Miscast is a musical revue in which Waukesha Civic Theatre performers sing songs for characters they would never have the chance to play in real life due to their sex, ethnicity or age.
Theater
Miscast
Why is Tevye from Fiddler On the Roof always played by a middle-aged man? Why is Cinderella’s lead always a young woman? Haven’t you always wondered what a septuagenarian could do in the title role in musicals such as Annie or Oliver? Musical theatre is not only chock-full of iconic characters, but also with actors who will never get the chance to play those roles due to, well, preconceived notions of their being “miscast.”
Miscast is a musical revue in which Waukesha Civic Theatre performers sing songs for characters they would never have the chance to play in real life, be it due to their sex, ethnicity, age, etc. Miscast present a unique opportunity to see and hear famous moments from beloved, classic musicals through new eyes and ears and perhaps learning something about ourselves and our own preconceived notions in the offing.
7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 16 at Waukesha Civic Theatre, 264 W. Main St. For tickets, call 262-547-0708 or visit waukeshacivictheatre.org.
Kiss Me, Kate
Involving a production of a musical adaptation of William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, Cole Porter wrote Kiss Me, Kate as a response to Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II’s Oklahoma! and similar “integrated musicals.” It premiered on Broadway in 1948 and would prove to be Porter’s only show to run for more than 1,000 performances on the Great White Way. It won the Tony Award for Best Musical the following year.
Passions run high both onstage and off as a tempestuous couple struggle to present The Bard’s Shrew in musical form. Kiss Me, Kate blends irreverent Shakespearean humor with Porter’s legendary wit in a tuneful, brilliant battle of the sexes. It features unforgettable classics like “Why Can’t You Behave?,” “Too Darn Hot” and “Another Op’nin’, Another Show.” Skylight Music Theatre deems it suitable for those ages 11 and up. (John Jahn)
May 17-June 16 in the Cabot Theatre, 158 N. Broadway. For tickets, call 414-291-7800 or visit skylightmusictheatre.org.
Ex Fabula All Stars: ‘Forgiveness’
Ex Fabula’s annual All Stars event features community members who were voted “audience favorites” at regular season “StorySlams.” Here, they return to the stage to share new, 10-minute stories on the evening’s theme: forgiveness. Audience members can also participate in the storytelling by submitting “UltraShorts”—brief, true personal stories written on slips of paper which are subsequently read aloud onstage by the evening’s emcee. At the end of the night, the audience votes and crowns Ex Fabula’s Season 10 Audience Favorite. (John Jahn)
7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18 at Turner Hall Ballroom, 1040 Vel R. Phillips Ave. For tickets, call 414-286-3663 or visit pabsttheater.org.
More to Do
Winston Churchill: The Blitz
“I have heard many people attempt to play the role of my great-grandfather, but without hesitation, Randy Otto takes the role to a whole new level. He doesn’t attempt to be Winston Churchill; he is Winston Churchill,” says Jonathan Sandys, the great British leader’s great-grandson. In this one-man play, Wisconsin native Randy Otto portrays an astonishingly nuanced, humorous and witty Winston Churchill with gravitas and grit during the summer 1940 bombing of London by the Luftwaffe. Churchill scholar, motivational speaker and performance artist Otto has honed the concept into a show designed to shatter the imaginary fourth wall, transporting the audience from tears to laughter and back again. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18, at the Oconomowoc Area School District Arts Center, 641 E. Forest St. For tickets, call 262-560-3172 or visit oasd.k12.wi.us.
All-Night Vigil
One of the world’s most celebrated sacred choral works, Sergei Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil is a combination of haunting Russian chant and intense harmonic complexity. Known for his powerfully romantic piano concertos, Rachmaninoff went way out of character in 1915 by composing this liturgical work for the Russian Orthodox Church. The unaccompanied choral masterpiece incorporates texts taken from Russian Orthodox vigils celebrated on the eve of great feasts and drawn from a number of chant traditions. This Bel Canto Chorus concert closes with a piece by contemporary Latvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds. In Paradisum takes text from the traditional Latin requiem mass and provides imagery of angels awaiting the entrance of a soul into paradise. 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 17 at the Basilica of St. Josaphat, 2333 S. Sixth St. For tickets, call 414-481-8801 or visit belcanto.org.
The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey
The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey, the next show at Third Avenue Playhouse, is written by James Lecesne and directed by Robert Boles; it will feature Door County favorite Alan Kopischke in the role of Detective Chuck DeSantis. The determined detective unravels the story of one Leonard Pelkey—a tenaciously optimistic, flamboyant 14-year-old boy who goes missing. Lecesne’s gripping story was described in The New Yorker as “a whodunit with a heart of gold.” May 16-June 9 at Third Avenue Playhouse, 239 N. Third Ave., Sturgeon Bay. For tickets, call 920-743-1760 or visit thirdavenueplayhouse.com.
