Photo Courtesy of First Stage
Milwaukee is blessed with many fine theater companies. One reason is that young actors are nurtured and encouraged right here in our area.
First Stage is one of the nation’s largest professional theater companies for young audiences and performers. They apply age-appropriate casting for all roles and cast anywhere from five to 25 young performers per show. The company also employs between 30 and 40 professional actors every season, many professional musicians, and it offers opportunities for internships and teaching artist fellows.
In its 33-year history, the company has collaborated with renowned artists including Harry Connick Jr. and composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz, composer of Pippin and Wicked. Its Theater Academy is the largest theater training program of its kind in the nation, where young people develop life skills through theater skills. Students learn the value of integrity, commitment, responsibility and cooperation, ideals that should guide them in any life pursuit.
Jeff Frank has been working with First Stage since 1996, first as the education academy director, and he was appointed artistic director in 2003. Among many duties, Frank is responsible for selecting the plays to be performed. “We try to program stories for all ages of youth and strive for a balance of gender equity and a representation of the diverse community that we serve,” Frank says. “This current season, we are focusing on female empowerment—finding the voices of strong young women, defining who they want to be and how to negotiate the world.”
“We have over 3,000 enrolled this season in our Academy,” continues Frank. “Our education program visits schools where we reach 65,000 students, and many more participate in workshops,” says Frank.
“I am proud of the number of original productions that we have premiered, and many have continued on to other stages in the country,” says Frank. “We try to produce two or three original works per season, with over 70 new plays to date. One of our most successful world premieres was Rudolph, which has since been seen throughout America on a national tour. We plan to have it return next season.”
First Stage is an inclusive arts organization, featuring performances that are sensory friendly, signed for the hearing impaired, as well as pay-what-you-can performances.
First Stage works on two campuses: the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center and the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center in Brookfield. “It’s great working at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center,” says Frank. “Students of all ages and backgrounds come to this facility, find their tribe and grow as a person and artist.” The Center is also home to the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, the nation’s largest after-school music program.
Opening Friday, Feb. 21, First Stage will present Gretel!. With a book by Jason Tremblay and Suzan Zeder and music by Jenn Hartmann Luck, Gretel! is a prequel to the Hansel and Gretel story, and it will feature live folk-rock musicians. Frank will direct.
The story is somewhat familiar. Following the death of Gretel’s mother, Gretel must move in with a mean stepmother and stepsisters. They send Gretel off to steal the Skull of Undying Light from Baba Yaga, a Russian witch who lives in a hut that perpetually spins on chicken legs. During her travels, Gretel discovers a lot about herself and her place in the world. “The work has a bold sense of humor and a certain darkness and edginess,” says Frank.
In March, following Gretel!, First Stage will mount The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors, a world premiere co-commission with Oregon Children's Theatre. “It shows how the three elements work together to better everyone. The play will be unusual in that we will use puppetry in that production.”
Frank believes in the power of the performing arts. ”In a time when we tend to self-isolate with phones and earbuds, the power of a communal arts experience is formidable. We allow children and families the opportunity to experience, and then discuss, emotional truths from the stage.”
Gretel! runs Feb. 21-March 22 at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center, 325 W. Walnut St.
