A ‘Wickedly Funny’ Scarecrow 

In 2019, Heidi Armbruster returned home to Wisconsin to care for her dying father, having spent the previous two decades in New York working as a playwright and an actor. She didn’t realize that the time on her father’s farm in Lodi would inspire her one-woman show, Scarecrow, playing this month and next at Next Act Theatre.

“[My dad] liked to have fun and make people laugh,” Armbruster says. “When he finally understood that he was dying, he started making these phone calls to his friends that would go like this – ‘Well, looks like we’re not gonna get out to any more strip clubs. You were a real good friend to me. You take care now.’”

After her father died, she wrote a series of essays about the trauma of losing a parent and the meaning of home. Those essays soon morphed into Scarecrow, which revolves around Armbruster as she confronts her father’s passing, facing grief with humor.

A mutual friend gave Armbruster’s script to Cody Estle, Next Act’s director, who thought the Wisconsin story was perfect for the company. “It’s wickedly funny,” Estle says. “Heidi has this sense of humor that makes you belly laugh. It’s also this story of coming home.” 

Since writing the play, Armbruster has moved to Milwaukee permanently, where she’s also performed at the Milwaukee Rep in God of Carnage and Wife of a Salesman. 

“Digging into my specific story I hope gives people permission to dig into their own stories and see the universality of using humor to process grief,” Armbruster says. “I hope people see themselves reflected in it – and get a laugh or two.” 

Scarecrow runs from Feb. 21-March 17 at Next Act Theatre. 

‘Beyond Heights: Skyscrapers and the Human Experience’

THROUGH JUNE 16 | MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM

Look skyward at this exhibit exploring the impact of these mammoth structures on our lives through prints, photos and design objects. Artists include Walker Evans, Paul T. Frankl and Louis Lozowick. mam.org 

Wisconsin Artists Biennial 2024 

FEB. 3-APRIL 14 | MUSEUM OF WISCONSIN ART 

Every other year, this diverse showcase strives to capture the most compelling, technically impressive works Wisconsin has to offer. The long-running competition features 54 artists of varying mediums out of hundreds of submitters, and three out-of-state jurors select the top-prize winner, who receives $5,000. wisconsinvisualartists.org

What the Constitution Means to Me 

FEB. 6-MARCH 10 | MILWAUKEE REP 

This play has gotten lots of ink since its 2019 premiere. Teenage Heidi Schreck (writer and star of the play) paid her college tuition by winning constitutional debate competitions around the U.S. In this funny Pulitzer Prize finalist play, she goes back to her teen self to link generations of women and the effect of the Constitution on their lives.

Genesis Ballet 

FEB. 8-11 | PABST THEATER 

Three choreographers chosen by the Milwaukee Ballet’s artistic director, Michael Pink, develop a piece in a mere three weeks for this competition. The winner gets $5,000 and a commission for another work for the Ballet. 

Gallery Talk: Bill Tennessen

FEB. 21 | HAGGERTY MUSEUM OF ART 

As part of an exhibition of his photos entitled “Dynamic Range” (on view at the Haggerty through May 12), self-taught photographer Bill Tennessen will give a talk about his work. Born in 1934 in Milwaukee, Tennessen captured striking documentary-style photos of local people and scenes that often appeared in the Milwaukee Community Journal, Wisconsin’s largest African American newspaper.