Atomic is back in business, but probably not the Atomic you were hoping for. The East Locust Street storefront that once hosted Atomic Records, Milwaukee's most storied independent music store now houses a pipe and paraphernalia shop called Atomic G

With theatre being pretty active in Milwaukee year-round, there are people I know in the business who don’t even really pay attention to the concept of a theatre season. In an attempt to frame a cohesive year around the theatre season, I arbitrarily

FEBRUARY ‘09And then of course, February is always a really, really busy month what with all the shows that didn’t open-up in January. This February, something like a dozen shows opened. Marquette’s Theatre Department had a big month wit

Recently a couple of A&E guys from the daily announced that they had accepted a buy-out for early retirement. Both the classical music guy and the theatre guy, who have been with the daily for some 30 years, are going to be taking it easy. Both will c

Though Milwaukee native Eric Benet doesn't perform too many shows around here anymore, he'll make a rare appearance at the Pabst Theater on Sept. 18. Unfortunately, the circumstances behind the concert are sad ones. Benet's friend Beccee Smith�a singer wh

What with everything that’s going on tonight with respect to theatre, I did not expect to find myself going to the Marcus Center tonight . . . but duty calls and as a critic, you don’t always have the option of making the kind of decision you&

My wife and I saw Phantom of the Opera last night. We’re not fans. Prior to last night, she’d seen it once before . . . and remembers very little of it. I’ve been hearing about the show for twenty years now. Even hearing about the sho

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

The 4th annual Milwaukee Comedy Festival closed yesterday. By all accounts, it was a successful fest . . . it continues to grow in prominence year after year . . . things change from year to year as well, which is always welcome. The last day of this year

Oftentimes, when elements of design are brilliantly done in a stage production, they go completely unnoticed. This is because the best design elements of a show seamlessly fuse with the rest of what’s going to create a total dramatic package. Most p