#5: Pink Banana Theatre’s Dead Man’s Cell Phone at Next Act Theatre.
Why? Because Sarah Ruhl’s terrific comedy starts with an intriguing premise: a woman is enjoying a solitary meal at a restaurant, and becomes annoyed when her neighbor’s cell phone rings and rings, and he makes no move to answer. After finally approaching him, she finds out….Well, you saw the title. One of Milwaukee’s best DIY companies brings another of Ruhl’s plays to town – the Rep has staged her Euridice and The Clean House, and will offer In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play) later this season. Her poetic sense of imagery and comedy has obviously found a following here.
#4: Pistolera at the Latino Arts Center.
Why? Because this Brooklyn-based Latino indie-rock band, not to be confused with Batman’s sharp-shooting arch-nemesis, does some sharp-shooting of its own, with frontwoman Sandra Lilia Velasquez taking shots at the assault on immigrants’ rights. Musically, the band’s roots are in the Mexican banda/folklorico tradition, but there’s nothing old-fashioned about them, as the band’s latest album, The Desert and the City, proves. It’s filled with impressionistic takes on both landscapes, and is a rockin’ good time as well.
#3: Savion Glover at the Marcus Center.
Why? Because the modern master of tap has been called the best ever by no less than Gregory Hines, and Glover’s restless exploration of the form is guaranteed to keep him in the pantheon. His latest show, appropriately called “Bare Soundz,” pays tribute to jazz legends like Coltrane and Monk, but creates the music rather than accompanies it. Joined by a pair of younger dancers, Glover “plays” without any recorded or live music, other than the rhythms and textures he creates with his feet. The show recently electrified a sold out house in Madison, and we’re glad to have him back in Wisconsin.
#2: Stephen Petronio Dance Company at Alverno Presents.
Why? Because the innovative bad-boy of postmodern dance teams up with the gothic-hearted Australian rocker Nick Cave for a evening-length suite of dance that adds a heady substance to his typically visceral dances. Petronio first created the work for an Australian company in 2003, and the dark shadow of 9/11 is very much in evidence here. But now reprising it with his own company, it takes on much more universal meaning, evoking the slow crawl it takes to emerge from darkness and catastrophe. One of the big events of the arts season – don’t miss this one.
#1: Florentine Opera’s Turandot at the Marcus Center.
Why? Because after broadening its repertory in the last few seasons with Baroque and contemporary works, the Florentine returns to a venerable warhorse. You’ve probably heard already about Lise Lindstrom, who will be singing the princess here after performing the role at La Scala and The Met. But there are many other reasons to see this production, including the stage director Eric Einhorn, a rising star in the opera world who is slated to direct later this year at The Met and the Chicago Lyric.
