MILWAUKEE, WI THEATER REVIEWS

Midsummer makes smiles and laughter easy. It’s at once classic, escapist, and comforting—just what we need from the theater on what we hope is the heels of a pandemic. It’s exciting to think that this mobile production will bring Shakespeare to so many corners of Milwaukee. ...

A scintillating, scatting, sensational return to live theater -- who could ask for anything more? The Milwaukee Rep delivers a heaping portion of the good stuff in the triumphant 'First Lady of Song,' a concert salute to America’s favorite jazz singer, Ella Fitzgerald....

The On Demand experience is nicely handled and smoothly filmed. Through the use of both wide and close-up shots, we’re given an intimate vantage point that many may otherwise miss when seeing a ballet on stage. The setting is a simple colored backdrop, making for a performance that relies solely o...

The music video for The Sound opens with footage of 2020’s Black Lives Matter protests. The chants of the protests mingle with the strings warming up. “The sound drives me crazy,” the refrain repeats. Harmonious voices and strings, sparkling face masks, shades of purple and blue in braids, pup...

This is a choose-your-own-adventure play, and First Stage rigged it so that audiences could vote by phone to help our hero Callaway Brown make key decisions: Should he pack his inhaler or his eyeglasses? Follow mysterious footsteps or radio for help? ...

In their sixth collaboration, Directors Jill Anna Ponasik and Dani Kuepper take the theatrics to an Enchanted Park(ing lot). Finding a way to go out of doors -- now that’s thinking outside the black box....

Take the little ones to see this show for the laughs, the silliness, and the kind of theater for which we only have the kids to thank. Without their willingness for turning the ordinary into something wildly imaginative, plays like 'The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors' would likely remain just pictu...

The bottom line is: 'Spelling Bee' is a feel-good musical comedy that could fall flat if not cast right. The Skylight has gathered a group of top-tier performers and behind-the-scenes superstars to ensure the show soars. Can you spell a?oedoldrumsa??? This is your answer to them....

I always expect greatness from 'The Lion King.' To have a cast without a weak link among them. To blow me away with choreography and costumes, even if I've seen it before. 'The Lion King' never fails to meet every one of these great expectations, and the show currently on stage at the Marcus Center ...

Days later I'm craving the songs, the performances a?" to witness the staging once more, to see what else I can pick up on, or to experience what new twist Rodin will bring to another evening's show. No two will be alike. But I feel I can confidently say that each one will end with a standing ovatio...

It makes for a most dynamic piece of theater. The ensemble cast, shrouded in black, are used to push props and people about the stage. Whether our heroes are catapulting through space and time or confronting an immense, pulsating brain, the use of physical movement and intense lighting effects help ...

Milwaukee, have your dollar bills handy! Though it's only been on stage since 2014, Matthew Lopez's Georgia McBride is on its way to becoming a bonafide dragtastic legend. Now on stage at the Milwaukee Rep, under the fantastic direction of Meredith McDonough, the heat and heart in this play about an...

Is there anything the Milwaukee Opera Theatre touches that doesn't turn to gold? Their latest collaboration with Skylight Music Theatre is Gilbert and Sullivan's Ruddigore, a sweet, hilarious, melodramatic comic opera made exceedingly charming under the inspired watch of co-directors Jill Anna Ponas...

First Stage has given us all an early Christmas present in Elf the Musical. Yes, the merriest show in Milwaukee right now is one about a human raised by elves. Elf is a joyful, exuberant, super-playful night of theater that caters to kids and full-sized humans alike. It's also running through Decemb...

Now in its 44th year, this production is firmly rooted in tradition. Since its 2016 reenvisioning, there's been little in the way of new surprises, but that's what traditions are all about: passing down an experience and, hopefully, maintaining the integrity of that experience. Through its dedicatio...

Overall, this is a play about the young having their voices heard. Says Director of this Skylight production, Molly Rhode, a?oeThe Newsboys Strike of 1899 may have been at the turn of the century, but it doesn't feel far away. The way these young people stand up and say, 'Listen to me!' is happening...

The thing about 'The Nerd' is it's a farce, which The Rep's audience guide breaks down as a?oea specific style of comedy characterized by unlikely predicaments, verbal humor, mistaken identities, and physical comedy.a?? So within farce, one encounters absurd situations, fast-paced wit, and a touch o...

It's a hoot! The answer to your prayers! Five nuns on stage, four in the freezer!...

This Skylight production is certainly more stripped down, relying on simple orchestrations, bare-bones sets, and a small ensemble to achieve something great. A production like this allows the strongest bit of 'Oklahoma!' -- the music -- to shine....

Even if you've seen West Side Story twenty times before -- even if you know it's based on Romeo & Juliet and therefore tragedy is imminent -- the Milwaukee Rep has succeeded in giving every theater-loving person countless reasons to come out and see it once more....

2 Pianos 4 Hands is a love letter to the play's titular instrument. It celebrates the classical composers and teachers who inspire, the parents who encourage, and especially the kids who put in the work, sacrifice their time, chase that dream, and may or may not achieve it....

This is farcical theater to the extreme, aimed at testing your reflex for laughter. What a fun and funny way to kick off the 2019a?"2020 theater season here in Milwaukee. I'd say this 'Farce' is anything but unnecessary....

This Anastasia is impeccably performed, gorgeously rendered, and entertaining to be sure. Still, to me, the new songs don't soar alongside the old ones. I wonder how I'd feel if I didn't already know those old songs by heart. That's the risk the show's creators took in translating Anastasia for Broa...

Fairy kings and queens, mischievous woodland spirits, young lovers, and merry buffoons - nearly all of Shakespeare's characters are present in the wondrous production that is A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Milwaukee Ballet. The company, armed with stunning Bruce Wells choreography, cast a spell o...

Another op'nin, another show! This time it's a battle of the sexes and a Golden Age musical by Cole Porter. Inspired by the real-life backstage bickering of famous husband-and-wife actors Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, Kiss Me Kate is both based on real-life events as well as Shakespeare's controver...