Rehearsal photo from Sunset Playhouse's production of Any Number Can Die
This week, we preview the murder mystery send-up Any Number Can Die and Heathers: The Musical—a rock musical based on the 1988 cult film, Heathers. Both shows are in current production at Elm Grove’s Sunset Playhouse.
Theater
Any Number Can Die
“Just about everyone loves a good mystery,” says director Carol Dolphin. “That’s why we keep producing them here at Sunset Playhouse.” Indeed, the past few seasons have seen Murder on the Nile, Sherlock Holmes and And Then There Were None brought to the stage at the Elm Grove theater. This time around, it’s Fred Carmichael’s Any Number Can Die, which Dolphin describes as “not just a mystery, but also a spoof of mysteries in general—and of the broad acting style of films in the late 1920s.”
In Any Number Can Die, four ingenious murders take place in an island mansion called Raven’s Head (sounds inviting!) off the coast of South Carolina. A pair of elderly detectives have their work cut out for them; a serious storm erupts outside, unexpected guests arrive, a cryptic poem is discovered and a missing fortune all add to the whodunnit goings on. As Dolphin explains, “There are trap doors and secret passageways, failing electricity and mistaken identities, multiple murders and clues gasped with dying breaths. Sound a bit like an extended cliché? Well, you will find them all in Any Number Can Die.” (John Jahn)
May 31-June 17 at Furlan Auditorium, 700 Wall St. For tickets, call 262-782-4430 or visit sunsetplayhouse.com.
Heathers: The Musical
Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy’s Heathers: The Musical is a rock musical based on the 1988 cult film Heathers. Starring Winona Ryder, Christian Slater and Shannen Doherty, the film portrays the lives of four teenage girls—three of whom are named Heather—in a clique at Westerbert High School in Ohio. The story seeks to open conversations among its viewers about typical teen issues such as bullying, suicidal ideation and school violence (how little has changed in the last three decades—which makes the Heathers story all the more pertinent to today’s audiences).
Sunset Playhouse suggests this dark comedy musical for mature audiences given the adult situations, suggested drug use, bullying, explicit language and killing. Killing!? Yes—the four Heathers are being plotted against by a “misfit” student named Veronica and her damaged romantic wildcard of a boyfriend, Jason (“JD”). After a sold-out Los Angeles tryout, Heathers: The Musical quickly moved Off-Broadway in 2014. It has been well-received there as well as in productions taking place ever since in San Francisco, Sydney, Australia and London’s Off West End. It plays in Elm Grove’s Sunset Playhouse as part of the company’s After Sunset Studio Series. (John Jahn)
June 7-10 at Furlan Auditorium, 700 Wall St. For tickets, call 262-782-4430 or visit sunsetplayhouse.com.
Village Playhouse 33rd Annual One Act Play Festival
In 1984, a fateful Milwaukee theater collaboration took place. The Third Coast Playwrights approached the Village Playhouse of Wauwatosa to request space to stage the winning submissions from their playwriting contest. The Playhouse said yes, and the festival was born. Now in its 33rd year, it is the longest-running festival of its kind in the United States, according to Erico Ortiz, owner of the Playhouse’s venue, Inspiration Studios, and director of one of this year’s one acts.
The festival’s emphasis is on presenting new works in a wide range of styles and fostering artists willing to work on a “no-frills budget.” Ortiz describes the festival as a place where “potential playwrights, directors and actors are born.” Although submissions are open to all Wisconsin residents, works do undergo a rigorous review process by a committee of Village Playhouse members who read all the submissions and carefully rank them.
Uniquely, the festival affords audience members the opportunity to vote for their favorites in categories including actor, script, director and set design after each performance. Awards are later presented to the participants during the company’s July membership meeting.
This year’s festival offerings were culled from 19 submissions and include a trilogy of works by Deanna Strasse, as well as pieces by Nick Schweitzer, Mark Borchardt and Mike Willis. Storylines run the gamut from old flames disrupting settled domestic life to little girls airing adult agendas while playing with dolls. (Selena Milewski)
June 1-17 at Inspiration Studios, 1500 S. 73rd St. For tickets, call 414-207-4879 or visit villageplayhouse.org.
MORE TO DO
Alek Wasserman Piano Recital
Pianist Alek Wasserman returns home to Milwaukee for his professional recital debut at Villa Terrace. His program is titled “An Exploration of the Canon,” and thus sounds like a crash-course in piano composition history. Attendees can expect some verbal engagement with Wasserman in addition to traditional performance in order to contextualize the music. Friday, June 1, at Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum, 2220 N. Terrace Ave. For tickets, visit brownpapertickets.com and search event “3416529.”
Café Sopra Mare
The Villa Terrace official opens its Renaissance Garden on Sunday, June 3. Between 1:30 and 3:30 p.m., local artist Thea Kovac demonstrates easy and appealing watercolor painting techniques for one and all; there’s also children’s activities, face painting and balloons available all afternoon. That day also marks the beginning of Villa Terrace’s weekly summer music series, Café Sopra Mare (starting with vintage jazz by Milwaukee Hot Club). Performances take place every Sunday from June 3 to Sept. 30 in the Mercury Courtyard; music starts at 10:30 a.m., with coffee and refreshments available from Roast. Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum, 2220 N. Terrace Ave. These events are free and open to the public.
Sounds of a Better World
Now in its 24th season, the Milwaukee Children’s Choir maintains a collaborative relationship with several area arts organizations and provides children ages 5-18 with exceptional choral music education and performance experiences that foster creativity, personal expression and social growth. All current members of the Milwaukee Children’s Choir come together to perform music that calls for justice and peace on Earth in their next concert, “Sounds of a Better World.” Saturday, June 2, at Shattuck Auditorium, Carroll University, 218 N. East Ave., Waukesha. For tickets, visit brownpapertickets.com and search event “3094533.”
Father Knows Best
Father just wants his family to stay home for an evening together. Is that too much to ask? Apparently so, so he decides to really insist on this and suddenly, his whole neighborhood gets in on the family-night-at-home idea. Like the 1954-1960 TV series of the same name famously starring Robert Young and Jane Wyatt, this is middle-class, small-town Americana suitable for the whole family. May 31-June 17 at Waukesha Civic Theatre, 264 Main St., Waukesha. For tickets, call 262-547-0708 or visit waukeshacivictheatre.org.
