Tag: Theater

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First Stage Opens Their New Season With Pete The Cat ~ Meee-ow!

Settling into my seat in the Todd Wehr Theater and seeing the inviting set, wildly painted stage floor, and the spot lights all ready to perform, you can’t help but feel a bit of excitement and anticipation for the new First Stage season. And you could feel it in the crowd as well as the sound of youthful voices eventually drown out the pre-show soundtrack. The young audience was ready for a show, and First Stage delivered.

Are you ready to rock?

This isn’t the first time (and probably not the last time) that this grandfather wasn’t familiar with the character or backstory being enacted on stage. But from experience, I knew that wouldn’t prevent me from getting into the story and enjoying the show. But Pete The Cat is a rock and rollin’ street cat with a little combo behind him consisting of a toad and a platypus. And they love to jam in backyards well into the night, until the cat catcher finally catches up with Pete and sentences him to a week of being a ‘house cat’. And of course neither Pete nor the family who adopts him knows quite what to expect…and that’s where the story and the adventures begin!

Cool Cast: Photos courtesy of First Stage Theater. Photographer: Paul Ruffolo.

Did I forgot to mention that this is a musical. It is a boisterous rollicking musical from beginning to end with song and choreography that absolutely appeals to the 3 to 12 age group that Pete The Cat is recommended for. The youngsters in the audience paid rapt attention to the action and happily bounced up and down in their seats to the music. And even those of an older timbre will find themselves laughing and tapping their toes at the merriment in front of them.

First Stage musicals are usually anchored by an adult actor or two and there are three adult actors in Pete The Cat. A very agile and engaging Ethan Smith plays Pete. He has all of the rock star moves needed to be a jammin’ cat and all of the other cool nuances you’d expect from a loving and devoted cat…well once he gets past the point that he’s now a house cat!

Todd Denning and Ethan Smith as Pete: Photos courtesy of First Stage Theater. Photographer: Paul Ruffolo.

Tori Watson is poetry in motion as she moves from the mother in the Biddle household, to the second grade teacher in Jimmy Biddle’s class, and a roadie!! Watson has a great voice on top of a fluid feel for the choreography that enhances the story and music. And then Todd Denning, a very popular actor at First Stage, plays opposite Watson as the dad, the cat catcher, a roadie, AND a shark! Denning too has a native feel for the choreography and is a smooth and mellow presence as dad!

left to right, back row: Tori Watson and Todd Dening, front row: Jillian Vogedes and Juan Ramon Andrade Escobedo. Photos courtesy of First Stage Theater. Photographer: Paul Ruffolo.

And if you have been following my comments on First Stage over the past few years, you will remember that there are two youth casts for these bigger productions at the Todd Wehr. And Pete The Cat is no different…the casts are the Cool Cast and the Groovy Cast. I saw the Groovy Cast at the Sunday matinee.

Juan Ramon Andrade Escobedo is Jimmy Biddle, a very clean and neat freak and of course a cat in the house violates all of his personal rules. But Escobedo and Watson bond in this work as their characters become best friends…by overcoming some obstacles that Pete has essentially caused. Escobedo really brings home the feeling of frustration when his plans originally go awry but moving to a quick acceptance when he realizes that everyone else has got his back. Well that and the magic sunglasses. His foil here tends to be his sister, Olive Biddle, played by Jillian Vogedes. Vogedes is just full of energy and excitement and for me is just the perfect Olive!

left to right: Ethan Smith, Elliot Lippman, Jillian Vogedes, Juan Ramon Andrade Escobedo, and on drums! Cole Sison. Photos courtesy of First Stage Theater. Photographer: Paul Ruffolo.

Two other characters that help open the story and then solve Jimmy’s little crisis are Grumpy Toad, the drummer in Pete’s combo and played by Cole Sison…and then last but not least, Elliot Lippman as Gus the Playpus, the hard rocking bass player. But again, depending on which day you attend you may experience a different set of youth cast members. But from my experience, you won’t be disappointed!

left to right: Tori Watson, Ethan Smith, Ryan Stepanski, Allyson Lindberg, and Todd Denning. Photos courtesy of First Stage Theater. Photographer: Paul Ruffolo.

This play is recommended for young people from age 3 to 12 and of course everyone older who loves theater. It runs about 55 minutes with no intermission and the music, dancing, action, and story will keep 3 year olds engaged for the whole time…guaranteed! And how director/choreographer Bree Beelow managed to fill all of those shoes and put together such a smooth and fulfilling show is a marvel!

Hey, watch the tail

Pete The Cat runs at the Todd Wehr Theater in the Marcus Performing Arts Center through November 3, 2024. For more information and to order tickets, click here!

Extra Credit Reading: PLAYBILL!

As Mona Lisa, Julia Jordan Schloemer. Photos courtesy of First Stage Theater. Photographer: Paul Ruffolo.
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MKE Rep’s The Coast Starlight Presents A Microcosm Of Modern America ~ On A Train!

And by modern, I certainly mean 21st Century America. Playwright Keith Bunin has fleshed out very distinctive and unique, yet very American, characters here and gives them text and subtext galore, but he doesn’t give us a lot of action…so Director Mark Clements and choreographer Jenn Rose give us transitions from one idea to the next, one scene to another, through the elegant choreography of moving train seats from one position to another. You will understand this if you experience it.

Jack Ball and Emily S. Chang. Photos courtesy of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Michael Brosilow photographer.

It seems a bit ironic to me that Keith Bunin has set this modern drama on a train…once an ubiquitous mode of American transportation…but now a luxury and something of an outlier. But he needs time to tell his story (stories). And we have six characters and six stories to tell. Yet few of the stories are actually told via conversation between the passengers. Most of them are thoughts spoken out loud so that the audience may hear but go unheard by the other passengers. And these aren’t necessarily inner dialogues nor asides…they are suppositions that the playwright is making about the ideas and thought processes of his characters…and the effects and repercussions that they have on each person’s life. And how those decisions could effect the others or their society, if they were actually shared with the others. With this form, Bunin is easily able to discuss a number of problems in modern society, modern politics, and the damage we may do to ourselves and others by not openly engaging with each other. That alone is a major focus on a very modern and I guess, recent failing in American society.

Justin Huen, Jack Ball, and Emily S. Chang . Photos courtesy of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Michael Brosilow photographer.

Jack Ball is T.J., who is running away from something (we know what it is in the play but I don’t want to provide TMI) and is clearly going through a lot of inner turmoil as a result. The other characters can see the physical effects. Yet he comes to the fore and helps others where he can. Ball does a marvelous job of the presenting the stressed out T.J. whenever he is allowed to disengage and be alone. He cleanly moves to caregiver mode when his thoughts can be put aside. The shift is so subtle at first but so significant, I can’t imagine how Ball moves from one to the other on stage.

Emily S. Change, Jonathan Wainwright, Justin Huen, Jack Ball, and Yadira Correa. Photos courtesy of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Michael Brosilow photographer.

All of the passengers have secrets, all are here with personal stressors, and all of them have stories to tell…and in most cases they come out in those out loud thought processes than Bunin so readily employs. Emily S. Chang gives us a very cool and seemingly collected Jane, an artist who works in animation and seems to have the world at her feet…not quite. Yadira Correa is a very angrily animated Anna who doesn’t quite care anymore about who knows what about her personal tragedy…some of her speaker phone rants provide some of the bigger laughs of the night! Noah is an Army veteran who has seen the ravages of war and is trying to keep his life together. Justin Huen channels the perfect level of anger, wisdom, and self-acceptance here…Heun seems to understand PTSD and how to portray it on stage. He also provides some of the most sincere although not always practical advice to T.J.. Liz is heading home after making funeral arrangements for her late brother and is at her own wit’s end…yet Kelley Faulkner, outwardly, keeps her in a cool, calm, collected zone. And she quickly adopts her mother mode when confronted with the very troubled T.J.. A bit of comic relief and a bit of generational conflict is introduced by the arrival of Ed, a drunken traveling salesman who too is at a nadir in his life, and Jonathan Wainwright gives us, at first, a out of f***’s to give character to a more mellow observer of modern life.

Jack Ball, Emily S. Chang, and Yadira Correa. Photos courtesy of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Michael Brosilow photographer.

A big theme here is how we miss opportunities…and how we don’t recognize that others are often suffering too…because they seemingly aren’t looking the part. And things aren’t always what they seem and that a lot of comfort can be provided to others just by recognizing them.

BUT: there is a great deal of humor here as well…some of it a bit dark…but a great deal of fun nonetheless.

The set is simple, modern, and elegant as well. Six simple train seats on wheels, lighting in the floor to highlight the actors at the center of the action, and simple overhead lighting as well to emphasize mood and feeling! Props? Knapsacks and luggage…just like on the train.

Because of some interruptions in my own personal life, I attended The Coast Starlight late in the run and it ends on Sunday October 2024. It runs 1 hour and 30 minutes without intermission. Ticket and other information here:

Extra Credit Reading: The program.

Emily S. Chang and Jack Ball. Photos courtesy of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Michael Brosilow photographer.
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The Lake Country Playhouse Opens With ‘The Outsider’, And It’s A Lulu!

It might seem a little bold, opening your new season at the height of a boisterous presidential election with a political comedy. But in this case you have no fear! The Outsider is non-denominational,…no, no, I mean non-partisan: except that it leans heavily towards the laughs! We are in a small state governor’s office, we don’t know which state. And we never know what particular party any of the characters belong to. But we will recognize the characters and characterizations very very clearly as typical denizens of American politics…and playwright Paul Slade Smith pushes to the limits for all that he is worth.

left to right: Jack Anderson, Peter Brian Kelly, and Michael Stickney. Photo courtesy of the Lake Country Players. Photographer: Breanne Brennan

It is the first day in Governor Ned Newley’s administration. He was the policy wonk Lt. Governor until the incumbent had to resign for a number of sexual peccadilloes. And just hours in, it appears to be a disaster as the socially awkward Newley froze up during his swearing in and the cringe worthy video is making its way around the world via social media and YouTube. And because his staff covered up the former governor’s sins, they have all resigned and Chief of Staff Dave Riley finds himself as the only staffer in Newley’s new administration. And he sets out to rectify that immediately by bringing in pollster and campaign advisor Paige Caldwell and puts in a call to HR for a temp to work reception and answer the phones. And from the very moment that Paige and Dave start their initial discussions, all kinds of comedy hell and sleight of hand breaks loose!

Director Goo has put together a delightful cast just ready to mine the humor in The Outsider. And then Goo has enabled them to completely inhabit their characters as the over the top political stereotypes that Paul Slade Smith has provided. It is so seamless that this is one play where keeping the actor separate from the role is nearly impossible.

Jack Anderson. Photo courtesy of the Lake Country Players. Photographer: Breanne Brennan

Jack Anderson is an astute Dave Riley. He is earnest, honest, and idealistic and becomes the butt of a few jokes. Anderson has the ideal cringe for the cringe worthy episodes and his exasperated pacing, glances, and hand wringing perfectly suit the characters and the scenes. I have met a few young campaign managers and activists, and Anderson has given Dave all of those ‘guys’ a run for their money. Dave clearly believes in Newley and Anderson portrays that loyalty through the rough spots here. But Dave turns the tables at the end and Anderson’s change in persona gives us the perfect I told you so feeling at the end.

Michael Stickney and Zoe Osk. Photo courtesy of the Lake Country Players. Photographer: Breanne Brennan

Paige Caldwell is a very skilled and competent campaign pollster and Zoe Osk portrays her in an imposing confident style through out. She and Dave have a history that isn’t quite a friends thing but he wants her on board anyway…because, well, as they both agree, she was always right. And she isn’t necessarily right this time, and when a big name campaign manager shows up unbidden, Caldwell gives us Paige’s initial push back and eventual buy in a clearly believable fashion. But Paige isn’t necessarily the by all means hack she first appears to be, and Caldwell brings her humanity and sense of purpose to the fore, eventually. But, she WAS initially one of those having fun at Newley’s expense by sharing the swearing-in video on line.

Zoe Osk and Michael Stickney. Photo courtesy of the Lake Country Players. Photographer: Breanne Brennan

So who is Governor Newley? Well, for Michael Stickney, he’s a well versed policy wonk one on one with Dave but is a hilariously disheveled mess when confronting his new role or coming upon strangers in his new office. The office draperies are key to some of the humor here. And Stickney is just flat out funny as he morphs from his natural shyness around groups of people to the average guy persona that the consultants think he should become. It makes no sense on the face of it but Stickney sells the shift in character as he ‘struts’ across the stage in his new flannel look and recites a series of non-committal answers to questions. And then he comes alive as he returns as the policy wonk and wins the day!!

Arthur Vance is the campaign manager who swoops in from Washington DC after seeing Newley on social media. Newley is just the candidate he is looking for, someone who doesn’t appear competent for his job. And Peter Brian Kelly has brought on all of the smarm that this character needs. Vance has no compass other than he just wants to win and he is sure that Newly is his ticket. And Kelly just maintains his strut, his composure, his sales technique, and his smooth even as things go askew OR he finds a new opportunity under his nose. And did Costumer Nancy Hurd put him in a perfectly fitting ‘sharkskin’ suit or what?

in foreground: Jessica Schulz and Jack Anderson, behind is Nick Marzinski. Photo courtesy of the Lake Country Players. Photographer: Breanne Brennan

And Vance arranges a new interview for Newley through a buddy at Channel 3, and they send reporter Rachel Parsons over. And she is played by Jessica Schulz with a sense of unbounded determination and energy that makes her a pleasure to see in action. She too experiences some trepidation about what is happening but is determined to keep her job by doing the job she was given. Schulz gives us that sense of angst without totally surrendering the spunk that her character is meant to exhibit…and also exudes a certain sense of coy around Dave that may or may not be flirting??

Michele McCawley. Photo courtesy of the Lake Country Players. Photographer: Breanne Brennan

And then there is Louise Peaks, the temp that HR sent along to act as the governor’s receptionist, who brags about never having held a job more than one day. And Michele McCawley just runs with Louise: High energy, pure confidence, and a certain swagger despite having absolutely no apparent qualifications for any job whatsoever! In the first act she is pure comic relief and McCawley knows what she’s all about. Overplaying the character is exactly what Peaks requires and that is just what McCawley delivers. There are no pratfalls here but there is a certain physical humor and humor built around mistakes and social miscues. But McCawley brings it all into high gear when she becomes the focus of Act II and LULU takes center stage. At this point Vance gives up on Newley as he’s found his new best worst politician. Shouldn’t say more on that, you need to see it. But McCawley knows her comedy and can play it big and bold and I imagine we’ll see her in more comedies here in the future.

And congrats to the scenic crew on setting us in a wholly believable gubernatorial office!

So, if the contemporary political environment leaves you a bit frustrated, take some time to find the humor in The Outsider and take that edge off!!! The Outsider runs at the Lake Country Playhouse in Hartland WI from now through Oct. 6th, 2024. More information and to order tickets, click here!

Michele McCawley. Photo courtesy of the Lake Country Players. Photographer: Breanne Brennan