Theatre Gigante Celebrates Spalding Gray

Next week Theatre Gigante celebrates the life of the brilliant actor, author and spoken-word artist Spalding Gray with a festival that includes ensemble performances of Stories Left to Tell, a look at the man in his own words. The performance consists of talented actors delivering excerpts from Gray's stories, journal entries and unpublished letters.

In addition to Theatre Gigante co-founders Isabelle Kralj and Mark Anderson, the show features John Kishline and Marcie Hoffman, as well as a guest performer for each night. Milwaukee theater icon Dan Mooney performs Oct. 27, former Theatre X member Deborah Clifton appears on the 28th and acclaimed performance artist Holly Hughes takes the stage Oct. 29.

The festival continues Oct. 30 with the Milwaukee premiere of Steven Soderbergh's 2010 documentary And Everything Is Going Fine, a look into the life of Gray, who had responded to his disgust at the lack of experimentation in theater with a simple, autobiographical monologue. The monologue quickly turned into a hit, and Gray's work became something of a legend among a subset of the theater crowd. Gray would perform for packed theaters with titles like Swimming to Cambodia, Monster in a Box and, yes, Gray's Anatomy.

Spalding Gray—Stories Left to Tell runs Oct. 27-29 at Kenilworth Studio 508, 1925 E. Kenilworth Place. For advance tickets, call 414-229-4308.

Theater Happenings

• The Sunset Playhouse stages a tribute to 1950s pop music with Time Capsule: The Fabulous Fifties. The show, featuring the talented Matt Zembrowski, Beth Mulkerron, Kay Stiefel and Matt McNabb, runs Oct. 24-25. For ticket reservations, call 262-782-4430.

• Carte Blanche Studios continues its season next week with a production of Reefer Madness: The Musical. Penned by Dan Studney and Kevin Murphy, the musical is a spoof on the anti-drug propaganda film from 1936. Madness runs Nov. 4-20. For ticket reservations, call 262-716-4689.