Classical
7/15 – 7/21
Milwaukee stages are jumping with fearless productions, including offerings from Youngblood, Danceworks, and Uprooted Theatre. If you're ready for something fresh, edgy and fabulous, get out there.
Jul 14th, 2009 by Brian JacobsonJarreau, Opera, Ballet, and Bombastics
With Thursday night's concert featuring 7-time Grammy Winner Al Jarreau, interactive activities for the kids, plus a ballet and opera feature with an unbelievable fireworks finale Saturday night -- it's a party unlike most others in the greater Milwaukee area this July
Jul 9th, 2009 by Hope StolarskiJuly 7 to 13
July stage work in Milwaukee comes back roaring like a tiger with a gaucho on its tail, a ballerina pirouetting to fireworks, three men in a foreign prison, and a @#%$^ Mamet couple. Confused? All becomes clear within our weekly highlight roundup.
Jul 6th, 2009 by Brian JacobsonMemo to MKE–It’s OK, you don’t have to support Chester French
This band is not very good. At all. In fact, based on their first single, they are horrible, boring, no-good limp-dicked tripe.
Jul 2nd, 2009 by DJ HostettlerA Bye Week
With the upcoming holiday weekend, there isn't much starting up, besides a few items of note. We look at what's going on and why the next few weeks are going to be huge, like an elephant big.
Jun 30th, 2009 by Brian JacobsonDay Three with Cultural Zero
Those who wander around the Summerfest grounds near the lakeshore may happen across a tiny little stage that is getting no coverage whatsoever and isn’t even listed on the Summerfest website—the Refugee Stage.
Jun 28th, 2009 by DJ HostettlerJune 24 – 30
There are some eclectic events that are soldiering on despite the Summerfest competition such as Boulevard Theatre's Audition Idol, American Players Theatre's new Harold Pinter play at the new indoor Touchstone stage, the Cedarburg Strawberry Festival features a National Guard jazz band, and the week-long run of MSO's Pops concert series. Cue the Mission: Impossible triangle......
Jun 23rd, 2009 by Brian JacobsonAnderson and Roe dazzles the ivories at PianoArts concert
After performing a world premiere piece, Grand Scherzo based on Mozart's Act One of the opera Cosi fan Tutte, they constructed a duet for four hands on one piano. As the pair crossed over and under each other's arms, the subtle nuances of notes and measures evoked a passionate response from both musicians and audience. You needed to catch only a smile, or a lean into the other's shoulder by either piano player to sense the intense synchronization of genius.
Jun 22nd, 2009 by Peggy Sue DuniganJune 16 to June 22
Gotta sing, gotta dance! Gotta thrill the whole world without pants! There's a great benefit show for the Milwaukee Gay Arts Center at the end of this week, a Chorus Line kick-steps off at the beginning of next week in what's lining up to be a stellar national tour season for the Marcus Center -- all the while Every Little Step screens in Milwaukee running up to that live show. Plus, the Florentine Opera plans on getting lots of fresh air at two events.
Jun 15th, 2009 by Brian JacobsonJune 9 – 15
The weather might not feel like June, but oh boy is that summer feeling ever-present in Milwaukee's many performance spaces -- open air bandshells and dark, cozy stages alike. While this week has only a small sample of offerings as various entities like Danceworks and First Stage Theater Academy hold summer camp, the rest of Wisconsin is abuzz with community events and performances, from Lake Geneva Theater's Mystery of Irma Vep to American Players Theatre's opening night of The Philanderer. So in this edition, we have featured a few of the shows happening across the best Midwestern state in the world. Road trip!
Jun 9th, 2009 by Brian JacobsonUPAF & Miller Lite’s Ride for the Arts
After the wheels are done spinning and the kickstands go down Sunday morning, participants and supporters will enjoy select performances on the Summerfest grounds by some of the supprted performing arts groups in Milwaukee. A small donation will be asked for at the entrance -- and with attendance numbers that reach over 6,000, UPAF might see that $5 could add $30,000 to the final total. But will it be enough to save an opera, a kids theater workshop, or a Broadway showstopper?
Jun 4th, 2009 by Brian JacobsonJune 2 – 8
June is the definitive start of the off-season for stage, except if you're the venerable and fun American Players Theater. Well, it's for sure the time in which the city of festivals silences the horn section for some rowdier fare. Unless, of course, you're in the French Horn section sending maestro Andreas Delfs off in style. At least the streets will be safe, unless you happened to be standing in the way of a couple hundred bicyclists this weekend who have a big heart for the arts community in southeastern Wisconsin.
Jun 2nd, 2009 by Brian Jacobson