Gary Simmons
“Untitled (Republican House Fall)” from the Haggerty Museum’s
“Thenceforward, and Forever Free.”
#5: Gigi at Off the Wall Theatre.
Why? Because when Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe weren’t hanging around with the Knights of the Round Table, they found time to stroll the Seine and read Collette, which gave them the idea to turn her novella Gigi into a musical. Vincente Minnelli turned it into a classic MGM musical (with the help of Leslie Caron and Maurice Chevalier). And a few years later, the movie became a Broadway show. Dale Gutzman and friends stage it at the intimate storefront theater, which should provide all the nuanced charm of songs like “Ah Yes, I Remember It Well” and “Thank Heaven for Little Girls.”
#4: The Milwaukee Laptop Orchestra’s “Holiday Extravaganza” at Sugar Maple.
Why? Because you’ve had your fill of the usual holiday ironies—ugly sweaters, full-throated sing-a-longs of Christmas Carol kitsch, but this annual MiLO event is the only one that accompanies it all with electro-acoustic improvised music. Christopher Burns, Amanda Schoofs, and other electronic music notables will be there with MacBooks in hand, ready to transform the most pedestrian, “Ho, Ho, Hos” into unearthly sounds that go way beyond the pitter patter of reindeer hooves on the roof.
#3: Who Killed Santa? at Carte Blanche Studios.
Why? A murder mystery with puppets. Need we say more? Yes? Well, ok. How about an abominable snowman called “Iceman,” who “may be packing.” Or the Little Drummer Boy as a righteous dude who could have stepped out of a Phish concert. Neil Haven’s “choose-your-own-ending” murder mystery has gathered quite a following in Milwaukee. And no wonder. It’s irreverent and heartwarming in equal measure. And you never really know how it’s going to end.
#2: Found Footage Festival at Turner Hall Ballroom.
Why? Because the holidays is the time for home movies. At least it used to be before everyone became obsessed with piano-playing cats. But Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher just might make it cool again to gather round the projector screen with family and friends. Of course, we’re not watching ourselves. We’re watching clips from an ‘80s-era video dating service, or commercials for using hypnosis to seduce women, or clips from Kirk’s 40th birthday party featuring a mysteriously obscene cake. The FFF comes to Milwaukee on its annual 50-state tour. Leave your Super-8s at home.
#1: Freedom at the Haggerty Museum of Art.
Why? Because the year’s end will also signal the closing of the Haggerty Museum’s “Thenceforward, and Forever Free,” a stirring contemporary show commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. Artists include Kara Walker and Elisabeth Subrin. And the pieces span genres as well as themes. To accompany it, the museum features “Freedom Of/For/To,” a collection of photographs from the permanent collection. And “The Freedom Project: Text/Context,” a collection of historical crafts addressing themes of freedom and slavery.
