The summer seems to have arrived. And I suddenly find myself without theatre for two straight weeks. It’s kind of a huge vacancy considering the high volume of shows that I’ve seen in April and May . . . those being some of the busiest months

STUFFY BACKGROUND CRITICISMAt it’s core, the idea for Billy Aronson and Jonathan Larson’s 1993 musical RENT isn’t entirely bad. Doing a modern interpretation of Puccini’s La boheme set in modern-day New York could, in theory, br

Earlier today I had another interview at the Off-Broadway Theatre for a January 22nd Shepherd-Express preview column. Talking with people backstage Off-Broadway is precisely the way one would expect it would be talking to people backstage . . . there are

  New York-Based Director Timothy Douglas has had a remarkable career thus far. Having worked on projects all over the country. He has had the distinction of directing the world premiere of August Wilson's Radio Golf at the Yale Repertory Theatr

Given the opportunity to do a review of a Rep show for online, I’ve decided to give my opinions a little more breathing room than I usually do. This will, undoubtedly be somewhat long and rambling, but what follows is an unbridled, unedited stream o

The lobby of the 342 North Water Street Building appeared to be under heavy construction. The stairs and much of the rest of the lobby were behind caution tape. It took a trip to the elevators to get to the Off-Broadway Theatre on the second floor, bringi

The size of an audience going to “some bullshit musical at the Marcus Center”* (or the Milwaukee Theatre for that matter) is considerably larger than what would be seen at a main stage show at the Rep. The audience seeing just about any show a

REMEMBER: IT’S AN OPENING NIGHT—NOT A PRESS JUNKETIt’s always an interesting crowd at the opening night of a Milwaukee Shakespeare show. Opening night of Twelfth Night was no exception, though it was taking place far from the heart of th

  Due to a mix-up involving Google Maps and a particularly bewildering #76 county bus route, I was unable to make opening night of Greendale Community Theatre's RENT. (There are very few venues in Milwaukee County I haven’t made it to yet.

On June 26th, Alchemist Theatre presents yet another opporunity to have a vaguely strange experience with a group of people in a theatre—a pre-recorded science-fiction radio play. Aaron Kopec’s DRAKER 33 is a half hour audio work written by

One of the biggest drinking holidays of the year approaches. It’s recently been announced that Just a couple of months after New Year’s Eve, a Chicago theatre group will be bringing its runaway hit drinking comedy to brew city. Opening Februar

The third annual Milwaukee Sketch and Improv Fest ended with an exhaustive three-program day that saw the stage at the Off-Broadway Theatre more or less occupied for something like 6 hours. That’s a lot of program . . . 4:30 pm Family-Friendly Matin

As I understand it, the appeal of dollhouses lies in seeing the staggering amount of realistic detail being staged in miniature. Seeing the artifacts of ordinary-sized life presented on a scale small enough to fit in one’s hand is oddly reassurin

The beginning of August may seem like an odd time to be doing a year in review, but August first marks the beginning of the first month of the new theatre season. As near as I can make out, there are two different seasons that make up a local theatre year

It’s the little touches that keep an annual Christmas show fresh from year to year. This year, prior to performances of Patrick Schmitz’s Rudolph the Pissed-Off Reindeer, patrons have an opportunity to get their pictures taken with Santa Claus

A little less than half a year after its last Combat Theatre outing, Bunny Gumbo returned to the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center for another two-day festival of skits written and performed in 24 hours. The only limitations on the productions were the 24-ho

Milwaukee’s newest theatre space rests on 1024 South 5th Street. It’s a novel location for a theatre. The upper south side location was once home to Spiral Theatre and still houses DIY venue Darling Hall, onetime haunt of Insurgent Theatre. No

Centering a play around a hotel elevator is one of those delightfully off-beat ideas that seem so staggeringly simple that it comes as something of a surprise to think that no one had come up with it before—at least, no one worth speaking of here

Last night I made it to a preview performance of The Rep’s production of Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard. It’s the classic turn of the century tale of a family estate passing out of the family’s hands. The Rep production stars a

Tyler Kroll of The Gentlemen’s Hour recently told me that the offbeat Milwaukee-based sketch comedy group will be appearing on local television. And you don’t even need cable or dish TV to be able to see them. When he t

  Local writer/director Doug Giffin has put work into quite a few different avenues in the past several years. This month his work as a director makes it to the stage in Spiral Theatre’s production of the Frederick Knott Drama Wait Until Dar

The 4th Annual Milwaukee Comedy Festival kicked off its third day with a series of groups from out of state.  Local comic Kevin Gerrity opened the early show with some stand-up. 17 years old, Gerrity’s stand-up felt very natural. So much stand

A very large crowd had come to the Quadracci Powerhouse Theatre. A quick look out across the theatre during Brian Vaughn’s opening speech confirmed only scattered single seats available. It was opening night of the Milwaukee Rep’s Pride and P

Some of the first new shows of the New Year open this weekend. Some of them also close this weekend. Last night I attended my first of two consecutive evenings of theatre under pressure. It was a pleasant evening just north of downtown on Walnut Street wh

Milwaukee Rep Artistic Associate Brent Hazelton has extensive experience in theatre, with a resume featuring work in a list of states in nearly every major region of the country (as near as I can make out.) This week his first work with Milwauke’