1. See Milwaukee Chamber Theatre’s HOOPS
ALLI WATTERS, DIGITAL & CULTURE EDITOR
For many cultures, hoops are more than just a stylish pair of earrings, they serve as symbols. In this original show from Nicole Acosta, the multi-disciplinary artist will guide us through 5,000 years of history with stories of home, love, resistance, protection and freedom. The show is running through April 2, and I’m looking forward to checking it out! Pay what you choose night is March 13. Stay tuned for a review of the show on milwaukeemag.com later this week.
2. Try MobCraft Beer’s Fish Fry Rye
CHRIS DROSNER, EXECUTIVE EDITOR
While many of us partake in the Friday fish fry year round, Lent is the delicacy’s high season. To celebrate, MobCraft Beer (505 S. Fifth St.) has brought back its excellent Fish Fry Rye lager. Don’t worry, there’s no perch (or cod, or walleye) in it – though we wouldn’t put it past this adventurous Walker’s Point brewery. This märzen (an amber lager – think German-style Oktoberfest) is a spot-on homage to the caraway rye bread served alongside the slabs of battered fish. It’s uncanny how good this beer is, and in a way that makes it a natural perfect complement to your fry. Available now in six-packs and on draft at the taproom.
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3. Enjoy Soup From Loup
ANN CHRISTENSON, SENIOR DINING EDITOR
I don’t care what the calendar says. It’s soup weather. Actually I do care what the calendar says. And it says pretty much every month in Wisconsin is soup weather. Last week, I talked about my frozen empanadas. This week, it’s frozen soup. There’s an outfit in Wauwatosa called Loup. I’ve been buying their frozen soups off and on for a few years – previously at farmers markets. But now that they have a shop (7505 Harwood Ave., Wauwatosa), there’s a whole case of frozen soups you can buy without having to wait for a farmers market. Lots of diverse varieties, too – lobster bisque, rustic garden vegetable, broccoli cheddar, chicken wild rice, baked potato and so on. I need to get back in there and restock. I just finished a quart of chicken and dumplings.
4. See Così fan Tutte: REMIX
BRIANNA SCHUBERT, ASSOCIATE DIGITAL EDITOR
This Friday, the Florentine Opera’s Così fan Tutte: REMIX opens at Wilson Theater at Vogel Hall. The show is a modernized version of Mozart and Da Ponte’s opera, following six college students at a party in the 1980s. According to the show’s description, it looks at attraction, fidelity and gender role stereotypes, while still including highlights from the original opera. And if you’re wondering (I was), the show is in English. Tickets are available online, and the show dates are March 17, 19, 24 and 26.
5. Read the 33⅓ Series
ARCHER PARQUETTE, MANAGING EDITOR
Being a sad, aging man, I’ve gotten pretty into vinyl recently. It helps distract me from my fading youth. As I’ve built my collection, I’ve also discovered this awesome book series from Bloomsbury Publishing. Each book in the 33⅓ series is written by a different author, a little over 100 pages long, and covers a seminal album. Depending on which album you read about, the approach is slightly different. The volume on Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is a mini-biography of the band and an oral history of the album’s creation, while the volume on Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly is more of an academic exegesis on the meaning of Lamar’s dense lyrics and his role in our culture. All the volumes I’ve read so far have been worthwhile dives into the complexities of my favorite albums – and there are over 100 books in this series and counting, so you’ll almost certainly find one covering an album you love.
