Often cited as a key factor in the revival of the Kinnickinnic business district and a kick-starter of the Bay View renaissance, Boulevard Theatre—founded by Artistic Director Mark Bucher nearly 30 years ago—presents a staged reading of Enid Bagnold’s The Chalk Garden to serve as the company’s final hurrah at its Boulevard Theatre building before adopting a touring stance in the Milwaukee performance community. “All those wonderful folk who say ‘I’ve been meaning to go down there and see a play,’ this is that time!” says Bucher.
Bagnold’s play is a powerful piece addressing issues speaking to women, attacking former societal standards that were imposed on them and questioning their assigned roles. Written close to 20 years before America’s feminist movement began, Bucher notes that Bagnold’s play “cleverly utilizes the three-act play structure to upset the apple cart of British decorum while crafting an exceptional play about women. Secrets are revealed, crimes and falsehoods are exposed, and both death and rebirth occur in this 60-year-old play, which emerges as not old fashioned but eternal and timeless. A rare play, written by a woman and about women’s relationships, which yields a bountiful dramatic harvest.” Performers include David Flores, Ericka Wade, Howard Goldstein, Terry Tuttle, Michelle Waide and Alison Pogorelc.
The Chalk Garden will take the stage Sunday, July 20, and Sunday, July 27, both at 2:30 p.m. at 2252 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. ($15 suggested donation). For more information about this show or Boulevard Theatre’s upcoming season, call 414-744-5757 or visit boulevardtheatre.com.
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Theater happenings
Marcus Center for the Performing Arts brings to Milwaukee the new national touring production of Cameron Mackintosh’s The Phantom of the Opera following a sold-out run in the United Kingdom. The show will be held in Uihlein Hall (929 N. Water St.) July 23-Aug. 3. For tickets, call 414-273-7206 or visit marcuscenter.org.
SummerStage of Delafield will put on Lanford Wilson’s Talley’s Folly, a Pulitzer Prize-winning lyrical romance about Sally Talley, who believes she is no longer capable of loving, and her Jewish suitor, Matt Friedman. Show runs July 24-Aug. 9, at Lapham Peak Unit – Kettle Moraine State Forest (W329 N846 County Highway C). For tickets, call 262-337-1560 or visit summer-stage.org.
Greendale Community Theatre will perform Legally Blonde: The Musical July 24-Aug. 2, at Greendale High School’s Reiman Family Arts Wing (6801 Southway, Greendale). For tickets, call 414-817-7600 or visit greendaletheater.org.
