release.
Sep 1st, 2008 by Amber Herzog
Chances are
In America, life is dangerous. We hear ominous factoids all the time about the ways we’re in danger every time we eat, breathe, talk on our phones or walk down the street. In a very general way, we all have a sense that something bad could happen at any time. And it’s true! To illustrate, I’ve created a quick “Chance Chart” which is by no means complete but which gets the point across: Incident: Chance it will happen A man will develop cancer: 1 in 2 A woman will develop cancer: 1 in 3 A woman will be sexually assaulted: 1 in 4 A man will be sexually assaulted: 1 in 33 You’ll die from heart disease: 1 in 3 You’ll have a stroke: 1 in 6 You’ll be the victim of a serious crime: 1 in 20 You’ll lose a child this year: 1 in 5,000 Kind of puts things in perspective, don’t you think? All I’m saying is that there’s a lot out there to genuinely worry about, but I’ll make a gentleman’s bet with anyone that on a daily basis, we worry about a whole lot of stuff that’s a lot less important. Take, for example, our recent stress over what the rest of the world was going to think of us for throwing up a statue of Fonzie on the Riverwalk. It wouldn’t have been my choice, but then again I’m not the one who got my butt in gear and made an attention-garnering piece of public “art” happen. Love it or hate it, it brought in the national morning news shows and a handful of 20th century TV actors who wouldn’t have dropped in for breakfast otherwise. And in the end, how many New Yorkers are going to pass by Milwaukee for their summer vacation next year because our city has lame taste in bronze statues? The other day I was enjoying a cup of coffee at Anodyne and indulged myself in eavesdropping on two women who spent almost 15 minutes worrying (loudly, hence the indulgence) about what kind of First Lady Michelle Obama will make. According to them, Obama comes off as cold, bitter, even unpatriotic and racist. Seriously? Did either of them take the time to read her “controversial” Princeton thesis? And the “whitey” comment supposedly caught on video? Doesn’t exist. Here’s why some people really don’t like her: she’s Condoleezza Rice’s doppelganger, only younger and with better hair. And everybody – even Republicans – is scared of Condi, for more established reasons. But here’s my favorite. When VITAL published its August issue with Nikki McGuinnis’ contest-winning photograph of a little boy nestled on the shelf of an open refrigerator on the cover, we received a veritable blizzard of calls, emails and even real live letters on the subject. Some were positive, with remarks ranging from the issue’s general attractiveness to our “artistic daring.” Needless to say, there was also negative feedback. One, obviously written by an elderly woman, went so far as […]
Sep 1st, 2008 by Jon Anne Willow
