Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s Artistic Director Mark Clements believes theater can be a successful mechanism for positive change and a way to help facilitate reflection and discussion about today’s society. Sobering statistics—for example, suicide is the third largest cause of death for people between the ages of 10 and 14 and the second largest for those between 15-32—are what inspired Clements to commission world-renowned playwright Joanna Murray-Smith to write American Song, an 85-minute “state of the nation” play, starring James DeVita, that takes the audience on the journey of a parent whose child has committed an inconceivable act of violence.
“We’re seeing mass shootings; we’re seeing the proliferation of suicides in this country; we’re seeing a lot of untreated mental issues or lack of mental health issues being addressed,” says Clements. “We’re tackling some pretty big things in a very short amount of time, and I’m not sure what play could ever seek to fully even give a point of view if we wanted to. We’re not trying to give a point of view on this play—we’re just putting the issues out there and using the play to sift through one person’s story that’s no longer unfamiliar, unfortunately, to our world. We’re using that as a springboard for further conversation. It begs questions rather than seeking to provide answers.”
Clements adds that America has become extremely polarized over how to address those issues. “That’s where we become stuck and we shut the conversation down,” he says. “I think if society wants to move on, we have to be better at cultivating and facilitating more nuanced, respectful conversations with people who hold opposing views than us to try and understand opposing views and find a common ground. Otherwise I don’t see how we can ever move forward.”
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To help create opportunity for those conversations, The Rep, in partnership with the Frank Zeidler Center for Public Discussion, presents its new program, Act II. Immediately following each performance of American Song, there will be a five-minute response from a local specialist in a thematically relevant field, and then the audience will participate in facilitated 30- to 45-minute small group discussions. “People are going to be speaking about what the play means to them and what the issues are that we need to face,” says Clements. “I think it’s going to be a very, very unique and interesting theatrical experiment, in addition to hopefully being a compelling evening watching a brilliant actor like Jimmy DaVita telling this story.”
American Song runs March 15-April 10 at the Quadracci Powerhouse, 108 E. Wells St. For tickets and further information, call 414-224-9490 or visit milwaukeerep.com.
Theatre Happenings:
n The Schauer Arts Center presents two shows this month: BFG (Big Friendly Giant), an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s book by David Wood presented by Dallas Children’s Theater, on Sunday, March 13; and Aladdin, presented by Missoula Children’s Theatre and starring local youth, on March 18 and 19. Both will take place at the Ruth A. Knoll Theater, 147 N. Rural St., Hartford. For tickets and further information, call 262-670-0560 or visit schauercenter.org.
n Sunset Playhouse brings to its stage Broadway Buddies, an annual salute to musical theater with a duo theme this year, featuring Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe, and Kander and Ebb songs. Performers include Doug Clemons, Katherine Duffy, Joel Kopischke, Tamara Martinsek, Tim Karth, Susan Loveridge, Bob Hirschi and rising star Erin Hogan from Grafton High School. Show runs March 14 and 15. For tickets and further information, call 262-782-4430 or visit sunsetplayhouse.com.
n The American Shakespeare Center makes a stop on its tour at UW-Whitewater’s Young Auditorium to perform The Importance of Being Ernest on Tuesday, March 15 and Henry V on Wednesday, March 16. Both shows are at 7:30 p.m. For tickets and further information, call 262-472-2222 or visit uww.edu.
n For its 2016 Traveling Children’s Show, The Village Playhouse presents Rumpelstiltskin. Performances will take place March 11-13 at Inspiration Studios, 1500 S. 73rd St. in West Allis. The travelling show is available for booking from March through June. For tickets or to book a performance for your school or youth group, contact Mary Breitrick at 414-207-4879 or rumpelstiltskin@villageplayhouse.org. For more information, visit villageplayhouse.org.
