Photo Courtesy of Cabaret Milwaukee
The debut of Cabaret Milwaukee’s Cream City Crime Syndicate began with a violin and piano duet. They’re playing swing and early jazz tunes to warm up the audience from the dreadful cold outside as they trudge into the ornate bar and lounge of the Astor Hotel. Given the retro-style of Cabaret Milwaukee, even the director is dressed in period-appropriate attire with his hair slicked back, wearing suspenders and olive-colored trousers. From the very moment the audience walks in, the performance has begun, even before a word of dialogue is spoken.
Director Josh Bryan’s latest offering for his 1930s-styled radio show, musical and play performance hybrid is subtitled Politics and Anarchy. In this new entry, Bryan and his co-writers focus on Milwaukee Mayor Daniel Hoan, who headed the longest continuous socialist administration in American history.
In the play, Hoan (Max Williamson) battles to keep control over city hall during World War I, a tumultuous time in the city’s history when tensions were high all around. He is joined by Jack Walker (Rob Schreiner), a fictional police officer, and his assistant, Oscar (Stephen Wolstertorf), as they try to survive in dangerous times. All the while, Hoan is working to implement new ideas to improve Milwaukee and keep it under control despite the rampant unrest. Political foes like Wheeler Bloodgood (Connor Blankmenship) and his puppet candidate, Percy (Audwin Short), take advantage of the chaos and seek to take his place by any means necessary—even murder.
The story is framed by a retro radio program, “The Howling Radio Hour,” hosted by Richard Howling (Marcus Bayer). In between the segments of the play is the radio show set in 1932, during the election that won Franklin Roosevelt the presidency. The radio program includes jingles for such sponsors as Usinger’s and the Astor Hotel, hilarious and occasionally fourth wall-breaking skits and classic jazz standards sung by the Crooner (Cameron Webb). The bulk of the radio portion of the show consists of the skits, which connect historical stories with modern issues such as immigration and abuse in Hollywood.
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Compensating for the minimal stage set was the excellent costuming and ambiance provided by pianist Maggie Deagan and violinist Allen Russell. The production also did a remarkable job integrating the audience into the performance. One instance was when the audience chooses between singing the patriotic “Columbia, Gem of the Ocean,” written in the program, or the “Hymn of Peace” anti-war song handed out on slips of white paper by an anarchist. The two songs battle it out on the stage with the audience deciding which is louder and who to sing with: the prowar preacher or the rebellious anarchist.
The first episode of Cream City Crime Syndicate: Politics and Anarchy is a fun and educational romp through Milwaukee’s history in the early 20th century.
Through Nov. 22 at The Astor Hotel, 924 E. Juneau Ave.
