The 2021 Fall Arts Guide is presented by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.
During the past year and a half, performing arts groups and museums found creative ways to use new technology to reach their audiences. But useful as that technology can be, it cannot replace the core values of live performance and the appreciation of human creativity in a physical space.
This September, we’re happy to report that most museums are open to visitors and many performing arts groups are planning shows. The season for many companies will start later than usual, in October or even late fall or early winter, but before long there will be few dark weeks on the arts calendar.
For updates and ongoing coverage of the arts, visit shepherdexpress.com and look for our Holiday Arts Guide in November.
David Luhrssen Managing Editor
Acacia Theatre Company
Alfons Gallery
All In Productions
Aperi Animam
Art Gallery at Concordia University Wisconsin
Arts @ Large
Aura Theatre Collective
Bach Chamber Choir
Bel Canto Chorus
Black Arts MKE
marcuscenter.org/series/black-arts-mke
Beautiful You Beautiful Me, September 25
Boulevard Theatre
Brew City Opera
Bronzeville Arts Ensemble
facebook.com/BronzevilleArtsEnsemble
Cabaret Milwaukee
Carthage College Arts
Betrayal, Oct. October 1-9
Performing Arts Series: Janus Adams, October 5
2021 Homecoming Concert, October 17
Fall Choral Concert, October 31
Catey Ott Dance Collective
Cedarburg Cultural Center
Dave Geisthardt, September 4
Jakob Dufner, September 11
Vince Condella, September 25
Demetra Prochaska, October 2
Jakob Dufner, October 9
Cedarburg Performing Arts Center
Ricky Nelson Remembered Starring Matthew and Gunnar Nelson, September 25
The Texas Tenors, October 8
Chant Claire Chamber Choir
Charles Allis Art Museum
The Company of Strangers Theater
thecompanyofstrangerstheater.com
Concord Chamber Orchestra
Cooperative Performance
Covered Bridge Art Studio Tour
October 8-10
DanceCircus
Danceworks Performance Company
David Barnett Gallery
Dead Man’s Carnival
facebook.com/Dead-Mans-Carnival
Early Music Now
Ex Fabula
“Welcoming Week Story Slam” at Haggerty Museum of Art, September 14
Falls Patio Players
Things My Mother Taught Me, September 24-Ocober 3
Disney’s Moana Jr., October 22-24
Festival City Symphony
Fall Pajama Jamboree, September 22
“Passion, Faith, and Fate,” October 23
First Stage
Frank Juarez Gallery
Frankly Music
“Back To Basics,” September 22
Greendale Community Theatre
Grohmann Museum
The Railroad and the Art of Place: Photographs by David Kahler,” September 10-December 19
Architect David Kahler, designer of Milwaukee Art Museum’s 1975 addition as well as the Haggerty Museum of Art, is also an accomplished photographer and noted railfan. His black and white photographs illustrate the ebb and flow of communities dependent on railroad traffic amidst the decline of a once powerful industry. “Historically, the railroad and industry go hand in hand—and given our tradition of showcasing the art of industry at the Grohmann, we regularly feature the images of railroading as a part of our program,” says museum director James Kieselburg. (David Luhrssen)
11th Annual Lost Arts Festival, October 9
Grove Gallery
Haggerty Museum of Art
“Mary L. Nohl Fellowships for Individual Artists,” through May 22, 2022
“Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons: Sea and Self,” through December 19
“Double Vision: Art from Jesuit University Collections,” through December 19
Harley-Davidson Museum
“Off-Road Harley-Davidson,” continuing
During Harley-Davidson’s first 65 years, couldn’t most of the Milwaukee company’s motorcycles be called “off-road bikes”? “That’s exactly right and that’s the point of the exhibit,” says David Kreidler, exhibition curator at the Harley-Davidson Museum. In the early days, one of Harley’s selling points was enabling riders to travel into places where automobiles couldn’t go—into woods for camping and fishing and across rugged landscapes more suitable for horses than rickety four-wheeled cars. They were built with a Germanic pride of mechanical craft coupled with the latest developments in engineering. “They needed to handle all different kinds of road conditions,” Kreidler says. (David Luhrssen)
Building a Milwaukee Icon: HD’s Juneau Ave. Factory, continuing
Tsunami Motorcycle Display, continuing
H. F. Johnson Gallery of Art
“Natural History,” September 8-October 15
“Declassified,” October 27-December 5
Hyperlocal MKE
Hyperlocal MKE #25: Gathering as Experience at Milwaukee Art Museum lakeside, September 4
The performers agree to a verbal prompt, something broadly evocative, suggestive of action and open to interpretation. They keep it in mind, to whatever degree, for inspiration as they improvise the entire performance, creating it on the spot. The prompt is the show’s title; in this case, “gathering as experience.” The seasoned musicians and choreographer/dancers also respond imaginatively to their particular environment—in this case, the lawn between the Milwaukee Art Museum’s backside and the lake. They respond to their impulses, urges and lifetimes in artmaking. Listening, watching, sensing, they respond to and inspire one another. Each moment is hyper-alive. (John Schneider)
Inspiration Studios
Irish Cultural and Heritage Center
Jazz Gallery Center for the Arts
Don Linke Trialogue, September 3
Led by guitarist-vocalist Don Linke, the trio includes bassist Todd Richardson and features Victor Campbell, one of Milwaukee’s most experienced drummers. He’s performed with many local and national musicians, including Manty Ellis, Berkeley Fudge, Melvin Rhyne, Carlos Santana, Brian Lynch, Delfeayo Marsalis, Nicholas Payton, and classic R&B groups The Drifters, The Platters, and The Coasters. He is also one of Milwaukee’s notable musicians who received funding from the Jazz Foundation of America during the pandemic. (Kevin Lynch)
Jewish Museum Milwaukee
“Brother, Can You Spare a Dime: Jewish artists of the WPA,” through September 5
The exhibition focuses on federally funded art from the Great Depression produced for the WPA agency. Assembled are some 70 works by 41 artists including paintings, lithographs, prints and sculpture. Wisconsin’s Aaron Bohrod and Alfred Sessler are among the artists represented. Most WPA art reflected the prominent visual movement of the day, social realism, whose proponents sought to accurately depict immediate reality through compositions in simplified lines suggesting motion and strength. (David Luhrssen)
Greendale: A New Deal Greenbelt Town, September 5
John Michael Kohler Arts Center
“Detours and Side Roads: A Tribute to Ruth DeYoung Kohler II,” through September 5
The Claudettes, September 9
“Communities in Conversation: Cultural Asset Mapping in Sheboygan,” through September 26
The Belle Weather, September 30
“Barnard Langlais: Live and Let Live,” through October 3
“Annabeth Marks: Extender,” through January 9, 2022
“Jennifer Levonian: Cinnamon, Thunderstorm,” through January 23
“Allison Wade: The Good Parts,” through February 6
“High Touch,” through March 13
“On Loan: Objects from Barbara Rossi’s Home Collection and Selected Works,” ongoing
KACM Theatrical Productions
Kettle Moraine Symphony
Ko-Thi Dance Company
Latino Arts, Inc.
“Mauricio Ramirez: Poly Wave Seeds of Color & Shape,” September 2-October 1
“Day of the Dead Ofrendas,” October 15-November 12
Day of the Dead Concert: Las Cafeteras, October 29
Lily Pad Gallery West
“Patterson and Patterson,” through September 26
Lynden Sculpture Garden
“Daniel Minter: Root Work,” through September 26
Marcus Performing Arts Center
De La Buena, September 2 (Peck Pavilion)
DLC Dance, September 9 (Peck Pavilion)
Terrance Simien & The Zydeco Experience, September 16 (Peck Pavilion)
Hamilton, October 13-14 (Broadway Series)
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s audacious reimagining of the American Revolution and its aftermath is a multi-ethnic spectacle of music and dance. In this musical theater production, no one stands still for long—there is a revolution to win and a country to define once the battle is won. Yes, there is a love story. But the main thrust of Hamilton is on the body politic. The struggle against the British and over the authoring of the Constitution is neatly summarized. Rapping on “The Federalist Papers” and the need for a national bank? Miranda shows how those arguments continue to resonate today. (David Luhrssen)
Marquette University Theatre
marquette.edu/communication/theatre-arts.php
Master Singers of Milwaukee
Material Studios + Gallery
Memories Dinner Theatre
Milwaukee Art Museum
“Americans in Spain: Painting and Travel, 1820-1920,” through October 3
The exhibit features over 100 individual works–paintings, photographs and prints–drawn from institutions as renowned as the Prado and the Musée d’Orsay, as well as dozens of other lenders from around the world. There’s even a recently discovered portrait by Mary Cassatt from a private collection in Spain. Co-curators Brandon Ruud and Corey Piper avoid an airtight categorical articulation of this sprawling subject, choosing to break up the story into a number of sub-sections that highlight its most compelling and colorful individual chapters. (Shane McAdams)
Music and Dance: Hyperlocal MKE Jam Open Rehearsal, September 2
Virtual In Conversation: “Travel in Spain with Rudy Maxa and Brandon Ruud,” September 9
Virtual In Conversation: “Spanish Art and American Portraiture,” September 30
Story Time in the Galleries: “At Home,” October 2
“The Quilts of Pauline Parker,” through December 5
“American Memory: Commemoration, Nostalgia, and Revision,” through January 16
“First Impressions: Early Printed Books in Europe,” through December 12
Milwaukee Ballet
Connect, October 28-31
“It’s called Connect because we’re reconnecting with everybody, we’re doing what we do best, and we’re reconnecting with our space at the Marcus PAC which has just been renovated. That’s a big thing,” says artistic director Michael Pink. Another big thing is the program: contrasting world premieres by two exciting choreographers, the American Darrell Grand Moultrie and the Australian Danielle Rowe, and the revival of Purple Fools, a wildly creative and hilarious work made for Milwaukee Ballet by the Italian Mauro de Candia in 2012, that Pink has wanted to bring back ever since. (John Schneider)
Milwaukee Chamber Theater
Where Did We Sit on the Bus?, October 22-November 7
Milwaukee Children's Choir
Milwaukee Comedy
Todd Barry at Shank Hall, October 22
Milwaukee Entertainment Group
Milwaukee Festival Brass
Free Summer Park Series Concerts, September 1 & 15
Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design
“Mary L.Nohl Suitcase Exhibition,” through September 25
Milwaukee Makers Market
https://www.milwaukeemakersmarket.com/
Discovery World, September 26
Ivy House, October 31
Milwaukee Musaik
Milwaukee Opera Theatre
Milwaukee Repertory Theater
Dad’s Season Tickets, October 29-January 2, 2022
Fall in Wisconsin can only mean one thing: the Green Bay Packers! And there’s nothing more coveted then season tickets to Lambeau Field. Dad’s Season Tickets is a new musical comedy that tells the story of the three Kosinski sisters as they each scheme to get ahold of their father’s treasured tix—up for inheritance. With book, music and lyrics by Matt Zembrowski, audiences who loved Guys On Ice and Lumberjacks in Love can revisit that wacky regional humor with songs like “When You Live in Green Bay” and “What Do You Do With Bye Week.” (Harry Cherkinian)
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
Open House: Free Community Day of Music, September 26
“A Grand Opening,” October 1-3
“Grand Opening Gala, October 9
“Frank Almond Plays Bruch,” October 15-16
“Dance & Delight,” October 22-23
“Prohibition,” October 29-31
Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra
Jazz Combo Performance at Summerfest, September 2, 9, 16 & 17
Steel Pans Performance at Summerfest, September 11
Museum of Wisconsin Art
“Carey Watters: Tiny Cuts,” through September 12
“Claiming Space: A New Century of Visionary Women,” through October 3
2021 Members’ Show, September 18-October 17
“Sixty Years of Wisconsin Glass: The Hyde Collection,” October 23-January 16, 2022
MOWA | DTN (Saint Kate—The Arts Hotel)
“Anwar Floyd-Pruitt: Retina Records,” through November 14
Sun Ra’s sci-fi big band may have been an early manifestation of Afrofuturism, but it has grown since then into a full-fledged movement embracing literature and visual art. Anwar Floyd-Pruitt’s Afrofuturist visual language evokes time travel through layered representations of overlapping realities in an “improvised alchemy of unassuming materials including found paper, spray paint and brass eyelets.” (David Luhrssen)
Next Act Theatre
Three Viewings, September 23-October 17
Jeffrey Hatcher’s Three Viewings interweaves three stories taking place in a Pittsburgh funeral parlor: there’s Emil, the mild-mannered undertaker who will go to great lengths to win the love of a woman who attends all his funerals; Mac, a drifter who steals jewelry off corpses and returns home to reclaim a family heirloom; and Virginia, a recent widow, left to pick up the pieces of her late husband’s shady business dealings.
“David [Cecsarini, Producing Artistic Director] and I ran through a number of ideas before he suggested this one. I knew some other plays by Jeff Hatcher, though not this one, but when I read it, I liked it,” explains director Ed Morgan. “We both wanted something good for bringing people back into the theatre. So that meant something with some popular appeal, but yet really theatrical. I think the play, the space and the cast are an excellent combination, and I'm optimistic that people will come see it live.” (Harry Cherkinian)
Nō Studios
Photo MKE, early September
North Shore Academy of the Arts
facebook.com/northshoreacademyofthearts
“Inclusion,” through Oct. 10
Oconomowoc Arts Center
oasd.k12.wi.us
Oil Gallery Milwaukee
Optimist Theatre
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: The Lovers’ Tale Bristol Renaissance Faire, September 4-6
Outskirts Theatre
Over Our Head Players
Portrait Society Gallery
Wisconsin Prison Art Exhibition available online now
Present Music
Season opener, October 14-15
“It will be a blow-out with a big party afterward,” said Present Music’s Co-Artistic Director Eric Segnitz of the opening concert in the ensemble’s 40th anniversary season. The focus is on the world premiere of a new commission by Latvian composer Krists Auznieks. Segnitz describes him as “young, brilliant with a special sound—high on the sensitivity meter, into coloristic things, fine textures.” Appropriately for an anniversary, the program’s music forms a meditation on the passing of time. (David Luhrssen)
Racine Art Museum
RAM Artist Fellowship and Emerging Artist Exhibition 2021,” September 1-November 27
“Collection Focus: Mara Superior,” through January 15
“Alien Invasion: (Un)Familiar Forms in Contemporary Art,” through January 22, 2022
“Alien Invasion: RAM Virtual Community Art Show,” through January 22, 2022
“Get a Bead On: Jewelry and Small Objects,” through January 22, 2022
“Component Parts: Artworks Made of Multiple Elements,” through February 12, 2022
“Playful/Pensive: Contemporary Artists and Contemporary Issues,” through July 9, 2022
Racine Symphony Orchestra
“Fall Masterworks,” October 30
Renaissance Theaterworks
Br!nk New Play Festival, September 7-8
The Cake, October 22 – November 14
Playwright Bekah Brunstetter was inspired by the news story a few years back about a baker who refused to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. In this play, the baker, a God-fearing Christian woman, is asked to make a cake by her beloved goddaughter, who is marrying a woman. Director Susan Fete says, “What I love is that it shows what happens when people think really differently but love each other. It’s about the journey everyone in the story takes. They come out better at the end, I think. And there’ll be cake for everybody in the audience.” (John Schneider)
Saint Kate—The Arts Hotel
“Hanging Out the Laundry by Maeve Jackson,” through September 6
“The Money $how curated by Frank Juarez and Ric Kasini Kadour,” through September 12
“The Seed Collection,” through September 30
Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts
Skylight Music Theatre
The Full Monty, September 24-October 17
“Less” (clothing) will be so much “more” (comedy) as the Skylight kicks off its return to live performance with The Full Monty. The Tony Award nominated musical and hit film features a group of out of work friends that take to stripping to pay the bills. Director Jason Danieley starred in the original Broadway cast. So, expect some serious bump and grind from someone who’s been there. (Harry Cherkinian)
South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center
Madtown Mannish Boys, September 9
Extra Crispy Brass Band, September 23
In 2011, the Extra Crispy Brass Band debuted at the Uptowner, the Riverwest tavern that would not seem out of place on Bourbon Street. In relocating the sound of New Orleans to Milwaukee, the horn-centric band mixes traditional jazz sounds with the pulse of funk—a take on “St. James Infirmary Blues” moves from the familiar minor-key lament into a celebratory second-line rave-up. As the saying goes, if they don’t move you, check your pulse. Bandleader, vocalist, and trombonist Gregory Cramer formed the band because he missed New Orleans. (Blaine Schultz)
Big Band, Big Club, Big Night!, September 24
Steven Wright, October 1
ComedySportz Halloween Hoot-Tacular, October 23
Knightwind Ensemble, October 31
Sunset Playhouse
Run for Your Wife, September 9-September 28
Theatre Gigante
Theatrical Tendencies
Third Avenue Playhouse, Sturgeon Bay
thirdavenueplayhouse.com
Gutenberg: The Musical, October 6-October 31
Thrasher Opera House, Green Lake
Tory Folliard Gallery
“Summer in Wisconsin,” through Septmber 4
Laurie Hogin, September 10-October 9
Michael Noland, September 10 – October 9
Rodger Bechtold, October 15-November 13
Aniela Sobieski, October 22 – November 20
UW-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts
“2021 Sum Total: Department of Art & Design Faculty Exhibition,” September 8-22
Street Signs, October 20-30
Guest Artist Recital: Paul Cohen and Anna Keiserman, October 17
UW-Whitewater Theatre
The Fabulous Equinox Orchestra, October 2
EmiSunshine, October 7
Magic Morgan and Lilliana, October 9
A Place with the Pigs, October 12-15
Var Gallery & Studios
Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum
“Villa Incognito: Latent Narratives in the Permanent Collection,” through September 26
Voices Found Repertory
voicesfoundrep.com
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, September
Walker's Point Center for the Arts
Featured Member Exhibition: Andrea Lira-Landa, through Sept. 24
Annual Members Show, September 3-October 1
Waukesha Civic Theatre
Miss Holmes, September 10-26
Film Series: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, September 11
“A Sparkling 65th Season Cabaret,” September 15
Film Series: Knives Out, October 11
Deathtrap, October 22-November 7
Cabaret Series: Villains, Monsters and Ghouls, October 27-28
West Performing Arts Center
nbexcellence.org/community/westpac.cfm
WICA Dance Recital, October 9
The Children’s Playhouse Presents, October 24
New Berlin Community Band Concert, October 29
Wild Space Dance
Windfall Theatre
Wisconsin Lutheran College - Center for Arts and Performance
Wisconsin Philharmonic
“Classic Jewels – A concert to honor the memory of Don Taylor,” September 26
“Facets of Broadway with John McGivern,” October 28
Woodland Pattern Book Center
