What with everything that’s going on tonight with respect to theatre, I did not expect to find myself going to the Marcus Center tonight . . . but duty calls and as a critic, you don’t always have the option of making the kind of decision you’d like to . . . and so here’s a quick break-down of everything that I’m going to be missing as I attend media night with the disfigured guy from out of town . . .
7:30 pm: Milwaukee Comedy Festival early showAs I wander through the lobby of the Marcus Center, Broadminded, Size 8 and OneTwoThree will be gracing the stage down the street at the Off Broadway Theatre. The Gentlemn’s Hour’s Tyler Kroll opens the show with stand-up.
And across town, The Off The Wall Theatre will be raising the lights on its penultimate performance of Sweeney Todd . . . it’s sold-out. And . . . looking at the website, it would appear as though Gutzman and Company did a really good job with tickets for this show . . .only a couple of performances weren’t entirely sold out. Congratulations to Off The Wall . . .
8:00 pm: The disfigured guy from out of town makes it to the stage of the Marcus Center for the first of several weeks here in Milwaukee.
Meanwhile in Bay View . . . . Chicago imrpov group Strippers Picnic makes it to the stage of the Alchemist Theatre for the first of two shows of the evening.
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And just a little south of the Alchemist . . . the Boulevard Theatre sits empty in anticipation of the second weekend of its performance of AS BEES IN HONEY DROWN, which continues through August 29th . . . performances this weekend are on Saturday and Sunday . . . (like Off The Wall, the Boulevard has been doing outsanding business recently. It's staging of Stations of the Cross was a huge success . . . the biggest in the history of the theatre . . . )
AND in Riverwest . . . THE MISSOULA OBLONGATA has a free showthe 50 Greatest Ladies And Gentleman . . . sigh . . . I've missed another opportunity to see the touring company perform its unique traveling thing complete with set costumes and lighting . . . and a plot that is probably a great deal more interesting and challenging than the Phantom’s . . . and I’ll be missing it. But you don’t have to . . . the show IS FREE. 8pm . . . at the Pink House Studio on 601 East Wright Street.
10:00 pm: The Milwaukee Comedy Festival late showAs the big chandelier gets ready to fall at the Marcus Center, the Milwaukee Comedy Festival hosts a late show featuring almost exclusively groups from out of town . . . comic burlesque group Off Off Broadzway, Counter Productive Lover and husband and wife group The Union all from Chicago join Minneapolis’ Police Cop Detective P.I. Particularly disappointed to be missing the Union. They were great last year . . .
Meanwhile across town, Stripper’s Picnic makes it to the stage for its second improv performance of the evening at the Alchemist Theatre.
Local sketch comedy group Meanwhile may also make an appearance. Their website also mentions tonight as a show with them from 10pm – 11pm . . . .
