As talented as he is experienced, local actor Brian Mani has had countless impressive performances over the years in a number of different theatre groups. His most memorable performance last year was the male lead in Renaissance Theaterworks’ The D

German author Cornelia Funke isn’t nearly as well known internationally as more successful children’s authors like J.K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer. The author of the Inkheart trilogy is far better known in Europe than she is in the rest of t

A few days ago, I found myself sinking into a show on the documentary channel. Jeffrey Blitz’s 2002 documentary Spellbound was one of the first films I’d ever seen on critics’ advance screening. The story of eight teenagers competing in

My wife and I had arrived at the Alchemist Theatre’s Bay View Lounge in the first hour of the New Year. We’d come there straight from another party in Bay View. A song by Journey was playing when we’d gotten there. It was a generally hip

Of all the theatrical genres, comedy is probably the simplest. It’s also one of the most challenging. Laughter is the easiest reaction to try to attain in an audience. You know right away whether or not you’re successful. At the same time, si

As the end of the first half of the theatre season approaches, the late December lull in openings brings with it some planning for future shows. Ben Turk recently sent out to a few people a copy of a one-act he’d written that may never get produce

The somewhat reasonably funny comedian Dylan Bolin finds himself in Elm Grove in February. His one-man show Peace, Love and a 30-Year Mortgage makes it to the stage of the Sunset Playhouse February 4 – 6.

Bolin brings the show to Elm Grove having staged it at In Tandem’s 10th Street Theatre this past November. The show, which focuses on Bolin’s travels from growing-up an Indiana hippie to being a mortgage-paying Milwaukeean, strays a bit from traditional stand-up comedy

A group of friends met at a pizza place in Kenosha in early 1992. There they started plans that ultimately developed into The Midwest Children’s Theatre. The educational theatre group has worked extensively with area schools over the years. The g

Renaissance Theaterworks continues its season next month. They'll be following-up a well-executed comedy (one of the best to be staged so far in a year drenched with locally-produced comedies) with a really serious drama as they open a productio

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

Colin and Paula Cabot, whose new Skylight show opens this New Year’s Eve, will be joined 14 different guest artists from the Skylight’s half-century history. The guest artists joining the Cabots for The Long and the Short Of It have recently

Irish playwright Martin McDonagh’s The Beauty Queen of Leenane was a critical and commercial success when it debuted in 1996. It’s the story of a spinster who looks after her elderly mother. Suffering from mental illness, all of the daughter

There has been increased interest in Lewis Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland of late, sparked in part by a big budget ($250 million) Tim Burton film adaptation due out in March. (Cable's Sy Fy Network had an interesting two-part made for TV series rece

Amidst a series of sell-out this month, Boulevard Theatre’s production of Christopher Durang’s The Marriage Of Bette And Boo seems to have had quite a bit of commercial success as well. Shows on the 19th and the 20th were sold out. The stra

  Last week before a show at the Alchemist, I ran into Alice Wilson—someone I knew in college who has found interesting theatrical work with local theatre group The M.U.T.E.S. The silent film-style live comedy group has found itself traveling

Youngblood Theatre  mentioned on Facebook this past Thursday that it was beginning rehearsals for its January show Red Light Winter. Written by Adam Rapp, the play is about a pair of young, American guys who share a “window prostitute,”

Doubtlessly everyone has received advertising through the mail that’s been made to look like something important—the particularly frustrating ones have been made to look like checks. Some time ago, writer/performer Patrick Combs received just

Old-timey radio group Wisconsin Hybrid Theatre  has carved out a pleasant little niche for itself as a group that presents fun little retro comedy shows. Set around the fictional WHT's live radio studio in the golden age of wireless, writer Charle

It’s been nearly half a decade since the Roger Bean musical Lana Mae’s Honky Tonk Laundry had its world premiere with the Milwaukee Rep cabaret. The cabaret musical featured a simple story of two women working a Laundromat who have dreams of b

Matthew Belopavlovich’s Leaving The Ring is being performed early on in the week during some of the coldest days of the year. It seems unlikely that the show in its second night will draw huge crowds—a lamentable situation which solidly marks

Longtime Milwaukee Theatre figures Colin and Paula Cabot will be helping The Skyight Opera Theatre celebrate its 50th Anniversary next month as they appear onstage in The Long And The Short of It. It’s an evening of recollections from two people who

The bad economy may be hurting the local theatre business as it does everything these days, but it’s nice to know that in the month of December there are a number of shows that have sold out a good portion of their tickets prior to opening night. Ju

Somewhere in the midst of the flurry of holiday shows on local stages this month a touring production of Annie comes to town.  Though Christmas (and FDR) figure quite prominently in the classic 1977 musical, the show isn’t exactly what people

Founded in California this past May, experimental theatre group Hinterlands will be emerging next year with a four show season that Runs from January to November 2010. The group was co-founded by Marquette graduate Brian Moore, who began his professional

Insurgent Theatre co-founder Tracy Doyle sent out an email late yesterday morning requesting scenes for a show about deals with a devil. The "demon bargain" show will evidently be an “open source,” tapestry of such scenes. Those submitti