What to do in Madison this weekend: March 19-22, 2026

WYSO Percussion Extravaganza, Craig Ferguson and more Isthmus Picks

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Arts

Living in Balance: Anishinaabe Star Knowledge, March 18-19, MMSD Planetarium: An evening at the MMSD Planetarium is always fun and this program offers a special take on the night sky: stories from the Indigenous Anishinaabe tradition. The program connects traditional views of nature with today’s growing cognizance of climate change. The dome will highlight the regions of the sky mentioned in the program and compare constellations from European and native traditions. Shows are at 6 and 7:30 p.m. both nights. Tickets and more info at madison.k12.wi.us/planetarium.

Craig Ferguson, Thursday, March 19, Overture-Capitol Theater, 7:30 p.m.: Craig Ferguson has never been a tidy stand-up. The former Late Late Show host built a cult following by tossing out the cue cards and seeing where the story went — sometimes philosophical, sometimes ridiculous, often both in the same minute. Now a seasoned storyteller with a few more miles on the odometer, Ferguson still performs with that loose, slightly dangerous energy…the kind of conversational comedy that feels like it could veer anywhere. If you liked the weird, unscripted charm of his late-night run, this “Pants on Fire” tour stop should scratch that itch. Tickets at overture.org.

Dan Deacon, Thursday, March 19, Atwood Music Hall, 8 p.m.: Dan Deacon is an innovative composer of electronic music who’s worked widely in soundtracks and toured with Arcade Fire, Miley Cyrus, Future Islands and The Flaming Lips. His music ranges from indie pop to contemporary classical. Early works like “My Own Face is F Word” embrace a computery vibe; his most recent album, Mystic Familiar, is synth pop married to concepts influenced by Brian Eno and David Byrne. Performances are far from sterile; he’s well known for including the audience in his live shows. Madison’s Noah Gilfillan (The Earthlings) opens. Tickets at theatwoodmusichall.com.

Line Breaks, March 20-April 24, various venues: UW-Madison’s Line Breaks festival, coordinated by the Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives, returns for more than a month of events showing hip-hop’s expansive cultural reach. It all kicks off with “My name became my own,” a showcase featuring community works developed in a workshop related to this year’s Go Big Read book, Percival Everett’s James, and the First Wave touring ensemble (6 p.m., March 20, Central Library). A visual art exhibition is on display from March 23-April 5 at Common Wealth Gallery, with an opening reception at 6 p.m. March 25. More events take place in April; find the full lineup at omai.wisc.edu.

Miss Door County, March 20-21, Madison Youth Arts, 7 p.m.: Seeing a premiere can be a leap of faith, but Music Theatre of Madison has a strong habit of making that leap feel smart. The latest is a staged reading of Miss Door County, a new musical by Nathan Fosbinder with the kind of Wisconsin-specific weirdness that could either collapse or charm — and this one sounds built to charm. Set in Fish Creek, the show follows Sophie Marks, a barista with a sudden shot at a $10,000 pageant prize…if she can navigate friends, family, and a villain. Tickets at zeffy.com.

Matthew Endres Quartet with Chip McNeill, Friday, March 20, Arts + Literature Lab, 7 p.m.: Drummer and UW-Madison Mead Witter School of Music faculty member Matthew Endres leads his quartet for an evening of jazz, joined by guest saxophonist Chip McNeill. A professor of jazz saxophone at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, McNeill’s resume includes serving as music director in bands led by Arturo Sandoval (including for the Grammy-winning album Hot House), Maynard Ferguson and others, along with leading his own ensembles. Find ticket info at artlitlab.org.

Dana Perry + Two Trick Pony EP releases, Friday, March 20, Seminole Tap, 7 p.m.: The latest release from Madison singer-songwriter Dana Perry, The Spark, is out March 20; “Wisco Winter,” a rollicking paean to the beauty of seasonal changes, is a fun advance single from the EP and can be found on Bandcamp. Also celebrating an EP release is Two Trick Pony, a catchy country-rock trio featuring the songs of multi-instrumentalist Dan Kennedy. With an opening set by Mo' Onions joined by Kelly Hepper.

Our Town, March 20-24, UW Music Hall: Ned Rorem, known in the classical voice world for his enormous art-song output, also wrote eight operas — and Our Town may be the one that lands closest to the bone. Here he takes Thornton Wilder’s small town of Grover’s Corners and sets it in that unmistakable Rorem language: open-air Americana one minute, a little harmonic unease the next, like memory itself shifting under your feet. University Opera’s production will be a strong excuse to revisit a story most of us think we already know. Performances at 7:30 p.m. March 20-21 and 24 and 2 p.m. March 22; tickets at artsticketing.wisc.edu.

Corpus Christi, March 20-April 4, Bartell Theatre: The play Corpus Christi, written by celebrated American playwright Terrence McNally, reimagines the story of Jesus Christ and his disciples as gay men in modern day Texas. Unsurprisingly, the play has often been subject to protests by the Christian right. StageQ’s production will incorporate themes of the current persecution of the transgender community by political conservatives. Performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday (except 2 p.m. on April 4) and 2 p.m. Sunday; tickets at bartelltheatre.org.

Andy Ewen, through March 21, Giant Jones Brewing: In the 1980s and '90s Andy Ewen created illustrations for The New York Times Book Review, The Progressive and Isthmus; more recently his professional life has been at the UW-Madison medical school. But many in Madison will know Ewen as frontman/songwriter for the band Honor Among Thieves. In an artist statement, Ewen describes the work in “Recent Drawings” as “semi-automatic…I just start by drawing a line or a shape, and then let my imagination free associate in a manner akin to lucid dreaming.” The tasting room at Giant Jones is open Wednesday-Saturday; find hours at giantjones.com.

The Butter and Egg Man, March 20-April 4, Bartell Theatre: If folks know George S. Kaufman’s work these days, it’s probably for the early 20th century comedies The Man Who Came to Dinner and You Can’t Take it With You, written with Moss Hart. The Butter and Egg Man is Kaufman’s only solo play, a comedy (naturally) about a dreamer trying to hit it big on Broadway. Madison Theatre Guild takes on this lesser-known bauble, with shows at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday (except 2 p.m. on April 4) and at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets at bartelltheatre.org.

Tiara’s Hat Parade, through March 22, Madison Youth Arts: The next production from Children’s Theater of Madison is also a part of the World Premiere Wisconsin schedule. Tiara’s Hat Parade is based on the kids' picture book by Kelly Starling Lyons, and transformed into a stage show by actor-director-playwright Paige Hernandez. It tells the story of a young African American girl who comes up with an idea to help her mother revive her small business; Hernandez’s adaptation features Lydia Danielle playing all the play’s roles. Performances at 1 and 4 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday; tickets at overture.org.

WYSO Percussion Extravaganza, Saturday, March 21, Middleton-Cross Plains Performing Arts Center, 4 p.m.: Among the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras' varied groups is the Percussion Ensemble, which gives young performers the opportunity to learn and play drums, tambourine, marimba and many more instruments. Each spring the ensemble is highlighted with the Percussion Extravaganza showcase, which also features an array of guest groups: the chamber and world percussion ensembles from UW-Madison, and Iowa-based Heartland Marimba. The groups will collaborate to close the concert with the world premiere of a new work by Robert Harlow, a WYSO alumnus. More info at wysomusic.org.

Paul Filipowicz, Saturday, March 21, Crystal Corner, 8 p.m.: Wisconsin blues legend Paul Filipowicz has been storming stages for 50 years. He continues to play out regularly so there’s always the temptation to say to oneself, “oh, I’ll catch him next time.” Don’t do that. Filipowicz is as hard charging as ever, and celebrating a birthday with this Crystal concert. Seeing is believing and, like a theme in a blues number, one never knows when the next time will come.

Find the individual Picks collected here, and as part of the full calendar of events.

Editor's note: This post has been updated with a new time for Paul Filipowicz.