The first sentence in my title is the title of the play currently on stage at the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre. The second is a paraphrase from Doug, the alter ego of playwright Doug Wright, from one of his interactions with Charlotte von Mahlsdorf in the play. Charlotte is an open transvestite living in Germany. She is an impossibility because she survived the Nazis during the Second World War and later the Soviet occupation of East Germany. She was an antiquarian, portrayed as having a particular affinity for Victrolas and other late 19th and early 20th Century music systems and mechanical clocks. And according to Wright’s play, she kept a museum of her treasures and conducted detailed tours through the 28 rooms of her museum. The items were acquired through purchase and trades but much of it salvaged during WWII and the Cold War. The story revolves around interviews between the play’s fictional Charlotte and the fictional Doug…
Jonathan Riker. Photo courtesy of Milwaukee Chamber Theatre. Photographer: Michael Brosilow
Charlotte’s life wasn’t an easy one by any means. First an abusive father who meets an untimely end and of course the indignities that queer people and transvestites in general experience in the mid 20th Century. All of these instances are described in detail in conversation with Doug or acted out for our benefit, sometimes in great detail, by Riker/Charlotte. So there is a lot of different contexts here. From general and specific homophobia and its changing face over 50 years and of course the antisemitism of the Nazis. This is history that 21st Century society needs to remember and guard against forever.
Jonathan Riker. Photo courtesy of Milwaukee Chamber Theatre. Photographer: Michael Brosilow
There is but one actor in I Am My Own Wife. And that actor is Jonathan Riker who is credited at Charlotte et al. And that is because as written, Riker plays all of the roles. Not an easy task at any time but particularly difficult here given not only the varieties of gender but the varieties of nationality. Riker is an impeccable Charlotte, the graceful moves, the lilt in her German, and the intense feeling for the music and the music machines. Oh, and a delightful German accent that clearly makes the point but without being too strict for these Midwestern ears to understand. But with a droop of the shoulders or a turn of the head, Charlotte becomes Doug the playwright and interviewer, or Doug’s friend John who ‘discovers’ Charlotte and alerts Doug to her existence, or her lesbian Tante who helps Charlotte identify her sexuality and provides support, or any number of other friends or acquaintances who are keys to the story. Going from the feminine lilting German to a very deep masculine Texas drawl would be daunting for anyone, but particularly here in the midst of a half dozen other voices. But Riker nails it and has fun with it. There is an audible chuckle in the audience the first time he makes the transition. There’s also a sly look on Riker’s face!
Jonathan Riker. Photo courtesy of Milwaukee Chamber Theatre. Photographer: Michael Brosilow
Director Alexander Coddington has orchestrated a very simple but inviting dance on stage for telling this involved story. How he put this all together is simply staggering…so seemingly simple…but such elaborate story telling. And kudos to Coddington for keeping Riker so focused and on track through the two hours it takes to tell this story well.
Jonathan Riker. Photo courtesy of Milwaukee Chamber Theatre. Photographer: Michael Brosilow
There is a second star of the show, the set. Riker works in a spare shallow space with a dining room table, two chairs, and a cabinet. But behind is a painted backdrop that resembles a paneled dining room until the lights behind are turned on…and at one time we see an elaborate bar and back bar setting that Charlotte saved from a gay bar and later a mass collection of furnishings adorned with a milieu of mantel clocks and hall clocks or simply a sitting room. Quite s stunning achievement from the scenic staff of Sarah Hunt-Frank, Adam Hastings, and Maaz Ahmed.
Jonathan Riker. Photo courtesy of Milwaukee Chamber Theatre. Photographer: Michael Brosilow
From the Contructivists website describing A Very Deadly Constructivists Holiday: “…we’re back for the third year of this new kind of Holiday standard.” Well this certainly is a new kind of holiday play. In no way is it a holiday play that you would expect, even in your wildest fever dreams around the holidays. It is at times loud, silly, totally in your face, and often profane! No holiday sacred cow or reindeer for that matter goes ungored.
Deadly? Yes indeed. This concept was created by Jaimelyn Gray and Gray also directs. There are seven skit/sketches loosely bound to the seven deadly sins. And the cast shift roles and persona as they work their way through each one. And one beloved character actually dies during one memorable skit. The cast includes Autumn N. Green, Becky Cofta, Ekene Ikegwuani, Kellie Wambold, Libby LaDue, Logan Milway, Nate Press, Nicole McCarty, and William Molitor.
But there is plenty of music here and dance as well. Some of it very animated and engaging and some of it is just over the top silly. The plentiful humor is dark indeed and every shade of gray. The performers all bring out the best and worst of the situations. You will recognize many of the songs done here but maybe not the lyrics as the writers took great liberties with the meaning of a number of Christmas carols. St Nick narrates until… And yes there are adult themes…you can only guess…given that the opening skit is Lust and is situated in a bar…so give it your best shot.
At a brief 55 minutes with just a quick blackout between scenes for a set change, you barely have a chance to catch your breath…between chuckles or just as often groans. Unfortunately it only ran for four performances over three days so I was lucky to catch it.
So, if there is a fourth. remember: this is a short skit based play with adult language and adult situations and no subtlety whatsoever. It isn’t the holiday play that you’d expect but it might be the holiday play you deserve when the holiday stresses start to get on your last nerve.
It will be up to you to decide! But I laughed between bouts of holding my breath.
Murder Girl has been selling out its entire run and as a result has been extended through December 7, 2025. So hint, hint, don’t dawdle! But that fact just added to my anticipation in seeing it at Milwaukee Chamber Theatre!
And what do we have here? A murder mystery or a comedy? Yes! Playwright Heidi Armbruster has provided a magnificent bit of Wisconsinana. I don’t care if that’s not a word, that’s what Armbruster has written! And with a delightful cast of characters that will seem all so familiar to those of us who celebrate our time away from work in the Up North of Wisconsin and dine in nothing but the finest local supper clubs. The one here that is the center of attention is Marty’s Supper Club, but alas Marty is no longer with us…but fondly remembered…and her twins run the place. Well sorta!
Marty’s Supper Club. Photo by Michael Brosilow and courtesy of the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre
Marty’s Scenic Designer Lisa Schlenker knows the Up North supper club by heart. That quaint combination of beer signs, mounted trophies (I mean deer heads and muskies) and the local bric-a-brac that a small town bar is known for. Until we get into the action, it is hard to place Marty’s in a time frame. Much of the decor is so last century as to feel antiquey. Worn wood floors and paneling, totally past their prime bar stools, and the Formica dining table in the corner tell us exactly where we are and maybe why we are here. But then the TV and electronics are fresh from Best Buy! So are we here for the Friday Night Fish Fry or the Saturday Prime Rib? We are here for the murder mystery…ssssh…listen…can you hear the theme music from Murder She Wrote?
L to R: Carrie Hitchcock, Colleen Madden, Matt Bowdren, Bree Beelow, and Joe Lino. Photo by Michael Brosilow and courtesy of the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre
And the suspense starts immediately as twins Eric and LeeAnn enter a darkened Marty’s separately each thinking that they are alone…and surprise each other with a certain fright. Matt Bowdren, returning the MCT after his appearance in A Doll’s House, is Eric. And Bowdren’s Eric, is sullen, un-trusting, depressed, and a bit jumpy. LeeAnn is portrayed by Bree Beelow as fluid, self-assured, and ready to take control whether Eric approves or not. Both of them are clearly still mourning their mother, Marty, who died in a car accident. Questions still remain about the accident and they are mourning in very different ways, but Bowdren and Beelow both present as people at wit’s end…just at different ends of their wits. Eric is coping by keeping Marty’s alive and just settling for the status quo. LeeAnn has escaped town and found another life, so to speak, but as Eric reminds her, she keeps coming back. So has she actually escaped at all? In her bio notes in the Playbill, Beelow says she hopes to KILL IT on stage as LeeAnn…and rest assured she has done just that.
Armbruster has drawn three more very intriguing and very strong characters here. All denizens of Marty’s but not blood relatives…but given the small town vibe and atmosphere around the supper club…and the way the treat each other, they might as well be.
L to R: Joe Lino, Carrie Hitchcock, Colleen Madden, and Matt Bowdren. Photo by Michael Brosilow and courtesy of the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre
Director Brett Hazelton (also Executive Artistic Director fo MCT) has pulled together a cast that plays very believable as small town service employees. Let’s start with Ted. A gentleman with a bit of background issues himself, Joe Lino gives us the strong silent type, well until all heck breaks loose and then he seems to be the strong anchor in a sea of chaos…often just being the support that everyone else needs. Carrie Hitchcock assumes the ideal caricature of a small town waitress as Charlotte…with a quick imagination, willingness to blurt out her ideas and thoughts, and protective of Marty’s and the staff no matter what the daily chores of the job introduce. And her perfect foil is the Other Charlotte. A really delightful role played by American Player Theater’s Colleen Madden. What incredible fun to see Madden outside of her trusting environment and seeming to be completely enjoying herself in this dark murderous comedy. She shows that she can be very very funny,
The Charlottes! My favorite characters. Left to Right: Colleen Madden and Carrie Hitchcock. Photo by Michael Brosilow and courtesy of the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre
Murder? Mayhem? Yes and there are suspicions, suppositions, conspiracy theories, secrets, and more secrets…but all will be revealed in the marvelous language woven together by Armbruster and the pliant and engaging ensemble put together by Hazelton. Murder? Well there is a missing young woman, Emily, who was a waitress at Marty’s. She may or may not have had a variety of non-supper club relationships or interactions with our other characters. And there is her distraught mother, Jen, also a Marty’s waitress, who only appears as a disembodied voice on the recurring news casts played on Marty’s TV. And there are clues and clues and plenty of opportunities to tumble down a rabbit hole (or two). But the answers to all of this are going to be left between you and Armbruster!
Bree Beelow and Matt Bowdren, Photo by Michael Brosilow and courtesy of the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre
Run time: approximately 90 minutes, no intermission
Can you bring your family? Well, you betcha! We’d be delighted to welcome your whole crew for this homegrown holiday whodunnit! MURDER GIRL does include some strong language, as well as references to drinking, violence, and death. If this were a movie, we’d call it PG-13.
L to R: Matt Bowdren, Bree Beelow, and Carrie Hitchcock. Photo by Michael Brosilow and courtesy of the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre
