Milwaukee Opera Theatre and Theater RED present A Chorus Line; William Shakespeare’s immortal Romeo and Juliet comes to SummerStage in Delafield; and SueMo Dance Company explores what it means to self-identify in a performance at Danceworks entitled (I)dentity.
THEATRE:
‘A Chorus Line’
The classic musical that asks: What would you do for love?
Milwaukee Opera Theatre and Theater RED have assembled a large cast (nearly 30) actors and dancers from local stages for a production of Marvin Hamlisch and Edward Kleban’s enduring musical of ambition, success and failure, A Chorus Line. Familiar names in the cast include Joe Picchetti, David Flores, Mark Bucher, Doug Jarecki, Karl Miller and C. Michael Wright.
A Chorus Line is widely credited for revitalizing the musical theater genre when it was beginning to lapse somewhat into moribundity. Rather than focusing on historical characters or times long ago and far away, A Chorus Line was, quite simply, about the art of acting and dancing professionally, telling the stories of those who live their lives from production to production in search of stardom, fame or, perhaps, love.
Aug. 27-28 at the Nancy Kendall Theater on the campus of Cardinal Stritch University, 6801 N. Yates Road. For tickets, call 800-838-3006 or visit singularsensation.brownpapertickets.com.
Romeo and Juliet
The timeless story of two young lovers cursed to be on the opposite sides of rival families filled with loathing for each other, William Shakespeare’s immortal Romeo and Juliet comes to SummerStage of Delafield. It is perhaps the archetypal tragic romance story, the roots of which go back to antiquity. Its central story has been told and retold via every possible art form. There’s no need to wonder why. Take the rawest and most basic of our animal instincts and emotions, add the brilliant poetic-dramatic writing of a man like Shakespeare, and you have something that will endure forever. SummerStage takes this wonderful work, Shakespeare’s original, to the great outdoors.
Aug. 24-Sept. 9 at the Lapham Peak Unit of Kettle Moraine State Forest, W329 N846 County Highway C. For tickets, call 262-337-1560 or visit summerstageofdelafield.org.
DANCE:
(I)dentity
SueMo’s Morgan Williams describes the dance company he co-founded with Melissa Sue Anderson as one that “will take the audience on a journey of movement that is edgy, funky, organic and diverse” comprised of a “fusion of ballet, contemporary, jazz and hip-hop dancers with the ultimate goal of versatility in their movement vocabulary.” SueMo’s next performance piece, (I)dentity, is described as “an exploration of what it means to self-identify,” whether it’s through one’s sexual orientation, race, religious beliefs (if any), or social or economic status. New works by Williams and Anderson are featured, as well as by Associate Artistic Director Christa Smutek, Kam Saunders and Dallas Black Dance Theater’s Keon Nickie.
Aug. 26 at Danceworks Studio Theatre, 1661 N. Water St. For tickets, visit danceworksmke.org.
