MILWAUKEE, WI THEATER REVIEWS

Though panic, sadness, and uncertainty are felt in Come From Away, there's very little all-out gloom. Rather, this is a story that celebrates the best of humanity and how, in a time of crisis, we have the capacity to come together as friends and neighbors above all else. One line in the show reflect...

From pixie dust to tick-tocking crocodiles, sneaky pirates to Lost Boys, Peter Pan is a beloved story that's been told every which way. In First Stage's Tinker Bell, we see Pan's journey through the eyes of his tiny, trusty sidekick. Here are 5 reasons her point of view is worth a peek....

When a play is as aptly named as this one, it makes my job a breeze. It's not just the "brilliant" part; it's also the "every." From the supremely engaging Scott Greer to the perfectly-sentimental script by Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe to the overall format of the evening, under the direction ...

Happily for the national tour of Rogers and Hammerstein's 'The King and I,'  the cast holds their own and the story stays, for the most part, as compelling as ever....

When the Milwaukee Ballet presents a trio of works in one mixed program, odds are something will resonate — if not the haunting music of one piece, then the vibrant rush of costumes in another. Aesthetics aside, one can always appreciate the power and poise of the Milwaukee Ballet Company dancers ...

Annie Jump and the Library of Heaven is the story of titular character Annie Jump, a 13-year-old science prodigy living in the small town of Strawberry, Kansas, with her alien-hunting dad. He's kind of the town crackpot. Extraordinary things begin to happen when the skeptical Annie is visited by the...

To not give away too much, To Fall In Love is, in short, about psychologist Arthur Aron's famous study that suggested a couple might ask each other 36 questions in order to fall in love. The questions grow increasingly intimate, beginning with "Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you...

17 Skylight artists. Seven Danceworks dancers. 25 Chant Claire Chamber Choir members, plus four Chant Claire guest artists. Six percussionists. Two pianists. One conductor. One visionary artistic team. One stage. It all adds up to Skylight's exhilarating Carmina Burana, an experience dubbed ''total ...

'It wasn't supposed to be like this. I thought they'd be like us. But better than us. Better versions of us.'...

Michael 'Ding' Lorenz boasts crazy talent alongside an outrageous instrument collection that warrants awe-inspired sighs and, as the Skylight Music Theatre proves, a show all its own. Things That Go Ding! played to sold-out audiences in 2012, and now it's back and bigger than ever in the Cabot Theat...

Curiosity is part of our humanity. It is also 'human nature to forget,' writes playwright Lloyd Suh. Thanks to the Milwaukee Repertory Theater's New Play Development Program, the World Premiere of Suh's 'The Chinese Lady' imparts an utterly unforgettable piece of theater, while also embedding the f...

'Genesis' is a world-class choreographic competition, offering dancers and audiences alike the chance to break from tradition, experience something more contemporary, and discover new talent that will shape the Milwaukee ballet scene in the year to come....

It's the talk of rhythm town, ya dig? Five Guys Named Moe at the Skylight brings crazy energy, big voices, and hot moves to the Cabot Theatre....

From the first chords they strum, the terrific trio of Harvy Blanks, David Lutken, and Spiff Wiegand plant smiles on faces and set toes a-tappin'....

Ahktar has a knack for writing real people with real flaws, and for taking a hard look at tough, often-uncomfortable issues in our society. Per a WUWM interview, Akhtar asserts that Junk is not pessimistic, just real. "It's bleak but it's realistic, unfortunately," he says. "If you're coming to the ...

Director Jeff Frank's team of all-star creatives and actors is serving up a Broadway-caliber production, made all the more special with First Stage's signature small-scale intimacy and kid-friendly flair....

Ebenezer Scrooge's story is ever familiar and warms the soul, and the Rep consistently delivers production value you can count on. Yet even knowing that this is a Christmas Carol steadfast and true, there's always something new to glean - whether it's actually new or just new to your memory....

Twelve (largely-failed) meet-cutes, four performers, two backup singers, and one very chatty partridge in a pear tree suffering from a year of aloneness. It's a different kind of Christmas show, to be sure. Simple in its premise and more of an introspective snapshot of one woman's life, rather than ...

'The Best Christmas Pageant Ever' sets a merry tone for the holiday season - a season that, in the world of this Christmas pageant, challenges kids to focus on something other than just Santa and presents. The holiday season is all about renewed faith and finding something good and peace-willing to...

The stakes are always higher and the timeline is always tighter at holiday time. What results in 'Christmas in Babylon' are lessons in forgiving others, forgiving yourself, and moving forward - lessons that, for some reason, we are all more willing to embrace at this most wonderful time of the year...

The Skylight's musical Hairspray is Milwaukee's bigger, bolder, bowl-you-over show for the holidays, celebrating diversity of all kinds, from the color of your skin to the inches in your waistline. It's unabashedly idealistic and optimistic - a look at what great strides we might make if we put dow...

Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, a play set in the world of Jane Austen's 'Pride & Prejudice,' following Lizzie and Mr. Darcy's happy ending. With their romance confined to the pages of Austen's novel, the Darcys take a turn as supporting characters in this story that focuses on the Bennets' for...

This is an upbeat, lighthearted musical revue that flows breezily through nearly thirty tunes from "Minnie the Moocher" to "White Cliffs of Dover" to "As Time Goes By."...

McDonagh will leave behind a macabre masterwork in The Pillowman, and the Constructivists company can live easy, knowing they did his work justice....

This is a story of family and feeling, with a fanciful little twist. Go if you like the thought of pondering the boxes we put ourselves in-what we believe can or can't be true for us, based on imaginary constructs. Outside Mullingar dares us to challenge those boxes and live knowing that "Life is he...