Sensoria: Caught Up in the Moment
March 1
Kenilworth Square East
A free night of experimental music and dance courtesy of Wild Space Dance and UWM collaborators.
Women, Nature, Science: Cecelia Condit
March 4-June 25
Lynden Sculpture Garden
Multimedia artist and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee film professor Cecelia Condit will exhibit her latest installation featuring videos of a giraffe and zebra plus cerebral questions about how personal identity is affected by outside factors.
Shakespeare Raw: Romeo & Juliet
March 6-8
Best Place Tavern
This evening is brought to you by the aptly named Boozy Bard Productions, which recruits actors to show up at the preordained drinking establishment, pick a character’s name from a hat, drink, and then perform. You’ll probably want your own PBR to take it all in.
Taste & Toast
March 6-10
Downtown Milwaukee
Twenty four Downtown restaurants offer deals on small plates and beverages for the happy-hour crowd.
Ina Garten
March 8
Riverside Theater
The Barefoot Contessa brings tales of the good life in the Hamptons, and of preparing meals for her beloved Jeffrey, to Wisconsin Avenue for one evening of culinary charm and inspiration.
Patti Smith and Her Band
March 9
Milwaukee Theatre
The rock (and all-around) legend and a couple original members of her band will perform her 1975 debut Horses.
Milwaukee Collects
March 10-May 21
Milwaukee Art Museum
Large museums like our very own Milwaukee Art Museum keep tabs on local collections and usually know who has the goods. This month, they’ll tap into their Rolodex to showcase works of all genres culled from area aesthetes.
Visiones E Historia: Mayan Paintings
March 10-June 2
Latino Arts Center
Two prolific Guatemalan artists, Paula Nicho Cumez and Pedro Rafael Gonzalez Chavajay, exhibit their colorful, folksy paintings rooted in ancient Mayan traditions.
Chris Rock
March 13
Milwaukee Theatre
It’s his first world tour in nearly a decade, and the new world order of the Trump era is certain to provide plenty of fodder for the comedian.
Vince Staples
March 17
The Rave
The 23-year-old Long Beach, Calif., rapper has wowed critics of all stripes, so prepare to party with a crowd when he brings his first headlining tour to MKE to promote his recently released EP, Prima Donna.
Don Giovanni
March 17, 19
Florentine Opera
Five cast members will make their Florentine debuts in this uber-popular opera about an unrepentant dirtbag.
Beauty and the Beast
March 17-26
Skylight Music Theatre
Just in time for the Disney blockbuster release starring Emma Watson, Skylight performs an English translation of the operatic fairytale.
Secret Symphony
March 18
Milwaukee Public Museum
Well, it’s not much of a secret, but that doesn’t mean all of the evening’s surprises are out of the bag. Yaniv Dinur conducts the MSO in performing Holst’s The Planets, which you can take in with a beer in hand (then later get that hand a palm reading).
Patrick Nickell
March 19
Suburban, Walker’s Point
Michelle Grabner and Brad Killiam hand over the reins to California sculpture artist Patrick Nickell, whose glass works sometimes resemble disentangled (and transfixing!) organ piles.
Strand of Oaks
March 19
Back Room @ Colectivo
Timothy Showalter last brought his angsty folk rock to Turner Hall in 2014, but this time he’s in the much more intimate Back Room @ Colectivo, where you will all but physically feel his pain.
Hops to Table
March 20
Milwaukee Public Market
A class for those who want to elevate their culinary skills beyond beer brats, featuring recipes like brown ale and butternut squash mac and cheese, from chef Terri Milligan.
Edra Soto
Opens March 24
The Ski Club
The installations of this Chicago artist examine Puerto Rican and Caribbean (and American) issues of race, class and identity. For this show, she’s promised to incorporate empty liquor bottles acquired while walking through her neighborhood.
Stride and Glide for Independence First
March 25
Milwaukee County Zoo
Walk, run, assume the Downward Dog pose, or take in a wheelchair race around the Milwaukee County Zoo. Whichever activity you choose, do it to support the services at Independence First.
A Retro Affair Fashion Show
March 26
Milwaukee County War Memorial Center
Vintage-and-retro threads retailers from around the world are teaming up to throw a runway bash that benefits the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight.
Milwaukee Bucks vs. Chicago Bulls
March 26
BMO Harris Bradley Center
A Marquette reunion? Sort of. Dwayne Wade and Jimmy Butler will return to their college stomping grounds to meet the Bucks, who recently dismissed their own tall Marquette grad, Steve Novak. ◆
This Month in History
Increase Lapham, Milwaukee’s first scientist and pretty much Mr. Everything in the pioneer city, was born March 7, 1811. He arrived here in 1836 as the chief engineer of a canal that was never built, but stayed on as a surveyor, naturalist and education innovator. He corresponded with prominent scientists around the world and helped establish what’s now the National Weather Service. His pamphlet on plants and shells of the MKE area was Wisconsin’s first scientific imprint, but his best book was probably The Antiquities of Wisconsin, which mapped out Indian mounds. Rivaling that was Report on the Disastrous Effects of the Destruction of Forest Trees, Now Going on So Rapidly in the State of Wisconsin, a pioneering work for forest conservation, according to the Wisconsin Historical Society, which also reports: “Lapham was instrumental in the establishment of the Milwaukee public high school program and was a founder of the Milwaukee Female Seminary.” Plus he had a really cool name. – Tom Tolan
Unspoken Ode
The congressional record is the official record of the proceedings of the U.S. Congress. On March 29, 1977, 40 years ago this month, it included a speech by Rep. Henry S. Reuss (D-Wis.) on the subject of “A Championship for Marquette and Al McGuire.” I know this because I was a press aide in Reuss’ office that year, and I wrote the speech. Reuss never actually spoke these words – they were printed in a section of the record called “Extensions of Remarks,” in which members of Congress submit material on matters related – or not – to Congressional business. In honor of the 1977 championship’s anniversary, and the hoopla surrounding it, I dug up excerpts from this official (if sappy) document, found in the Central Library:
“My Milwaukee office reports that Wisconsin Avenue … was jammed last night with celebrators for the three miles between 16th Street and Lake Michigan. One staffer says that she was hugged… by total strangers…
“For all the shouting and press fireworks, there is a real sense of love on Mr. McGuire’s teams, and a feeling that the youngsters who come to Marquette… draw real guidance and purpose from their years with him.
“For all the winning, and all the brilliant strategy of Mr. McGuire’s games – I direct my colleagues’ attention to the way he handled the vaunted Carolina four-corner offense – he is above all an excellent example to young men who strive to be best.” – Tom Tolan
