Somewhere in the midst of starring in Renaissance Theaterworks’ The Understudy, actor Ken T. Williams started rehearsing for the next play that would be produced on the same stage by a different company altogether. He’s switching from theater-centric comedy to a serious family drama as Milwaukee Chamber Theatre presents October, Before I Was Born. It’s the Midwest premiere of a play developed by the company as a part of its Montgomery Davis Play Development Series.
In October, Williams plays a character waiting for word on the lives of workers at a factory that has exploded in October, 1960. According to a witness, the entire building lifted off the ground and flew to pieces. Reverberations could be felt throughout the town. What happens then in an era before the instant communication we’ve become accustomed to at the dawn of the 21st century? Williams joins Raeleen McMillion and April Paul in exploring the story of a family waiting for information at a time and place when radio stations went off the air at sundown. Producing Artistic Director C. Michael Wright brings the show to the small stage for an intimate look at a mid-20th-century family dynamic.
Milwaukee Chamber Theatre’s production of October, Before I Was Born runs Feb. 19-March 9, at the Broadway Theatre Center’s Studio Theatre, 158 N. Broadway. For tickets, call 414-291-7800 or visit milwaukeechambertheatre.com.
Theatre Happenings
■James Dragolovich plays a nervous British gentleman hoping to relax in rural America in Theatre Unchained’s production of Larry Shue’s classic ’80s comedy The Foreigner. Looking to keep others from bothering him, his friend tells everyone he’s from a place far more exotic than the U.K. The comedy should play well, Feb. 14-March 2, in Unchained’s studio theater at 1024 S. Fifth St. For tickets, call 414-391-7145 or visit theatreunchained.com.
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■Deb Krajec directs a tender contemporary romantic comedy fugue set in coldest winter as Marquette University Theatre presents Almost, Maine. It’s a series of short interludes that allow student actors an opportunity to explore a range of romantic moods, Feb. 13-23 at the Helfaer Theatre, 525 N. 13th St. For tickets, call 414-288-7504.
