Coming In April

Middle school is notoriously difficult for just about everyone. Author Jeff Kinney tapped into the fears, anxieties and tribulations of life before high school in Diary of a Wimpy Kid. This coming April, First Stage opens a one-hour musical adaptation of the popular children’s book in a show adapted for the stage by Michael Mahler and Alan Schmuckler. Kevin Sel Aguila did the book. Karen Estrada and Todd Denning join an extensive pair of student casts. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Musical runs April 6 - May 5 at Todd Wehr Theater in the Marcuse Center for the Performing Arts. For ticket reservations, visit First Stage online.

Novelist James Jones’ romantic war drama From Here to Eternity was a steady success when it was released  in 1951. Not too long afterward, a Hollywood film adaptation of the novel was released which turned the story of a WWII veteran into a runaway smash hit at the cinema AND ​the bookstore. Years later, legendary composer Tim Rice has adapted the story into a musical. The show makes its way to Milwaukee in a production with Skylight Music Theatre. 

The show runs April 12 - May 5 at the Broadway Theatre Center. For more information, visit Skylight online.

The elevator pitch: a concise pitch for a new project that can be delivered between floors in an elevator. Rebecca Anne Nguyễn’s new play Hypotheticals is its own kind of elevator pitch: among attractive, young woman (played by Selena Milewski)  is in an elevator on her way to her psychiatrist’s office. She has a brief kiss with a stranger on the elevator. (Such a cool springboard for a story. Really looknig forward to this one.) That stranger turns out to be her new psychiatrist. Sounds like a fun idea. Also featuring Susan Kelly as Dr. Gwen. Kith and Kin presents the world premiere production directed by Maura Atwood. The show runs April 12 - 21 at Inspiration Studios in West Allis. For ticket reservations and more, visit Kith and Kin online.

​Back in the late 19th century, Henrik Ibsen wrote a dramatic political satire about a small town. A doctor realizes that there’s a serious public health risk. When he seeks to bring it to everyone’s attention, things get complicated and the good doctor is shunned as..An Enemy of the People. This month, First Stage Young Company presents an adaptation of the play with a cast of entirely young actors from the another generation that is being asked to deal with the countless public health crises that will arise in the decades to come.

An Enemy of the People runs April 19 - 28 at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center. For ticket reservations, visit First Stage online.

​Next Act Theatre enters the Spring with a family story. Reese Madigan plays the title character: an adult son of a woman who has spending habits that require him to assumer the financial responisibilities for his mother. David Flores and Alexis Green round-out an impressive cast for an intimate drama that rounds-out a very satisfying season for Next Act.  The show runs April 24 - May 19 at the space on 255 S. Water St. For more information, visit Next Act online.

It’s billed on the official Milwaukee City website as “the single deadliest event in national law enforcement history” prior to September 11th, 2001. November 24th, 1917 a bomb was detonated at Milwaukee’s Central Police Station. 9 officers and 2 citizens were killed. This coming April, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre present a stage drama based on the aftermath of the incident. Martin Zimmerman’s THE NOT-SO-ACCIDENTAL CONVICTION OF ELEVEN MILWAUKEE "ANARCHISTS” runs April 26 - May 12 at the Broadway Theater Center’s Studio Theatre. For more information, visit Milwaukee Chamber Theatre online.