In his program notes as the Artistic Director, Mark Clements states that the 2022 presentation of A Christmas Carol is the 47th time that the Rep has performed this classic. And that he and his family are now invested in the tradition as well since this is his 12th year of guiding it as the Artistic Director of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater. But he doesn’t really delve into the whole meaning of ACC nor it’s new tradition either. But the current version and the one that has run for any number of years now is his adaptation of the Dickens novel and he downplays his role as the director, bringing his vision to life on the stage of the venerable Pabst Theater. This too has become a tradition.
Cast and ensemble of A Christmas Carol. photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater
And many of us have probably developed a favorite scene or two in the Clements adaptation that we always look forward to. The ghosts of course! And who is playing the role and how will they torment and enlighten Scrooge this year. Scrooge’s final turn to the light. But I always look forward to the party at Mr. Fezziwig’s Shop and the startled reactions from fellow Londoners, employees, and relatives as the rejuvenated Scrooge makes himself known.
And I am sure other bits have become favorites…like the introduction when we are coaxed to turn off our phones and Scrooge’s ‘attributes’ are recited in alphabetical order until Mr. Dickens arrives to get us started and suddenly transforms into Ebenezer Scrooge!
Tami Workentin and Matt Daniels. photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater
Now just as things are much the same…and I imagine we all know the story by now…we again have a new Scrooge for 2022. Although a familiar name and familiar face to Milwaukee area theater goers, Matt Daniels makes his first appearance as Ebenezer Scrooge. And he does the role and the tradition proud here…smoothly moving from the bah humbug cantankerous old Scrooge to the fearful and kowtowing Scrooge confronted by the ghosts, to finally the happy and sociable good will toward men fellow of the final act. Following in the footsteps of many fine players and Milwaukee favorites of the past, Mr. Daniels never for a moment misses a step and we completely forget those ghosts of Christmas past.
Matt Daniels and Mark Corkins. photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater
But there are two veterans who I was most pleased to see on stage again this year. Mark Corkins as the Ghost of Marley and James Pickering as Mr. Fezziwig. Marvelous.
And reprising her appearance from last year, Lainey Techtmann provided us with a Tiny Tim for the ages.
The Cratchit’s at dinner on Christmas day. photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater
And as I’ve written in previous responses, the set here is a major star of each performance. Multiple turntables move the sets around from London Streets, to Scrooge’s office and later home, the Fezziwig shop, the Cratchit home and more. From the audience this all moves so effortlessly but it is a marvel of not only design but remarkable skill in moving it throughout the play as one scene melds into the next.
So even if you’ve seen this recently, this is still the play to attend during December. If you haven’t seen it for a bit…a good time to reacquaint yourself with A Christmas Carol and the Pabst Theater. And of course the ambience of the Pabst lends it own sense of time and place for presenting a piece in time from Dickens’ London.
So here we are, finally starting to feel our theater traditions return in a post-pandemic world…and once again it snows inside the Pabst Theater!
There have been a number of ‘soft’ announcements about the Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s plans to remodel and improve their downtown theater complex. But today, they sent out the official announcement to get their Powering Milwaukee Campaign off the ground. From their email announcement:
Today We Launch A Campaign For Our Future!
Nearly 70 years ago, Mary John Sullivan and Fredrick C. Miller joined forces to ensure that Milwaukee would be one of the first cities in the country to have a professional theater based in its community. Knowing that a world-class city needed both professional sports and theater, shortly after bringing Major League Baseball to our city, Miller Brewing CEO Miller would team up with Milwaukee Rep founder Sullivan to create our first home on Oakland Avenue – the Fred Miller Theater.
Over the decades, we would grow into one of the largest theaters in the country and the largest performing arts organization in Wisconsin, serving 300,000 people including 20,000 students annually with 700 performances coupled with award-winning educational programming. However, we are facing a critical challenge. While it has served us well for four decades, our aging and inefficient Patty & Jay Baker Theater Complex severely limits the productions we stage, the plays we develop, and the kind of educational impact we have — and will soon jeopardize our mission.
Therefore, we have embarked on the Powering Milwaukee Campaign which will define the standard of theater in Wisconsin for generations to come. The Campaign will fund the creation of the new Associated Bank Theater Center, including three state-of-the-art performance spaces, a large unified lobby providing ample opportunities for community events, an expanded offsite production center employing hundreds of local artisans, and venues with modern audience amenities.
One of the more exciting new features will be a robust arts education center housed within the new complex to expand our highly impactful student programs. Milwaukee Rep is one of the largest providers of arts education programs in the Midwest focusing on literacy, critical thinking and social-emotional learning. Our award-winning programs improve both hard and soft skills necessary for future employment and post-secondary education. The new complex will allow us to meet the growing needs of our community and schools on our waiting list.
In addition to education impacts, the Associated Bank Theater Complex will:
Strengthen Milwaukee’s brand as a hub of creativity and innovation by allowing us to tour popular productions around the world and to Broadway.
Attract talent and new audiences by building on our growth and creating exceptional, highly in-demand work on par with the best theaters globally.
Be Milwaukee’s most inclusive and accessible cultural destination allowing us to best serve persons with social, cognitive and/or physical disabilities.
Drive increased economic activity attracting tourists, young professionals, and new residents expanding our current $30 million annual economic impact on Downtown Milwaukee.
In the last twelve months, we have been busy and we’re pleased to share the following progress:
EUA and Hunzinger Construction have completed conceptual designs, a phased construction plan and renderings for the Associated Bank Theater Complex.
We raised nearly 60% of the $75 million campaign goal including 100% participation from our Board of Trustees due in large part to the generosity of our Founders Circle.
An all-star team of nearly 100 trustees and community leaders is leading the effort to create our new home, including campaign co-chairs Tammy Belton-Davis, Bill & Sandy Haack, Jeff & Sarah Joerres, and Craig & Mara Swan.
It’s been nearly 40 years since we have called upon our community to give generously to ensure that Milwaukee continues to have theater that produces exceptional art, inspires people, cultivates community and ignites education. Now, we need to make that ask.
We invite you to learn more about our Powering Milwaukee Campaign and how you can participate here.
Together, we can power Milwaukee — our theater, our community, our future!
The Nativity Variations is a World Premiere Production for the Milwaukee Rep. And how exactly did that come about? Well as Mark Clements explains in the program guide, it went something like this:
Sometimes a story falls into your lap that is so good it just needs to be dramatized on stage. That’s what happened when I read an online article by playwright Catherine Trieschmann about how she felt she had a “moral obligation” to take over writing and directing her church’s Nativity play, that her own children were involved in, after experiencing one too many cringe-worthy Christmas pageants….
Voila!
Well, I didn’t know quite what to expect. A comedy of errors? A straight up farce? A compilation of silly vignettes? Well, not exactly…and yes that too! So Catherine Trieschmann has left quite a bundle of emotions and plots and subplots and personalities and theater genres and somehow director Shelley Butler nailed it. And I don’t think that she could have assembled a better cast to help her pull this off!
So what should you expect to see? Something between a farce and a comedy but with a very serious underlying sense of drama…on more than one level. You will meet an ensemble of very real people, some with prior relationships, and some entirely new on the scene…some with experience in theater…and some there on a lark while also trying to distract themselves from real life…although you will find that real life keeps intruding…sometimes comically, sometimes tragically, but finally with a satisfying denouement. You will see and feel it all, but I am not going to go into greater detail and spoil it.
It’s hard to determine who is the lead character here…Trieschmann has written the cast as an ensemble…just like what you’d expect from a real theater cast. So I didn’t sense a star or a lead character.
Hank, Jules, Peggy. Photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Photo by Michael Brosilow.
But the driving force in this regional group, the Prairie Community Players, is, as I guess it should be, their director, Jules. She is commissioned by Father Juan to present a seasonal nativity play at his church, St. Ignatious Episcopal Church. Now Jules is a playwright as well as director, and a very serious (emphasis on serious) one at that. So under the watchful eye of Father Juan, who knows a little bit more about theater than you would expect, Jules produces a number of versions of a Nativity play. Now these aren’t iterations of a play but dramatically/drastically different plays entirely, that work the extremes and edges of theater…until we come to the final version that actually expresses the true spirit of the season…and the community. But I was rather taken with Jules…she has a sense of art and theater and although a vocal (at least) disbeliever, takes on a task that may be outside her comfort level. And actress Sami Ma brings her to life and feels her feels and just brings out the determination and assured-ness written into the character.
Mateo, Karl. Photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Photo by Michael Brosilow.
One might make an argument that Father Juan is the driving force here. He confidently hired Jules to present the Nativity play at his church, knowing full well her beliefs and theater tendencies. I’ll let you figure out why. And in little one on one vignettes interspersed as a play within the play within the play, he guides and mentors Jules on a better direction or vision for her plays. As I said earlier, he certainly understands the history of the theater, and carefully persuades Jules to make a number of major changes in her plays. Father Juan is played to perfection by Ryan Alvarado who also plays PCP member Mateo. And it took me a while to realize that…as Alvarado cleanly separated the two distinct roles here.
Mateo, Hank. Photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Photo by Michael Brosilow.
And the other members of the Prairie Community Players? Mateo played by Ryan Alvarado is a phy ed teacher and long standing member of the troop. Vanessa played by Sadieh Rifai, also a long standing member and college admissions assistant. Peggy and Hank, a retired couple and newbies to acting, although theater goers, are played by Ann Arvia and Adam LeFevre. They are retired although Hank is looking for a new job, not being particularly successful. Devon as played by Eva Nimmer is the go to/gopher/tech maven/and glue for the company and the spiritual support that allows Jules to go off to the edges. AND Chike Johnson as Karl, a children’s librarian and puppeteer, who is Jules nemesis at times, conscience at others, and someone with a serious interest in theater and a desire to be a ‘Jules’. Johnson is an actor that we need to see again on the Rep stage, he has the dramatic voice and stage presence that can only be appreciated as you experience it. I can imagine him in any number of classical settings and obviously he has some comedic chops as well!
Hank. Photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Photo by Michael Brosilow.
This delightful ensemble is hard put upon by Jules as she rolls out play after play as the time for rehearsal and development evaporates. Sometimes they fly into the piece or their character, sometimes a bit more begrudgingly, and sometimes with a fair amount of legitimate pushback. It is interesting to watch their characters develop and the camaraderie unfold as they work through the different plays, different roles, and the real time personal interactions involved in putting on a play in a small town church setting. Watch and listen very carefully because there is a lot more going on here than you might imagine.
Karl (standing), Hank. Photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Photo by Michael Brosilow. And I need Karl’s angel costume to distribute Halloween candy next year!
And finally we come to the final Nativity variation. Like any good drama or even mystery play, the various threads introduced earlier are finally woven into the play as it is presented at the church and woven into a fabric of community and humanity. Bravo to Catherine Trieschmann, Shelley Butler, the cast and crew, and Mark Clements for seeing a drama (and after all it is a drama) in a little article.
Hank, Karl, Peggy. Photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Photo by Michael Brosilow.
But yes, please play attention. The first act may seem like a cascade of absurdities but the plot threads are laid out here, the characters develop individually and as a group. and you won’t understand the depth of the hilarity that ensues in the second act without some of that experience.
And don’t think this is simply a play about putting on a seasonal play or the foibles of regional theater. There are a lot of ideas expressed in the text and dialogue that Jules writes, the real life conversations amongst the cast members, and particularly some of the topics expressed in the Jules and Father Juan talks that present ideas and postures very very relevant to contemporary culture and society. And these thought threads too, come to a sort of resolution in the final scene.
And for the serious theater goer, there is far more here than meets the eye or ears. Particularly in the conversations between Jules and Father Juan, but in the instructions to the cast from Jules, the various plays that she presents, and just in the settings and language she writes into her plays. There are dozens of references and allusions to other plays, other playwrights, other performances, and other stars. You can find most of them in the Play Guide linked below.
Mateo, Peggy, Karl, Jules. Photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Photo by Michael Brosilow.
Whooops, I forgot to say that there are puppets. There are puppets! Sesame Street is specifically mentioned and some attempt was made to infer their magic…but Sesame Street isn’t what you are going to get.
The Nativity Variations runs through December 11, 2022 at the Rep’s Quadracci Powerhouse Theater.
Fair Warning Here: There is a fair amount of adult language used through out the play. There is also some language that people may view as blasphemous. There is some sexual innuendo and tensions here as well.
