Courtesy of John McGivern
For many Milwaukeeans, a holiday show means A Christmas Carrol at the Rep or the Milwaukee Ballet’s Nutcracker. But joining the roster of annual year-end events in recent years is John McGivern’s “Home for the Holidays.” Milwaukee’s most recognizable local stage actor (and a perennial Shepherd Express Best of Milwaukee winner), McGivern has been seen in popular movies (Disney’s The Princess Diaries); he won an Emmy and wrote a beloved comedic play (Shear Madness) while incorporating memories of growing up in Milwaukee as a baby boomer into charming one-man shows. His walking tours of Milwaukee and Wisconsin towns, “Around the Corner” on Milwaukee PBS, has won accolades and national attention.
This year’s version “Up Close (But Not Too Close) for the Holidays” has a new home in the Pabst Theater. Only 250 tickets will be sold for each show to maintain physical distancing in the audience. Off the Cuff caught up with McGivern for a brief chat.
Tell me a little about your early life. You grew up on Milwaukee’s East Side in… the ‘60s? Have memories been a rich source of material for you?
I grew up on the first floor of a duplex on Bartlett Avenue in between Kenwood and Hampshire. Six kids, a Catholic-Irish mom and a Catholic-Irish bricklayer World War II veteran dad in a three-bedroom, one bathroom flat. It’s the rich source of material for the stories I share.
Did you ever leave Milwaukee to pursue acting or are you a lifelong Milwaukeean?
I moved away in 1978 and returned in 2001. I lived in Chicago, Tampa, Atlanta, Washington DC, San Francisco and Los Angeles. My acting career took me to all those places and brought me back to Milwaukee.
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Tell me a little about “On the Corner.” Was the show your idea? How has COVID impacted production of new episodes?
“Around the Corner with John McGivern” has been on the air for nine seasons. It been airing nationally on PBS World for the last four Seasons. Because of COVID, Season 10 was delayed with no word as to when or if it will continue.
When did you begin doing holiday shows?
I’ve been doing holiday shows for at least the last 10 years. I started at The Marcus Center and have performed in theaters all over the state. I’m happy to be at the Pabst this year.
Do the holidays have a special poignance or meaning this year, given the state of the world?
Sure—It’s been an odd eight months. I lost my mom in the middle of this and it will be the first year in my long life that me and my brothers and sisters will experience a Thanksgiving and Christmas without her.
Tell me a little about what you have planned for this year’s Up Close for the Holidays?
I will be doing a few new stories around how I’ve made my way through this pandemic on a personal level and what my work-life has looked like. I will also be doing my holiday stories of growing up, paperboy stories on Oakland Ave, my altar boy Christmas Eve mishap, New Year’s Eve in our finished basement and my mom’s collection of Bradford Exchange Santa Clauses.
John McGivern will perform at the Pabst at 7 p.m. Fridays from November 20 through December 18; 2 and 7 p.m. Saturdays from November 21 through December 19; and 2 p.m. Sundays from November 22 through December 20. For more information visit pabsttheater.org.
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