Just one weekend after Thanksgiving, Milwaukee stages finally get down to being serious about staging holiday shows. The dust has cleared from Black Friday . . . time to relax with a few shows in celebration of the season.
Joseph Hanreddy and and Edward Morgan. Probably not names familiar to too many people in Milwaukee county, but they're both really talented local theatre professionals who penned the latest version of the Milwaukee Rep's annual adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Scrooge returns to the Pabst November 29th - December 24th. For ticket reservations, call 414-224-9490 or visit the Milwaukee Rep online.
A holiday tale from a complete different era and a completely different country has emerged in the past 30 years or so thanks to another name most people won't recognize . . . but Jean Shepherd's story of one boy's quest for a Red Ryder B.B. gun has become an American classic. Dickens can suck it . . . this is a family show that celebrates the tack American end of the popular holiday that still manages to deliver a few details on the importance of family . . .
The Sunset Playhouse stages its production of A Christmas Story on the main stage in Elm Grove. Philip Grecian's adaptation of the story graces the stage of the Sunset Playhouse November 29 - December 23rd. For ticket reservations, call 262-782-4430 or visit Sunset Playhouse online.
And yet more recently than Jean Shepherd's story, we have a local tradition all our own here in Milwaukee . . . and it's nice to see In Tandem returning to that tradition this year after a brief hiatus spent making fun of Dickens with Scrooge in Rouge. This year the Cudahy Carolers return with a cast including some really great musical comedy talents. You're welcome.
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This years Cudahy Caroler Christmas runs November 30th - January 5th at the theatre on 628 North 10th Street. For ticker reservations, call 414-271-1371 or visit In Tandem online.
Finally, on first glance, it would appear as though Youngblood Theatre is going for an alternative to holiday fare with Cartoon, but let's look a bit at the plot: a bratty child holds a totalitarian relationship over her toys. What parent ISN'T going to associate this with the holiday season? In any case, the rather offbeat off-center look at the nature of control features an impressive young cast directed by Youngblood's Michael Cotey.
Youngblood Theatre's production of Cartoon runs November 30th - December 15th at Milwaukee Fortress on 100 East Pleasant Street. For ticket reservations, visit Youngblood online.