Arts
Ross Zentner
What to do in Madison this weekend: Feb. 12-15, 2026
Picks for Feb. 12-15 also includes a tour stop by Broadway hit 'Kimberly Akimbo;' album release concerts by Gentle Brontosaurus and It's All You, Cowboy.
Tommy Washbush
Making more with less
Making decorative stained glass, and jewelry from broken pieces of china, can be noisy and messy. Most art studios aren’t a suitable match. So artist Lauren Beard makes her art out of her small east-side home.
Feb 11, 2026
Keith Wessel
Rebecca Hale transforms East High’s orchestra
When Hale started at East four years ago there were a total of 65 members in the combined grade-level orchestras. Today there are 130.
Feb 11, 2026
Nick Garcia
Memorial hoops coach Collins tops 500 wins
After winning three state and 14 conference titles, changing his approach to accommodate the game’s evolution, and surviving COVID, the dean of Madison-area basketball coaches contemplates retirement.
Feb 9, 2026
Pat Martin
What to do in Madison this week: George Saunders, 'A Valentine's Affair' and more Isthmus Picks
Picks for Feb. 9-12 also includes an exhibition of drawings by Andy Ewen at Giant Jones; the Broadway tour of 'Kimberly Akimbo' visits Overture.
Feb 9, 2026
Romulo Ueda
Madison novelist Susanna Daniel chronicles a journey through 10 dates in ‘Girlfriending’
For ‘Girlfriending,’ Susanna Daniel teamed with a woman-centered publisher, Third Rail Press, that’s dedicated to women’s stories that mainstream publishers deem too difficult or unmarketable.
Feb 8, 2026
Mats Rudels
‘HERE LIES THE TRUTH’ comes to the end of its transforming and transformative run
UW-Madison dance professor Li Chiao-Ping’s hour-long dance 'HERE LIES THE TRUTH' provokes thoughts on these topics so recently in the news. The performances, Feb. 5-7, in the Margaret H’Doubler Performance Space are to be the final shows.
Feb 6, 2026
Krystal Pence
Speed dating is back
This is speed dating, a matchup strategy that first became popular in the 1990s. More recently, it’s made a quiet resurgence.
Feb 6, 2026
8:30 AM
AJ Juarez
What to do in Madison this weekend: Sudan Archives, 'A Love Letter' and more Isthmus Picks
Picks for Feb. 5-8 also includes 'The Hobbit' from Children's Theater of Madison; fun on frozen lakes with Frozen Assets Festival, Winter Carnival and Grillin' for Peace.
Feb 5, 2026
5:01 AM
Madison Opera’s premiere of ‘Everlasting Faint’ engages with history — and the present moment
An opera about 19th century ghosts and moms taking down the patriarchy couldn’t be more relevant.
Feb 4, 2026
1:30 PM
A new book chronicles the history of Wisconsin’s iconic Birkebeiner
Jerome Poling covers the cross country race from its origins to its weather-plagued present.
Feb 3, 2026
12:00 PM
Ross Zentner
Forward Theater’s ‘Ironbound’ is painfully current
‘Ironbound’ is a meditation on love, endurance, and survival in a system designed to exploit those with the least power.
Feb 2, 2026
9:00 AM
Kay Sakiya
What to do in Madison this week: Step Afrika, Winter Carnival and more Isthmus Picks
Picks for Feb. 2-5 also includes the return of an annual Madison College SOUL Affinity Group exhibit honoring the stories of Black women; 'A Love Letter' is a collaboration by Theatre LILA and Barrio Dance.
Feb 2, 2026
5:07 AM
