Onstage and Online In August

The final month of summer opens with a couple of Shakespeare shows. A few comedies. It’s a light exit to a very hot summer that finds a few familiar moods haunting some very cozy stages. There once was a time that August featured an early opening to the new theatre season courtesy of Milwaukee Chamber, but it HAS been a little while since the group’s last venture into August.

The Vigil
The month opens on the smallest possible stage--your headphones. Milwaukee-based All In Productions and Button Podcasts presents a ten-part superhero audio drama thriller featuring the work of a large ensemble of actors and writers coordinated by Adam Qutaishat (who plays the title character.) Those in the cast include Hayley San Fillippo, Ashley Oviedo, Shayne Steliga, Jackey Boelkow. Ekene Ikegwuani and more. The ten-part series opens with its first episode on August 5th. For more information, visit Vigil online.

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Shakespeare Raw: Titus Adronicus
It’s bloody. It’s violent. And Boozy Bard is ready to have some fun with it after quite a bit of work. (Adapting the show for a small, energetic, proudly unprepared cast looks positively bewildering. Adaptor Andrea Roedel-Shroeder recently posted a picture of a very pretty and somewhat aggressive graph involving characters and acts which featured lots of colors pockmarked with many a black “X.”)

Actors are assigned their roles the evening of the show courtesy of a casting director who could easily be mistaken for a hat. The show runs August 8th - 10th at The Best Place Tavern on 901 W. Juneau Ave. For more information, visit the show’s Facebook Events page.

The Comedy of Dracula (Kinda Sorta)
One of the most iconic villains in the history of literature is also one of the easiest to spoof. there have been countless attempts to feed Count Dracula to the open jaws of comedy. It’s been done so often that one would have to be a bit odd to want to try to do it again. Thankfully, local comedy writer Patrick Schmitz has been through this sort of thing before with characters as iconic as Santa, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Romeo, Juliet and more. He knows what he’s doing. His spoof of Bram Stoker’s classic makes it to the stage of the Next Act/Renaissance Theaterworks building on 255 S. Water St. August 11th - 13th. For ticket reservations and more, visit Next Act online.

A Comedy of Errors
Imagine how much more confusing and perplexing mistaken identity would be if everyone involved had to deal with life in a video conference on Twitch. In a few weeks, Voices Found Repertory welcomes the challenges of Shakespeare on a fun, breezy, little reading of the comedy Sunday, August 2nd at 2 pm. The show is free and open to anyone with a browser or a Twitch app. For more information, visit the show’s events page on Facebook.

Leading Ladies
Playwright Ken Ludwig’s beloved period farce finds its way to the idyllic outdoor space at Summerstage at the end of summer. Local theatre veteran Brian D. Zelinski directs Noah Maguire and Phil Stepanski as Jack and Leo--a couple of actor/con artists who wander in over their heads when the nieces that they intend to impersonate turn out to be women. The show runs August 18th - September 3rd at Lapham Peak State Park on W329 N846, County Trunk Hwy C in Delafield.

Milwaukee Irish Fest
The first of two big local performing arts festivals at summer's end, Milwaukee Irish Fest this year features a set of four plays brought to the stage by Milwaukee Irish Arts. Talent featured in the shows includes some really impressive actors including Libby Amato, Maura Atwood, Becky Cofta, Joe Picchetti and Nate Press. For shows, dates and times, visit Milwaukee Irish Arts online.

The Milwaukee Fringe Festival
The local theatre month closes with a one-day-only Fringe Fest this year, There's lots of dance performance on the schedule this year, There's also an appearance by Milwaukee Irish Arts--a theatre group that never quite gets the amount of stage it deserves in a given year. Also look for appearances by Sunstone Studios and Angry Young Men Ltd, among others. August 27th starting around 1pm and running into the evening. For more information, visit the Fest online.​