Milwaukee theater may slow down in the summer, but it doesn’t go completely dark. If you’re looking to get your theatrical fix, here are eight performances to mark in your calendar, from musical favorites to Shakespeare in the Park to a show put together in a day.
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1. As You Like It: Bard Bites Edition
JUNE 26-28 | INSPIRATION STUDIOS
Kith and Kin’s annual fundraiser is back for a chaotically fun time, as the cast – who only get four rehearsals ahead of their performance – bring Shakespeare’s As You Like It to the stage. Oh, and they must eat increasingly hotter sauces as the show goes on and try to keep their cool. Get tickets here.
2. 24 Hour Musical
JULY 11 | BOMBSHELL THEATRE CO.
What happens when a cast and crew have exactly a day to rehearse, practice and then perform a show for an audience? That’s the concept for the 24 Hour Musical, a challenging, comical event that keeps audiences – and cast members – on their toes, waiting for chaos to ensue. They don’t announce the show until 24 hours before showtime. Tickets are available here.
3. Shakespeare in the Park
JULY 11-AUG. 16 | MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
Optimist Theatre’s Shakespeare in the Park is back again, with 11 performances happening throughout the city. See a puppet version of Richard III and performances of The Merry Wives of Windsor with musical interludes by Early Music now. along with other activities. No tickets are needed for these free performances.
4. Monty Python’s Spamalot
JULY 14-19 | MARCUS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
Spamalot hit Broadway back in 2005 and won three Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Now, it’s coming to the Marcus Performing Arts Center for a week this summer. The musical comedy lovingly pays tribute to the parody film Monty Python and the Holy Grail and features lots of songs that have become classics in the musical theater world. Get tickets here.
5. Legally Blonde: The Musical
JULY 16-AUG. 9 | SUNSET PLAYHOUSE
Sunset Playhouse’s big musical for the summer is Legally Blonde, where Elle Woods finds herself bending, snapping and singing her way through Harvard to win back her ex-boyfriend. What, like it’s hard? But as she learns more about law – and herself – she realizes that maybe it’s not about him at all. Get tickets here.
6. Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka Jr.
JULY 24-AUG. 2 | WAUKESHA CIVIC THEATRE
The kids of Waukesha Civic Theatre are bringing the whimsically weird world of Willy Wonka to the stage. Join Charlie and his grandfather as they explore the magic, sights and songs of the chocolate factory. It features songs from the classic 1971 film but a few fun new numbers, too. Find tickets here.
7. Something Rotten
JULY 31-AUG. 2 | SOUTH MILWAUKEE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
The musical farce with songs Grammy Award-winning songwriters Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick has been called “the funniest musical comedy in at least 400 years” by Time Out New York. Find out if that’s true and see the South Milwaukee Youth Theatre Senior Cast perform the show that follows two brothers in the 1590s as they set out to write the world’s very first musical in the shadow of Renaissance rock star “The Bard.” Get tickets here.
8. Disaster! The ’70s Musical
AUG. 13-30 | BOMBSHELL THEATRE CO.
Disaster! is a hilarious jukebox musical set in 1979 and parodying The Poseidon Adventure and other ’70s disaster films. With over 30 disco hits, the show takes place on the opening night of a floating casino as a tsunami flips the ship upside down, and, well, disaster ensues. Tickets available here.
