Mike Leckrone: Moments of Happiness
This is a new one: Four Seasons Theatre is presenting an evening with professor Mike Leckrone, the now-retired and beloved director of the UW-Madison marching band for 50 years. In Mike Leckrone: Moments of Happiness, Leckrone, always the showman, will tell Badger Band stories interspersed with musical selections played by jazz musicians Chris Rottmayer (piano), Ben Ferris (bass), and Michael Koszewski (drums). It's like if Mark Twain Tonight starred, you know, Mark Twain instead of Hal Holbrook. If this one works out, can we expect Barry: The Musical? Shows at 7:30 p.m., Oct. 12-15; and 2 p.m., Oct. 16.
media release: Presented by Four Seasons Theatre, October 12-16, 2022 in The Playhouse at Overture.
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:30 pm; Sunday at 2 pm.
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A man with a shiny silver vest stands in front of theater seating.
Mike Leckrone
Professor Mike Leckrone will offer an evening of remembrances, anecdotes, trivia, Badger Band stories, and revelations about his 50 years as director of the University of Wisconsin Marching Band. Interspersed with his stories will be musical selections that were significant in the development of popular music in the United States. Joining him onstage are a trio of accomplished jazz musicians: Chris Rottmayer (piano), Ben Ferris (bass), and Michael Koszewski (drums).
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Tickets ($20-$35) are available through the Overture Center Box Office in person, by phone at (608) 258-4141, and online at https://fourseasonstheatre.
Professor Mike Leckrone joined the staff of Four Seasons Theatre in 2020 as an artistic associate and brings his considerable knowledge of jazz, musical theatre, and popular music to FST audiences in online Zoom classes and the "Listening with Leckrone" podcast, produced by Four Seasons Theatre.
Former Director of Bands for the Mead Witter School of Music who spent 50 years at the helm of the University of Wisconsin Marching Band, Mike Leckrone is a legendary performer and educator whose musical arrangements, halftime shows, UW Varsity Band Spring Concerts, and popular music history courses have been enjoyed by thousands. His many accolades include the “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Wisconsin Foundation for School Music in 2007, the “Spencer Tracy Award for Distinction in the Performing Arts” from the Wisconsin Historical Society in 2010, and the Michael St. John Lifetime Achievement Award from the Madison Area Music Association in 2013. Leckrone was featured in a 2019 PBS Wisconsin film, “Mike Leckrone: Wisconsin’s Showman,” that documented his many career achievements and impact on generations of Badger Band members, UW-Madison students, and Badger fans. Leckrone is currently working on his autobiography with noted author Doug Moe and the University of Wisconsin Press.
Listen to the Listening with Leckrone Podcast on the Four Seasons Theatre website, Apple Podcast, or Podbean:
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