#5: Ensemble Musical Offering’s Vivaldi Project 2.
Why? Because Spiderman shouldn’t be the only high flying artist to get a sequel. Joan Parsley’s terrific original instruments ensemble pays tribute to the great Italian Baroque master with three concerts that focus on the way he musically evokes the natural world. And we’re not just talking The Four Seasons here. Featured artists this time around include Paul Jacobson, traverso, and the superb baroque bassoonist Marc Vallon.
#4: Wild Space Dance Company at the Steimke Theatre.
Why? Because sometimes, the great site-specific artist and company like to take over a theater, but that doesn’t mean they won’t mess with the space. In “How to Get from Here to There,” Wild Space Artistic Director Deb Loewen collaborates again with company members Dan Schuchart and Monica Rodero to create a mediation on travel, the difference between here and there, and the missed connections that sometimes get in the way. Rodero and Schuchart are, in fact, on the road again. This will be their last piece with the company before moving to California to attend graduate school.
#3: A Lion in Winter at Milwaukee Chamber Theater.
Why? Because all this fuss about Prince Willy and Kate Middleton has us longing for the days when royalty behaved like royalty – namely badly. The 
King’s Speech gave us a little taste, with Guy Pearce’s superbly madding portrait of the smitten Duke of Windsor. And there’s always the memory of Prince Charles and Camilla to whet our scandal whistles. But James Goldman’s deliciously witty play about Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine goes back to the good old days, with French mistresses and family squabbles that make the Kardashians look like the Brady Bunch. Brian Mani and Tracy Michelle Arnold play the royal couple.
#2: Gallery Night and Day at various venues.
Why? Because the installation’s the thing, it seems in the Spring edition of Milwaukee’s ad hoc art festival. There’s sure to be high concept art at the several Thesis shows around town, including Cardinal Stritch and MIAD. Dean Jensen makes a rare foray into site specific work with Joan Backes’ “Murmering of the Trees.” INOVA features an idea by British sculpture Samuel Williams – his pieces will be made in abstentia, with the artist sending instructions for making various sculptures, which will be executed by volunteers (if you’re there Saturday, be sure to stop by UWM’s Peck School’s open house). And Charles Allis celebrates its 100th anniversary with several installations by the likes of Reginald Baylor and Carol Emmons. On the more traditional front, Tory Folliard features new work of Mark Mulhern, whose beach paintings will only make you long for real summer weather.
#1: Death of a Salesman at Milwaukee Rep’s Powerhouse Theatre.
Why? Because the assault on the American middle class and its resulting erosion makes this time the right time to revisit the story of Willy Loman, that “saint of a man” who believed the American Dream was real despite powerful evidence to the contrary. Rep Artistic Director Mark Clements has assembled a terrific cast of familiar talent, including Lee Ernst as Willy, Laura Gordon as his wife, Linda, and Gerry Neugent and Reese Maddigan as their sons.
