New African American Theatre in Milwaukee

This summer has been a bit bewildering. It feels like there’s a new theatre company opening every week. Actually, my best realistic estimation is something like - - - three companies starting up in a four week span.

Putting it into perspective: Though it only entered my personal radar last month, Loose Canon has been around for a while. Vanity Theatre actually already had some smaller, private readings prior to its first public performance a couple of weeks ago. Youngblood . . . well . . . Youngblood’s got three shows opening next month by way of a hello, which feels a bit crazy. And then there’s another company starting up next monthUprooted Theatre.

Last December, after local actor Travis Knight appeared in Carte Blanche’s Who Killed Santa?, he and a group of others talked about starting-up a theatre company. (There’s been a lot of that going on lately. . .) Knight has joined together with a group of other theatre talents to do precisely that. Knight is joined by Marti Gobel, up and coming director Dennis F. Johnson and former Milwaukee Rep intern/singer/dancer/actress Tiffany Yvonne Cox in forming Uprooted Theatrean all-new African American theatre company. 

“We wanted to create an African American theatre company," says Knight, ”because we feel as if it is a voice that is not heard very often...if at all... in the theatre community. 76% of Wisconsin's African American population lives in Milwaukee making 44% of Milwaukee African American.” Indeed, the demographic is under-represented in local theatre, which is largely Caucasian. Hansberry-Sands has something every year and there is the occasional independent production, but there isn’t nearly as much going on as there should be. The Milwaukee Rep and a few other established companies have made some effort to include other ethnicities, but Milwaukee is a city positively starving for something else. Enter Uprooteda company which launches its debut production late on this montha staging of Beauty’s Daughter by Dael Orlandersmith. Marti L. Gobel stars in the Obie Award-winning show about a woman struggling to emerge from the ghetto.

The one-woman show runs July 16 – 19th, alternating between Café Carpe [(920) 563-9391 for reservations] on South Water Street in Fort Atkinson and the Broadway Theatre Center’s Studio Theatre [(414) 378-8582 for reservations.] (16th and 19th at Carpe/17th and 18th at Broadway.) Tickets are $20 at the door, $15 with reservations and $10 for students and seniors. All shows are at 8:30pm except Sunday, which is at 2:00pm.