Kelsey Lawler - Page 8

Roses wave hello, storybook pages spring to life, the townsfolk are actually nice, and the troupe of orphan children are a little creepy. This isn't Disney's Beauty & the Beast. Instead, Michael Pink gives us a world premier Milwaukee ballet where 'Belle is the hero of her own story; a voracious reader, quick-witted, and the maker of her own destiny.' 

Anyone who's taken a poetry class knows that there's so much more to poetic words than meets the eye. If you look the right way, there's often something grand underneath - a hidden meaning waiting to be discovered through focused reading and an open mind. Lauren Gunderson's soul-stirring I and You is indeed a poetry all its own.

Les Miz, based on the book by Victor Hugo, is now in its 32nd year, having played to more than 70 million people in 44 countries and 22 languages. It's the fifth-longest-running Broadway musical of all time. And if the enthusiastic reception at the Marcus Center on opening night is any indication, Boubil and Schonberg's masterpiece continues to keep a strangle hold on Milwaukee-area hearts.

Unbridled enthusiasm - that's what this show's got. Even if Ms. Cline isn't your personal hero, the entire Patsy package is still guaranteed to leave you grinning.

Ripped from the headlines. Raw emotion. Affecting stories. Diverse perspectives. The kind of stuff that makes you search your soul. That's what playwright and performer Dael Orlandersmith is bringing to the Stiemke Studio at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater with her one-woman show, Until the Flood. 

The overall tone of 'Hoffmann' is rife with broken hearts and a healthy dose of the macabre. With this comes a wondrous, dreamlike quality that the Skylight and Milwaukee Opera Theatre have captured exquisitely. The scenery itself, the on-stage orchestra, the celestial lighting, and creative ways in which characters come and go - it all serves to highlight the fantasy in this 'opera fantastique.'

Milwaukee Opera Theatre & the Skylight Music Theatre have crafted a much more intimate adaptation of 'The Tales of Hoffmann' - one that's sung in English, peppered with spoken dialogue, and accompanied by a nimble on-stage band of two pianos, a harp, and plenty of percussion. The cast now numbers at 13 (8 women, 5 men), and the entire production takes just two hours.

'One House Over' smartly addresses timely issues with quiet honesty, revealing American immigrants' struggles, hopes, and fears through heartfelt dialogue. That's the true beauty in 'One House Over' - the natural way events unfold through a dozen backyard conversations.

For the child in all of us, feet are (mostly) off the ground for this Peter Pan-inspired musical.

Cartoonish to the last, the entirety of Skylight's 'Zombies from the Beyond' is a tongue-in-cheek romp chockfull of 1950s space fascination and Cold War paranoia, with each moment played for lots of laughs and loads of kitsch. 

Two people and the simultaneously cringe-worthy and fascinating ways in which their messy lives get all mixed up. At 90 minutes without an intermission, this is a wonderfully well-written piece of theater, and one that's a worthy kick-off for Milwaukee's new Constructivists. Artistic Director Jaimelyn Gray says this play captures the kind of the work they hope to produce: 'Funny, quirky, sad, with a mess of emotion.' 

Black Pearl Sings! drives home the power of song as a means of passing down a rich, storied past. It's a fascinating concept the idea of gathering words and melodies as a way to preserve and honor history.

Even on paper, Edward's story sounds enchanting: Can a toy rabbit, swept away on a decades-long journey of joy, loss, fear, and loneliness, truly come to know the miracle of love? First Stage delivers on that enchantment.

Bleak. Cold. Apocalyptic. Even before the house lights dimmed, the mood was already dreary. The stage is laden with a mess of concrete, metal, and a visual manifestation of shattered dreams for what would be a rather brain-wrenching, hope-dashing 90 minutes. Of course, that's just what Orwell's novel is meant to convey.

Waitress is indeed a triumph, and the hope of it speaking to women everywhere encouraging fortitude, shining a light on female friendships, and pushing us all to be brave enough to stand up to our enemies in the pursuit of happiness it's incredibly moving, and leaves me hungry for more.

The Milwaukee Rep boasts the second-longest-running professional production of the Charles Dickens classic in the country, and given the magnificent caliber of its set and costume design, stage direction, original score, veteran actors, and touch of Panto-style (interactive) theater, this is one 'Carol' that will undoubtedly continue to be sung for decades to come.

At the Next Act Theatre, there's something subtle, raw, and real now on stage. These are the kind of fine performances that stick with you, and if you're an avid theatergoer, that's one of the best gifts you could receive this season.

Waiting for the show to begin, dozens of families trickled into the Skylight's Cabot Theatre, toting little girls in their Sunday best. Eyes gleaming, some of them were lucky enough to snag a booster seat, while others hung over the orchestra railing to sneak a peek at the conductor during Annie's overture. I remember being that little girl myself. Cue the fond nostalgia.

Suspense, plot twists, believability, a dash of humor, a satisfying finale that's what successful murder-mysteries are made of. When a play possesses all of these hallmarks and even boasts the company of everyone's favorite detective, Sherlock Holmes, a surefire hit seems elementary, my dear Watson.

Confession: They had to resuscitate me before I could write this post because I had died from laughter. Murder for Two, running now through January 14th, is a mix of music, murder, and mayhem - or as Joe Kinosian, the show's co-author and Milwaukee High School of the Arts alumnus, calls it: 'a love letter to musical theater, screwball comedy, and partnership.'