20 intriguing shows
Milwaukee’s 2017-’18 performing arts season
As Milwaukee’s 2017 performing arts season approaches, look for some unusual mashups and combinations, such as classical violin and hip-hop, the “Mikado” with jazz & gospel and Shakespeare with Cole Porter songs. Get the red carpet out, too, for a few homecomings, including the return of a Milwaukee High School of the Arts graduate who will perform his signature show here. With former music director Edo de Waart transitioned to an emeritus role, be mindful that any guest conductor you see leading the Milwaukee Symphony might be a candidate to succeed de Waart as captain of the team. Here is a suggested list, in chronological order, of 20 intriguing professional theater, music and dance productions opening here before Thanksgiving. They’re not the only shows worth catching, of course; visit tapmilwaukee.com for ongoing local performing arts coverage. Milwaukee Fringe Festival: Aug. 26-27. This celebration of multidisciplinary and experimental performing arts returns to the Marcus Center, with ticketed performances inside, artist booths and roving performers outside. Scheduled performers include local veterans Theatre Gigante and Marquette theater posse Summit Players, Catey Ott Dance Collective, dance duo Christal Wagner and Gina Laurenzi, puppeteers Angry Young Men, Hindustani-flavored musicians Maya No Maya and the Twin Cities-based Bollywood Dance Scene. For a complete list, visit mkefringe.com/line-up/.
“Artifacts”: Sept. 14-17. With a hand from UWM Theater’s Tony Horne, Wild Space Dance is staging a show of living dioramas at Goat Palace, a former warehouse that’s been reclaimed as a performance and creative space. True to form, Wild Space will use every inch, including an outdoor fire pit. 3740 N. Fratney St. Call (414) 271-0712 or visit wildspacedance.org.
Chris Thile and Brad Mehldau: Sept. 14. Mandolinist-singer Thile, host of “A Prairie Home Companion,” and jazz pianist Mehldau team up for a genreblending concert. In addition to their originals, their duo album released earlier this year includes takes on Fiona Apple, Elliott Smith and Bob Dylan. Wilson Center, 19805 W. Capitol Drive, Brookfield. Visit
wilson-center.com or call (262) 781-9520. Milwaukee Symphony: Sept. 15-17. Guest conductor Cristian Macelaru leads the orchestra’s seasonopening program, which features Beethoven’s powerful Symphony No. 7. The symphony also begins its celebration of Leonard Bernstein’s centennial year with his “Candide” Overture. Marcus Center’s Uihlein Hall, 929 N. Water St. Visit www.mso.org or call (414) 291-7605.
“The Who and the What”: Sept. 27-Nov. 5. Milwaukee Repertory Theater continues its cycle of plays by Pulitzer Prize winner Ayad Akhtar, a Brookfield Central High School graduate. The playwright has described “The Who and the What” as “Fiddler on the Roof” meets “The Taming of the Shrew”: a traditional Muslim-American father wants
to find a suitable husband for his intellectual daughter, but she has different ideas. Stiemke Studio, 108 E. Wells St. Visit milwaukeerep.com or call (414) 224-1761.
“Silent Sky”: Sept. 28-Oct. 22. Next Act Theatre performs Lauren Gunderson’s drama about Henrietta Levitt, who made a key astronomical discovery in the early 1900s, in spite of the prejudice against her in a male-dominated field. Recommended for fans of the movie “Hidden Figures.” 255 S. Water St. Visit
nextact.org or call (414) 278-0765. “Hot Mikado”: Sept. 29-Oct. 15. Skylight Music Theatre performs Gilbert & Sullivan’s classic operetta as a musical comedy of big band, swing, blues and gospel. Broadway Theatre Center, 158 N. Broadway. Call (414) 291-7800 or visit skylightmusictheatre.org.
“Stay on It”: Sept. 29. Guest conductor David Bloom leads the Present Music ensemble and mezzo-soprano Lucy Dhegrae in a concert of music that uses repetition. An hour before the concert, there’ll be action on pool, ping-pong and foosball tables. Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, 273 E. Erie St. Call (414) 271-0711, Ext. 5. or visit presentmusic. org.
“Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”: Oct. 6Nov. 5. First Stage performs a musical stage adaptation of the 1968 movie starring Dick Van Dyke about a wacky inventor and a truly magical flying car. First Stage suggests children be 6 years and older for this show. Marcus Center’s Todd Wehr Theater, 929 N. Water St. Visit firststage.org.
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis: Oct. 11. Trumpeter-composer
Marsalis brings this allstar big band back to Milwaukee. The orchestra includes Greenfield High School graduate Dan Nimmer on piano. Marcus Center’s Uihlein Hall, 929 N. Water St. Call (414) 273-7206 or visit marcuscenter.org.
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”: Oct. 18-29. Never shy about taking a conceptual approach to Shakespeare, director Dale Gutzman blends the Bard’s comic fantasy with Cole Porter songs in this Off the Wall Theatre production. 127 E. Wells St. Visit zivacat.com/OffThe
WallTheatre/ or call (414) 484-8874. “The Merry Widow”: Oct. 20 and 22. Florentine Opera stages Franz Lehár’s popular operetta about a widow (sung by Florentine favorite Alyson Cambridge) and the schemes around her wealth. Milwaukee Ballet dancers will perform in this production. Marcus Center’s Uihlein Hall, 929 N. Water St. Call (414) 291-5700 Ext. 224 or visit florentineopera.org.
“Sex With Strangers”: Oct. 20-Nov. 12. Renaissance Theaterworks performs Laura Eason’s drama about a fortysomething writer’s tryst with a studly younger man and its unexpected consequences. Broadway Theatre Center, 158 N. Broadway. Call (414) 291-7800 or visit r-t-w.com.
Cappella Pratensis: Oct. 21. Dutch male vocal ensemble Cappella Pratensis honors the 500th anniversary of the Reformation with “Missa Lutherana,” a concert of early Lutheran church music. Early Music Now presents. Grace Lutheran Church, 1209 N. Broadway. Visit
earlymusicnow.org/ or call (414) 2253113.
Black Violin: Oct. 28. Violinist Kev Marcus and violist Wil B. play an earopening fusion of classical music and
hip-hop. The duo, who met in high-school orchestra class, also do extensive educational outreach with younger children. Marcus Center’s Uihlein Hall. Visit www.marcuscenter.org or call (414) 2737206.
“La Bohème”: Nov. 2-5. Milwaukee Ballet revives artistic director Michael Pink’s wordless choreography, danced to Puccini’s popular opera and set in Paris in the 1950s. Marcus Center’s Uihlein Hall. (414) 902-2013 or visit milwaukee ballet.org.
Milwaukee Symphony and Chorus: Nov. 4-5. Conductor Yaniv Dinur and new chorus director Cheryl Frazes Hill lead the vocalists and musicians in an allBach program that includes his “Magnificat.” Basilica of St. Josaphat, 2333 S. 6th St. Visit www.mso.org or call (414) 2917605.
“Murder for Two”: Nov. 10-Jan. 14. Milwaukee High School of the Arts graduate Joe Kinosian returns home to perform the comic musical murder mystery he co-wrote. In this two-performer show, Kinosian plays all of the suspects. The twist: both Kinosian and co-star Matt Edmonds play the piano onstage, sometimes together. Milwaukee Rep’s Stackner Cabaret, 108 E. Wells St. Visit
milwaukeerep.com or call (414) 224-1761. Milwaukee Symphony: Nov. 17-18. Pianist Joyce Yang returns to play a leading role in Bernstein’s Symphony No. 2 (”The Age of Anxiety”). Marcus Center’s Uihlein Hall. Visit www.mso.org or call (414) 291-7605.
“Miracle on South Division Street”: Nov. 22-Dec. 17. Milwaukee Chamber Theatre performs Tom Dudzick’s comedy about a Catholic matriarch in Buffalo who tends a family shrine to the Virgin Mary – and her three grown children, each straying from her preferred path. Visit milwaukeechambertheatre.com or call (414) 291-7800.