Stuck Review
Russ Bickerstaff
Curtains
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
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Day Three: Milwaukee Sketch and Improv Comedy Festival
Russ Bickerstaff
Curtains
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
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Day Two: Milwaukee Sketch and Improv Comedy Festival
Russ Bickerstaff
Curtains
The second day of the sketch fest was set for quite a bit more show than the opening day. Three distinct programs ran roughly 7pm last night through 1 am this morning. Though the audience thinned-out by the end of the day, the crowd for the bulk of the
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Day One: Milwaukee Sketch and Improv Comedy Festival
Russ Bickerstaff
Curtains
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
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Year In Review pt. 2
Russ Bickerstaff
Curtains
FEBRUARYTowards the end of last February, Spiral Theatre staged the single best romance of the year with Ruth Arnell and Ryan Dance in Butterflies Are Free It was a year with a unusually large number of monologue shows. The Boulevard Theatre followed-up o
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'07 - '08 Theatre Year In Review pt. 1
Russ Bickerstaff
Curtains
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
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Spiral's Wait Until Dark
Russ Bickerstaff
Curtains
Closing night of Spiral Theatre’s Wait Until Dark was sold out. A small crowd of people piled into the tiny performance space that Director Doug Giffin and scenic designer Mark Hooker had developed for the Frederick Knott thriller. It was set to be
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A Host Of Closings
Russ Bickerstaff
Curtains
The summer begins to draw to a close this weekend as a number of smaller shows close. This weekend hosts a last chance to see a number of shows before they disappear:SPINNING INTO BUTTER
Pink Banana Theatre’s staging of the compelling Rebecca Gil
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Door County Shakes
Russ Bickerstaff
Curtains
Ancillary IntroJuly’s trip North to Door County was going to be significantly cheaper than the trip to Spring Green in June for a variety of reasons. I was scheduled to cover both of Door Shakespeare’s shows this season. Since Door Shakespeare
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Trying to Explain Next Weekend While Things Explode
Russ Bickerstaff
Curtains
It was thee evening of July 3rd and there we were in the most remarkably upscale fireworks gathering I’d ever been a part of. The condo overlooked the lake. Everyone there was wearing tuxedos and evening gowns. Everyone was drinking expensive wine o
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