Personally I’m going to miss one of the smallest stages in town. The Boulevard Theatre on South Kinnickinnic Avenue was perilously small. Audience members would pass through the set on their way to the tiny restroom. Even at the back wall of the stage the actors were very, very close to the back row. It wasn’t just that the stage was small... it was the layout of the seating, which surrounded the stage on something like 2.25 sides. It was hard to feel anything other than close to what was going on. And now it’s not going to be there anymore. They’ve sold the space.
The Boulevard itself shifts gears into another phase of its existence now—a change that formally starts with its next production. Pal Joey is slated to be the first post-venue show for the Boulevard, which stages the musical at the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center late this coming September.
The Richard Rodgers musical concerns the life of a small-time nightclub performer who has an affair with a wealthy, middle-aged married woman. The really promising thing about this production is that it’s being directed by musical theater veteran David Flores.
Pal Joey runs September 26 - 28 at the South Milwaukee PAC. For more information, visit the venue online.
