American Players Theatre
For many performing arts organizations, the regular season is over as soon as school’s out for the year. But while a few stages go dark for the summer, many others spring to life, providing lighter seasonal fare or combining a beautiful night under the stars with some stellar theater.
Here are some of the productions I’m most looking forward to as a chilly spring gives way to the warmer, longer days of summer.
Picnics and plays
It wouldn’t be summer without two or three pilgrimages to Spring Green to enjoy consistently excellent productions of Shakespeare and other classic plays at American Players Theatre. Pack a picnic, grab some friends and choose between theater outdoors under the stars at the original stage “up the hill” or in the delightfully air conditioned, more intimate indoor space called the Touchstone.
This year the offerings are somewhat more diverse than in seasons past, including an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, the Tennessee Williams classic Streetcar Named Desire, and Seascape, an Edward Albee play that focuses on two couples — one human and one reptilian
For the Shakespearean traditionalists, be sure to see Othello, starring Milwaukee’s Chike Johnson as the jealous Moor.
Loud and clear from the heartland
Roll out the red carpet and fire up the klieg lights on June 7 for the Tommy Awards — more or less the Tonys of high school musical theater in southern Wisconsin. Judges travel around the state throughout the year to review musical productions at more than 60 high schools. And at the Tommys, the audience gets to see the best of the best — young people singing and dancing their hearts out, competing with their peers for accolades, and one of two slots at the National High School Musical Theater Awards competition in New York City. Expect big chorus numbers, jazz hands and lots of talent.
New kids in town
Madison’s newest theater company, Capital City Theatre, mounts its debut production at Old Music Hall this summer. It’s the musical Violet, a story of a young woman’s quest for beauty set in the 1960s. Facially disfigured in a childhood accident, Violet hopes that a televangelist in Oklahoma can heal her. She hops a Greyhound, and the adventure begins. With a cast that’s front-loaded with Broadway credits, the leads should definitely dazzle. I’m looking forward to seeing how the new troupe brings the rest of the show together.
Karen Olivo directs the University Theatre production of "Fugitive Songs."
Singers on the verge of a nervous breakdown
Tony winner Karen Olivo is making her directorial debut with UW-Madison’s University Theatre production of Fugitive Songs. This innovative song cycle, conceived as part musical/part hootenanny, spotlights people on the run: a disgruntled Subway sandwich employee, a jilted ex-cheerleader, a pair of Patty Hearst fanatics, a stoner forced to rob a convenience store against his will, and many others. Blending traditional folk music with contemporary pop and gospel, Fugitive Songs captures each character at a breaking point. Olivo is passionate about the material (she lent her voice to a recording of the piece in 2012), which is already enough to pique my interest.
Appropriately inappropriate
Music Theatre of Madison presents a one-night-only cabaret featuring an array of local talent in some very unlikely roles. In Miscast 6.0, performers are encouraged to bring songs from their favorite musicals to life, whether they are right for the part or not. So a balding, middle-aged man might sing “Tomorrow” from Annie. An all-women’s chorus might sing the “Jet Song” from West Side Story, or “Hello!” from The Book of Mormon. Anything goes, and the results are usually as funny as they are moving. Using the Brink Lounge as a venue should only add to the enjoyment.
Luck be a lady tonight.
Roll the dice
Four Seasons Theatre is bringing one of my favorite classic musicals, Guys and Dolls, to the newly renovated and revamped Shannon Hall on the UW-Madison Campus. Full of lovable mobsters, adorable dancing girls and prim Salvation Army crusaders, it also has great music, including “Luck Be a Lady,” and “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat.” As if that wasn’t enough, this production also has some fabulous cast members, including Michael Herold, Jace Nichols, Abby Nichols and Jessica Jane Witham.
Theater events
AMERICAN PLAYERS THEATRE:
The Merry Wives of Windsor, A Streetcar Named Desire, Pride and Prejudice, Private Lives and Othello (outdoors); and An Iliad, The Island and The Game of Love and Chance (indoors), in repertory, June 6-October 18, Spring Green. americanplayers.org. 608-588-2361.
BROOM STREET THEATER:
Held, May 29-June 20, Pudding, July 10-August1, Bite The Apple, Aug. 14-Sept. 5. Madison. bstonline.org. 608-244-8338.
CAMBRIDGE-DEERFIELD PLAYERS:
Oklahoma, July 16-19; Willy Wonka, August 28-30, Cambridge Historic School, Cambridge. cdplayerstheater.org.
CAPITAL CITY THEATRE:
Violet, June 12-14 and 18-20, UW Old Music Hall, Madison. capitalcitytheatre.org.
FERMAT’S LAST THEATRE COMPANY:
Miss Julie, July 30-Aug. 9, UW Memorial Union-Fredric March Play Circle, Madison. fltco.tumblr.com.
FIRST ACT CHILDREN’S THEATER:
Mary Poppins, June 26, The Legend of the Lion King, July 10, and Prince Caspian, July 24, Edgewood College, the Stream Black Box Theatre, Madison. firstactchildrenstheatre.com.608-358-9572.
FOUR SEASONS THEATRE:
Guys and Dolls, Aug. 21-23, UW Memorial Union-Shannon Hall, Madison. fourseasonstheatre.com. 608-258-4141.
FRESCO OPERA THEATRE:
Rinaldo and the Galactic Crusades, June 4-6, Overture Center-Playhouse, Madison. frescooperatheatre.com.
KATHIE RASMUSSEN WOMEN’S THEATRE:
A Sky Painted Brown, July 24-26 and July 29-Aug. 1; Wrong for the Part, July 26, Bartell Theatre, Madison. madwomenstage.org.
LEFT OF LEFT CENTER:
Spirits to Enforce, June 5-6 and 12-14, various venues, Madison. leftofleftcenter.com.
MADISON OPERA:
Opera in the Park, July 25, Garner Park, Madison. Madisonopera.org. 608-238-8085
MADISON SAVOYARDS:
The Mikado, July 17-19 and 23-26, UW Music Hall, Madison. madisonsavoyards.org. 608-262-2201.
MIDDLETON PLAYERS THEATRE:
Avenue Q, June 26-28, July 2-3 and 5; and Miss Saigon, August 7-9 and 13-15, Middleton-Cross Plains Area Performing Arts Center, Middleton High School, Middleton. middletonplayers.com. 608-831-2521.
MUSIC THEATRE OF MADISON:
Nine, July 23-August 1, and Miscast 6.0, July 31, Brink Lounge, Madison. mtmadison.com. 608-237-2524.
OREGON STRAW HAT PLAYERS:
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, August 8-9 and 13-15, Oregon High School Performing Arts Center, Oregon. oshponline.org.
Overture Center:
The Tommy Awards, June 7, and Sing-A-Long Grease, June 19, Overture Center for the Arts, Madison. Overturecenter.com. 608-258-4141.
PROUD THEATER:
Fired Up!, May 28-30, Edgewood College, the Stream Black Box Theater, Madison. proudtheater.org. 608-222-9086.
TAPIT/NEW WORKS ENSEMBLE THEATER:
Work the Act, May 28-30 and June 5-7, TAPIT/new works, Madison. tapitnewworks.org.
STAGEQ:
Queer Shorts 10, June 12-14 and 18-20, Bartell Theatre, Madison. stageq.com. 608-661-9696.
UNIVERSITY THEATRE:
Fugitive Songs, July 16-19 and 23-26, UW Vilas Hall, Mitchell Theatre, Madison. utmadison.com. 608-265-2787.
UPSTART CROWS PRODUCTIONS:
Inherit the Wind, July 8-11, The Iliad, The Odyssey, and All Greek Mythology in 99 Minutes or Less, August 2-5, First Baptist Church, Madison. upstartcrowsproductions.org. 608-827-9482.
VERONA AREA COMMUNITY THEATER:
Shrek the Musical, June 19-21 and 25-27, Verona Area High School Performing Arts Center, Verona. vact.org. 608-845-2383.
YOUNG SHAKESPEARE PLAYERS:
Merchant of Venice, July 24-26 and July 31-August 2, Overruled & The Dark Lady of the Sonnets, June 26-28, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, July 24-26 and July 31-August 2,
King Richard III, August 14-16 and August 21-23, YSP Playhouse, 1806 West Lawn Ave., Madison. These dates are tentative; check for updates at youngshakespeareplayers.org.
