Margaret Equality Billingham, Gavin Logan as mother, friend and grandfather in Proud Theater’s production of “Do It Yourself.” – Photo: Callen Harty
Madison youth find pride onstage
As the lights went up on the set of “Proud Theater: Decade” last month, a solitary figure ascended a platform on the sparsely-decorated black stage. “It started with one,” said 23-year-old activist and playwright Sol Kelley-Jones, who co-founded the awarding-winning Madison-based youth theater troupe at the age of 13.
“Then two,” said Brianna Buhr, 22, an original troupe member whose roles with Proud Theater have included contributions as actor, singer and guitarist.
“Then five,” continued Josie Montanez-Tyler, 26, who began as a youth during the group’s formative years.
This was more than just a performance marking the 10th anniversary of the troupe’s first official performance at Madison’s MAGIC Picnic 10 summers ago. It was the culmination of a glorious reunion of loving friends who’ve become like family to each other over the years. And so it’s only fitting that Proud Theater members began an event that was an entertaining and inspiring amalgam of youth-created material by telling the story of why each was there and what Proud Theater has meant for their lives.
Madison youth find pride onstage
“Wicked” Natalie Daradich and Vicki Noon – Photo: Joan Marcus
‘Wicked’ flies high on talent and effects
It’s got amazing special effects, catchy show-stopping tunes, a multi-talented cast and costumes, and lighting and sets that dazzle the eyes. Oh my!
It’s “Wicked” the award winning Broadway musical that tells the story of the two witches of Oz and how they got there. So catch a ride on a flying broomstick (or flying monkey) to see another side to the Emerald City.
“Wicked,” based on the 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire, focuses on the relationship between Elphaba, who is green-skinned at birth, an outsider at school and the future Wicked Witch of the West, and Galinda, who becomes Glinda – the Good Witch of the North.
"Wicked" flies high on talent and effects
“Rent” – Courtesy Photo
Making ‘Rent’
“I am so excited about this,” says Donna Drake as she slowly pushes open the doors to the Cabot Theater at the Broadway Theater Center in the Third Ward. “We are doing things in this theater that we’ve never done before.”
Once inside, a quick view confirms the New York actor/director’s claims
Drake, the director of the Skylight Opera’s season finale “Rent,” has created a brave new and different world within these walls. She’s brought to life the East Village of New York City circa 1989.
The stage has been converted into a multi-level steel tenement structure with stairs coming up both sides and a connecting bridge. There are crew members everywhere working on the set, testing lights and checking sound.
This “rock opera” has the street cred and the commercial track record to continue the crossover appeal that has drawn audiences of all ages since its debut in 1996. Based on Giacomo Puccini’s 1896 opera “La Boheme,” “Rent’s” rise to fame and fortune offstage is as much a part of the show’s iconic status as its classically based storyline.
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“An Evening with Gilbert & Sullivan.” – Photo: Courtesy
An evening of melody and delight
Gilbert & Sullivan together again? Well, only in the afterlife – literally. And what a charming and comical place this “afterlife” turns out to be, thanks to the delightful production of “An Evening with Gilbert & Sullivan” which opened last weekend at the Skylight Opera Theater, completing its 50th anniversary season.
Is the duo’s “afterlife” actually heaven? Or you know, that other place with the fire down below? For the audience, it’s a humorous two hours (including a 20-minute intermission) of clever tongue-in-cheeky remarks sandwiched between some of the pair’s most famous songs, taken from a number of the 14 operas they wrote over their 25-year creative collaboration.
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Dancer Marc Petrocci gets hoisted during a rehearsal of the Milwaukee Ballet’s “Peter Pan.” – Photo: Courtesy
‘Peter Pan’ takes flight at ballet
The easiest way to get to Neverland is to follow the second star to the right and then head straight on till morning. But you need to be flying in order to get there.
Marc Petrocci does all that and more as star of the Milwaukee Ballet’s upcoming world premiere of the beloved children’s classic “Peter Pan.”
“Flying is amazing,” says Petrocci, who lives on the East Side. “I think the very first time I was pulled up off the ground and I was halfway up, I thought, ‘This is high.’ But it’s totally exhilarating.”
The Milwaukee Ballet celebrates the end of its 40th anniversary season with this production, choreographed by artistic director Michael Pink and an original score composed for the ballet’s orchestra by Michael Feeney (he and Pink also collaborated on “Dracula”). Members of the Milwaukee Children’s Choir as well as dancers from the Milwaukee Ballet School perform in this production.
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