Third Avenue Playhouse presents Billy Bishop Goes to War, and SMPAC’s season kicks off with a presentation of The Life and Times of Vince Lombardi by John Pinero.
Billy Bishop Goes to War
William Avery “Billy” Bishop is not exactly a household name in the U.S., but it is in Canada. Bishop was a Canadian pilot (with 72 kills) during World War I. He received numerous awards, including the Victoria Cross, and was the top Canadian and British Empire ace of the war. Billy Bishop Goes to War, by John MacLachlan Gray and Eric Peterson, is a musical play about this cheeky hero and is, in fact, one of the most critically acclaimed Canadian plays of all time.
In his heyday, no one was more famous in Canada than this pugnacious young pilot from Owen Sound, Ontario. As theatre students in the ’70s, MacLachlan Gray and Peterson wrote this work, which had its premiere in 1978. A Canadian tour ensued, and, in 1980, Billy Bishop Goes to War opened on Broadway; it has since been performed all over the world. Third Avenue Playhouse’s production stars Drew Brhel and Ryan Cappleman and direction by Robert Boles. (John Jahn)
Sept. 13-Oct. 21 at Third Avenue Playhouse, 239 N. Third Ave., Sturgeon Bay. For tickets, call 920-743-1760 or visit thirdavenueplayhouse.com/billy-bishop-goes-war.
The Life and Times of Vince Lombardi
“When summer transitions to fall, it means a new performing arts series and football,” says Rachel Sorce, executive director of the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center. “We love cheering on our student-athlete, our favorite college team, and, of course, the Green Bay Packers. The pursuit of excellence, teamwork and perseverance is what compels these values with our season kick-off presentation of The Life and Times of Vince Lombardi.”
John Pinero’s one-man embodiment of the famed Packers coach has won widespread praise and recognition from theatre critics as well as the Packers football team and many a former NFL player. Pinero’s show premiered in 1996 in California, and he’s gone on, due to his show’s success, to portray Lombardi across the country. This veteran actor has appeared as well in film, TV commercials and more than 100 stage productions. (John Jahn)
Thursday, Sept. 13, at the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center, 901 15th Ave. For tickets, call 414-766-5049 or visit southmilwaukeepac.org/event/vincelombardi.
Get It Out There
This well-established Danceworks DanceLAB showcase offers a warm look at the varied styles and concerns of a cross-section of Milwaukee’s dance community. The list of artists presenting new work in Saturday’s two concerts is impressive. The 6 p.m. first show features Catey Ott Thompson and her Dance Collective; Indian classical dancer Cyenthia Vijayakumar in collaboration with Danceworks on Tap’s Amy Brinkman; choreographer Lindsay Stevens, back from Minneapolis for a year to serve as guest artist at Milwaukee High School of the Arts, in collaboration with performers Posey Knight and Joelle Worm; Elizabeth Roskopf of Danceworks Performance Company, Wild Space, Lake Arts Project and Li Chiao-Ping Dance in Madison, in collaboration with filmmaker Kym McDaniels; and emerging artists Nadine Bailey on her new identity as a mother, and the young Fusion Dance Collective on facing life’s challenges.
The 8 p.m. show features Maggie Seer of Wild Space, Danceworks and Hyperlocal with a stellar cast of Annie Peterson, Zach Schorsch and Jimmi Weyneth dancing to music by the Beatles, Beach Boys and Everly Brothers; Cyenthia Vijayakumar again, this time performing classical Indian Kathak; UW-Milwaukee dance faculty’s Piper Morgan Hayes with another of her self-described zany dance efforts; Katherine Zavada, lately of the Northwest Youth Ballet and a ballet teacher for 48 years, setting movement to George Gershwin’s Three Preludes; the debut of the new hip-hop crew S.A.I.N.T.S (Something All Individuals Need To See); and a mystery work. See both shows for $20 ($12 for one show). Dani Kuepper is artistic director. (John Schneider)
Saturday, Sept. 15, at Danceworks Studio Theatre, 1661 N. Water Street. For tickets, call 414-277-8480 or visit danceworksmke.org.
MORE TO DO
Theatre/Schmeatre
All-new, original sketch comedy returns under the overall moniker Theatre/Schmeatre at Over Our Head Players. These are original routines in that they are all written by OOHP performers; they are sketches in that they’re all relatively short in duration and presented with minimal technical elements; they’re comedic in that, well, they’re funny! Live music is also part of each performance. Sept. 14-29 at the Sixth Street Theatre, 318 Sixth St., Racine. For tickets, call 262-632-6802 or visit overourheadplayers.org.
Zeshan B
Virtuoso vocalist Zeshan B is widely being recognized as one of the most unique singers in a long time to emerge from Chicago. Blending the driving rhythms and brad-heavy sounds of ’60s and ’70s soul with the angst-driven scats and singing styles of his Indo-Pakistani roots, Zeshan B has created, essentially, a new genre all his own. His fame has grown over the years, eventually earning him an invitation to the White House’s first ever Eid celebration when Barack Obama was president. Saturday, Sept. 15, in Wilson Theater at Vogel Hall, 929 N. Water St. For tickets, call 414-273-7206 or visit marcuscenter.org/show/zeshan-b.
Milwaukee Dance Theatre Network Day
If you’re a dancer or actor at least 18 years old and want to introduce yourself to, ask questions of, or exchange emails with the leaders of most of Milwaukee’s dance and physical theatre companies, here’s your chance. They’ll all be at UWM’s Mitchell Hall Studio 246 on Sunday, Sept. 16, from 12-4 pm. Dani Kuepper (Danceworks), Catey Ott Thompson (Catey Ott Dance Collective), Jenni Reinke (Quasimondo Physical Theatre) and Betty Salamun will curate half-hour workshops. A “Meet the Network” session will follow. Visit the MDTN Facebook page or mkedancetheatrenetwork.org for more information. )
Wonderful World of Walt
From 1940’s Pinocchio to 2017’s Coco, Disney Studios has created legions of fans through its many animated and live-action musical films and TV specials brimming with song and dance. Disney’s superb songbook—including Academy Award-winning songs and works by the beloved Sherman Brothers (Robert and Richard)—has been thoroughly mined for musical gems for Sunset Playhouse’s 13th season opener, Wonderful World of Walt. Sept. 17 and 18 at the Sunset Playhouse, 700 Wall St., Elm Grove. For tickets, call 262-782-4430, or visit sunsetplayhouse.com/shows/world-of-walt.
The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940
A creative team reunites for a backer’s audition of their new musical, but, unbeknownst to them, the “Stagedoor Slasher”—a murderer who haunted their previous production, killing three chorus girls and then disappearing—is also in attendance. The cast and production staff find themselves snowed in at their patron’s Westchester estate… a happy hunting ground for the infamous killer in their midst. Though “musical” is in this show’s title, it is not a musical, but it is a comedy and, of course, it does involve murder! Sept. 13-30 at Waukesha Civic Theatre, 264 W. Main St. For tickets, call 262-547-0708 or visit waukeshacivictheatre.org/mainstage-series.
