Category: First Stage

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Macbeth shall never vanquished be, until Great Birnam wood to First Stage shall come against him!

I have always been intrigued by MacBeth and I have often touted it as my favorite Shakespearean tragedy. So it was a delight to experience a new telling of the traditional story through the energies of the First Stage Young Company. For more information on First Stage and the Young Company, see the links at the end of this response.

Now, first of all, don’t think that this a condensed version of MacBeth. The Young Company gives us a complete telling that runs well over two hours (plus an intermission) and all of the blood and gore and sword fights and speeches are for the most part intact. And like a modern Shakespeare company, First Stage relies on simple costuming, a lean modern stage, but most of all the resilience of the language…all in a theater in the round configuration! Despite their seeming youth, the company gives us an exciting and well told MacBeth!

Liam Jeninga and Angel Rivera in MACBETH. First Stage, 2022. Photo by Paul
Ruffolo.

I was thrilled by the mastery of the language here and the enthusiasm and energy exhibited by the entire cast. This is a daunting play for adults…there’s a lot of difficult dialogue to learn here and the Young Company nailed it. Of course the stand out is Liam Jeninga who portrays the title character. But Lady MacBeth, as depicted by Elisheva Scheuer, is certainly the matching paramour and villain!

: Elisheva Scheuer and Liam Jeninga in MACBETH. First Stage, 2022. Photo by Paul
Ruffolo.

It was amazing that we have a full cast for such an epic play. Some of my favorites were Angel Rivera as MacDuff, Zachary Nowacek as Duncan, and Aderyn Grace as Banquo. And no, I am not forgetting the Three Witches (they would cause me to boil boil and trouble if I did): Jonathan Edwards, Sabrina Borg, and Maya Thomure!

Jonathan Edwards in MACBETH. First Stage, 2022. Photo by Paul Ruffolo.

Director Marcella Kearns and Director of Young Company Matt Daniels have a lot to be proud of here…this is a masterful work all around!

First Stage’s MacBeth runs through April 3, 2022 at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center but dates and times are limited.

This is a presentation that adults will enjoy. As I said earlier not much has been toned down; there is swordplay and stage blood and screaming and adult content…so it may not be suitable for youngsters. The theater in the round provides essentially stage side seating for everyone attending so you won’t miss any of the action!

Extra reading opportunities:

A link to order tickets and get more information.

An electronic PlayBill with clicks to find out more about the cast and company and play!

About the Young Company.

COVID safety policy is here.

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PSA: First Stage Presents: That Scottish Play, aka MacBeth!

From our inbox!

Milwaukee, WI – March 10, 2021 – Next up for First Stage’s Young Company, the Theater Academy’s award-winning training program for advanced high school actors, will be MACBETH, Shakespeare’s darkest tragedy, infamously known as the cursed Scottish play. The play will be performed in the newly renovated, theater-in-the round Goodman Mainstage Hall at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center. Directed by First Stage Young Company faculty member Marcella Kearns, with fight and intimacy direction by Christopher Elst, MACBETH is filled with ferocious battles, supernatural horrors, famously gorgeous poetry and some of the Bard’s most vivid characters. Tempted by an evil prophecy from a trio of witches and encouraged by his Lady ever deeper into his own dark ambition, Macbeth rages a bloody path to the throne of Scotland and the forces of destruction are unleashed. Sponsored by United Performing Arts Fund. 

MACBETH runs March 25 – April 3, 2022 at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center, located at 325 W. Walnut Street in downtown Milwaukee. Tickets are $15. Tickets are available online at firststage.org or through the First Stage Box Office at (414) 267-2961. Performance runtime is approximately 2 hours plus an intermission. Suggested for families and young people ages 13+.   

Director Marcella Kearns had this to say about the production: “When I was a kid, my military father told me tales of the downfall of a Scottish warrior who had saved his people. I didn’t realize until I was much older that Macbeth was how I learned to love Shakespeare – even before I knew who the playwright was.    

MACBETH demands of its actors prowess with language. Strength for radical physical transformation and combat. Courage and resilience for gazing into the brightest and the murkiest aspects of the human spirit. As Young Company, the cast has brought this arsenal of tools from day one.” 

Added Young Company Director Matt Daniels: “More than 400 years after it was written, Macbeth remains scarily of the moment. This exploration of ambition and its pitfalls is one of Shakespeare’s tightest plays and will be expertly led by longtime Young Company faculty member Marcella Kearns with fight choreography by Christopher Elst. This play is fast, furious and terrifying, and a great way to welcome Young Company’s award-winning Shakespeare chops to the remodeled Goodman Mainstage Hall, where battles for the vast Scottish landscape will be right in the audience’s lap.” 

Young Company Performance Projects are actor-driven presentations using elemental production values. By stripping down to a nearly bare stage, the connection of actor to audience is enhanced, and the words of the play come alive in exciting ways. These fully rehearsed studio projects allow First Stage’s award-winning students to showcase their graduate level skills with full-length material, from Shakespeare to American classics to pieces commissioned specially for them. 

For tickets or more information about MacBeth or First Stage, visit them here!!

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The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors At First Stage

A legend has got to start somewhere!

screen capture for the First Stage website

This is just a rocking full on depiction of many a young persons imagination. Silly characters, seemingly fraught one on one confrontations, and music and dance to warm anyone’s heart…and get those toes tapping under the Marcus Center Todd Wehr Theater’s seats (mine were). And quite literally this musical had the kids jumping up and down in their seats. What a fun accomplishment for these players and this theater company.

The backstory? We have the featured three protagonists or champions or eventual opponents…all facing down other characters on their home turf. After not finding anyone able to ‘challenge’ them, they move on from their comfort zones…until the three of them…Rock, Paper, and Scissors square off and find out exactly how the game rock, paper, and scissors works. It’s an amazing journey. And I won’t give away the other characters that they face or how they eventually defeat them. And a legend has to start somewhere!

But besides our three ‘heroes’, we also have the MC who leads us through the story and fills us in on any of the action that they think we might miss…including a number of dad jokes that provoke the requisite number of giggles!

Max Larson (center) and cast in THE LEGEND OF ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS. First Stage, 2022. Photo by Paul Ruffolo.

As you can see from the photos that I’ve selected to accompany this article, this is just simply a fun combination of disco, Vegas, futuristic, Sci-fi, wrestling, and Soul costuming…I haven’t see just such a collection of patent leather shoes or lame’ material in years. Completely in sync with the show tunes vibe that The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors maintains for 70 solid minutes. So a special hats off to Jenny Thurnau, Costume Shop Manager for bringing this all together.

Karen Estrada (center) and cast in THE LEGEND OF ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS. First Stage, 2022. Photo by Paul Ruffolo.

And as you can see the lighting and imaginative stage really supports the tone and whimsy of the songs and book for this play! Kudos to Jason Fassl, Lighting Designer and Arnold Bueso, Scenic Designer.

And what I said about kids bouncing in their seats was absolutely true…the cast and play totally reach youngsters where they live! And I saw a number of family groups playing rock, paper, scissor as we walked along the Marcus Center grounds on the way to our transportation. The story has ‘legs’.

The highlight of the show that I attended was the MC (Max Larson ) asking a rhetorical question…how do you spell pterodactyl? But before he could answer himself, a young audience member just went ahead and started spelling it aloud. Bravo!! I won’t tell you the dad joke that follows, but Max wasn’t quite able to deliver that punchline before his audience did! What sheer fun!

My other big plaudit goes out to choreographer Molly Rhode who had a lot of different songs and tempos to deal with, a large cast and ‘chorus’, and special one on one dance moves during the various ‘battle scenes’! It all fit and worked far more smoothly that I would have expected with all of the players involved.

Daisha Lafford and Rick Pendzich in THE LEGEND OF ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS. First Stage, 2022. Photo by Paul Ruffolo.

But none of this would have worked without the amazing staging by Director Kelly Doherty and of course the story, lyrics, and music from John Maclay and Eric Norden.

The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors runs at the Marcus Center through April 3, 2022 and is recommended for theatergoers aged FOUR and older!!

Here is the Link to First Stage for more information and please pay attention to their current COVID protocols.

Oh goodness gracious, I almost forgot Paper!

Austin Nelson, Jr. in THE LEGEND OF ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS. First Stage, 2022. Photo by Paul Ruffolo.

And last but not least: extra credit reading: The Playbill!