Milwaukee Repertory Theater Presents the World Premiere Parental Advisory: a breakbeat play

September 11 ,2023 [Milwaukee, WI] – Milwaukee Rep, now celebrating its 70^th Anniversary Season, is proud to present the World Premiere of Parental Advisory: a breakbeat play by award-winning playwright Idris Goodwin (HBO’s Def Poetry Jam) in  the Stiemke Studio September 26 – October 29, 2023.  Commissioned through the John (Jack) D. Lewis New Play Development program, Parental Advisory: a breakbeat play infuses hip-hop, humor and the history of censorship through a two-actor play featuring Amir Abdullah (Chicago Med) as The MC and Marvin Quijada (The Dream King, Teatro Vista) as Timeless.

Parental Advisory: a breakbeat play is a high-energy World Premiere where two Hip-Hop artists mix slick beats and rhymes with important questions about censorship and expression in popular music. This engaging new play – half DJ jam session, half TED Talk – uses wit, humor and the uncanny powers of the Wu-Tang Clan to enter a conversation on parenting, identity and survival. At what age is it appropriate to introduce our children to music, life and an uncertain world – however controversial it may be?

Parental Advisory: a breakbeat play is directed by Kyle Haden (The Royale, Creede Repertory Theatre) with set designer Sydney Lynne (The Watsons Go To Birmingham, First Stage), costume designer Alethia Moore-Del Monaco (Hazardous Materials, Creede Repertory Theatre), lighting designer Jared Gooding (Nunsense, Milwaukee Rep), sound designer and music director Chris Land (Founder and CEO of Multiband Studios), dramaturg Deanie Vallone (Junk, Milwaukee Rep), casting director Jonathan Hetler, original music by silent marvin, and stage managed by  Josh Hart.

Idris Goodwin currently serves as the Artistic Director of Seattle Children’s Theatre following his tenure as Executive Director of The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, where he also taught for 6 years as a professor in the Department of Theater and Dance. His playwriting accomplishments encompass more than 60 stylistically diverse works, including his groundbreaking Break Beat Play Series (How We Got On, Hype Man, The Way The Mountain Moved), commissioned as part of Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s American Revolutions series; Muhammad Ali coming-of-age play And In This Corner: Cassius Clay; and Ghost, adapted from the novel by Jason Reynolds. His 2019 collection of breakbeat poetry, “CAN I KICK IT?” was deemed “an ode to and embodiment of black lyric excellence” by the American Library Association, and his COVID breakbeat poem, “Your House is Not Just A House”, which was commissioned and produced by Milwaukee Rep in its At Home series, will be his first picture book, scheduled to be published by Harper Collins in 2024. Goodwin is the recipient of multiple awards from the Mellon Foundation, the Ford Foundation, The National Endowment for The Arts, and was named a 2021 United States Artist Fellow. He serves on the board of the Children’s Theatre Foundation Association and as Board President of TYA/USA.

Parental Advisory: a breakbeat play is a John (Jack) D. Lewis New Play Development Program Production with Executive Producers Margaret Dethloff and Terri Zeh, and Rhonda and Greg Oberland. The Stiemke Studio Season is presented by Four-Four Foundation.

Parental Advisory: a breakbeat play runs September 26 – October 29, 2023 in the Stiemke Studio.  Opening night is set for Friday, September 29 at 8pm.  To purchase tickets to go to www.MilwaukeeRep.com, call the Ticket Office at 414-224-9490 or visit in person at 108 E Wells Street in Downtown Milwaukee.

For more information, please visit www.MilwaukeeRep.com.

::Fact Sheet::

Parental Advisory: a breakbeat play
By Idris Goodwin
Directed by Kyle Haden
September 26 – October 29, 2023(Opening Night Friday, September 29 at 8:00pm) in the Stiemke Studio

Talks and Events
Early Bird Performance: Tuesday, October 3 at 6:30pm
TalkBacks: Wednesday October 11 after the 7:30pm performance
Free Hip Hop Workshops: September 13, 20 and 27, 5-7pm at Arts@Large, 1100 S. 5^th Street.  Learn how to create your own music, beats, poems and songs with music artist Kiran Vedula.
Open Mic Nights: Wednesday, October 4 and 18.  Post-show share your own art with host Kiran Vedula

Milwaukee Film 2023 Cultures & Communities Festival night: Tuesday, October 10, join us for a special pre-show reception (6pm), performance of Parental Advisory (7:30pm) and a post-show panel – Speaking of Legacy: A Conversation about Hip-Hop’s Past, Present & Future.  Cost for the entire evening is just $30 with code FILM.
Post-Show Panel: Wednesday, October 25 – Parenting, Censorship, and the Expectation of Children.

For more information on all events visit www.MilwaukeeRep.com

 

Access Services
Audio-Described Performance: Thursday, October 12 at 7:30pm – the show will be described for patrons who are blind or have low vision.
ASL Performance: Thursday, October 19 at 7:30pm – the show will be signed for the deaf or hard of hearing.

Information
Tickets: www.MilwaukeeRep.com, by phone at 414-224-9490, or Ticket Office at 108 E Wells Street, Milwaukee.
Hours: 12noon – 6pm; on performance days the Ticket Office remains open until 15 minutes past curtain.
Student Discounts: Students 18 and under can purchase $20 tickets for select seating areas.
25 & Under: Select $20 tickets available for patrons 25 & Under. (Select 25 & Under price at checkout online)
Group Sales: Discounted tickets for parties of 10+. Call 414-290-5340.

About Milwaukee Repertory Theater
Milwaukee Rep is the largest performing arts organization in Wisconsin with three unique performance venues in the Associated Bank Theater Center. For over seven decades, Milwaukee Rep has been a centerpiece of Milwaukee’s vibrant arts and cultural scene with productions ranging from Broadway musicals to Shakespeare to American Classics and New Works that are entertaining, inclusive, and impactful. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Mark Clements and Executive Director Chad Bauman, Milwaukee Repertory Theater ignites positive change in the cultural, social, and economic vitality of its community by creating world-class theater experiences that entertain, provoke, and inspire meaningful dialogue among an audience representative of Milwaukee’s rich diversity.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.