The Glenn Miller Orchestra
Performing Arts Week highlights live theater, dance and classical music performances throughout the greater Milwaukee area. This week, we preview a concert by the Glenn Miller Orchestra; Bronzeville Arts Ensembles production of Flyin’ West; and a world premiere dance performance by Quasimondo Physical Theatre.
THEATER
Flyin’ West
Sheri Williams Pannell, artistic director of the Bronzeville Arts Ensemble, has many reasons for wanting to direct Flyin’ West, she says, “but the predominant one is to share a poignant story inspired by an aspect of American history that is seldom taught, even at the secondary level—the all black settlements established following the Emancipation Proclamation.” Atlanta-based writer Pearl Cleage’s 1992 play is set in 1898 in the historic all black town of Nicodemus, Kan. It tells the story of a small group of courageous African American women who took advantage of the Homestead Act to travel west and build new lives for themselves and their families in a harsh, untested region of the country.
Nicodemus is the oldest existing African American pioneer town in America and Milwaukee artist and activist Una VanDuvall is a descendant of its founders. VanDuvall will be the featured speaker in an extended talk back following the matinee performance on Sunday, May 27. This Milwaukee connection is another reason Pannell chose the play.
At 5 years old, the Bronzeville Arts Ensemble strives to illuminate the black experience in America. “Homeownership and community building is still the American dream for many,” Pannell says. “The question these pioneering women and our audience must answer is, once you have achieved your dream, how far will you go to protect it?” Black Arts MKE is producing. A resident group of the Marcus Center, Black Arts MKE works to increase the availability and quality of African American arts organizations in Milwaukee. (John Schneider)
7:30 p.m. May 24-26 and 3 p.m. May 27 at the Marcus Center’s Wilson Theatre in Vogel Hall. For tickets, call 414-273-7206 or visit marcuscenter.org.
Mrs. Wrights
The “Mrs. Wrights” mentioned in the title refer to the women in the life of famed (some might say infamous) and fascinating Wisconsin-born architect Frank Lloyd Wright; the work is an original solo dance theater work in which creator and performer Jenni Reinke builds the historical characters’ experiences through dance and drama. Intimate spaces are choreographed through the architecture of the body, and Modernism provides a blueprint for movement, music and design. The women Reinke portrays are his loving companion, Olgivanna, his mother, Anna, his lover, Mamah, and his ex-wives, Kitty and Miriam. This world premiere of Mrs. Wrights kicks off Quasimondo Physical Theatre’s tour to venues around the country. A Milwaukee production of the piece is also planned for fall.
“Collectively, their lives span the years 1869-1985 and mirror 19th- and 20th-century women’s history in America,” Reinke says of the characters she brings to life through movement. “[The women have been] overshadowed by Wright in history,” she says, so Reinke says that she wants her performance “to give voice to their experience” in “a show that is ultimately about the women rather than the larger-than-life architect.” She likewise adds that, in researching her subject matter, she was “lucky to tour Wright buildings and has fallen in love with his architecture.” Given the premiere’s locale, this whole enterprise would seem to be highly synergistic. (John Jahn)
Friday, June 1, at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin Hillside Theater, 6604 Highway 23, Spring Green. For tickets, visit wrightinwisconsin.org or quasimondo.org.
MUSIC
The Glenn Miller Orchestra
Hartford’s Schauer Center invites you to get “In the Mood” for a taste of the Big Band Era via a concert by the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Miller was an American trombonist of the first order who went on to found one of the most popular big bands of all time—aided by the fact that they recorded extensively for RCA. In the period 1939-1943, Miller and his orchestra scored 23 chart-toppers. That’s more than Elvis Presley and The Beatles did in their entire recording careers. It could have been an even lengthier list; alas, Miller was killed on Dec. 15, 1944, when a military airplane he was on disappeared in stormy weather over the English Channel.
The band he founded, however, would continue to perform and record under different leaders for many years. Only a small gap exists between the original and the founding of the big band that comes to the Schauer Center; of course, all of the original members have long ago passed away, but the tradition lives on. Music director Nick Hilscher leads the Glenn Miller Orchestra in performances of Glenn Miller’s classic arrangements of such timeless hits as “Moonlight Serenade,” “Rhapsody in Blue,” “Chattanooga Choo-Choo,” “A String of Pearls,” “Little Brown Jug,” “Elmer’s Tune” and many more. (John Jahn)
Friday, May 25, at 7:30 p.m. at the Schauer Center, 147 N. Rural St., Hartford. For tickets, call 262-670-0560 or visit schauercenter.org.
MORE TO DO
PianoArts North American Competition
The biennial piano competition returns to Milwaukee and welcomes the return to the city of the 2016 winner, Aristo Sham, who ever since has been performing around the world (he’ll perform here on Thursday, May 31, as part of the multi-day event). From the opening event on Wednesday, May 30, to the grand finale six days thereafter, PianoArts’ event presents 10 semifinalists (ages 16-21) performing two recitals. In addition, attendees can hear 10 Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra musicians and concerts by Sham, Ann Schein, Joyce Yang, the Prometheus Trio and others in 18 public events. May 30-June 5 at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music (1584 N. Prospect Ave.) and the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts, 9805 W. Capitol Drive. For a complete list of events and tickets, visit pianoarts.org/education/2018-competition-festival.
