My busiest month ever covering theatre ends this week with three shows opening and another two one-weekend-only theatre events. Here’s a quick rundown of what’s going on:
STATIONS OF THE CROSS
The Boulevard Theatre’s premiere of Beth Monhollen’s comic play about waiting tables makes it to the stage this Wednesday. The challenges of the service industry are told in a format patterned after the Stations of the Cross in Christian literature.
The cast includes Mark Bucher, Scott Dennis, Katie Merriman, Shemagne O'Keefe, Mia Shellenbarger and Kate Sherry.
Stations of the Cross runs April 29 – May 31st.
KENILWORTH UNLOCKED
This is one that I’m disappointed to be missing. It’s a project written, directed by and starring undergraduate theatre students at UWM.
It’s a site-specific piece that gets into the history of UWM’s Kennilworth Building, which was originally built in 1914 by Henry Ford. Not actually confined to a theatre space, the show sounds like a cross between traditional theatre and a guided tour of the building.
Kenilworth Unlocked runs Wednesday the 29th through Sunday May 3rd.
ROMANTIC FOOLS
This one looks like a lot of fun. In Tandem Theatre closes its season with a program of romantic comedy shorts by Rich Orloff. Georgina McKee and Ryan Schabach star in Orloff’s lightly comic look into relationships, There’s a preview of the show in this week’s Shepherd-Express. Transcripts from my interview with the cast appear here in the days to come.
Romantic Fools runs April 30 – May 7th.
BETTY’S SUMMER VACATION
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This Friday, Windfall Theatre opens the Milwaukee Premiere of the Christopher Durang comedy. The title character goes to the ocean to try to relax and enjoy things, but finds herself meeting with some rather strange characters in a show that explores the early-‘90’s tabloidization of American culture that has come to define a 21st century culture fueled by random bits of information spilling out of the 24 hour news networks. The show stars Sonia Rosenthal, Ben George, James Boland, Melissa Keith, Christine Horgen, Marty McNamme, Tamara Martinsek and Shannon Nettesheim.
Betty’s Summer Vacation runs May 1st – 16th at Village Church Arts.
OTHELLO
Also opening Friday for three performances only: The Artists Formerly Known As Milwaukee Shakespeare present a staged reading of Othello at the Live Artists Have to Eat studio on 228 South 1st Street.
Performances are Friday, May 1 at 7:30; Saturday, May 2 at 7:30; Sunday, May 3 at 2:00.
Wayne T. Carr plays the title role in a reading also featuring Mark H. Dodd (Iago,) Brian J. Gill (Lodovico,) and Matt Daniels (Montano,) among others.
The reading is free and open to the public, but reservations are recommended for those serious about seeing Equity actors perform Shakespeare for free. Reservations can be made by emailing: othelloreservations@gmail.com. Act quicklythere’s a good chance reservations will be closed soon.
