Kelsey Lawler - Page 4

It had been a staggering 701 days since the Milwaukee Rep's last performance of A Christmas Carol, but this holiday tradition is back at the Pabst and as fantastic as ever. From old friends to new faces, the ever-impressive scenery to lush costumes, this whole production, adapted and directed by Mark Clements, feels like a festive hug -- a warm and comforting welcome to usher in the holiday season.

'Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?' Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about: families making memories together, talking about what the holiday season means to them, and showing those on the sidelines a little love, care, and attention. If your holiday tradition includes an afternoon of seasonally-inspired theater, A Charlie Brown Christmas at First Stage is a delightfully adorable way to find the festive spirit.

An unconventional holiday treat is on stage at Milwaukee's Skylight Music Theatre through January 2nd. Directed by Michael Unger (his first since taking the reins as Artistic Director), Little Shop of Horrors may not tee up glad tidings of comfort and cheer, but a show this fun is equal to the festive task. Little Shop brings joy, humor, astonishment... and a bloodthirsty plant.

This show strikes a perfect emotional balance that steals your heart and splits your sides.

At the intersection of Packer fandom, Wisconsin pride, and musical theater lies Dad’s Season Tickets.

Going blindly into The Constructivists' Wink was the right choice. I'd read the brief synopsis, but that only claws at the surface of what this refreshingly absurd, surrealist dark comedy is all about.

It takes big-time guts to bare your butt cheeks on stage, and these guys bare more than that. The good vibes -- and a good laugh -- are just the palette cleanse we all need after the year-and-a-half we’ve had.

Midsummer makes smiles and laughter easy. It’s at once classic, escapist, and comforting—just what we need from the theater on what we hope is the heels of a pandemic. It’s exciting to think that this mobile production will bring Shakespeare to so many corners of Milwaukee. 

A scintillating, scatting, sensational return to live theater -- who could ask for anything more? The Milwaukee Rep delivers a heaping portion of the good stuff in the triumphant 'First Lady of Song,' a concert salute to America’s favorite jazz singer, Ella Fitzgerald.

The On Demand experience is nicely handled and smoothly filmed. Through the use of both wide and close-up shots, we’re given an intimate vantage point that many may otherwise miss when seeing a ballet on stage. The setting is a simple colored backdrop, making for a performance that relies solely on the dancers themselves to carry the spectacle. I’m happy to report they more than carry it -- they make it soar.

The music video for The Sound opens with footage of 2020’s Black Lives Matter protests. The chants of the protests mingle with the strings warming up. “The sound drives me crazy,” the refrain repeats. Harmonious voices and strings, sparkling face masks, shades of purple and blue in braids, puppets, lighting -- this is a marvelous collaboration, and it’s one that is better seen and heard, not read about. 

This is a choose-your-own-adventure play, and First Stage rigged it so that audiences could vote by phone to help our hero Callaway Brown make key decisions: Should he pack his inhaler or his eyeglasses? Follow mysterious footsteps or radio for help? 

In their sixth collaboration, Directors Jill Anna Ponasik and Dani Kuepper take the theatrics to an Enchanted Park(ing lot). Finding a way to go out of doors -- now that’s thinking outside the black box.

Take the little ones to see this show for the laughs, the silliness, and the kind of theater for which we only have the kids to thank. Without their willingness for turning the ordinary into something wildly imaginative, plays like 'The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors' would likely remain just picture books.

The bottom line is: 'Spelling Bee' is a feel-good musical comedy that could fall flat if not cast right. The Skylight has gathered a group of top-tier performers and behind-the-scenes superstars to ensure the show soars. Can you spell a?oedoldrumsa??? This is your answer to them.

I always expect greatness from 'The Lion King.' To have a cast without a weak link among them. To blow me away with choreography and costumes, even if I've seen it before. 'The Lion King' never fails to meet every one of these great expectations, and the show currently on stage at the Marcus Center is no exception.

Days later I'm craving the songs, the performances a?" to witness the staging once more, to see what else I can pick up on, or to experience what new twist Rodin will bring to another evening's show. No two will be alike. But I feel I can confidently say that each one will end with a standing ovation, hands lifted in openness and praise.  

It makes for a most dynamic piece of theater. The ensemble cast, shrouded in black, are used to push props and people about the stage. Whether our heroes are catapulting through space and time or confronting an immense, pulsating brain, the use of physical movement and intense lighting effects help propel the story.

Milwaukee, have your dollar bills handy! Though it's only been on stage since 2014, Matthew Lopez's Georgia McBride is on its way to becoming a bonafide dragtastic legend. Now on stage at the Milwaukee Rep, under the fantastic direction of Meredith McDonough, the heat and heart in this play about an Elvis impersonator turned drag queen is the uplifting, energizing show audiences need right now.

Is there anything the Milwaukee Opera Theatre touches that doesn't turn to gold? Their latest collaboration with Skylight Music Theatre is Gilbert and Sullivan's Ruddigore, a sweet, hilarious, melodramatic comic opera made exceedingly charming under the inspired watch of co-directors Jill Anna Ponasik and Catie O'Donnell. With these creative cohorts in tow, I swear there's nothing attached to Ponasik's name that I've not adored. Her vision is a special kind of magic, and Milwaukee is lucky to have her.