Out on the Town: A curated listing of local entertainment

February 8 – 24

Ongoing

The Milwaukee County Historical Society presents its 2018 feature exhibition, Back Yards to Big Leagues: Milwaukee’s Sports and Recreation History. The exhibit explores Milwaukee’s exciting and extensive sports and recreation history through artifacts, images, and interactive components. The exhibit is on display through April 27, Monday through Saturday 9:30 a.m.–5 p.m. at Milwaukee County Historical Center, 910 N. Old World Third St., Milwaukee. Admission for adults is $7, with no charge for children 12 and under. 414-403-4344 or milwaukeehistory.net

Jaime Hayon: Technicolor allows visitors to enter the Spanish artist and designer’s vibrant world and find inspiration in his embrace of imagination. The exhibition — on view through March 25 — includes sculptures, ceramics, textiles and playground equipment, as well as the premiere of Afrikando, a collection of artistic glassworks commissioned for the Milwaukee Art Museum. MAM is located at 700 N. Art Museum Drive, Milwaukee. Hours are 10 a.m.–5 p.m., except Thursday, which is 10 a.m.–8 p.m. Admission is $19 for adults, $17 for students (w/ID) and seniors (65+), free for members, and free for kids 12 and under courtesy of Kohl’s Cares. 414-224-3200 or mam.org

Next Act Theatre heats things up this winter with Equivocation by Bill Cain. It’s a production about William Shakespeare as he wrestles with creation, coercion and the challenges of producing good theater in the turbulent England of King James I. The play runs through Feb. 25 at Next Act Theatre, 255 S. Water St., Milwaukee (see website for specific showtimes). Tickets range from $28 to $38. 414-278-0765 or nextact.org

February 10 – 16

The Brew City Bombshells are Milwaukee’s “sassy and classy tassels twirlin’ ladies,” featuring award-winning dancers, comedy acts, belly dancers and a variety of other performers. The troupe performs its infamous fetish show Brew City Bombshells Presents: Taboo 2018 Feb. 10 at 10 p.m. at the Cactus Club, 2496 S. Wentworth Ave., Milwaukee. Tickets are $12, or $10 if you dress to theme (whatever that might mean to you!). 414-897-0663 or cactusclubmilwaukee.com

Drawing comparisons to Björk and St. Vincent, Becca Stevens combines pop, rock, funk and R&B to create new and thought-provoking rhythms and lyrics. Her latest album, 2017’s Regina, is inspired by queens of all kinds — historic, mythological and personal — sewing together her musical loves, jazzy chords and folksy harmonies with notes of R&B and world music. Stevens performs Feb. 14 at 8 p.m. at the Fredric March Play Circle at the Wisconsin Union Theater, 800 Langdon St., Madison. Tickets are $21 for the general public, with pricing discounts for UW-Madison students, faculty and staff. 608-265-2787 or union.wisc.edu

The Comedy Get Down features George Lopez, Cedric The Entertainer, Eddie Griffin and D.L. Hughley, who have been breaking ground in the comedy business and bringing the laughs for decades, with numerous motion picture appearances, television shows, sitcoms and standup specials, a talk show, three radio shows and three books between them. The tour comes to the Riverside Theater, 116 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, for two shows on Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Tickets are $49.75 to $125. 414-286-3663 or pabsttheater.org

Two-time Grammy winners Turtle Island Quartet fuse the classical quartet esthetic with contemporary American musical styles, devising a performance practice that honors both. In Bird’s Eye View, the Legend of Charlie Parker, the group pays homage to the brilliance of jazz saxophonist Charlie “The Bird” Parker. The quartet performs Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m. at the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center, 901 15th Ave., South Milwaukee. Tickets are $30–$45 for adults, $25–$40 for seniors (ages 60+), and $10–$20 for students (ages 4 through college). 414-766-5049 or southmilwaukeepac.org (See p. 26 for more.)

GlobalFEST on the Road: The New Golden Age of Latin Music features indie-mambo band Orkesta Mendoza, which mixes a multitude of Latin styles through a psychedelic mambo and post-punk prism. Also performing is the alternative Chicano band Las Cafeteras, which recreates traditional Afro-Caribbean Son Jarocho music accompanied by jarana and requinto guitars, a donkey jawbone and a tarima. The show takes place Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts, 19805 W. Capitol Drive, Brookfield. Tickets are $49–$71. 262-781-9520 or wilson-center.com 

February 17 – 24

Early Music Now brings the Flanders Recorder Quartet back to Milwaukee to deliver its signature style for the last time with The Final Chapter: 30 Years. The program — which focuses on transcriptions of music for organ and traverso, with compositions shifting between old and new — takes place Feb. 17 at 5 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 914 E. Knapp St., Milwaukee. Tickets are $29–$59. 414-225-3113 or earlymusicnow.org 

Laughing Liberally Milwaukee is a monthly, progressive political comedy show featuring some of Milwaukee’s top liberal and progressive comedians. The next show takes place Feb. 17 at 8 p.m. at ComedySportz Theater, 420 S. First St., Milwaukee. Admission is $8. The show is hosted by comedian, satirist and progressive talk-radio host Matthew Filipowicz, and February’s outing will feature Brian Green, Dana Ehrmann, Marcos Lara, Jen Durbent, Stevie Leigh Crutcher, and sketch comedy group The Accountants of Homeland Security. In addition to the comedians, Laughing Liberally Milwaukee will feature an interview with Mike Crute and Dominic Salvia, hosts of Devil’s Advocates Radio on 1510am Resistance Radio. laughingliberallymilwaukee.tumblr.com

Directed by Tony-winner Diane Paulus and based on the Academy Award-winning film, Finding Neverland tells the story behind one of the world’s most beloved characters — Peter Pan. The production comes to Uihlein Hall at Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, 929 N. Water St., Milwaukee Feb. 20–25. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Feb. 20–22, 8 p.m. Feb. 23, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Feb. 24, and 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Feb. 25. Tickets are $31–$121. 414-273-7206 or marcuscenter.org

Bianca del Rio — the alter ego of seasoned comic Roy Haylock and Season 6 winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race — is a self-professed “clown in a gown.” The hilariously hateful comic is known for her foul mouth and unapologetic humor, and she brings it to Turner Hall Ballroom, 1040 N. Fourth St., Milwaukee, Feb. 22 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $42.50. 414-286-3663 or pabsttheater.org

Celebrating David Bowie returns with a new Bowie show spanning his entire career. A large rotating ensemble of world class multi-instrumentalists that changes song to song performs a show highlighting elements that influenced Bowie and that in turn Bowie influenced, such as pop-culture experimentation, art, fashion, science and futurism. The show takes place Feb. 22 at 8 p.m. at the Pabst Theater, 144 E. Wells St., Milwaukee. Tickets are $35.50 to $59.50. 414-286-3663 or pabsttheater.org