Milwaukee arts return for the winter

Theater

In the modern era, Shakespeare’s works are oxymoronic: considered among the greatest works of English literature yet generally scorned by the popular masses. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), opening at the Milwaukee Rep Sunday, Jan. 15, shatters that discrepancy, condensing the Bard’s 37 plays into a 90-minute, three-actor comedy amusing to Shakespeare lovers and loathers alike. The show runs through March 11, with shows at 7:30 p.m. weekdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 4 and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $35 or $45 depending on date and time, with a $5 senior discount and $20 student tickets.

Also onstage at the Rep this weekend is the second annual Rep Lab, a play festival performed by the Milwaukee Rep Intern Ensemble. The festival consists of nine short plays, one of which is a world premiere crafted entirely by the interns. The festival runs Jan. 13 to 17, and tickets are $20. To order for this show or Shakespeare (abridged), call (414) 224-9490 or visit the Rep’s website.

Friday, Renaissance Theaterworks opens Neat, a one-woman show based on the lives of writer Charlayne Woodard and her brain-injured, childlike Aunt Neat. Marti Gobel (also the artistic director of Uprooted Theatre) portrays Charlayne, Neat, and the other figures in their lives as the two grow to womanhood in the 1960s. Neat runs Jan. 13 through Feb. 5, with shows at 7:30 p.m. weekdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 4 and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $36 and can be purchased at (414) 291-7800 or at the online box office.

Sunset Playhouse looks to pack its stage with singing sisters this weekend, as they open Nunsense. The musical depicts five of the Little Sisters of Hoboken, who discover their cook has accidentally poisoned dozens of the other sisters and decide to host a variety show to pay for the burials. Singing, dancing and miscellaneous nun-sanity ensues. Nunsense opens Jan. 13 and runs through Feb. 5, with shows at 7:30 p.m. weekdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 5 and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $22 and $16 for students and seniors; call (262) 782-4430 or visit the online box office to order.

Opera and superheroes sound like an odd mix, but don’t tell that to the Milwaukee Opera Theatre and writer/composer Jason Powell. They’ve fused comic books and Gilbert and Sullivan into Fortuna the Time Bender vs. the Schoolgirls of Doom, a musical adventure at the Alchemist Theatre pitting a sidekick-seeking heroine against a British mastermind and his minions. The show, commissioned in 2010, will run for the first time in full production Jan. 13 to 29, with most shows at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $19 and can be ordered online at the Alchemist’s website.

And one we missed from last week—Greendale Community Theatre is currently amid a run of Avenue Q, the irreverent Sesame Street-parody that takes the genre’s life lessons to the real world. There’s three shows left, Jan. 12-14, with all shows at 7:30 p.m. at Greendale High School, 6801 Southway. Tickets are are $15 and $10 for students/seniors, and can be ordered at their online box office.

Music

The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra offers a set of grandiose works for their latest concert this weekend, conducted by guest conductor Evan Rogister. The centerpiece is Jean Sibelius’ Second Symphony, a powerful, stately work often linked to the fight for the independence of the composer’s native Finland. Also on the program is a Serenade for Strings by Tchaikovsky and Alexander Arutunian’s Trumpet Concerto, with the MSO’s own Mark Niehaus as soloist. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.; tickets range from $25 to $102.

For the MSO’s younger fans, they’ve also placed a Kinderkonzert (designed for kids 3 to 10) on the calendar for Sunday, Jan. 15. The concert, Beethoven: The Revolution Begins, brings Ludwig himself to the Pabst Theater to give an introduction to his life and music. The show begins at 2 p.m., with pre-concert activities starting an hour prior, and tickets are $10. To order for either concert, call (414) 291-7605 or visit the MSO’s website.

The Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra’s top ensemble, the Senior Symphony, will perform their annual Founders Concert Sunday, Jan. 15 at the Helen Bader Concert Hall, along with guest pianist Jeannie Yu. The 130-member orchestra composed of advanced high school-age musicians will perform works including selections from Holst’s The Planets and Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. The concert begins at 2 p.m., and tickets are $12, $9 for students and seniors. Call (414) 267-2950 to order.

The Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra, conductor Richard Hynson, members of the Bel Canto Chorus and bishop Sedgewick Daniels will play, sing and narrate a tribute concert in honor of  Martin Luther King, Jr., at 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 14. Their Dream Lives On program includes Robert Ray’s Gospel Mass. The concert will take place at 3500 W. Mother Daniels Way, in the Holy Redeemer Church of God in Christ, which Daniels founded. Admission is free, but advance reservations are recommended.

Visual Art

The Milwaukee Artist Resource Network opens the third installment of their 2011-2012 MARN Salons series this week, centered around five local sculpture artists (Bruce A. Niemi, Maggie Sasso, Audra-Jane Scholtes, Ney Tait Fraser, and Becky Tesch). The Salons series, which began earlier this year with both a mixed media and a fibers exhibition, gives MARN members a chance to both get feedback from local artists and curators and display their work. The Sculpture exhibition runs Jan. 13 through Feb. 4 at MARN’s headquarters/gallery on 5407 W. Vliet Street, and future Salon exhibits will include works of time-based media & photography, book art and painting.

Last Chance

Milwaukee Rep: Next to Normal, through Jan. 15