First Stage fuels the imaginations of audience members with its mainstage production of A Wrinkle in Time, based on the bestselling book by author Madeleine L’Engle and adapted for the stage by John Glore.
First Stage fuels the imaginations of audience members with its mainstage production of A Wrinkle in Time, based on the bestselling book by author Madeleine L’Engle and adapted for the stage by John Glore.
Theater
Happy Days
Before you get carried away with thoughts of the Cunninghams, Ralph Malph, Chachi and The Fonz upon encountering Happy Days as the title of a live theater piece, let me quickly dissuade you of such notions (wonderful though they may be). Rather, I write here of playwright Samuel Beckett’s 1961 play of that name that examines, masterfully, the often-fragile relationships that bind us one to another. In Happy Days, Nobel Prize-winner Beckett explores existential questions such as life’s purpose, hope, happiness, love, marriage, aging and the inevitability of death.
“For years, it’s been my dream to work on Happy Days, especially with actors as fine as Laura Gordon and Todd Denning,” says the show’s director, Renaissance Theaterworks’ Marie Kohler. “First introduced to Beckett in high school, I struggled to read Waiting for Godot in its original language, but I was fascinated by his dark comedy. I’ve seen as many of Beckett’s plays as possible ever since; Happy Days is my favorite.”
Jan. 24-Feb. 16 in the Studio Theatre of the Broadway Theatre Center, 158 N. Broadway. For tickets, call 414-273-0800 or visit r-t-w.com.
A Wrinkle in Time
First Stage fuels the imaginations of audience members with its mainstage production of A Wrinkle in Time, based on the bestselling book by author Madeleine L’Engle and adapted for the stage by John Glore. The play explores the adventures of female protagonist Meg Murry with her brother, Charles Wallace, and their new friend, Calvin O’Keefe. On one of those time-honored “dark and stormy nights,” a mysterious stranger arrives at Meg’s home, and she embarks on a wild, empowering journey of self-discovery. The play is full of fascinating characters, space and time travel and, of course, an epic battle pitting good against evil.
“A Wrinkle in Time is one of my all-time favorite novels,” says First Stage artistic director Jeff Frank. “Madeline L’Engle was among the first authors to look at the deep, delicate issues confronting young people: loss, social conformity and love. The novel accomplishes all of this, while sharing a grand adventure… Ultimately, the story celebrates the power of love—for one another, as well as for oneself, as a tremendous force against the evil in our world—and that’s a story we all need to be reminded of.”
Jan. 24-Feb. 23 at the Marcus Center’s Todd Wehr Theater, 929 N. Water St. For tickets, call 414-273-7206 or visit firststage.org.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Hedwig and the Angry Inch, with text by John Cameron Mitchell and music and lyrics by Stephen Trask, is a trailblazing rock-musical and winner of four Tony Awards, including Best Musical Revival. Hedwig played to record-breaking sell-out crowds on Broadway (where it landed in 2014; it opened Off-Broadway in 1998), telling the story of one of the most unique characters to ever hit the stage.
The musical follows Hedwig Schmidt—a genderqueer East German singer of a fictional rock band. The story draws on Mitchell’s own life as the child of a U.S. Army major general who once commanded the U.S. sector of West Berlin. The character of Hedwig (played in this Milwaukee Repertory Theater production by Matt Rodin) was inspired by a German divorced U.S. Army wife who was Mitchell’s family babysitter and moonlighted as a prostitute at her trailer park home in Junction City, Kan. As Hedwig’s life changes and with nothing left, she returns to her first love: music. (John Jahn)
Jan. 28-March 8 in the Stiemke Studio of the Patty and Jay Baker Theater Complex, 108 E. Wells St. For tickets, call 414-224-9490, email tickets@milwaukeerep.com or visit milwaukeerep.com.
More to Do
“New Year Spectacular! Middle School”
Start the ’20s off with Ex Fabula at their annual New Year Spectacular, and enjoy thereby an evening of true, personal stories told by Milwaukee community members. For this noncompetitive curated StorySlam, the storytellers are selected in advance, and each teller works with an Ex Fabula storytelling coach to prepare a story on this year’s theme: middle school. Audience members can participate by submitting what Ex Fabula terms “UltraShorts:” brief, true, personal stories written on slips of paper and read onstage by the emcee. Friday, Jan. 24, at 7:30 p.m. at Turner Hall Ballroom, 1040 Vel R. Phillips Ave. For more information, call 414-306-1396, send an email to megan@exfabula.org or visit exfabula.org.
“Peaceful, Easy Feeling: The Eagles & Friends”
Four musicians came together in 1971 and became one of the most successful (soft) rock bands in history. Sunset Playhouse’s MainStage Musical Concert Series production features The Eagles’ biggest hits, such as “Desperado,” “Hotel California” and “Take it Easy,” and, just for fun, they also throw in a few of their fellow ’70s artists, like The Doobie Brothers and Seals & Crofts, to boot. Don your polyester shirt, mood ring, platform shoes and bell bottoms and “Take It to the Limit!” Jan. 27 and 28 in Sunset Playhouse, 700 Wall St., Elm Grove. For tickets, call 262-782-4430 or visit sunsetplayhouse.com.
“The Verses”
Concord Chamber Orchestra (CCO) continues its season-long exploration of classical music inspired by the plays of The Bard—tragedies, comedies and histories—with this concert titled “The Verses.” Just as William Shakespeare’s iconic plays are made up of beautiful individual verses, the CCO is made up of talented individual musicians. Its annual “sampler” concert is a unique opportunity to hear several chamber music pieces of wide variety, each featuring musicians who provide the poetry that is the CCO. Sunday, Jan. 26, at 2:30 p.m. at North Shore Congregational Church, 7330 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Fox Point. For tickets, call 414-750-4404, email concordmanager@gmail.com or visit concordorchestra.org.
“Harp Spotlight”
Kelsey Molinari, harp, and Marta Aznavoorian, piano, make their Frankly Music debuts in this concert, joined by versatile returning cellist Alexander Hersh. Camille Saint-Saëns’ delicate Fantaisie for Violin and Harp, Op. 124, is paired with an exquisite violin-harp arrangement of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ poetic The Lark Ascending, plus Robert Schumann’s lush Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 63. Carlos Salzedo’s Chanson dans la Nuit opens the concert. Monday, Jan. 27, at 7 p.m. in Schwan Concert Hall at Wisconsin Lutheran College, 8815 W. Wisconsin Ave. For tickets, visit franklymusic.org.
