Onstage In December

As the weather continues to lack warmth outside, there’s actually kind of a lot of it coming from the small stages in and around Milwaukee. There are a pair of world premieres emerging onto cozy, little spaces this month. There are also a couple of holiday shows. Here’s a look at some of what lies ahead in the month of December.

Who’s Holiday
The deeply endearing Samantha Sostarich returns as Cindy Lou Who all grown-up in playwright Matthew Lombardo’s twisted one-woman comedy. It’s a decidedly adult mutation of Dr. Seuss’ Grinch. Sostarich was a lot of fun in this role before. She brings a badass cuddliness to the intimate stage of Sunstone Studios once more. This show is a whole lot of fun. But...it’s not exactly for everyone. No kids. Only ex-children. Catch-up with Cindy Lou Who years later. Have a beer with her in the trailer she calls home. It’s way more fun than it has a right to be. Dec. 5 - 20 at the tiny, little space on 127 E Wells Street. (The show runs Mondays and Tuesdays as Sostarich is in a much larger production on a bigger stager over the weekends through the end of the year.) For more information, go to Sunstone online.

Piggsville 
This coming month, UWM Peck School of the Arts launches the premiere of a new drama set in the sole residential neighborhood the Menomonee Valley. Written by Alvaro Saar Rios, it’s a Hamlet-inspired drama about a man who is trying to run the family brewery after the suspicious death of his father.  So....Hamlet in a Milwaukee microbrewery? Sounds cool. The show runs Dec. 7 - 11 at UWM’s Mainstage Theatre. It’s a part of UWM’s New Dramaworks series dedicated to developing new plays written by Midwestern writers. For more information, visit UWM online.

Whirligig of Time
Rick Bingen is Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Carthage College. Pretty cool, but he’s also a playwright. And it’s also very cool that a play he’s written is making its world premiere with Sunstone Studios this coming month. Whirligig of Time finds a contemporary Olivia going into a pub and traveling back in time to the late 16th century. The play features an impressive cast including Samantha Biatch, Steve Decker, Sean Duncan, Adam Raul Medina, Alicia Rice, Keighly Sadler, and Liz Shipe playing the likes of John Heminges, Richard Burbage, Will Kemp and William Shakespeare. The Sunstone debuts the show Dec. 15 - 30. For more information, go to Sunstone online.

​A Christmas Carol: RAW!
Boozy Bard returns to The Best Place Tavern with another decidedly underprepared stage adaptation of Dickens’ classic supernatural horror show. Actors take roles at random and perform from a breezily streamlined script. Cratchit, Scrooge and a few ghosts all appear in the right order, but anything could happen in an open beer hall atmosphere with some really good ales on tap. Dec. 16 and 17 at the Best Place on 901 W. Juneau Avenue. For more information, visit the show’s Facebook events page.