By Mary Boyle This past year, the Milwaukee theatre scene came dangerously close to losing the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, a company that is now entering its 49th season and that fills a certain niche among the live theatre companies. Thankfully, the community rallied, and MCT is back to doing what it does best: producing both classics that are not often produced, such as last season's WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?, to brand new productions by emerging playwrights that push the boundaries of theatre, such as their 2023-24 Season opener, LAUGHS IN SPANISH. Written by Alexis Scheer and directed by Anna Skidis Vargas, Laughs in Spanish is a modern look at the relationship between a mother and daughter, but interestingly set in Miami amongst the unique culture of the "pero pura Latina" (half-Columbian and half-Jewish). While the setting makes the play quite specific, already, the story makes it even more so. We meet Mariana (Isa Condo-Olvera), a trendy art gallery owner in an up and coming neighborhood in Miami, who is preparing for an Art Basel opening featuring the work of a well known artist. Unfortunately, the art is missing and, as if that wasn't enough trouble enough, her mother, Estella (Rána Roman), has picked this most unfortunate moment to pay a visit, dragging her personal assistand, Jenny (Jenna Bonofiglio), with her. Mariana's intern, an art student by the name of Carolina (Ashley Oviedo), sees this as a golden opportunity to show her own work and put her name on the map. With any luck, her boyfriend Juan (Arash Fakhrabadi), a newbie police officer, won't have any luck finding the artwork before Carolina can take her chance. One of the things that makes MCT great is their committment to hiring local actors, and Rána Roman is about as local as it gets. Seen last season as Eva Perón in Skylight Theatre's production of EVITA, Roman is an incredibly talented actor who is frequently seen on stages all over Wisconsin and who also happens to be a graduate of the Milwaukee High School of the Arts. Ashley Oviedo is a UWM Peck School of the Arts graduate who was seen in last season's HOOPS at MCT, as well as in AIRNESS with Forward Theater Co. in Madison, among other area stages. Jenna Bonofiglio, another Milwaukee-based actor, was fabulous last season in NOISES OFF with Skylight. All three give an admirable performance in this production, as do Condo-Olvera and Fakhrabadi, who make their MCT debuts, but even great actors could not save this play from a terrible case of bad writing. To me, it seems as though the playwright had a list of boxes they wanted to check and then tried to write a play around them: Mixed Latino culture - check; Miami art scene - check; healing the mother-daughter wounds - check; a lesbian relationship - check; wanting traditional family values inside an untraditional relationship - check. The characters are simply not believable, though the actors try so hard to make them so, and it all comes off as trying too hard to make the story cohesive, relatable, and realistic. Is there a such thing as being too woke? Because that's what this play is. There is one line by Estella that resonates: "...that's what moms do. We ruin our daughters with our good intentions." Those words are what the director grabbed onto, and though the sentiment is a worthy one, it wasn't enough to carry the whole play. And yet, I can see why MCT chose it for their season: it represents a minority culture; it represents normalizing the LGBTQ community; it represents healing, empathy, and forgiveness in our relationships. These are boxes that we absolutely want to be checked, I just wish that the story that contained those ideals was one that would move audiences to adopt those ideals. Alas, it was not this story; nevertheless, I give MCT kudos for trying. LAUGHS IN SPANISH runs through October 8th at the Broadway Theatre Center, located at 158 N. Broadway Street in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre Box Office at (414) 291-7800 or online at https://www.milwaukeechambertheatre.org/. There is an ASL-Interpretation at the Friday, October 6th performance at 7:30 p.m.; call the box office to purchase tickets in the reserved section. About Milwaukee Chamber Theatre Founded in 1975 by Montgomery Davis and Ruth Schudson, guided until 2020 by Michael Wright and Kirsten Finn, and now led by Brent Hazelton, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre (MCT) partners with other arts organizations, community-based organizations and universities to produce thought-provoking productions and innovative outreach programs on an intimate, human scale. As a leader in developing Milwaukee and Wisconsin’s theater community, MCT provides regular employment and a stable artistic home to local theatre professionals through a five-play subscription season, the Young Playwrights Festival (YPF), and the Montgomery Davis Play Development Series (MDPDS). MCT performs at the Broadway Theatre Center in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward and is a proud Member Group of the United Performing Arts Fund.
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By Mary Boyle I was wrapping up first grade at Westlawn Elementary School in Cedarburg in May of 1981 when Christine Schultz was found murdered in her Southside Milwaukee home. That name probably doesn’t ring a bell but, as young as I was, even I recall the name of the woman convicted of murdering her: Laurie “Bambi” Bembenek. I knew enough to know that something bad had happened, but that was all and, though Bembenek’s tale didn’t end with her conviction and wound its way well into my adult years, I still never made sense of the drama that surrounded her name, only that she was connected with a terrible crime. As a young adult, the Southside of Milwaukee managed to grab my attention in a different way: the music of The Violent Femmes. So, when I heard that the Femme’s frontman, Gordon Gano, had written the music and lyrics for a new musical about Laurie Bembenek, it was the music, and not the drama, that drew me in; what I left with, though, was something unexpected. Something, I think, that will be with everyone who goes to see the World Premiere of RUN BAMBI RUN with the Milwaukee Rep. Directed by Mark Clements, RUN BAMBI RUN was a team effort by Gano and writer and director Eric Simonson, also a Milwaukee native, who wrote the book for this “New Rock Musical” that manages to accomplish in one evening of live theatre what Bembenek was never able to gain in her short, chaotic lifetime: justice. That may seem like an impossibly tall order for one musical, but I can’t imagine anyone leaving this performance with any other impression than that Bembenek was not only innocent of the charges against her, but that her entire adult life was nothing but a series of horrific injustices from the moment she signed on to become a Milwaukee police officer until her early death in 2010, at age 52, from liver and kidney failure. What’s more, the musical manages to be a sweet ode to Milwaukee’s Southside and the Polish immigrants who settled there, while also shining a bright light on the corruption, racism, and misogyny that plagued not only the Milwaukee police department, but all of the powers of justice up to the top of the State over the course of Laurie’s story. This is a musical, of course, and the music, directed by the great Dan Kazemi, is quite diverse. While some of the songs, not surprisingly, bear the distinct sound of The Violent Femmes, there’s also a polka and a waltz that are two of the best pieces of the show. Several of the actors make the music right on the stage, as they’re acting, including Milwaukee’s own Matt Daniels, who puts his own brilliant trademark ukelele spin on Milwaukee’s Police Chief Harold Breier. Erika Olson, who has an incredible voice, makes her Rep debut as Laurie Bembenek, and really carries the bulk of the show, though she is supported by a very talented cast. The evening I saw the play, the role of Fred, Laurie’s husband at the time of the murder, was played by the understudy for Armando Gutierrrez, Ken Allen Neely, and I thought he was fabulous in the role. Jess Kantorowitz, who plays Laurie’s friend, Judy, is also blessed with a tremendous voice. The roles of Laurie’s parents, Joe and Virginia, are played by John Carlin and Megan Loomis, respectively, and are both powerhouse talents. Look out for their song that argues the correct pronunciation of “Kosciuszko” – it’s sheer brilliance. While not all of the songs are hits and I’m not certain how this musical will fare outside of Milwaukee, RUN BAMBI RUN is clearly a winner for Milwaukee area audiences and, if nothing else, a testament to the power of live theatre’s ability to change hearts and minds. Laurie clearly placed a lot of importance on the value of her family’s name and had a deep love for the place she grew up; if this production does nothing but clear her name in the place she called home, then I think it’s a solid win. RUN BAMBI RUN: A NEW ROCK MUSICAL runs through October 22nd at the Quadracci Powerhouse Theater, located in the Associated Bank Theater Center at 108 E. Wells Street in downtown Milwaukee. Tickets are available for purchase online at www.MilwaukeeRep.com, by calling the Ticket Office at 414-224-9490 or in-person at 108 E. Wells Street in downtown Milwaukee. For more information visit www.Milwaukeerep.com. Talks and Events Pay What You Can: September 13 at 7:30pm and September 17 at 7pm Early Bird Performance: October 17 at 6:30pm Bus Matinee: October 4 at 1:30pm TalkBacks: Following the performance on September 29, October 6 and 13 PRIDE Night: Thursday, September 14 at 7:30pm. Pre-show social hour with members of the LGBTQ+ community. For more information and to purchase tickets click here. Special TalkBack with Creators: Thursday, September 14 following the 7:30pm performance. Join playwright Eric Simonson, Composer/Lyrist Gordon Gano and Director Mark Clements as they talk about the journey to bring this World Premiere musical to the stage. Book Club: Tuesday, September 19 at East Branch 2320 N. Cramer St For the first session of Milwaukee Rep’s Book Club, we will read excerpts from Kris Radish’s Run Bambi Run and Lawrencia Bambenek’s Woman on Trial. Learn more about Book Club and register here. College Night: Wednesday, September 20 at 7:30pm. Pre-Show pizza party for Greater Milwaukee Area College Students. For more information and to purchase tickets click here. Post Play Panels Join us after the following performances for free with the purchase of a ticket. Learn more here. Thursday, September 28 – Women in the Police force Thursday, October 5 – Milwaukee Journalism, Reporting on a Moment in Time Wednesday, October 11 – Double-Edged Sword of True Crime Dinner Dialogue: Monday, October 9, 5-8pm at Milwaukee Brat House (1013 N Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Dr) Join a discussion about Policing in the Community and Police Reform with guest speaker Dr. Kimberly Hassell PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at UWM. To learn more and to register visit click here. More information on all Talks and Events can be found at: www.MilwaukeeRep.com/RunBambiRun Access Services Audio-Described Performance: Tuesday, October 17, 6:30pm – the show will be described for patrons who are blind or have low vision. ASL Interpreted Performance: Thursday, October 5 7:30pm – the show will be signed for patrons who are deaf or have low hearing. Captioned Theater Performance: Sunday, October 8, 2pm– the show includes captions. About Milwaukee Repertory Theater Milwaukee Rep is the largest performing arts organization in Wisconsin with three unique performance venues in the Associated Bank Theater Center. For over seven decades, Milwaukee Rep has been a centerpiece of Milwaukee’s vibrant arts and cultural scene with productions ranging from Broadway musicals to Shakespeare to American Classics and New Works that are entertaining, inclusive, and impactful. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Mark Clements and Executive Director Chad Bauman, Milwaukee Repertory Theater ignites positive change in the cultural, social, and economic vitality of its community by creating world-class theater experiences that entertain, provoke, and inspire meaningful dialogue among an audience representative of Milwaukee’s rich diversity. |
Mary BoyleReviewing live theatre in Wisconsin since 2014. Proud member of the American Theatre Critics Association. #OzTheatre
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