Playwright Caryl Churchill’s A Number—which premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in 2002 featuring Michael Gambon and Daniel Craig—is a timely script that explores the implications of human cloning. “Caryl is one of the finest writers on the planet. And that’s coming from other writers like Tony Kushner,” says Splinter Group Artistic Director Jim Farrell. “Her scripts are very original, very different and they come at their subject matter in the most original and thought-provoking ways.”
Directed by Jake Brockmann, this two-person show features Farrell as Salter, a father who clones his son in hopes of getting parenting right the second time around, and Joe Picchetti, who plays three clones of the same person—Bernard (Salter’s biological son), Bernard (the first clone of Salter’s son) and Michael Black (another clone of Salter’s son). “The play deals with Salter and the repercussions of there being many clones of one young man out there in the world,” says Farrell. “The original son, who was given away to make room for the second, is rather unhinged. He seeks vengeance on the cloned sons so that he can have his rightful place as the ‘real’ son. The most thought-provoking thing is how horribly wrong things can go if we believe that we can play God and decide who should live and who should die.”
Farrell adds, “We are so thrilled to be bringing this play to Milwaukee!”
A Number runs May 8-24 at the Marian Center for Nonprofits, 3211 S. Lake Drive. For tickets, email splintergrouptheatre@gmail.com or visit splintergroup.brownpapertickets.com.
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Theatre Happenings
■ Milwaukee Repertory Theater holds its annual End-of-Season Garage Sale Saturday, May 2 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Items for sale include furniture, Coalhouse Walker’s rolling piano, storefront signs, African shield dance props, hand puppets, a photographic Chicago backdrop, a whole wild boar, glassware, fabric items, a decorative suit of armor and much more. The sale takes place in Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s Paint Shop. For more information, call 414-224-1761.
■ Milwaukee Chamber Theatre presents 500 Years by Michelle Lopez-Rios as part of its Montgomery Davis Play Development Series staged readings. The script explores the memory and reflections of a 500-year-old Latina. The playwright herself will perform the reading and her husband, Alvaro Saar Rios, will direct. The show is Monday, May 4 at 7:30 p.m. at the Broadway Theatre Center, 158 N. Broadway. Tickets are pay-what-you-can at the door and seating is first-come, first-served.
■ Umbrella Group Theatre presents William Mastrosimone’s Extremities, a gripping play about an attempted rape and the aftermath as the victim turns the tables on the attacker. The show is presented in partnership with The Healing Center of Milwaukee, who will receive a portion of show’s proceeds, and runs May 7-23 at the Helfaer Theatre’s Studio 013 Theatre, 525 N. 13th St. For tickets, visit extremities.bpt.me or umbrellagroupmilwaukee.com.
■ The world premiere of The Recovering Pessimist, by Sheboygan residents Ralph Maffongelli and Marianne R. Helm, comes to Inspiration Studios (1500 S. 73rd St.) May 8-17. We follow Midge as she bravely deals with emotions, confronts demons and explores the power of thoughts and how they shape a person’s life and legacy. Inspiration Studios has dedicated this play to all who work in the field of mental health struggling to keep an optimistic focus. In addition, proceeds from the May 9 performance will be donated to ABCD: After Breast Cancer Diagnosis. For tickets, call 414-587-3474 or visit inspirationstudiosgallery.com.
■ The musical Big Fish, by John August and Andrew Lippa, centers on traveling salesman Edward Bloom, who loves sharing larger-than-life stories, and his son Will, who insists on sticking to reality, until one epic tale changes everything. The First Stage show runs May 8-31 at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts’ Todd Wehr Theater, 929 N. Water St. For tickets, call 414-273-7206 or visit firststage.org.
