CONTINUING
The Glass Menagerie
Company of Strangers
Through March 4
Metromaniacs
Windfall Theatre
Through March 4
2017 Snowdance 10 Minute Comedy Festival
Over Our Head Players
Through March 5
Robin Hood (world premiere, family friendly)
First Stage
Through March 12
That Darn Plot
Racine Theatre Guild
Through March 12
Time Stands Still
In Tandem Theatre
Through March 19
The Few
Milwaukee Chamber Theatre
Through March 19
McGuire
Milwaukee Repertory Theater
Stackner Cabaret
Through March 19
Grounded
Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Stiemke Studio
Through April 2
Back to Spring 2017 Arts Guide
OPENING
Dead Man’s Carnival
Miramar Theatre
First Friday evening of each month
You never quite know what to expect at the Dead Man’s Carnival—magic tricks, strong man acts, burlesque dancers—but their first Friday shows at the Miramar Theatre always present a solid evening of Americana music and circus sideshow entertainment. Billed as the largest variety show in the Midwest, the Carnival is anchored by the house band, Prof. Pinkerton and the Magnificents, and regularly features circus acts and performers from all over the country. (Matthew J. Prigge)
“Improv Limbo”
ComedySportz Milwaukee
Every Friday and Saturday evening
While the local (and original) ComedySportz troupe is the primary resident of the ComedySportz “Arena,” a number of Milwaukee long-form improv groups use the space to host regular shows as well. For just five bucks, you can catch Improv Limbo, who does scenes based on single-word suggestions from the audience, or the Goodlanders, an eight-woman comedy troupe. Of course, ComedySportz remains the headliner and hosts sets of shows every Friday and Saturday night. (Matthew J. Prigge)
Kristin Chenoweth
John Michael Kohler Arts Center
March 2
Little Shop of Horrors
Sunset Playhouse
March 2-19
Taking Shakespeare
Boulevard Theatre
Plymouth Church
2717 E. Hampshire St.
Through March 26
This two person 90-minute production spans the chasm of difference between an aged university professor and a struggling young student as they find common ground and a growing friendship through the work of William Shakespeare. The text of Othello sparks new inspiration for them both as they deal with the varied implications of inter-generational friendship, academic isolation and anti-intellectualism. (Hannah Klapperich-Mueller)
The Case of the Malted Falcon
Memories Dinner Theatre
March 3-4
“Little Bang Theory and Laugh, Clown, Laugh”
Theatre Gigante
March 3-4
A Streetcar Named Desire (student production)
UW-Parkside Theatre
March 3-10
Endlessly honored and imitated, Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire remains as powerful and moving as it was when it debuted nearly 70 years ago. The emotion-fraught Southern Gothic is a story of faded glory, loss and a woman’s struggle to find her place in a man’s world. Following Streetcar, the UW-Parkside Theatre Department will offer a production of another stage classic, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. (Matthew J. Prigge)
The Regina Taylor Project (world premiere, student production)
Carthage College Theatre
March 3-11
Family Ties (Musical Mainstage Series)
Sunset Playhouse
March 6-7
Shakespeare Raw
Boozy Bard Productions
March 6-8
The Glass Menagerie
Milwaukee Repertory Theater
Quadracci Powerhouse Theatre
March 7-April 9
Milwaukee Rep Artistic Director Mark Clements leads this production of the timeless classic The Glass Menagerie by the great American playwright Tennessee Williams. The Rep calls it “a beautiful story of family, dreams and disappointments—things absolutely everyone can relate to. You’ll feel deeply about each of these characters, which creates an excellent night of theater.” Clements is reunited with 10-time Joseph Jefferson Award-winner Hollis Resnik for The Glass Menagerie—the latter starred as Judy Garland in a past Rep production of End of the Rainbow. (John Jahn)
Anon(ymous) (student production)
UW-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts Theatre Department
March 8-13
Love in Naples (student production)
UW-Washington Country Theatre Department
March 9-11
TXT U L8R
First Stage Young Company (world premiere)
March 10-19
33 Variations
Waukesha Civic Theatre
March 10-26
Our Town
American Shakespeare Center
UW-Whitewater Young Auditorium
March 14
Two Gentlemen of Verona
American Shakespeare Center
UW-Whitewater Young Auditorium
March 15
The Irish Comedy Tour
Marcus Center for the Performing Arts Wilson Theatre
March 15
Flanagan’s Wake
Milwaukee Entertainment Group
March 17-date TBD
Good Night Lulu
Racine Children’s Theatre
March 17-19
Best of Enemies
Acacia Theatre
Concordia University Todd Wehr Auditorium
March 17-26
Based on a true story recorded by Osha Gray Davidson, Best of Enemies tracks the relationship between an African American civil rights activist and a KKK leader as it transforms from suspicion and hatred to a friendship that defies all odds. The play explores these two strong characters from their opposite sides on the journey to integration of public schools in a system fraught with bigotry. (Hannah Klapperich-Mueller)
The Underpants
Memories Dinner Theatre
March 17-26
Zémire et Azor (Beauty and the Beast)
Skylight Music Theatre
Broadway Theatre Center’s Cabot Theatre
March 17-26
Hear Beauty and the Beast and Disney comes to mind, but that is not what Skylight Music Theatre is offering this season. They go back—way back—to a Baroque Era operatic take on this time-honored tale. The original fairytale, La Belle et la Bête, was written by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont. From that seed would grow the great oak of Franco-Belgian composer André Grétry’s opéra comique, Zémire et Azor, and that is what Skylight’s presenting this spring. After it opened in Paris in 1771 to rave reviews, Zémire remained in production in France for the next 50 years. It was a particular favorite of Marie Antoinette; guess you could say she lost her head over it. (John Jahn)
Comedy Sportz
Oconomowoc Art Center
March 18
Vivo (cabaret)
Oconomowoc Art Center
March 24-25
Legally Blonde (student production)
Carroll Players
March 24-26
Don’t Dress for Dinner
Bay Players
March 24-April 1
Mockingbird (family friendly)
First Stage
Marcus Center for the Performing Arts Todd Wehr Theatre
March 24-April 9
Eleven-year-old Caitlyn is on the autism spectrum and depends on her older brother, Devon, as a source of order in a world that confuses her with its mess of sound and color. When he dies suddenly, she must learn how to wade through overwhelming emotions on her own. With some help from her family and a new reading buddy, she becomes a source of hope for the whole community. (Hannah Klapperich-Mueller)
A Doll’s House
Village Playhouse of Wauwatosa
March 24-April 9
Ibsen’s classic and controversial drama about a young housewife’s painful journey to self-awareness takes its place as part of the Playhouse’s “Season of Women.” Nora Helmer struggles to conceal a lie meant to protect her domineering husband and ties her own bonds ever tighter as she fears how the truth may unravel the quiet life she has come to know. (Hannah Klapperich-Mueller)
An Evening with Groucho
Milwaukee Repertory Theater
Stackner Cabaret
March 24-May 28
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella
Marcus Center for the Performing Arts Uihlein Hall
March 28-April 2
What the World Needs Now: A Tribute to Burt Bacharach
Sunset Playhouse (Sidenotes Cabaret)
March 30-April 2
The Iliad, The Odyssey, and all of Greek Mythology in 99 Minutes or Less
Racine Theatre Guild
March 31-April 9
Greek mythology has been an interest of the philosophically minded for generations. We just happen to be in the midst of the attention span-deficient social media generation. Thankfully, Jay Hopkins and John Hunter wrote The Iliad, The Odyssey, and All of Greek Mythology in 99 Minutes or Less for those of us who get our news 140 characters at a time. Sit back and watch as Greek mythology is explained in a fast-paced, funny, yet educational environment. (Rob Hullum)
