#5: European Design since 1985 at the Milwaukee Art Museum.
Why? Because you’ve been up to your Christmas-sweatered shoulders in injection molded plastic of various toy shapes and sizes, and your eyes are in need of something elegant, playful and (dare we say it?) even beautiful. The MAM’s fabulous retrospective is design at its most intelligent, but there’s plenty of fun as well.
#4: Guys & Does at the Oconomowoc Performing Arts Center.
Why? Because you don’t have to wait for your annual summer pilgrimage to Peninsula State Park to see the always charming American Folklore Theatre. While snow blankets their park amphitheatre, the AFT gang takes to the road, featuring one of their latest musicals, which tackles the age old Wisconsin question: If a deer gets shot in the woods….? We’re betting it doesn’t have characters named Sky Masterson or Nathan Detroit. But with AFT, you never know.
#3: REO Speedwagon at the Riverside.
Why? Because back in the ‘80s, arena rock was king, and REO was the one to see, particularly if you were a Midwestern boy with a little Rust Belt running through his veins. Don’t fight the feeling. Tease out your hair, find that stretch headband, and head out for some good rockin’.
#2: John Legend at the Northern Lights Theatre.
Why? Because Legend’s new collaboration with The Roots, Wake Up!, is getting great press around the music world, and for a while, Legend was everywhere, talking both music and politics with everyone from Bill Maher to Conan O’Brien. More importantly, it’s a great record, and we’re hoping a few of The Roots take a break from their usual Jimmy Fallon gig and join the party in Milwaukee.
#1: Your Mother Dances at UW-Milwaukee’s Mitchell Hall.
Why? Because Elizabeth Johnson’s terrific dance group is performing infrequently these days, at least in Milwaukee. They took a show to the Minnesota Fringe Festival in August, and will present this and other works in a weekend concert titled In a Black Mood. In addition to excerpts from the holiday staple Nut/Cracked, David Parker’s fractured take on The Nutcracker, the group will feature new works by Johnson, Luc Vanier, and Mary Cochran and Sara Hook.
