Marquette University alum Michael Neville’s Lamps for My Family, opening at In Tandem Theatre Feb. 19, is a heartwarming, poignant story set in Milwaukee that’s inspired by the city’s history and the playwright’s Irish-American family. Audiences are taken on an explorative journey of the past with Jack Duddy while he is packing up his childhood home.
“Jack returns home to care for his aging relatives, and finds that, even after they’re dead, their memories remain alive and lively in the old house, and all wanting to have their say,” says Chris Flieller, the show’s director and scenic designer. “The spirits of the dead ‘speak’ to Jack through each of their favorite reading lamps, and ultimately force Jack to examine the role of family, dead and alive, in shaping who he is and who he will be from this point on.”
Mark Corkins portrays Jack Duddy as well as the 20 Duddy family members who once lived in the home. “Mark is such an accomplished actor, and so precise in his portrayals, that he really can create a complete character with just a small smile or a turn of the head,” says Flieller. “[Additionally], this is the first time we are working with Joey Welden as a lighting designer and he’s very excited about the challenge of orchestrating all of the lamps in the show to react with and to the actor.”
Flieller previously directed Lamps for My Family about a decade ago when Neville produced it through his own company and is excited to direct this local playwright’s work again at In Tandem. “It’s amazing how much life you can experience in that short a time, because I find that what attracts me to this play now is not what attracted me to it 10 years ago,” he shares. “As my life has changed and my experiences have broadened, I see this story through a different pair of eyes and feel there’s more depth to it than I saw before. It’s a wonderful evening of storytelling with delightful, interesting, funny, sad and sometimes jarring life stories as we come to know the family members of the Duddy clan.”
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Lamps for My Family runs Feb. 19-March 13 at In Tandem Theatre’s Tenth Street Theatre, 628 N. 10th St. Recommended for ages 16 and older. For more information and tickets, call 414-271-1371 or visit intandemtheatre.org.
Theatre Happenings:
The world premiere of local award-winning playwright Mark Wyss’ Baby Wings will take place at Walker’s Point Center for the Arts (839 S. Fifth St.) in collaboration with SandMark Productions. This darkly comic play, about former college roommates Emily and Kristi who reunite after the birth of Emily’s first child, addresses self-perception, self-delusion and identity. This recommended 16+ show runs Feb. 12-27. For tickets, call 414-672-2787 or visit wpca-milwaukee.org.
Windfall Theatre presents the Milwaukee premiere of Sons of the Prophet, an edgy, Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy that tells the story of Joseph Douaihy (distantly related to Khalil Gibran, one of the bestselling poets of all time) and how he copes with his father’s death, his own mysterious illness, taking care of his brother and aging uncle, and developing a new romance with Timothy, a reporter. This recommended 18+ show runs Feb. 19-March 5 at The Village Church, 130 E. Juneau Ave. For tickets, call 414-332-3963 or visit windfalltheatre.com.
Milwaukee’s comedy improvisation group Fish Sticks Comedy will host a “Comedy Improv Night” at Eastbrook Church (5385 N. Green Bay Ave.) at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 19. This family friendly show is a fundraiser for Morning Star Productions. Available in addition to the show is a three-course Italian dinner from 5:30-6:45 p.m. For tickets, call 414-228-5220 ext. 119 or visit morningstarproductions.org or fishstickscomedy.com.
MPower Theater Group presents the performance essay event Hands Up: 7 Playwrights, 7 Testaments in collaboration with The New Black Fest at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 27 at the Body and Soul Healing Arts Center, 3617 N. 48th St. A discussion about Mike Brown’s death and other recent accounts of police violence will follow the performance. “The playwrights have very diverse perspectives and every one is relatable,” says Director Catina Renee Cole. “It is not antipolice. It is pro-empathetic conversation and trust building. Communication leads to collaboration and trust. We need everyone’s input.” For tickets, call 414-810-7697 or visit eventbrite.com.
