When we last saw Gary Briggle, he was wearing a housewifely get up that would have made June Cleaver proud. That was Skylight Opera’s 2006 production of Hansel and Gretel. Briggle turned the witch from a storybook hag into a hilarious and occasionally terrifying blend of Julia Child and Sweeney Todd. He’ll tone down the camp a bit for , a tribute to the life and music of Cole Porter. The very capable Jamie Johns is on the piano. You might think Porter is just a little too cool for January, but someone who can write “Every Time We Say Goodbye” has some emotional heat in his heart. Betcha Briggle finds it.
Speaking of sparkle and wit, the words of comic playwright David Ives will be in the air this weekend. “Philip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread” is a short play that is part of Ives’ All in the Timing (performed here by the Milwaukee Rep in 1995). Kevin Stalheim couldn’t pass up tackling it with his merry band of musicians. PM moves into a smaller venue for this weekend’s concerts (the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center), so you’ll have two chances to catch the performance. Also on the program: music by the ever popular Arvo Part and another installment in Stalheim’s tribute to the acoustic spatial music of Henry Brant.
To add even more music to your weekend (and who doesn’t want that in January), there’ll be lots of warmth at Sunday’s performance by the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra—and I’m not just talking about the free glass of wine grownups receive. We’re talking French warmth: Gabrielle Faure, Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy. Richard Hynson has some pretty interesting ideas about keep art music vital in 21st-century culture—namely to get listeners out of their heads and into their hearts. Calvary Presbyterian Church, the MCO’s new venue, where the audience sits around the orchestra rather than staring up at it, helps us do just that.
Movies for Grown-Ups: A lot of the major Oscar contenders and critics’ choice films of 2008 have arrived, but there are still a few distributors dragging their feet for the sake of a “gradual release.” Most notoriously, Frost/Nixon arrives in Milwaukee via one Milwaukee screen this weekend, way out in Brookfield. Meanwhile, Revolutionary Road, the mid-century modern versio
n of suburban ennui arrives at the Landmark Downer. Like Synecdoche, NY, this is a love-it/hate-it film. The “hate-its” are mostly thumbs down because of their love for Peter Yates’ original novel. Still due in January: The Wrestler, and the acclaimed animated film about Middle East conflict, Waltz with Bashir.
And if you’re looking for something a little outside the Oscar mainstream, check out the local feature documentary, The Super Noble Brothers, Mark Escribano’s portrait of the definitive Milwaukee hipsters. The film has gained good buzz and momentum since it debuted at the 2007 Milwaukee International Film Festival. Get a taste of it via its snazzy new website here.
