Off the Wall Goes to Battle With 'Mother Courage'

With its latest production, Dale Gutzman's Off the Wall Theatreis tackling Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage. Marilyn White stars as Brecht's heroine in a production that's been in development for more than two years. White's strong onstage presence should serve her well in this role, and her extensive history with Off the Wall should add an extra level of confidence to the performance. It's not an easy role, so it will be interesting to see how White approaches it.

Also of note in the cast is Liz Mistele in the role of Mother Courage's mute daughter Kattrin. Mistele is an actress who is capable of rendering emotional depth without saying a word. David Flores, playing a chaplain, must depict the uneasiness of a man of god at war. He should be up to the task: Flores notably showed emotional turmoil in the midst of war in Off the Wall's Richard III back in '05. It'll be refreshing to see him return to the battlefield for this production. And given the small size of the studio theater, this should prove to be a battlefield of deeply affecting emotion.

Off the Wall Theatre's production of Mother Courage runs March 24-April 3. To reserve tickets, call 414-327-3552.

Theater Happenings

• First Stage Children's Theater presents a classic story about bullying as it brings a theatrical adaptation of Eleanor Estes' children's book The Hundred Dresses to the stage of the Marcus Center's Todd Wehr TheaterMarch 25-April 17. To reserve tickets, call 414-273-7206.

• Waukesha Civic Theatre (WCT) produces Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical version of 1940s Iowa in State Fair.The classic piece of Americana fills the spacious stage of the WCT March 25-April 10. To reserve tickets, call 262-547-0708.