Month: November 2020

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Milwaukee Rep Cancels “Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol”

This is sad news indeed. Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol was the first play scheduled for the renewed Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s 2020/21 season. And this was a much anticipated return of Rep favorite Lee Ernst for the holiday season. And I was looking forward to a new telling and a new viewpoint on this classic tale. But I agree with the Rep’s decision. As Wisconsin continues to set records for daily positive cases of COVID-19, it would be foolish to put the audiences and staff of the theater at risk right now.

Here is a few details from the email that I received this morning…and the full story appears here.

Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol

Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the incomparable Lee E. Ernst playing more than a dozen characters in the Dickens’ classic with a unique soundscape developed by foley artist Dan Kazemi, under the direction of Artistic Director Mark Clements. Our fully realized production will be taped and distributed to a limited number of people on a first come, first served basis. The production will be available to view for $20 during the month of December. Proceeds from ticket sales will be used to employ and compensate artists involved in the production. Look for more details on how you can purchase tickets later this month.

So please, make the most of this holiday season and purchase a ticket to Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol. It will not only enlighten your holiday but help support the Milwaukee Repertory Theater. (something we talked about a bit ago)

And for those of you who have had a holiday tradition of seeing the Milwaukee Rep’s A Christmas Carol at the Pabst Theater…you don’t have to miss out on that this year either. The Rep will be streaming a complete multi-camera recording of their 2016 presentation. And these two events are not Zoom readings, but full streaming video stage presentations…so they should be a great way for all of us to celebrate the 2020 holiday season!

Mark Clements’ Classic Production of A Christmas Carol

Each year, nearly 40,000 people experience Artistic Director Mark Clements’ epic production at the beautiful, historic Pabst Theater. We are opening our video vault to bring a never-before-seen recording of the record-breaking 2016 production filmed and produced by HMS Media. The production will be available for FREE to view during the month of December on our website as our gift to theater lovers worldwide. Donations encouraged and welcomed.

emphasis mine

It seems that I have been sharing too much sad news around theater cancellations this year. But this time there is a silver lining and we have alternatives and we can still enjoy a unique and expressive A Christmas Carol in our homes.

Merry Christmas.

And again, the full details can be found here.

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Museum of Wisconsin Art: Wisconsin Funnies: Fifty Years of Comics is extended until January!!!

This is excellent news…this is a show that I dearly want to visit but was having an issue planning a safe trip to West Bend! Well now I have a bit more time to work it out and then do a write up here! Here is some background and click this link for more info on the show and how to see it during the COVID-19 era.

Extended through January 10, 2021

Wisconsin Funnies is the first exhibition to present the rich history of comics in Wisconsin. The nearly two hundred works by twenty-five artists will illustrate the major themes, innovations, and publications that characterize the state’s past half-century of comic art. The exhibition pairs hand-drawn original art with printed material such as comic books, alternative weekly newspapers, and other collectibles and ephemera. 

Wisconsin Funnies is on view at both the Museum of Wisconsin Art’s “mother ship” in West Bend and MOWA | DTN, located in downtown Milwaukee at Saint Kate – The Arts Hotel. MOWA | DTN will feature comics with a political bent; the West Bend location will offer a comprehensive overview of comics in Wisconsin. While California is often considered the birthplace of underground comics (also known as “comix”), Wisconsin began producing independently published, subversive comics at the same time. Beginning in the late 1960s, the Wisconsin comix scene, spearheaded by Denis Kitchen’s Kitchen Sink Press, marshalled the countercultural appeal of comic art to educate, instigate, and entertain a disaffected generation. 

So give this a look see if you have a chance or the inclination. I know that members of my generation will be familiar with a lot of these artists and publications…and fans of graphic novels will see some of the antecedents of their favorite genre and a few of these artists are currently working in this field today.

full disclosure: one of the artists in the exhibit is Dan E Burr…an artist who I have known and worked with in different capacities since the early 1970s…who I haven’t been able to get together with since March…sigh.

“Anyone…interested in the history of comics, politics, and popular culture should visit MOWA and absorb the power of this historic collection.” –Chris Yogerst, Comics Journal