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| Lee E. Ernst as Samuel Byck, Emily Berman and Jonathan Gillard Daly as the Proprietor in Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s 2012/13 Quadracci Powerhouse production of Assassins. (Photo by Michael Brosilow) |
Welcome back. As our picks for this week suggest, summer is still lingering, but the theater and classical music season is ready to begin.
#5: Paula Poundstone at the Pabst Theatre.
Why? Because she dresses like she just did a season of Mr. Belvedere. And her fans dress like NPR junkies—Birkenstocks and Obama pins—because they are, enjoying her weekly on the comedy quiz show, “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me.” But the Annie-Hall wide ties and eye rolling smirks can’t hide some of Poundstone’s truly inspired observational humor, as when she quipped this about Los Angeles’ effort to install cameras at traffic lights: “People have no money here. It’s the best chance they have of getting a family photo.”
#4: The Fine Arts Quartet at UW-Milwaukee’s Helene Zelazo Center.
Why? Because it’s the Year of the Arts, as UWM’s Peck School celebrates its 25th anniversary, and among the many special events is the continued Free Concert policy for the FAQ’s appearances. And you can’t go wrong with Haydn, Debussy and Shostakovich. Or with Milwaukee’s own Fab Four, who have brought its two newest members—cellist Robert Cohen and violist Nicolo Eugelmi—into the fold with elegance and grace.
#3: Rocket Man at Soulstice Theatre.
Why? Because, if you’ve been going to theater around these parts for a while, the name Steven Dietz might ring a bell, and if you’re memory is really good, you might remember a production of his play Rocket Man at the Milwaukee Rep way back in 1999. Dietz was a sort of playwright in residence at the Rep for several years, and the several plays staged here demonstrated his warmth, wit and taste for the fantastical. Rocket Man is no different, with a time-travel plot device that helps a man going through the Mother of All Midlife Crises. Soulstice Theatre performs in its new South-Side space.
#2: WMSE Backyard BBQ at Cathedral Square Park.
Why? Because you’ve spent a lot of your summer hanging around in various parks, listening to various bands, and buying various yummy food and local vegetables from various outdoor markets. So why not cap your summer with an entire day and night of doing just that. Come early for the East Side Farmer’s Market, stay for the music (it starts at 3 pm), food and other fun stuff, including the announcement of the Milwaukee Film Festival’s schedule. Food trucks and booths will be plentiful, and music will be provided by a worldly roster of bands, including De La Buena, King Solomon, and the Extra Crispy Brass Band.
#1: Assassins at the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre.
Why? Because when Artistic Director Mark Clements promised that the Rep’s decision to add musicals to its season would not result in increased theatrical fluff, he wasn’t kidding. So far, the mainstage has seen song-fests about Nazi Germany (Cabaret) and manic depression (Next to Normal). And Clements’ third season opens on with Stephen Sondheim’s insightful and dark portrait of the likes of Squeaky Fromme, John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald. A potent knit of the bright and dark side of the American political dream, it’s a musical history lesson that arrives just as gun violence and political dreams are on everyone’s minds.
