Two Shows Extended

Alchemist Theatre’s success with H.H. Holmes last month was, evidently, no anomaly. The show’s success prompted plans for an even bigger Halloween show next year: FaustAn Evening at the Mephisto Theatre

Smaller companies’ success continues into this month, as both Pink Banana Theatre and Over Our Head Players have announced extended runs of sold-out shows.

Pink Banana has sold out its original run of Stephen Belber’s Tapean environmental staging of a hotel-based drama at the Best Western on 3^rd and Wisconsin. The intimate ninth floor hotel room atmosphere doesn’t allow for very many audience members. As such, the original run sold-out promptly. Pink Banana has announced that tickets are still available for two new performances that have been added7pm Sunday performances on the 14^th and the 21^st. The show closes on the full moon before Thanksgiving . . . a brief drama with no intermission, the open performances run roughly from 7pm – 8:30 on the evenings in question. It’s a really well-executed drama in a very unique atmosphere.

Racine’s Over Our Head Players has also reported strong ticket sales and sold-out performances of its Escanaba In Da Moonlight. The popular north woods comedy by acclaimed playwright and film actor Jeff Daniels has a built-in local popularity that should see productions of it continuing to be produced well into the foreseeable future. Over Our Head’s November 12^th-28^th run of the comedy has added a Wednesday night performance November 24^th at 7pm

Three sold-out shows in two months in greater Milwaukee is kind of reassuring for locally-based theatre. There are likely to be a couple of sold-out shows next month. Jonathan West’s studio theatre production of David Sedaris’ Santaland Diaries at the Sunset Playhouse is a likely candidate for sold-out performances given the nature of how funding was raised for the performance and the popularity of the contemporary holiday classic. Patrick Schmitz’s annual Rudolph The Pissed-Off Reindeer is also likely to do well again this year. It’d be nice to see solid sales for this year’s In Tandem show as well. Scrooge in Rouge was remarkably fun last year. With any luck, a second annual production of the Christmas Carol parody will do solid business as well . . .