#5: Present Music’s Carnival at the Broadway Theatre Center
Why? Well, Cory Smythe, that’s why. The Grammy winning PM ensemble member returns for a solo concert, centered around Robert Schumann’s piano suite-tone poem that musically evokes 21 masked revelers at a Mardi Gras celebration. Present Music takes this idea and runs with it, pairing Schumann with two evocative pieces by Salvatore Sciarrino, allowing Smythe to perform one of his dazzling and inventive improvisations. And preceding the whole concert with a carnivalesque dinner, featuring costumes, roving performers (QuasiMondo Physical Theatre and musicians of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra) and general merriment.
#4: Alonzo King Lines Ballet at the Wilson Center
Why? Because Alonzo King isn’t a jet-setting superstar, but his dances and his San Francisco-based company are reimagining ballet in the 21st century in ways unlike any other choreographer working today. Firmly rooted in the ballet tradition, King’s dances explore connections with ancient traditions while maintaining the centuries-old values of ballet, and the results are elegant and fresh. This program includes his latest work, Biophony, and Concerto for Two Violins, which pays homage to the legendary Balanchine work of the same title, but in King’s own inimitable way.
#3: Renaissance Theatreworks Ballad of Emmett Till at the Broadway Theatre Center
Why? Because Emmett Till’s life matters still, 60 years after he murdered. His funeral and the trial of his killers helped fuel the growing civil rights movement, and he was foremost on Rosa Parks’ mind when she refused to move to the back of the bus. Ifa Bayeza’s dramatic tribute to Till uses words and music to remember him and his legacy. Marti Gobel directs a cast that includes Marques Causey as the title character.
#2: The Milwaukee Ballet’s Dracula at the Marcus Center
Why? Because nothing will get you in the Halloween spirit like Michael Pink’s version of Bram Stoker’s classic spooky story. Last staged in 2011, Dracula features Pink’s trademark cinematic storytelling, buoyed by Philip Feeney’s moody score and atmospheric lighting by designer David Grill. Davit Hovhannisyan and Alexandre Ferreira play the count on alternating performances.
#1: Wild Space Dance Company’s Luminous at the Mitchell Park Annex
Why? Because Debra Loewen has done it again, transforming one of Milwaukee’s signature spaces through dance. Set in the new “greenhouse” in Mitchell Park, Luminous draws on the history of the park, but reaches far beyond local history, finding beauty and meaning in the movement of bodies under the stars. See my review here.
