A Seventh Helping of the Milwaukee Comedy Festival

The seventh annual<strong> Milwaukee Comedy Festival </strong>unleashes itself upon the city this week with a popular mixture of stand-up, improv and sketch comedy. This year, hosts Matt Kemple and Patrick Schmitz are bringing the fest to Next Act Theatre's new space.<br /><br />Over the course of its run, the festival has called many stages home. Each space offers its own personality. Years ago Times Cinema hosted the festival, followed by the now-defunct Off-Broadway Theatre and, most recently, ComedySportz. The Off-Broadway space had a professional feel about it, while the spacious main stage at ComedySportz made the festivities seem much more like a street festival.<br /><br />It will be interesting to see what kind of personality the fest will gain in its new home at Next Act Theatre. Next Act offers a classy venue, but the formal atmosphere shouldn't dampen the mood at all.<br /><br />The lineup has changed this year as well. Typically, the festival had ended on a Sunday with some teen comedy shows. This year, the teen showcase takes place on the third day of the festival (also a Sunday). All told, the festival will present a dozen shows and three workshops.<strong><br /><br />The Milwaukee Comedy Festival </strong>runs Aug. 3-11 at the Next Act Theatre building, 255 S. Water St. For ticket reservations, call 414-278-0765.<strong><br /><br />Theater Happenings</strong><br /><br /> <ul> <li>J.M. Barrie's <em>The Admirable Crichton<strong> </strong></em>finds a butler on a deserted island. Discover this whimsical comedy at <strong>American Players Theatre </strong>in a production directed by Kenneth Albers. The play runs Aug. 11-Oct. 6. For ticket reservations, call 608-588-2361.</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Door County's <strong>Peninsula Players </strong>presents a murder-mystery drama with the stage adaptation of <em>Agatha Christie's Murder on the Nile</em>. The show runs Aug. 15-Sept. 2 at the Players' beautiful space in Fish Creek. For ticket reservations, call 920-868-3287.</li> </ul>