#5: Skylight Theatre’s Beyond the Ingenue at the Broadway Theatre Center.
Why? Because while Broadway has recently embraced the femme fatale in shows like Chicago and Bonnie and Clyde, the “girl next door” still has a place in our hearts. In this one-woman show, Skylight star Niffer Clarke charts her history as an aspiring and practicing ingénue, a fitting tribute after her lovely star turn in the Skylight’s Music Man. The show honors performers like Julie Andrews, Barbara Cook and Shirley Jones (with whom Clarke toured in 2009), and tells Clarke’s life and stage story in front of the footlights.
#4: Jim Gaffigan at the Pabst Theatre.
Why? Because Gaffigan has made Milwaukee his holiday home in recent years, and we’re happy to have our New Year’s Eve clichés punctured by his raised-eyebrow sarcasm. A veteran standup who’s done a lot of TV and movie character work (as well as a recent Broadway dramatic turn in That Championship Season), there’s no better way to wind up the year with his gentle riffs on the mundane and pedestrian.
#3: Harlem Globetrotters at the Bradley Center.
Why? Because legendary stars Curley Neal and Meadowlark Lemon may no longer sport the Globetrotter red, white and blue (Lemon, now 79, still plays for a Globetrotter “All-Star” team), but there are still plenty of reasons to honor this Milwaukee New Year’s Eve tradition. Like Jacob “Hops” Tucker, a 5’10” guard who won the 2011 college slam dunk competition – with the help of his 50” vertical jump. And TNT Maddox, the first woman to play on the team since 1993. And then there’s Tiny Sturgess, the tallest Globetrotter ever at 7’8”. Do I hear someone whistling “Sweet Georgia Brown”?
#2: The Get Down at Turner Hall.
Why? Because DJs Andy Noble, Brent Goodsell and Opiated Black don’t just hit the iTunes store and have their MacBook’s cough up a generic backwash of dance tunes. They scour rummage sales and second-hand shops looking for vintage 45s (you know kids, those little black Frisbee’s with the donut hole in the middle), and spin them with aplomb. The Get Down has been the NYE event for some time now – looking ahead by looking back to when life had a little more funk and soul.
#1: The Blue Man Group at the Marcus Center.
Why? Because after you’ve recovered from your various celebrations, you need to start the year with something that will really shake out all those existential cobwebs and make you Think Different (and not just by getting a new iPhone). The azure acrobats of the abstruse and aesthetic are just the guys to do it. Since they visited the Milwaukee Art Museum two decades ago, the Blue Man show has grown into an American institution of sorts, but it’s the first time the full-tilt extravaganza has come to Milwaukee.
