The Rolling Stones were named after a song by bluesman Muddy Waters, who also inspired the Yardbirds. It's well known that blues music formed one of the main roots of rock 'n' roll, but the connection has rarely been covered in contemporary drama. British author Stephen Jeffreys' 2000 stage play I Just Stopped By to See the Man explores the effect of the blues on rock with fictitious characters based on a very real history. The Milwaukee Rep closes its Stiemke Theater season with a production of Jeffreys' drama, which is set in 1975 in an old shack in the Mississippi Delta, where a 75-year-old bluesman hosts a young British rock star.
I Just Stopped By to See the Man
Tonight @ The Milwaukee Repertory Theater, 8 p.m.