Photo credit: Michael Brosilow
Highlighting this week’s arts’ scene, The Phantom of the Opera returns to haunt the stage of Uihlein Hall; UWM’s Mainstage Theatre is populated by All My Sons; and Todd Wehr Auditorium hosts The Potting Shed.
Theater
The Phantom of the Opera
“With Phantom still the reigning champion as the longest-running production on Broadway after 30 phenomenal years, with no end in sight, I’m delighted that this spectacular new production has been as well-received in the U.S. as the brilliant original. It has already been seen by more than 3.7 million people across North America since 2013,” says Cameron Mackintosh, who oversaw Phantom’s original London production. “With an exciting new design and staging, retaining Maria Björnson’s amazing costumes, the new show is thrilling audiences and critics alike all over again. With the production continuing to be such a success, we are delighted to welcome our exciting new stars to keep the music of the night soaring for many years to come.”
Based on the classic novel Le Fantôme de L’Opéra by Gaston Leroux, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera tells the story of a masked figure who lurks beneath the Paris Opera House, exercising a reign of terror over all who inhabit it. He falls madly in love with an innocent young soprano, Christine, and devotes himself to creating a new star by nurturing her extraordinary talents and by employing all of the devious methods at his command.
March 6-17 in Uihlein Hall at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, 929 N. Water St. For tickets, call 414-273-7206 or visit marcuscenter.org.
All My Sons
All My Sons is a 1947 play by Arthur Miller (1915-2005) that ran on Broadway for 328 performances. It was directed and co-produced by Elia Kazan (to whom it is dedicated) and won the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award, as well as Tony Awards for Best Author and for Best Direction of a Play, and it was later adapted for feature films in 1948 and 1987. Such a record of success should say something about the play’s quality and staying power.
Presently, it comes to UW-Milwaukee’s Mainstage Theatre, directed by Jim Tasse. All My Sons established Miller as a leading voice in American theater. It skillfully introduced themes that thread through Miller’s work as a whole: the relationships between fathers and sons, the conflict between business and personal ethics and the haunting reminder that the past is not dead. The past is, in fact, not even truly past.
March 6-10 at UWM’s Mainstage Theatre, 2400 E. Kenwood Blvd. For tickets, call 414-229-4308 or visit uwm.edu/arts.
The Potting Shed
Graham Greene’s The Potting Shed (directed by Acacia Theatre’s Therese Goode), has been aptly described as “an intellectual detective story” (NY Daily News). It centers on James Callifer, who’s estranged from his family, and who approaches his father’s deathbed only to be denied access by his mother. Indeed, everyone seems to resent him for an occurrence in the family’s potting shed when he was 14 years old; an event for which James has no personal memory. His yearning for “a small drop of faith” will lead him on an investigation for answers, culminating in a thrilling discovery (Acacia is a Christian-based theater company).
The 1957 play is essentially a psychological drama that centers on the aforementioned Callifer family secret. Though James is at the center of this secret and knows nothing of it himself, his family members who do recall the event are unwilling to describe it to him, but with some help, James tries to recall just what happened that day that left him rejected by his father, alienated from his family and alone in the world.
March 1-3 and 7-10 at Concordia University Todd Wehr Auditorium, 12800 N. Lake Shore Drive, Mequon. For tickets, call 414-744-5995 or visit acaciatheatre.com.
More To Do
McGuire
Miller High Life Theatre presents Dick Enberg’s McGuire, featuring Anthony Crivello in the title role, which he fairly inhabits. Al McGuire was more than a coach and more than a commentator; for many people, he was an inspiration. Written by a legendary broadcaster, this play is based on stories and friendship from a longtime partnership. Crivello is a Tony Award-winning actor and Milwaukee native. In this play, you’re able to take an intimate, up-close and personal look into a story that transcends basketball. March 5-10 at Miller High Life Theatre, 500 W. Kilbourn Ave. For tickets, call 800-745-3000 or visit ticketmaster.com.
The Curious Savage
Mrs. Savage is an elderly woman whose late husband has left her $10 million. She intends to give the entire fortune away to people who wish to pursue their “foolish dreams,” but her stepchildren strongly object. To prevent her from doing away with the family’s wealth and ruining their legacy, they have her committed to a sanatorium called The Cloisters, and it is among the gentle residents there that she finds her true family. Sunset Playhouse describes John Patrick’s plays as “a warm comedy that compares the kindness and loyalty of psychiatric patients with the greed and hostility of so-called normal people.” Feb. 28-March 17 in Furlan Auditorium, 700 Wall St., Elm Grove. For tickets, call 262-782-4430 or visit sunsetplayhouse.com.
Cohere
This is extended music-and-dance improvisation by skilled performers. Always fascinating, each Hyperlocal MKE performance occurs in a different Milwaukee setting and lasts about an hour. Each has a theme word; for this 20th event, it’s “cohere.” Nothing is rehearsed; 15 or so courageous, highly skilled instrumentalists and dancer/choreographers take their inspiration moment by moment from the theme, the space, each other and their individual artistic explorations. The site this time, Hawthorn Contemporary Gallery in Walker’s Point, opened last March. It’s dedicated to experimental and exploratory art. Saturday, March 2, at 4 p.m. at Hawthorn Contemporary Gallery, 900 S. Fifth St.
Embodied Truth: Finding Ways to Move Together
Through community workshops, panel discussions, dance/spoken word performance and an all-ages dance party, Milwaukee choreographer and UWM dance faculty member Daniel Burkholder and NYC choreographer Kimani Fowlin will offer multiple ways to think about, share, discuss, and celebrate the challenges and opportunities of being parents in the current #metoo and #blacklivesmatter world. March 3-9 at Kenilworth Square East Gallery, 2155 North Prospect Avenue, with final performance and party on March 9. Contact kse-gallery@uwm.edu for more information or a spot in one of the workshops.
