Three Marks Beyond the Curtain Speech

Mark Hooker, Mark Bucher and Mark Salentine--artistic directors of Spiral Theatre, the Sunset Playhouse and the Boulevard Theatre, respectively, all have considerable experience onstage as actors. The unique challenges thrust upon those in the position of Artistic Director offer little opportunity to act onstage, however. Hooker, Bucher and Salentine are rarely seen in actual productions. Any acting impulses an Artistic Direcor might have must be exorcised during the curtain speech before a showan opportunity that all three seem to enjoy a great deal. The near future offers Milwaukee audiences an opportunity to see all three Marks perform in a more creative capacity in three upcoming productions.

This Thursday, Theatre Gigante opens its adaptation of John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera . . . a show that runs one weekend only at the Off-Broadway Theatre. The cast includes Leslie Fitzwater, Dan Mooney, Tom Bruno, Jason Powell, Jane Kramer, and Mark Anderson and Boulevard Theatre Artistic Director Mark Bucher. The show runs through Saturday.

This Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Sunset Playhouse Artistic Director Mark Salentine appears alongside Mary DeBattista in an Off The Wall Theatre production of A.R. Gurney’s Love Letters. It’s something of a rare opportunity to see Salentine in a performance on an intimate stage in the heart of the theatre district.

Finally, next week Spiral Theatre Artistic Director Mark Hooker will star in the Spiral production of  Charles Busch’s Die Mommie Die. It is Spiral’s last show in Milwaukee before Spiral moves off to Minneapolis/St. Paul. The show runs March 20 – 29th. A preview of the show runs in this week's Shepherd-Express.