Theater – Page 3 – an intuitive perspective

October 12, 2025October 13, 2025

R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps: Phantom Of The Auditorium @ First Stage!

When my son was a youngster, R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps series was golden in our home. Whether a parent reading them to him or reading them himself as he got older, they never were out of circulation. I don’t know how many books we acquired…but more than a few. It’s been a few years so I don’t remember any of the stories, but that experience certainly piqued my interest in First Stage’s: R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps: Phantom of the Auditorium.

Director Jeff Frank and adapters John Maclay (book and lyrics) and Danny Abosch (music and lyrics) have given us a spooktacular musical. Yeah, that’s trite but it’s fun to say and this presentation finally put me in the Halloween spirit. But let’s talk about the scary element for a moment. Yes, Phantom of the Auditorium is eerie and spooky. Delightfully so. But on the scary rating chart I would put it down as a healthy Halloween BOO! and nothing more. First Stage recommends this for young people 8 to 18 but when I attended on Saturday there were many youngsters who were younger than 8. And they seemed to have a great time!! Now, there are a number of black outs that allow the actors to accomplish some sleight of hand scene changes and some flashing lights just before the spooky bits…but what fun!

Just a little background for those not familiar with First Stage. First Stage presents dynamic theater for children, most often at the Marcus Performing Arts Center. These main stage productions are amazing large cast musicals with boisterous music, colorful costumes, brilliant sets, and dramatic lighting. The casts involve a lot of young people and a number of adults. Most often the adults rather anchor the plays and guide the action for the younger stars. Phantom is all of that except there are only two adult actors…and the young actors carry this show. Literally. The two adult roles are Ms. Walker, the school teacher, and Emile, the night janitor. Older young actors could have played these roles and the play would have been just as amazing!

Opening Stage for Phantom of the Auditorium. Photo © Ed Heinzelman 2025

And now the fun begins! Brooke and Zeke are best friends in middle school and bond over horror movies. So when Ms. Walker announces that she is holding auditions for a very very scary play, well they are all in! The play is The Phantom and Brooke wins the role of Esmeralda and Zeke is the phantom. And then it turns out that Ms. Walker’s grandmother tried to present this play years and years ago but it was canceled under mysterious circumstances. The play was banned and all the scripts destroyed…except the one Ms. Walker inherited from her grandmother…which is the script that she is using here.

Zoah Hirano in *Goosebumps: Phantom of the Auditorium*. First Stage, 2025. Photo by Paul Ruffolo.

Brooke is an intriguing middle schooler, confident, curious, sure of herself, and maybe a little of a tomboy yet. She is determined to make the most of her chance to play Esmeralda and is taking it very seriously. Zeke on the other hand is more playful, a bit lazy, hasn’t read the script, and is something of a prankster. This gets him into a bit of trouble and introduces a number of the spooky transitions. Tina thinks she should be the lead. She is the understudy. She is an overly aggressive over achiever who just oozes contempt in her loss. Assigned to build the set and select the props she bosses it over the others. And then there is the new kid Brian who would like to be in the play but joins his new school too late. Ms. Walker assigns him to assist Tina. And oh oh, the internal love story found in every great drama or musical develops as Brian and Brooke find it difficult to speak in each others presence and for the first time Zeke experiences a bit of jealousy.

Jenna Krysiak (left) and Ryan Stepanski (right) in *Goosebumps: Phantom of the Auditorium*. First Stage, 2025. Photo by Paul Ruffolo.

And of course: as the rehearsals begin, there start to be strange occurrences. Flashing lights, strange apparitions, spooky movements in the background, light failures, and an underground labyrinth. Like her predecessor, Ms. Walker wants to cancel the play but her intrepid cast demand that they continue. So Brooke, Zeke, and Brian take it upon themselves to discover the source of all of the mysterious events. And I leave the story there!

For those of you who have followed my reviews of First Stage presentations, hopefully you remember that they use two casts of young actors for each play. In this case the Thrills cast and the Chills cast. I got to see the Chills cast. Jenna Krysiak is a very compelling and sincere Brooke and is often the most visible actor on stage even when the spotlight is elsewhere. Maryn Davis is just a boundless source of energy and the perfect mischievous teen as Zeke. Harper Fornstedt is over the top intriguing as Tina and Ryan Stepanksi is a solid , calm, and maybe a bit older than he seems character as Brian. The adult actors are included in both casts: Karen Estrada as the quintessential school teacher Ms. Walker and Zach Thomas Woods as the officious and distant night janitor, Emile.

I had a few moments of conversation with director Jeff Frank before the show. I mentioned that in order to review the work at First Stage, I always flew solo, but wished I had a child or grandchild to bring along. But even as an adult I enjoyed each and every show, even the ones that tended more toward a silly side. He said he had friends who didn’t come because they didn’t have child to bring along or a child in the cast. He suggested that they just come down anyway. I agree! If you are curious about First Stage, just come down. And this might the perfect musical to get started with. It is complex in music, story, and choreography. The actors and sets are amazing and as always the presentation is as professional as you’re going to see in Milwaukee! And it will get you in the mood for Halloween…a perfect place to start the holiday seasons.

Harper Fornstedt (front) and cast in *Goosebumps: Phantom of the Auditorium*. First Stage, 2025. Photo by Paul Ruffolo.

If you plan to go and want to see a particular actor make sure you pick the day that their cast is featured! Thrills or Chills! Tickets can be purchased here. Phantom of the Auditorium is playing at the Todd Wehr Theater at the Marcus Performing Arts Center though November 2, 2025.

Extra Credit Reading: The Playbill. The Enrichment Guide. And the Social Narrative Pamphlet

September 14, 2025

Next Act Goes For The Heart and Then The Gut With Sanctuary City

Next Act Theatre didn’t hesitate a moment about starting their new season with a compelling and hard hitting drama. Yes, with a name like Sanctuary City, it does deal with two stories about two undocumented young adults whose paths cross in their adopted land. And they were brought to the United States as children so they really know no other culture or life style than America.

Now in the current sociopolitical environment, sanctuary city may invoke thoughts about safe haven but the 2006 version of Newark, where the play takes place, isn’t such a place. Instead, to me, the play supports the relationship built between our two protagonists, as sanctuary cities. I hope I can fill that idea in without giving too much of the story away. But, yes, much of the undercurrent of this story has to do with the struggles and fears and stresses experienced here, so in a very meaningful way it is of the day. But there are a few scenes and conversations that are more of their time, insects stuck in amber as it were. But we will all understand the angst that we see here.

King Hang, Ashley Oviedo. Photo by Michael Brosilow. Photo courtesy of Next Act Theatre.

We meet G, played with incredible grace and determination by Ashley Oviedo, when she climbs the fire escape to B’s bedroom to escape from her home situation. B is played by King Hang as a conflicted young man who isn’t sure which way to turn as his world is coming apart. So, here are our sanctuary moments. B physically shelters G in his home while G shelters B’s mind and confusion with her empathy and compassion. When we meet them, they are young adults still attending high school. And this scene is confusing at first because it seems to be repeating in an endless loop with slight shifts in the dialogue and differences in inflection. These resets are cleverly delimited by a click track, so you know when they restart. I don’t know who thought that click thing up but director Jake Penner put it to amazing use here. Eventually you realize that the story is actually in something of an endless loop. I don’t know how Oviedo and Hang keep track of the changes in what is nearly identical dialogue.

Ashley Oviedo, King Hang. Photo by Michael Brosilow. Photo courtesy of Next Act Theatre.

The issue? G is beaten by her step father and her mother is unable to do anything about it because they are undocumented. So B allows her to shelter in his home. B is conflicted because his mother is determined to return to their country of origin but leave B to his new life in America. G supports his efforts to stay and succeed. And this series is repeated and repeated until surprisingly, G’s mother achieves citizenship and G does as well as a minor, and then leaves her husband, and B’s mother actually does return home leaving him to fend for himself.

They both finish high school, but the original dynamic has been shattered. And G proposes to use her new found citizen status to protect B by getting married. And we encounter a wholly new repeated dialogue as G and B rehearse their responses to imagined immigration questions…and then the world changes again as G goes off to Boston on a college scholarship and B becomes a bartender in their home town. And although they keep in touch by phone their world changes…

Ovieda is a force to be reckoned with…presenting a G angry over her mistreatment but able to focus on how to move forward instead of languish in despair. And her G is also sharp witted and quick to take advantage of situations and events that come her way. Hang presents a very resilient B although he isn’t aware of it. So he often exhibits his stress through layers of doubt and indecision.

After intermission, we find that B is still in what had been the family apartment and G shows up but they haven’t seen each other for over three years. I won’t provide any spoilers if I can help it, but we now have a third character, Henry, played as a very confident and maybe a bit smug law student by Joe Lino. He is a catalyst in the final scenes of the play. And no, the play doesn’t end well for any of the characters, but probably not in the way you are picturing. You need to experience it…and feel the carpets pulled out from under while sitting in the audience. And there are questions about what love is and who loves and how much, that are never quite answered. There is a whole lot packed into this little play.

Joe Lino. Photo by Michael Brosilow. Photo courtesy of Next Act Theatre.

Kudos to Hang, Oviedo, director Jake Penner, and the production staff for the subtle but effective aging of B and G as they leave for intermission as teens and return for the climax as 20 somethings. It is an incredible transformation.

Now a note on why our characters are G and B. Playwright Martyna Majok has left the casting in Sanctuary City rather open ended. In her script she notes G is female and B is male and they are both 17 to 21 (depending on the scene, my note). And “The countries of origin can suit the actors chosen. These characters have grown up within working class multicultural America.” As a result, no country is ever mentioned, only discussion on ‘going back’.

A final word from G: “I’m from here.”

Extra Credit Reading: The Audience Guide and the Playbill!

SANCTUARY CITY contains strong language, descriptions of emotional abuse and domestic violence and themes related to deportation and family separation. The play also includes moments of heightened emotional intensity.

Sanctuary City runs from now through October 5, 2025 and runs one hour and 30 minutes without intermission. Additional information and tickets here!

July 30, 2025

Much Ado About ART? APT Tells It All!

Yasmina Reza wrote Art in 1994, in French. And the American Players Theatre are presenting an English translation by Christopher Hampton that is a quintessential French existential comedy. And despite the translation, director Jackson Gay has lost nothing of the Frenchness here! So this is the play for the Francophile, Art Lover, and Theater Goer in you!

Art features three characters, long long time friends, middle aged and fairly successful. Serge, a doctor, Marc, an engineer, and Yvan, who is soon to be married, is currently working in sales. And our set fits all of the parameters set forth by Reza, a simple apartment setting that changes location depending on the occupant, Serge, Marc, or Yvan. As Reza stated and the program reinforces: nothing changes, except for the painting on the wall. Kate Noll’s set is perfect but I will get to the details in a bit!

Marcus Truschinski, THE painting, and Triney Sandoval. Photo courtesy of the American Players Theatre. **Photos by Michael Brosilow**

Art is played complete without intermission but it isn’t quite a traditional act/scene format. Instead we observe a series of vignettes as the friends interact in pairs or in the full group and each, at times, will step forward solo into a spotlight and address the audience directly. So there is some backstory and story line set up that we alone are privy to directly

Triney Sandoval and La Shawn Banks Photo courtesy of the American Players Theatre. **Photos by Michael Brosilow**

Marc is the engineer. And costume designer, Fabian Fidel Aguilar, has dressed him in a bit oversized rumpled suit that would do a disheveled academic proud. And as Marc, Triney Sandoval fills that suit with a big personality, a bit of cocky assuredness, boundless energy for a middle aged professional, and a sense of superiority over his friends. And when the balance of power in this little trio begins its shift, Sandoval can bring out the bit of condescension that Marc’s character calls for. You will know exactly how Marc feels about art, trust me. BTW: Marc sets up the intro to the play!

La Shawn Banks and Marcus Truschinski. Photo courtesy of the American Players Theatre. **Photos by Michael Brosilow**

Serge is a doctor, a dermatologist I believe. Aguilar has dressed Serge in the perfect Euro threads for a professional in the late parts of the 20th Century. Tailored sport coat, flawless jeans, turtleneck shirt, and the perfect shoes; elegant business casual, if you will. Marcus Truschinski presents Serge with the perfect airs of what Americans might envision as a stereotypical Parisian of the period. Perfectly groomed, he delights in his new found knowledge and appreciation for ‘modern art’. Although I’ll claim it’s actually ‘post modern’, but that’s a minor quibble. And he has purchased a new painting by a major figure in French modern art for a considerable sum. And when first showing it to Marc, he makes Marc guess how much he paid for it. The currency isn’t mentioned but whether Francs or Euros, it is a considerable sum. Serge’s new prize is described as a four foot by five foot painting in white with a few off white or sometimes gray stripes across the vast expansive face. For our APT version, the lines are a bit raised from the surface for the benefit of the audience. But Marc, with a clear and expressed disdain for modern art, forcefully declares the painting to be ‘white shit’. And you can imagine where the play goes from here.

La Shawn Banks’, Yvan, is far more energetic character than his two friends. Because of that energy and activity on stage he makes us feel like he’s a bit younger. In his earlier aside in introducing Yvan, Marc tells us that Yvan hate conflict and will often act as an arbiter and try to calm the waters. And Banks gives us that Yvan precisely, joining in with Marc’s criticism of the painting and fun at Serge’s expense over the folly of the painting when meeting with Marc, and then of course, the opposite when he visits Serge. But when the three get together to go out for the evening, he gets caught in the middle as both Marc and Serge try to use his own comments to support their positions in the argument.

Marcus Truschinski, La Shawn Banks (foreground) and Triney Sandoval. Photo courtesy of the American Players Theatre. **Photos by Michael Brosilow**

And here is the grand focus of the play. Art is the pivot in the story to investigate and discuss friendship. Why are these men friends? How do you maintain long term friendships? What do you accept that normally might irk you? What do you over look? What do you repress? Reza and Gay present a pretty dynamic discussion of all of these topics as the three confront each other. But there is a resolution…a happy resolution.

Now I promised a description of Kate Noll’s stage set. Up front on the Touchstone’s thrust stage, Noll has placed three pieces of a sectional, just a bit off white, just a bit severe, and just aptly late 20th Century Euro in feel…all against a perfectly white central back wall with a few white moldings and highlights, that refuse to let us forget the anatomy of the painting.

And I can’t take credit for this, but my wife, Rosalie, mentioned this as we were heading back to the car, but Yvan’s costume contains burgundy, borrowed from Serge’s turtleneck, and blue, borrowed from Marc. Bravo, and how clever, to Aguilar once again!

Spoiler alert but I couldn’t ignore this. At their major falling out and reconciliation, they were supposed to meet to go to a movie and then to dinner. Yvan was 40 minutes late and was all apologetic but Marc and Serge were having none of it. And then Yvan breaks down in a breathless minutes long rant about his day and the arguments around his wedding invitation between his fiance, father, future step mother in law, his own step mother, and mother…until we are ready to burst for breath. When he finishes Marc and Serge just stare in incomprehension and the audience erupts in a round of applause. But he’s not done, he’s just catching his breath, repeat. And when he finally finishes and reaches for sympathy, Marc and Serge, still sore that he was late, just tell him to call it off.

And just an aside. Given that it is 2025, many might find the argument around the painting rather surprising having lived with modern art and post modern art for better than a century. Even in 1994, when this was written, it was probably something of a surprise, particularly in Paris. But back in the day when I was in art school (1968 – 1973) this would be very much a topic for discussion in art history and the painting studios…although I don’t remember any friendships being risked over it! LOL!

More information on the APT’s Art and tickets here. Art is presented in APT’s intimate indoor Touchstone Theater, down the hill. It plays in repertory with other plays, so there aren’t that many dates left in the season and as of this writing a number have sold out. But the last day for Art is September 28, 2025. Contains adult themes & language.