VITAL

PODCAST: Backstage with Mark Metcalf and Alice Austen
PODCAST

Backstage with Mark Metcalf and Alice Austen

This week on Backstage: Alice Austen is an award-winning Chicago playwright -- who lives in Milwaukee. It sounds like a contradiction, but it's not! Find out why.

Dear Ken Macha: Respect Your Elder
Dear Ken Macha

Respect Your Elder

Writers and sports radio hosts spend so much time speculating on who the Brewers should trade for, who should be benched and who isn't performing right. Yet when their opinions are confirmed in a moment of extreme candor it's such a shock to their sensibilities that it suddenly becomes more than a statement of truth -- it becomes a flagrant act of disrespecting your elders. The media-created outcry over the comments even prompted your boss, Doug Melvin, into the fray, which only fueled the fire. Yet, surprisingly, his comments, which actually could be taken as disrespectful and patronizing (“I’ll be glad to have Ryan help if he wants to. I’ll give him a badge and he can be my deputy.") were accepted without sparking another round of the bogus flamewar.

Public Enemies Premiere at The Oriental: 7/1/09
Public Enemies Premiere at The Oriental

7/1/09

At the premiere of Public Enemies at the Oriental Theatre: classy gents and broads, classic cars and a spirit of excitement for a film shot in part in Wisconsin.

Gallery Rodeo!: A handbook of current exhibitions
Gallery Rodeo!

A handbook of current exhibitions

Selections from current gallery shows around the city: Charles Allis, Green Gallery East, DeLind Gallery, Katie Gingrass and many more spaces on the East Side, in the Third Ward and downtown.

5Q: Five questions for Deb Brehmer
5Q

Five questions for Deb Brehmer

We ask Deb Brehmer five questions. She responds with thoughts on local artists, the importance of nurturing an art-buying community, her fascination with portraiture as a work-a-day art form and the importance of context to art-viewing and appreciating.

Deep-Fried Romantic: Hitting up the drive-in this summer
Deep-Fried Romantic

Hitting up the drive-in this summer

There are still two or three great drive-in movie theaters to try out in Wisconsin, but this summer also find the loving low-culture return of the outdoor cinema party at three different Milwaukee locations. The 41 Twin is dead; long live the 41 Twin experience.

Shuffling Priorities: How MARN is Pushing Art to the Top of The List
Shuffling Priorities

How MARN is Pushing Art to the Top of The List

In times of financial duress, priorities are re-structured and during the shuffle, funding for the arts is sent to the bottom of the pile. MARN's Executive Director Melissa Musante wants to make sure that the arts get shuffled back to the top.

On Stage with TCD: July 7 to 13
On Stage with TCD

July 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.

PODCAST: Backstage with Mark Metcalf and Rob Goodman
PODCAST

Backstage with Mark Metcalf and Rob Goodman

DID YOU KNOW: The Milwaukee Repertory Theater has more season ticket holders than the Milwaukee Brewers? First Stage Children's Theater Managing Director Rob Goodman is a member of the brand-new Creative Coalition of Greater Milwaukee, a project of the Greater Milwaukee Committee and the Cultural Alliance of Greater Milwaukee.

SUMMER TRAVEL SERIES: New Glarus, where beer is born
SUMMER TRAVEL SERIES

New Glarus, where beer is born

It's a pleasant day in one valley in western Wisconsin, a place where the Swiss have colonized and beer is born high on a Hilltop Brewery. A travelogue in pictures and words.

Photo Gallery: Summerfest Day 5
Photo Gallery

Summerfest Day 5

There's a lot of great people watching to be had at Summerfest, and even on a Monday there's some great characters. Presented here is a photo gallery and slideshow of some citizens enjoying the day, along with shots of stage acts like Vega Star, Sick of Sara, the American Indian Center Dance Troupe, Miss Deringer, Heart, and more.

THE ARTS OF SUMMER

THE ARTS OF SUMMER

Summer in Milwaukee means more than just tailgating and eating on patios. Enjoy your art outside with this review of the treasures to be found and personalities to be encountered at Lakefront Festival of the Arts, the East Side Green Market, Milwaukee Public Market and across the region: Sheboygan, Madison, Door County and more.