I’ve seen two vivd productions of Extremities. Both of them were in intimate, little studio theater spaces. I vividly remember a moment in one of those shows. There was a man cowering in a fireplace in the basement of the Brumder Mansion. He was so close I could have reached out and touched him. A fireplace poker was slammed against the mantle to make a point. It hit so hard the tip popped off and landed at my feet. It was one of the more striking memories I’ve had of staged anger in the hundreds of shows I’ve seen over the years.
This coming May, Umbrella Group stages a production of the drama in Marquette University’s Helfaer Theatre. It’s small for a ‘standard’ theatre, but probably the biggest place I’d ever seen the drama staged. It’ll be interesting to see how the drama opens up in a bigger space.
The story involves a man breaking into the home of a few women in an effort to assault one of them while she’s alone. She overpowers him and turns the tables. Together they have to figure out what to do with the guy.
Violence of this sort continues to be an issue in every community. Umbrella Group has teamed with The Healing Center of Milwaukee for the production. A portion of ticket sales will go to support the Center, which serves more than 700 male and female survivors of sexual violence each year. For more information, visit thehealingcenter.org.
Umbrella Group’s production of Extremities runs May 7-23. For more information about the production, visit umbrellagroupmilwaukee.com.
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