Auditions for Ibsen Early Next Month

Back in 1847, Hungarian Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis was roundly rejected by physicians at the time for suggesting that it might be a good idea to wash their hands once in a while. The idea that germs could cause illness wasn’t terribly well-respected back then. Twenty years later, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen wrote An Enemy of the People--a drama about a doctor discovering that recently-built public bathhouses have become infected with a deadly disease. The character experiences some backlash in his efforts to get the public to become aware of this crisis. 

Ibsen’s drama will be staged this coming fall courtesy of the The Company of Strangers Theater. Company of Strangers started-up some time ago at Liberty University in Virginia. The Christian theater company looks to mix secularism with Christianity in the production of shows like Twelve Angry Men, Macbeth and The Importance of Being Earnest. It’s Christian theater that appears to be reaching out to everyone for an audience, which is very cool. It should find a welcome home here in Milwaukee with its first production. It joins a couple of other enterprising Christian theater groups in town, which include the venerable Acacia Theatre company and Morningstar Productions. 

Company of Strangers is looking to cast for the show, which will run Oct. 7 - 15 at the Underground Collaborative on 161 W. Wisconsin Ave. Auditions take place Jun. 6 from 4:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. at the central library on 814 W. Wisconsin Ave. For more information, visit The Company of Strangers online.