Category: Touchstone Theater

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First Stage’s Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer, The Musical, Reigns Over The PAC!

Silvia Stoeger in RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEERTM: THE
MUSICAL. First Stage, 2024. Photo by Paul Ruffolo.

If you aren’t quite in the holiday spirit as you approach the Marcus Performing Arts Center, you will be by the time you reach the lobby, if like me, you find yourself climbing the stairs to the Todd Wehr Theater among youngsters quietly singing Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer to themselves…

And once inside, the room was electric until the lights went down and an immediate hush fell over the crowd in anticipation. And it was as near a full house (just a handful of empty seats) as I have ever experienced at the Todd Wehr so this silence from the young crowd here was amazing. This is the magic of First Stage, it engages the young audience in a big way but it entertains the entire family.

We all know the basic Rudolph story from the popular song. But Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, the Musical has more story to tell! And we get some help keeping up with the plot via the narrator, Sam the Snowman, depicted by James Carrington. What a voice! What a presence on stage! Although Rudolph is our focus and hero, this story wouldn’t be as clearly told without Carrington’s portrayal of Sam.

David Flores (center) and cast in RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED
REINDEERTM: THE MUSICAL. First Stage, 2024. Photo by Paul Ruffolo.

As my long time readers and fans of First stage already know, the large musicals that First Stage presents at the Marcus are anchored by a few adult actors in pivotal roles and then two casts of young actors who rotate from presentation to presentation. So for Rudolph, we have the Silver Cast and the Gold Cast. You can find a complete cast listing here or here so if you know someone acting at First Stage you may want to consult the cast listings before ordering tickets. So, we do have two Rudolphs: Gwen Madson in the Silver Cast and Sylvia Stoeger in the Gold Cast. I saw the Silver Cast perform at the 1 P.M. matinee on December 1st.

So on with our story. We first meet Rudolph shortly after his birth as his mother proudly introduces him to his father Donner. All is joy and happiness until Rudolph’s nose starts to shine bright red. As Donner says, you could even say it glows. But it brings on great consternation between Donner and Santa. Eventually, Donner devises a nose mask to cover his nose. And as he grows, he eventually joins the other young bucks in reindeer games…essentially training under the watchful eye of Coach Comet. You know who that is, right? Well, despite being the longest and most successful flyer amongst the trainees, once his mask falls off, Comet banishes him from any reindeer games.

And just across Santa’s North Pole, the elves are making toys for Christmas. And elves love making toys and are making quick work of their tasks. Well, all except Hermey who doesn’t like making toys, for which he is ridiculed by his elfin peers. Hermey wants to be a dentist and he gets laughed at for that as well.

Zach Thomas Woods (left), Tim Linn (center), and cast in RUDOLPH THE
RED-NOSED REINDEERTM: THE MUSICAL. First Stage, 2024. Photo by Paul Ruffolo.

Feeling ostracized, Hermey and Rudolph run away from their respective groups and team up and leave town. So of course they get lost and get into trouble. And they are threatened by the Bumble, a great snow monster who is able to track them via Rudolph’s nose. They meet Yukon Cornelius, played by adult actor Zach Woods (he also plays Comet). Woods plays a flamboyant over the top unsuccessful prospector looking for silver and gold in the Yukon. The three of them team up to overcome the Bumble and then make their way home.

And everyone back home is missing them and looking for them and they all arrive just in time for Rudolph to save Christmas by leading Santa’s sleigh with his red nose!

Now, be in your best voice because you are going to want to sing along with the cast as they sing Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer for the grand finale. I mean it, you will be wholly ready to give yourself to the moment.

(left to right) Zach Thomas Woods, Silvia Stoeger, and Maryn Davis in RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEERTM: THE MUSICAL. First Stage, 2024. Photo by Paul Ruffolo.

Some very special mentions here. There are a number of actors dressed entirely in white who hide around the set and move the snow banks, ice bergs, and pine trees. But their most important function is to operate and voice the many puppets that populate the North Pole. There is a seal, a pair of owls, another pair of birds, squirrels, a raccoon, and of course the Bumble. But the Bumble is more than life size and inhabited by Timm Linn who controls his eyes and mouth. But the Bumble’s arms are controlled by a pair of actors in white.

And I am guessing the first day of rehearsal for the elves is learning to float around the stage in their special shoes with the long curled toes.

And one last feature of every First Stage play: the talk back afterwords. This is a ten minute feature where the audience members can ask questions about the play or set or costumes or whatever and the cast will take turns answering. This week we learned that the musical is based on the animated film from 1964, that Sam is made out of foam and James Carrington is sitting on a chair attached to the costume’s floor and is wheeled about the stage. And that the choreography back stage…moving on and off stage…and moving to new entrance points is more important than the choreography on stage. So make sure you stay for the talk back.

Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, the Musical runs from now through December 29, 2024. But don’t put off getting your tickets, it is a very popular show. Rudolph runs about 75 minutes and there is one intermission. It is recommended for ages 3 to 12, but I think the top age limit is unlimited! Tickets can be ordered here. There are some special days during the run, so check the link here to see what and when.

And Extra Credit Reading: The Digital Playbill!

And in case you need some help: Lyrics for Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer

Based on the animated television special “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and the stage production directed and conceived by Jeff Frank and First Stage. Directed by Jeff Frank.

J.T. Backes (left) and cast in RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEERTM:
THE MUSICAL. First Stage, 2024. Photo by Paul Ruffolo.

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PSA: American Players Theatre Announces Its 2025 Season!!

AMERICAN PLAYERS THEATRE ANNOUNCES 2025 Season

To Run June – November in the Outdoor Hill Theatre and Indoor Touchstone Theatre

Artistic Director Brenda DeVita said, “First, I’d just like to say that I’m so proud of the season we produced this year. Our 45th season. The work was exquisite from beginning to end, and I’m so grateful to our artists and actors, and the staff that takes such great care of our amazing audience. An audience who comes to these shows, whether or not they’re familiar with the story, and puts their trust in us, and in the art we make here. It’s incredible the community that’s been created out here, in the middle of Wisconsin farmland – it consistently fills my heart and blows my mind.

This season has felt like a huge step in our growth as an organization. The company is gelling and maturing, which gives us confidence that the work we do here is special, and important, as well as being beautiful and engaging. We carry that confidence with us into 2025, when we will invite some exciting and new-to-us directors – especially female directors, the most we’ve ever had directing in a season – to work at APT for the first time. Shannon Cochran, who is an actor and director, will do Noël Coward’s Fallen Angels, a playwright she is very familiar with, and can deftly play with that wit and language. Shana Cooper, the talented director who created that indelible, creative production of The Taming of the Shrew at APT in 2021 will return to direct The Winter’s Tale.

And additionally, we continue to expand and grow the talents of our company. David Daniel, a member of the Core Company, and our education director, who directed Oedipus for us in 2021, will direct this Midsummer Night’s Dream. Gavin Lawrence, another Core Company member – he directed Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom for us this season – will direct a play he has written – The Death of Chuck Brown. And John Taylor Phillips who you’ve seen on stage at APT in Private Lives and Born Yesterday and many other plays, will be back to direct The 39 Steps. And we have a number of wonderful returning directors – John Langs on Tribes, Robert Ramirez on Anna in the Tropics, I’ll be directing Picnic, which has been a dream project of mine. We’re already getting started, and I believe it’s a lineup that fits our foundation, while allowing the organization to continue to grow and evolve.”

In the Hill Theatre:

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

By William Shakespeare

Directed by David Daniel

Love weaves a tangled web in this iconic Shakespearean fairy tale. Hermia and her beloved Lysander flee into the forest to avoid Hermia’s arranged marriage to Demetrius. They’re pursued by Demetrius himself, along with Helena, who is, in turn, in love with Demetrius. In that same forest, Oberon and Titania – king and queen of the fairies – are having a quarrel of their own. And when Oberon enlists his accomplice Puck, aka Robin Goodfellow to throw some magic into the mix, everyone  – including a hilarious group of “rude mechanicals” led by Nick Bottom – gets caught up in the spell.

Fallen Angels

By Noël Coward

Directed by Shannon Cochran

Noël Coward’s sparkling wit returns to the Hill for the first time since 2015. Jane and Julia are happily married to charming men when a message arrives from a former flame, sending their perfect lives into a tizzy. It appears a man with whom they’d each had a passionate tryst in the past is planning a visit, and they are both questioning whether they can – or want to – withstand his charms. As the husbands golf, the ladies plot and plan over copious glasses of champagne, with some “help” from a very worldly housekeeper, while awaiting the arrival of their former lover in this decadent and utterly entertaining comedy. Contains adult themes

Picnic

By William Inge

Directed by Brenda DeVita

It’s almost time for the annual Labor Day picnic in Independence, Kansas. But the town buzz is all about Hal – the young handyman hired by sweet Helen Potts. Her neighbor, Flo, is less than enthusiastic about having Hal in the vicinity of her daughters, Madge and Millie. When it turns out Madge’s steady guy, the steadfast Alan, is an old friend of Hal’s, Flo relents, and plans are made for Hal to stick around town more permanently. But young love may have other ideas, and hearts will be filled and broken in this play about desire, expectations and the sacrifices and settlements people make when it comes to love. Contains adult themes & language

Anna in the Tropics

By Nilo Cruz

Directed by Robert Ramirez

In the heat of Florida, a Cuban-American family spends long days rolling cigars for a factory. They carried with them many traditions from Cuba, including employing a lector to read to them as they work. But with automation on the rise, money is tight, and there are differing opinions on whether that tradition should continue. Still, matriarch Ofelia hires a new lector, Juan Julián – a charismatic young man who captures the attention of her daughters, Marela and Conchita. Juan Julián begins his reading sessions with Anna Karenina. As the book’s story unfolds, the family’s lives run parallel, bringing secrets and lies to the forefront and threatening their livelihood and relationships. Contains adult themes

The Winter’s Tale

By William Shakespeare

Directed by Shana Cooper

Shakespeare’s sweet and complex romance returns to the Hill. When King Leontes suspects his pregnant wife Hermione of having an affair with his good friend Polixenes, he jealously hides Hermione away in the palace. He has become so enraged that Leontes orders their infant daughter to be abandoned in the wild, leading Hermione to die of a broken heart. But all may not be as dire as it first appears, as a shepherd saves the young girl to be raised as a shepherdess, with help from a pair of ridiculous clowns, setting in motion a series of events that opens up paths to forgiveness, love and redemption.

In the Touchstone Theatre:

The World Premiere of

The Death of Chuck Brown

By Gavin Dillon Lawrence

Directed by Gavin Dillon Lawrence

A local icon’s death signals the end of an era and the beginning of a new look for a once-predominantly African American neighborhood in Washington, DC. A barbershop is the backdrop for conversations about gentrification, race and family as the owner, Kofi, considers selling his beloved establishment while keeping his son Prince on the path to success. A funny, touching and devastating world-premiere from APT Core Company Member Gavin Dillon Lawrence. Contains adult themes & language

Art

By Yasmina Reza

Director TBA

Reza’s philosophical comedy comes to APT at last. Three long-time friends – Serge, Marc and Yvan – ponder art, class and love; fraught and funny discussions sparked by Serge’s extravagant purchase of a painting that is simply a white canvas with a few thin lines. As the conversation progresses, cracks form in the men’s relationships as they question whether they are who they think they are, or if they are who their friends think they are, in a play that has been awarded the Tony, New York Drama Critics’ Circle, and Olivier Award for Best New Comedy. Contains adult themes & language

Tribes

By Nina Raine

Directed by John Langs

There is the family we choose, and the one we’re born to. And neither are perfect. When Billy, Ruth and Daniel – Beth and Christopher’s adult children – all move home, the rivalry is intense among this group of “creatives.” But not for Billy, who is the sole deaf member of this hearing family. The family made the decision long ago that Billy should not learn sign language, and instead learn to read lips. But when he meets Sylvia, who comes from a deaf family and is coping with losing her own hearing, Billy’s world opens up as she teaches him to sign. What his family makes of this new world is another thing entirely, as they try to elevate themselves while holding Billy at status quo in this funny, biting play. Contains adult themes & language

Opening in October

The 39 Steps

By Patrick Barlow

Directed by John Taylor Phillips

Richard Hannay’s adult life has taken a decided turn for the boring, when one night he decides to go to the theater. There he meets a mysterious woman (and a couple of clowns) during a performance by Mr. Memory. When shots are fired, Hannay finds himself hurtling toward a hilarious adventure built from a foundation of all the most famous noir, and into a delightful parody of the genre itself. A theatrical and hilarious send up of Hitchcockian thrillers, with four actors playing every character – a special event perfect for fall in the Touchstone Theatre.

About American Players Theatre:

APT is a professional repertory theater devoted to the great and future classics. It was founded in 1979 and continues to be one of the most popular outdoor classical theaters in the nation.

The Theatre is located in Spring Green, Wis., on 110 acres of hilly woods and meadows above the Wisconsin River. The outdoor amphitheater is built within a natural hollow atop an oak-wooded hill. Under the dome of sky, 1,075 comfortably cushioned seats encircle three sides of the stage. In 2009, APT opened the 201-seat indoor Touchstone Theatre, offering a different type of play and experience.

For more information, visit www.americanplayers.org

The 2025 schedule will be available in January, and tickets will go on sale to returning patrons in March. More information at www.americanplayers.org.

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Post #501, Four Years, and I Find Out I Am A Theater Critic!

WOW! Jane Eyre, The Musical, At The Lake Country Playhouse was my 500th Post here on An Intuitive Perspective. WOW! Yeah, I know not all of them are scintillating and insightful commentary on the arts but the Monday Music feature instead…but I hope you are enjoying all of it! And I apparently lost count and missed our 4th Anniversary on March 20, 2024…you do lose track of time when you are having fun. And now, I am a theater critic as well!

So, how did I get here? I retired from my career as a computer programmer in 2018. And back in 2010 I was invited to contribute to someone else’s blog and I enjoyed the writing and comments and such. It was on another topic, not the arts.

And then I had an opportunity to work with the Milwaukee Repertory Theater as part of their Social Media Club. A little social group who were invited by the Rep to attend their performances and then comment on our experiences across social media. And to share and re-share the Rep’s various social media posts. I really took that to heart and wrote some pretty extensive and detailed reports on Facebook that I referred to as a ‘response’. That was a lot of fun and I started doing similar posts around other events.

And then I started to tire of my participation in that other blog but knew that I didn’t necessarily want to stop writing so I started An Intuitive Perspective. And the first thing I did was republish all of my older items from Facebook and then proceed with my new content. And once published, I share the link around a variety of social media including of course Facebook. That’s the bare facts…but how did I become a theater critic?

Well I was writing ‘responses’ to the shows that I was seeing at the Rep and as a long time subscriber at the American Player’s Theatre in Spring Green. And then a dear friend from the Social Media Club, Kimberly Laberge, Artistic Director at Kith & Kin Theatre Collective, invited me out to Hartland to experience the presentation of Cabaret that she was directing at the Lake Country Playhouse. It was an amazing play and an amazing cast and a cozy jewel box theater and I have been invited back again and again and I am in awe of the quality of the plays that they take on and the high level quality of each and every presentations.

And then somehow, I wish I remembered the history here, I also became involved with First Stage, which is a children’s theater in Milwaukee, that presents full blown musicals in the Todd Wehr Theater in the Marcus Performing Arts Center and smaller more serious fare in the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center. The PAC shows blend a cast of adults and young people in shows that will appeal to all ages…and I love them…and I love to watch the reactions of the youngsters in the audience as they experience real theater featuring their peers and their stories. And the other venue generally features the First Stage’s Young Company, high school age actors presenting more complex stories in an in the round black box theater…things like an adaptation of Ibsen’s Enemy of the People or Shakespeare’s Henry IV (part 1). I hope that we see many of these young actors playing at our local adult theaters eventually.

And I have been invited to see any number of other small theater groups put on amazing theater in small theater settings that I didn’t even know existed before now. And I am so grateful for the experience.

Now one thing that I regret. I had started an idea to present posts about smaller art museums around the state and mid-west under the title A Place For A Muse. I have only written two so far. I need to do better.

And what is this bit about being a theater critic? Well, as I said I have always labeled my articles and posts about theater as responses because I hadn’t studied theater or criticism directly. So I didn’t feel confident using the term review. But after attending the Lake Country Player’s presentation of A Rock Sails By, and talking with director James Baker Jr and lead actor in Rock (and Artistic Director of LCP ) Sandra Baker-Renick, I was convinced that what I write is in fact a review…and that is what they will be from now on! So I am a theater critic now, I guess!

So thank you to all who visit here and read my scribblings. And thank you to all of the theater people who have adopted me and allowed me to see your marvelous shows and write about them with abandon. It has been a very rewarding four years…and I hope we can continue!!!