Illustration by: Anna Ward
The Emperor’s New Tuxedo runs Oct. 3-6, 2019 at Waukesha Civic Theatre (264 W. Main St, Waukesha)
This week, the Racine Symphony Orchestra presents the first Masterworks Concert of its season, and vocal ensemble Aperi Animam gives a free concert in Downtown Milwaukee.
Theater
The Emperor’s New Tuxedo
In seeking to outdo a rival ruler, an emperor must find a method to prove he’s number one, but two devious con men spot an opportunity to expose the potentate for his own pettiness. This is the plot of Waukesha Civic Theatre’s The Emperor’s New Tuxedo, an “ACAP PlayMakers” production. ACAP’s (Adaptive Community Approach Program) mission is to encourage people with disabilities to achieve their highest potential and to acquire life-long skills that will enable them to become contributing and valued members within their communities. The company offers a sensory-friendly performance—designed to accommodate children and adults who are sensitive to lights, sounds or have other needs—on Sunday, Oct. 6, at 2 p.m. (John Jahn)
Oct. 3-6 at Waukesha Civic Theatre, 264 W. Main St, Waukesha. For tickets, call 262-547-0708 or visit waukeshacivictheatre.org.
Classical Music
Aperi Animam Concert
Taking their name from the Latin command, “Open your soul,” Aperi Animam is a new Milwaukee-based vocal ensemble specializing in sacred music from the Renaissance. They’ve been praised for their mindful, innovative programming and rich sound, which is characterized by the singers’ ability to sing fully as soloists while maintaining a balanced and unified sense of ensemble. Aperi Animam gives a free concert at 5 p.m. at Grace Lutheran Church, 1209 N. Broadway, on Friday, Oct. 4. (John Jahn)
RSO Masterworks Concert/Fundraiser
The Racine Symphony Orchestra presents its first Masterworks Concert of the season, featuring two masterpieces of the classical orchestral repertoire. These works are the gorgeously evocative The Hebrides overture, Op. 26, by Felix Mendelssohn (1826); and Ludwig van Beethoven’s thrilling Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92 (1812). There will also be a “PreConcert Conversation” with RSO 2019 artist-in-residence, musicologist Meaghan Heinrich. A post-concert fundraising event (with appetizers, desserts, cash bar and more) rounds out the evening. (John Jahn)
Sunday, Oct. 6, at 3 p.m. (concert) at UW-Parkside’s Frances Bedford Concert Hall, 900 Wood Road, Kenosha. For tickets, call 262-636-9285 or visit racinesymphony.org.
More To Do
Dracula
The MainStage Academy of Dance and artistic director Eddy Bray transform the oft-told tale of Dracula into an elaborately staged ballet accompanied by an eerie score that audiences can truly, well, sink their teeth into. To help conjure the reimagined spirit behind the mysticism of Dracula, the production will cast a spell with special effects, amazing choreography and a few surprises hidden in the shadows. Despite the potential for blood and gore given the subject matter, Dracula is, nonetheless, considered family friendly and suitable for all ages. Oct. 4-6 at the Oconomowoc Arts Center, 641 E. Forest St., Oconomowoc. For tickets, visit wedancemainstage.com.
The Rainbow Fish Musical
When Rainbow Fish, the most beautiful fish in the ocean, refuses to share her vibrant, shimmering scales, the whole ocean seems to turn against her. Unhappy that no one admires her anymore, Rainbow Fish seeks out the wise Octopus, who helps her learn that it’s far better to be admired for being kind than for being beautiful. With a bubbly, energetic score, the universal message at the heart of this delightful musical becomes much more than just a simple children’s story. With book, music and lyrics by Austin Zumbro, this Racine Children’s Theatre show is adapted from the book by Marcus Pfister. Oct. 4-6 at Racine Guild Theatre, 2519 Northwestern Ave., Racine. For tickets, call 262-633-4218 or visit racinetheatre.org.
A Doll’s House, Part Two
Modernist playwright Henrik Ibsen changed the face of dramatic literature as we knew it. Often referred to as the “father of realism,” his inventive dramas gave way to a new era of theater. This is especially true of his 1879 drama, A Doll’s House, in which a married woman with little opportunity for self-fulfillment grapples with the confines of her station in life in a way that sparked controversy among its audiences. In the final scene of Ibsen’s groundbreaking masterwork, she makes a shocking decision. In A Doll’s House, Part Two, a sequel crafted in 2017 by award-winning contemporary playwright Lucas Hnath, many years have passed since those events; characters return, and consequences are faced. Oct. 4-12 at Carthage College’s Wartburg Theatre, 2001 Alford Park Drive, Kenosha. For tickets, call 262-551-6661 or visit carthagecollege.edu/tickets.
The Addams Family
The Addams Family—A New Musical is a comedy that embraces the wackiness in every family, features an original story and has a plot that amounts to every father’s nightmare. Wednesday Addams, the ultimate princess of darkness, has grown up and fallen in love with a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family—a man her parents have never met. And if that wasn’t upsetting enough, Wednesday confides in her father and begs him not to tell her mother. Now, her father, Gomez, must do something he’s never done before: keep a secret from his beloved wife, Morticia. Everything will change for the whole family on the fateful night they host a dinner for Wednesday’s boyfriend and his parents. “Most important to Charles Addams and to the spirit of his characters was that, despite their macabre interests, this family is not evil, they are not monsters—they are human,” says director Anthony Bruno. Oct. 4-12 at Leslie W. Johnson Theatre, Horace Mann Middle School Campus, 2820 Union Ave., Sheboygan. For tickets, call 920-459-3773 or visit stcshows.org.
THE END IS NEAR and that’s ok
If you’ve followed dance in Milwaukee this decade, you’ll remember Kelly Anderson from Danceworks Performance Company, Wild Space Dance Company and even Your Mother Dances or Footholds Dance. Anderson left in 2012 for NYC, then moved her Kelly Anderson Dance Theatre to Chicago where her work has been much celebrated. Now she’ll bring her newest dance theatre comedy, THE END IS NEAR and that’s ok, home to Danceworks Studio Theatre, 1661 N. Water St. for performances Saturday, Oct. 5 at 7:00 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 6 at 2:30 p.m. As Dolly Parton’s Personal Assistant, she’ll marshal the troupe to create a new society as Armageddon threatens. Visit danceworksmke.org/performance/guest-concerts/
