Guys on Ice
Barrymore Theatre 2090 Atwood Ave., Madison, Wisconsin 53704
Len Villano
Three ice fishers in winter clothes.
"Guys on Ice," 2004.
The annual holiday musical theater tradition at the Barrymore is now in its 25th year. Guys on Ice is a celebration of all things Sconnie, wherein old pals Marvin and Loyd spend a day on the ice catching up, spreading rumors, stretching the truth, trading insults, getting hammered, fishing (a little), and breaking out in song and dance (a lot). If the whimsical, slapstick song “Snowmobile Suit” doesn’t make your heart burst with joy, you don’t have a heart. Shows at 7 p.m., Dec. 26; 2 and 7 p.m., Dec. 27; 7 p.m., Dec. 28-30; and 2 p.m., Dec. 31.
press release: THE BUDDIES ARE BACK! GO FISH PRODUCTIONS presents Leinenkugel’s & Korbel welcome 25th ANNIVERSARY PRESENTATION OF GUYS ON ICE
Book, Story, & Lyrics by FRED ALLEY
Music & Story by JAMES KAPLAN
Starring everyone’s favorite Marvin & Lloyd, DOUG MANCHESKI & STEVE KOEHLER
Limited 7 Performance Run: Monday 12/26 @ 7:00 pm; Tuesday 12/27 @ 2:00 pm & 7:00 pm; Wednesday 12/28 – Friday 12/30 @ 7:00 pm; Saturday 12/31 @ 2:00 pm.
All tickets are GENERAL ADMISSION. Tickets: $35.00. For Group Rates, please call the Barrymore Box Office at (608) 241-8633.
The Hit Ice Fishing Musical
Buddies Marvin and Lloyd spend a winter’s day in a shanty out on the ice, talking about life, love and Leinie’s. Guys on Ice has thrilled audiences throughout Wisconsin, as well as in Michigan, Oregon, California and New York.
Since 1998, Guys on Ice has played to sold-out houses in Ephraim, Sturgeon Bay, Green Bay, Milwaukee and Madison and played for audiences as far away as California, New York and Oregon. Fred Alley wrote the following description of the show for AFT’s 1998 program:
You’ve seen them. Little wooden shanties sitting on lake ice. Puffs of smoke rising from chimney pipes. On a quiet day, maybe the static of a tinny radio filters through plywood walls, across the frozen tundra, back to shore. In a cold world, on a cold day, on a frozen lake, these little signs of life are all most people know of a secret culture that thrives right here amongst us. Well, wonder no more. Once again, AFT sets its sights close to home as we bring you our somewhat twisted take on the secret world of ice fisherman. Guys on Ice spends a day in the life of Marvin and Lloyd — fishing buddies and home-grown philosophers. With musical numbers like, “The Wishing Hole,” “Ode to a Snowmobile Suit,” “Fish is the Miracle Food” and “The One That Got Away,” Guys on Ice works not only as a serious anthropological study but as a musical comedy as well.