The Jealous Revolver trilogy, co-created by Josh Bryan, Sara Anzaldua Mueller and Jackie Benka, debuted at the Historic Pabst Brewery’s Best Place in 2014 to Milwaukee’s delight. Episode 2 of the radio crime noir drama glimmered in the intimate Brumder Mansion, and now the final episode returns to the Pabst’s Blue Ribbon Hall, which holds nostalgia for co-founders Bryan and Andzaldua Mueller because it’s the space where the theater company itself made its Milwaukee debut.
The format of The Jealous Revolver is that of a radio show, which includes the main narrative of an adventure crime drama interspersed with the latest news and politics based on real headlines from 1943, cooking tips, radio jingles, live music, tap dancing, comedy and more. “An exciting part about writing the story is looking into Milwaukee history, going through our newspaper archives and basing our characters and storylines off real characters and events,” says co-director Bryan. “The fun is making all of these radio segments complement and contribute to the root narrative, which is the radio play set during Prohibition. We imagine a 1930s speakeasy in Milwaukee and what sort of relationships to Prohibition, bootleggers and the Red Light District would play out in that environment.”
For those who haven’t seen the prior episodes, Bryan says, “The radio format makes it easy for us to bring people up to speed on the storyline. So we do pick up where Episode Two left off and include characters from the previous episodes, but one thing we’ve done with this whole trilogy is allow each episode to have its own stand-alone arc. Right away in this episode we discover that Elliot had his own ulterior motives, which starts a new story arc. And for those who have seen the previous episodes, we finally get to meet the character Deluca, who was only talked about and referenced previously.”
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Bryan adds, “This is the conclusion to The Jealous Revolver trilogy, but we do have another trilogy in the works. The radio show format works for us, so we are going to explore it more and see what else we can do.”
The Jealous Revolver: Episode 3 runs Feb. 11-14 at 901 W. Juneau Ave. For general and VIP tickets, email cabaretmke@gmail.com or visit facebook.com/cabmke or brownpapertickets.com.
Theatre Happenings:
Sunset Playhouse’s upcoming “bug in a rug” Children’s Theater show is Love, Ruby Valentine, a story about Ruby and her parrot, Lovebird, and their realization that you don’t have to wait until Valentine’s Day to say “I love you.” Show runs Feb. 10-13 at 800 Elm Grove Road, Elm Grove. For tickets, call 262-782-4430 or visit sunsetplayhouse.com.
Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts presents Harriet Tubman & the Underground Railroad for its next Family Series production, described as a stirring drama narrated by Harriet and her friend, Sarah Bradford, that shares the joys, sorrows and challenges faced by the great American woman who freed herself and hundreds of others from slavery. See the show at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 12 at 19805 W. Capitol Drive. For tickets, call 262-781-9520 or visit wilson-center.com.
A charming tale based on Richard and Florence Atwater’s book of the same name, Mr. Popper’s Penguins is a musical about an out-of-work painter, Mr. Popper, and his flock of 12 penguins who he turns into a traveling vaudeville act to help make ends meet. Milwaukee Youth Theatre presents a public performance of the show at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 12 at the Lincoln Center for the Arts’ Ivory Hall, 820 E. Knapp St. For tickets, call 414-390-3900 or visit milwaukeeyouththeatre.org.
Umbrella Group Theatre closes its second season with the Milwaukee premiere of Timothy Huang’s The View From Here, a musical about a nameless novelist and the wildly bizarre characters and misadventures that make up his new life in New York, recounted through a series of letters to his girl back home. The show, directed by Kelly Doherty and featuring Doug Clemons as The Novelist, runs Feb. 12-28 at Soulstice Theatre, 3770 S. Pennsylvania Ave., St. Francis. For tickets, call 414-254-6375 or visit umbrellagroupmilwaukee.com.
Cooperative Performance Milwaukee and Danceworks Performance Company presents Kelly Coffey’s a woman's Place, a dark story inspired by Wisconsin’s first mental asylum, in which women were institutionalized for behaving in ways unacceptable to a male-dominated society. The piece incorporates movement, text, aerial work and original music by local group NINETEEN THIRTEEN. Show runs Feb. 13-21 at Danceworks Studio, 1661 N. Water St. For tickets, call 414-324-0037 or visit cooperformke.com.
First Stage presents Just a Little Critter Musical, a world premiere musical by First Stage adapted from Mercer Mayer’s Little Critter books that is full of play, dancing, singing and fun between Little Critter and Little Sister. Show runs Feb. 13-March 13 at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center, 325 W. Walnut St. For tickets, call 414-267-2961 or visit firststage.org.
