It’s interesting viewing pop culture through the perspective on fame envisioned by Cintra Wilson. If, as she states, fame could truly be said to be a “grotesque, crippling disease,” then there’s little doubt that it’s a disease so insidious that it actually makes people aspire to contract it. And, looking over the schedule for the upcoming season of shows at the Milwaukee Theatre, I can’t help but notice it’s filled with impersonation acts. THAT’s something people don’t often fantasize about when they lust after fame, and yet it’s undeniably a part of the legacy of super fame. Those unfortunate enough to make it truly big will inevitably live to see people making something of a living impersonating some approximation of the talent that gave them the disease in the first place. Here’s a quick glance at what should be a really interesting study into the nature of impersonation at the Milwaukee Theatre over the course of the next several months . . .
Say Goodnight GracieWhat with how long the man lived and how often he made a joke of his age, it’s paradoxically easy to forget that the late comedian George Burns was born at the turn of the 20th century. For a man who quit school in fourth grade to make a career as an entertainer on the Vaudeville circuit, it probably would’ve come as something of a surprise to a childhood Burns that he would achieve something of a legendary status as an old man telling jokes . . . so much so that there would be people making good money impersonating him. And yet, there were people doing impressions of Burns during his lifetime. Only a few years after his death, musician/playwright Rupert Holmes wrote a one-man show about Burns, which comes to the Milwaukee Theatre September 26th. It’s a bio play covering the life of a man who racked-up a huge number of performances in his many, many years as a comedian.
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ABBA ManiaOctober 27th the ever-popular ABBA tribute band comes to the Milwaukee Theatre. As a tribute band, ABBA Mania has been around for ten years. To put that in perspective, the band they’re impersonating had its last recording sessions twelve years into it’s existence.
“Ever thought what it must’ve been like to see ABBA live?” a banner text on the band’s website asks? “NOW IS YOUR CHANCE!” Creepy. The press release includes this odd and breathless quote from Sky News: “Close your eyes and it could have been ABBA!” Truly this is concert is strange, strange theatre.
RAINA Tribute To The Beatles
On March 14th, the Beatles tribute band plays the Milwaukee Theatre. Just one of a few big-name Beatles tribute bands, RAIN has been around for a while. The concert consists of five sets which take the band from their 1964 Ed Sullivan appearance to Abbey Road complete with costuming. This concert hits the Milwaukee Theatre some five months after similar act Beatlemania Now comes to the Marcus Center on October 16th.
One Night Of Queen
Gary Mullen and the Works perform a night of songs by the mega-hit pop band from the ‘70’s and ‘80’s on March 18th. This one’s a bit difficult to stomach for someone who was so mesmerized by their music as a 5 and 6 year-old in the early ‘80’s. The press release claims, “Gary Mullen is Freddie Mercury and he will rock you!” Um . . . .not unless he’s got a four octave range without having formal voice training even while suffering from vocal fold nodules . . . I don’t doubt it’s a really good time and really cool to hear all that classic rock in concert, but a tribute band can only be a tribute band . . . even if Mullen's voice is spectacular, it's not going to be Mercury's . . .
