The Unexpected Man will run Dec. 7-16, 2017 at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center (Sheboygan).
Theater
The Skin of Our Teeth
When Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth debuted in the fall of 1942, it broke nearly every theatrical convention. In doing so, it could have been a long-forgotten flop, but instead, this highly heterodox comedic drama would go on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and earn its Broadway star, Tallulah Bankhead, the Variety Award for Best Actress and the New York Drama Critics Award for Best Actress of the Year.
Joshua Pohja—First Stage Young Company’s director of this upcoming production—will stick to Wilder’s unorthodox approach to this story about how human beings came to survive through the eons…well, by the skins of their teeth. “Typical theatrical conventions will be tested as the fourth wall [between audience and performers] is broken. There will be dance, song and surprises,” he promises, in this play that, at base, is a celebration of “the indestructibility of the human spirit.” The play is suggested for adults and families with children ages 12 and up.
Dec. 8-17 at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center, 325 W. Walnut St. For tickets, call 414-267-2961 or visit firststage.org.
Arsenic and Old Lace
Of American playwright Joseph Kesselring’s 12 plays, it is his Arsenic and Old Lace which has stood the test of time. It opened on Broadway in 1941 and ran there through mid-1944, having played 1,444 performances. The play, a farcical black comedy populated by insane homicidal maniacs, proved to be a timeless masterpiece, and it’s certainly a most apropos choice for the Off the Wall Theatre treatment. In lieu of their annual Holiday Punch, Arsenic is the troupe’s present to the theater-going community…err, maybe I should rephrase that?
“Don’t drink the wine. I repeat: Do not drink the elderberry wine!” warns director Dale Gutzman. “You know how Off the Wall gets at Christmas!” he says. “It’s like the doctors have left the building and the lunatics run the asylum.” Gutzman not only directs the show but portrays Jonathan Brewster, a “mad criminal who looks like Boris Karloff.” Rounding out the central cast, there are Marilyn White and Michelle Waide who play the Brewster sisters; Mark Neufang (Mortimer, the drama critic); Robert Zimmerman as an alcoholic plastic surgeon; and Lawrence J. Lukasavage as a man who thinks he’s Teddy Roosevelt. The New Year’s Eve performance includes free food and drink…but don’t drink the elderberry wine! (John Jahn)
Dec. 13-31 at Off the Wall Theatre, 127 E. Wells. St. For tickets, call 414-484-8874 or visit zivacat.com/offthewalltheatre.
More to Do
Christmas in Bronzeville
Sheri Williams Pannel’s Christmas in Bronzeville involves a grandmother, her memory fading, visiting family in Milwaukee for the holiday season. This heartwarming play is the inaugural event of First Stage Foundry, described by the company as their “next phase of play development,” which, “through a series of four new play readings each season, will engage the community in conversations about the work and process of creation” as well as “provide training and performance opportunities for youth and adult actors.” Tuesday, Dec. 12 at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center. Admission is free.
Beauty and the Beast Jr. and Our Favorite Things
Sunset Playhouse in Elm Grove brings two different shows to the stage. The Children’s Theater Series offers Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Jr. with its timeless tale of love and gorgeous music by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and Tim Rice. Sunset’s Cabaret Series brings Taryn Whipple to the stage for Our Favorite Things, a musical salute to the great vocalist and actress Julie Andrews. Dec. 10-11 (Beauty and the Beast Jr.) and Dec. 13-17 (Our Favorite Things). For tickets, call 262-782-4430 or visit sunsetplayhouse.com.
The Unexpected Man
“As we watch, we can’t help thinking about our own hope for connection, the regret of missed opportunities, the risk required to reach across the silence,” says Laura Gordon, director of this production of Yasmina Reza’s The Unexpected Man. This two-actor play, featuring Sara Day and Brian Mani, is quite literally about Strangers on a Train (to reference the Alfred Hitchcock classic) occupying the same compartment as they travel between Paris and Frankfurt, but sans murderous psychopath. Dec. 7-16 at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan. For tickets, call 920-458-6144 or visit jmkac.org/unexpected.
“A Mediterranean Christmas”
Early Music Now, Milwaukee’s finest presenter of Medieval, Renaissance and early Baroque music, hosts a concert of holiday season-inspired music spanning some seven centuries as performed by the internationally known Boston Camerata and the SHARQ Arabic Music Ensemble. Dec. 9-10 at St. Joseph Center Chapel. For tickets, call 414-225-3113 or visit earlymusicnow.org.
Pipe Organ Concert with Dance
Catey Ott Dance Collective, which has performed more than 100 works at various venues in both New York City and Milwaukee, will dance to the minimalist music of legendary American composer Philip Glass as played by organist Mark Konewko. This concert-with-dance event takes place as part of Gesu Church’s ongoing organ concert series, which usually take place on the second Sunday of every month; this being no exception. Tuesday, Dec. 12 at Church of the Gesu. Free and open to the public, though free-will offerings are gladly accepted.
