The Eagle in Me: An Evening of Carl Sandburg
“With guitar in hand, Jonathan Gillard Daly takes his audience on a journey through the heart of America—including Milwaukee and Chicago—as he recreates Carl Sandburg’s traveling show, bringing Sandburg’s poetry, folklore and music to life,” says In Tandem Theatre’s Ann Barry about the company’s upcoming world premiere. The famous traveler, poet, hobo, journalist, salesman, singer, husband, father, political activist and performer lived in our city for a period and worked as secretary to Milwaukee’s first socialist mayor, Emil Seidel.
The Eagle in Me not only unveils the Carl Sandburg that America came to truly love, but also the smaller moments of the Pulitzer Prize-winning author’s life. Daly’s brand-new piece is presented by In Tandem Theatre, which is teaming up with Literacy Services of Wisconsin to collect books during the run of the show in support of novice readers in our community. (John Jahn)
Sept. 28-Oct. 21at the Tenth Street Theatre, 628 N. 10th St. For tickets, call 414-271-1371 or visit intandemtheatre.org/events/carl-sandburg.
Outside Mullingar
“Outside Mullingar is a charming romantic comedy,” says director Edward Morgan about the company’s opening production of its 29th season. “It’s a unique blend of playfulness and grit, wrapped in characters and language that are simultaneously fresh and familiar.” Inspired by playwright John Patrick Shanley’s Irish roots, Outside Mullingar’s story follows two middle-aged farmers struggling with their parents, the land, the elements and their secret yearning for one another.
Next Act Theatre’s production features husband-and-wife team David Cecsarini and Deborah Staples as the central characters, Anthony Reilly and Rosemary Muldoon. Also featured are Carrie Hitchcock as Aoife Muldoon and James Pickering as Tony Reilly. Throughout the show’s run, “Images from Ireland,” a black-and-white photographic exhibit by local photographer F. Fischer that captures the dramatic Irish countryside, will be on display in the lobby. (John Jahn)
Sept. 27-Oct. 21 at Next Act Theatre, 255 S. Water St. For tickets, call 414-278-0765 or visit nextact.org/subscription-series/mullingar.
Beethoven, Debussy, Martin
Violinist Margot Schwartz, cellist Scott Tisdel and pianist Stefanie Jacob, collectively known as the Prometheus Trio, embark upon the ensemble’s 19th season in residence at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music with both famous and obscure chamber works of three composers. The most famous piece is surely the Piano Trio in B-Flat Major, Op. 97 (1811) by Ludwig van Beethoven, better known as the Archduke Trio. The latter moniker simply has to do with the fact that it was dedicated to Austria’s Archduke Rudolph, an amateur pianist, friend and composition student of the legendary composer.
Next is the Piano Trio in G Major (1880) by Claude Debussy, which was missing until it was discovered among the possessions of one of Debussy’s students more than a century after its composition. Finally, there’s the Trio Sur des Mélodies Populaires Irlandaises (1925) by Swiss composer Frank Martin, one of this fairly unfamiliar composer’s less-obscure works and one that is certainly a favorite of many a chamber music lover—a scintillating jewel from Martin’s early period. (John Jahn)
Oct. 1 and 2 at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, 1584 N. Prospect Ave. For tickets, call 414-276-5760 or visit wcmusic.org/concerts-2/prometheus-trio.
MORE TO DO
Little Women—The Musical
This musical adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s (1832-1888) enduring novel is about a stalwart heroine who’s determined to rise. Jo March struggles to find her way as a successful, independent writer. Seeking a new subject for such, she reflects upon her life, family and growing up during the Civil War. Alcott’s famous 1868 novel about the March sisters is given new life as a musical in this production. Premiering on Broadway in 2005, Little Women has a book by Allan Knee, lyrics by Mindi Dickstein and music by Jason Howland. Sept. 29-Oct. 7 at the Evan P. and Marion Helfaer Theatre, Marquette University. For tickets, call 414-288-7504 or visit marquette.edu.
The Four Seasons and More
The Wisconsin Philharmonic opens its season with its first performance at The Rustic Manor 1848. The featured work on the program is surely the set of four violin concertos collectively and famously known as The Four Seasons (Le Quattro Stagioni) by Italian Baroque composer Antonio Vivaldi, which will feature violinist Lara St. John. Also on the program are the Romanian Folk Dances by Béla Bartók—a suite of six short piano pieces he later orchestrated; the Nocturne in B Major, Op. 40—a single-movement composition for string orchestra by Antonín Dvořák; and The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires by Argentinian tango composer, bandoneon player and arranger Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla. Thursday, Sept. 20, at the Rustic Manor 1848, 3115 WI-83, Hartland. For tickets, call 262-547-1858 or visit wisphil.org/event-tickets.
Trinity Irish Dance Company
Fresh off a three-week tour of Japan, the famous Milwaukee/Chicago-based Irish dance troupe opens its season at the Wilson Center with several world premieres. Founding artistic director Mark Howard and associate artistic director Chelsea Hoy’s first collaboration reveals An Sorcas, a comment on the battle between substance and spectacle. Irish-born, Berlin-based contemporary choreographer Marguerite Donion offers Track 6, an unprecedented fusion of modern and traditional Irish dance movement. Several additional Milwaukee premieres round out the program. Sept. 28 and 29 at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts, 19805 W. Capitol Drive, Brookfield. For tickets, call 262-781-9520 or visit wilson-center.com.
Movement Media Lab
Danceworks DanceLAB presents Movement Media Lab, in which local film and video artists will present dance and movement-focused media projects in a variety of genres—the latter including experimental, documentary and animation. “In looking at how to expand DanceLAB performances, with the community’s needs at the forefront, I realized that, like choreographers, film artists need a place to show their work,” comments Danceworks’ managing director Kim Johnson about the new project. Sept. 28 and 29 in the Danceworks Studio Theatre, 1661 N. Water St. For tickets, call 414-277-8480, ext. 6025, or visit danceworksmke.org.
‘Play Me a Story’
The Kettle Moraine Symphony opens its 50th-anniversary season with a family friendly concert featuring music from the Star Wars films by John Williams. Kids and adults alike are encouraged to come in costume and enjoy the epic music to their favorite movies from the ongoing saga. “Play Me a Story,” the concert’s title, is likewise apt for the other famous music on the program—Scheherazade, Op. 35, a four-movement symphonic suite composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in 1888 and based on the legendary tales One Thousand and One Nights (also known as The Arabian Nights). During the orchestra’s performance of the latter work, children in attendance may depart for kids-only musical activities elsewhere in the event’s locale. Sunday, Sept. 30, at the Kettle Moraine High School Performing Arts Center, 3399 Division Road, Jackson. For tickets, call 262-334-3469 or visit kmsymphony.org.
‘Glorious Symphonists’
The Festival City Symphony begins its season with a concert aptly titled “Glorious Symphonists,” featuring works by composers who are not only famous for the sheer quality of their music, itself, but also for their particularly inventive way with the orchestra. Pieces on the program include the epic Les Francs-Juges Overture by French composer Hector Berlioz; the colorful series of 16 orchestral pieces, Slavonic Dances, by Czech composer Antonín Dvořák; and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s expansive Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64, a work described by Festival City Symphony music director Carter Simmons as “a work profound in expression and deeply personal in its beauty.” Sunday, Sept. 30, at the Pabst Theater, 144 E. Wells St. For tickets, call 414-286-3205 or visit festivalcitysymphony.org.
