As you may have read, we recently had to cancel 15 sold-out performances of Titanic The Musical due to break-through cases of COVID-19 within the cast and crew.
Although we take extensive measures to ensure we can continue to perform safely including testing frequently and engaging increased numbers of understudies, we unfortunately had a breakout affecting the majority of the cast. Luckily for us, as seems to be the case with the vast majority of people during this current spike, our cases appear to be relatively short-lived and mild.
We know how much our audiences looked forward to seeing this magnificent production, which was one of the finest of my career and garnered unanimous rave reviews from audiences and critics alike. Nearly 10,000 tickets went to waste and we heard from many of you about how disappointed you were when we had to cancel.
As we never want to disappoint, I’m pleased to share that we will be bringing Titanic The Musical back this fall for a limited five-week run!
This extraordinary company of artists cannot wait to return to finish this epic journey with you. With the addition of Titanic to the fall schedule, we will be postponing our previously planned production of Ragtime to a future season.
Tickets for Titanic are currently only available to our 2022/23 Subscribers. If you wish to secure your tickets to Titanic now, please contact our Ticket Office at 414-224-9490 about Season Ticket packages – we have options for every budget. Otherwise individual tickets for Titanic will go on sale later this summer.
We anticipate our phones will be very busy with questions, so we please ask for your patience as our Ticket Office staff does their best to get through as many calls as fast as possible.
Thank you for your incredible support and continued generosity for Milwaukee Rep,
In an amazing performance, Angela Ingersoll invites us to celebrate the talent and spirit of American legend, Judy Garland. In a night club worthy, or even better yet, a Carnegie Hall worthy presentation, Ingersoll has created, written, and performs a song filled evening! She recounts Judy’s life, loves, struggles, and triumphs in a very personal conversation with the audience. And besides Judy’s story, we’ll learn about Ingersoll and why she relates to Garland and how she came to put together this show. Done with all of the drama, humor, and music that we should expect.
Get Happy cast and crew courtesy of the Milwaukee Rep
So, yes, this is a close and intimate production…just how intimate? Well, in the Stackner we all feel close to the stage. And Ingersoll is supported by a very adept and agile piano trio of Jeff Hamman on string bass, Charles Heath on percussion, and Chuck Larkin (May 5 – 15) and Jeremy Kahn (May 15 – July 1) on piano. And they are positioned right there behind her. And (spoiler alert), there’s the on stage dressing room where Ingersoll completes one costume change per act during the evening while continuing to regale us with the story.
Angela Ingersoll center, Charles Heath on percussion, Jeff Hamann on bass, courtesy of the Milwaukee Rep
And beyond the apparent physical similarities to Garland, Ingersoll has obviously studied Garland’s physical movements and vocal stylings and gives us an incredible performance. For those of us old enough to remember Garland’s various appearances on mid-20th Century television, the memories will be quite intense. For the rest of us, the show will give us a glimmer of what it might have been like to see Garland in person and the chance to experience an exciting night of song and theater here at the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre.
Chuck Larkin on piano with Angela Ingersoll, courtesy of the Milwaukee Rep
This show was nominated for an Emmy award after being broadcast on PBS. And it will continue its run at the Stackner Cabaret at the Rep through July 1st. Additional information and ticket info here. Approximate running time: 2 Hours and 10 Minutes including intermission. Recommended Age: 12 and up.
And don’t miss a chance to eat dinner at the Stackner as well. In most cases you will be seated at the same table where you will see the show. Dining information and menu here.
This is whimsy. This can get silly. This is un-ADULT-erated fun. The staging and lighting and music here will be a real treat for the intended younger audience. But that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a relevant story here…we are going somewhere…where there is so much to learn. Pitter patter.
Director Johamy Morales must just have had a ball putting this play together and filling out the characters and movement and action in Last Stop On Market Street. And despite the word stop in the title, there is no STOP in the action as the story unfolds over the 55 minutes presentation (without intermission). And Last Stop On Market Street is being presented at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center (325 W. Walnut, Milwaukee, WI) in the round in their delightfully intimate theater. So no child will be more than a row or two from the action. No one will miss anything!!
Bubbles Cast: Christian Berman (center) and cast in LAST STOP ON MARKET STREET. Photo by Paul Ruffolo.
And my goodness, hats off to the technical team at First Stage. They certainly engage everyone’s imagination with their creative use of color, costumes, props, and sets. On the face of it, many of these things verge on the minimal but the audience is never left in doubt about where we are or who the characters are. So subtle while being so descriptive (I have been amazed by this all season, but it is even more apparent in Last Stop On Market Street).
And as in all of their other plays, First Stage is using two casts to give as many young actors a chance to perform as possible. I saw the Rain cast on a lovely Mothers Day morning. The other cast is the Bubbles cast. The photos here were supplied by First Stage and I will use images from both casts.
Rain Cast: Madison Jones, Selena Deer, and Allie Babich in LAST STOP ON MARKET STREET. Photo by Paul Ruffolo.
But our story revolves around CJ and his Nana as they travel to church and later across town to the last stop on Market Street. CJ has a solo at church and has a frog in his throat, although to my eyes, more like butterflies, but as most any young performer we can easily relate to the anxiety. But from there we follow CJ through some adventures, both real and imagined, that are obvious focal points in any young persons growth in awareness and experience. A lot of questions get asked, some of them answered directly, but most by observation. And that’s the true nature of the Last Stop On Market Street. Learning through experience, questioning, and observation. Quite a miraculous journey in just those 55 minutes.
The stand out performer here is Samantha D. Montgomery as Nana. She just nails it as a loving caring mentor and teacher for the inquisitive CJ. From the sparkle in her eye and in her voice to the patience she shows…she’s just the woman you’d want for your Nana! And there’s just a sense of awareness of her own mischief underlying her knowledge!
Rain Cast: Madison Jones and Allen D. Edge in LAST STOP ON MARKET STREET. Photo by Paul Ruffolo.
And those 55 minutes are filled with a lot of action in the form of street activity, dancing, singing, and just watching as the actors move in and out from the stage in seemingly constant motion (making handy use of three different entrance ramps to access the central stage). But pay close attention to costume changes…many actors (particularly the adult actors) are playing multiple roles, and the clever costumes help define the character and their role in our story.
Bubbles Cast: Allie Babich and Christian Berman in LAST STOP ON MARKET STREET. Photo by Paul Ruffolo.
This play is aimed at First Stage’s younger audiences: their recommendation is for families with children 3 to 7 and older. More information on the play, First Stage, and tickets can be found here! The play runs from now through June 12, 2022.
Rain Cast: Madison Jones and Samantha D. Montgomery and cast in LAST STOP ON MARKET STREET. Photo by Paul Ruffolo.
But here is an Enrichment Guide with before and post show activities to enrich a young persons engagement with the play.
Bottom line, the young audience in attendance when I was there were very involved with the play and the story. And they asked some very inspired and relevant questions during the talk back with the actors as play’s end.
Bubbles Cast: Allen D. Edge, Christian Berman, Samantha D. Montgomery, and Selena Deer in LAST STOP ON MARKET STREET. Photo by Paul Ruffolo.
