For my junior year of college, I moved to UW Milwaukee. My last blues band in Pewaukee had disbanded and I was renting a room from a retired couple. So I knew I couldn’t bring my rig to town. I just had a single acoustic guitar and was exploring taking a folk singer route to musical performance.
One day I visited NMC Discount Records on Farwell on Milwaukee’s East Side. My high school buddy and the lead guitarist in that late blues band was the buyer there. But before I could visit with him, the sales clerk pulled me aside and said, you play bass right? Well, yes. He continues, I am starting a new band and we are going to play Stooges and Velvet Underground songs, would you like to audition? I had no idea who the Stooges were but had a great deal of admiration for the Velvets and I had nothing going so I said sure! But we have to get my gear into town first. No, you can audition right here. Well I didn’t see any gear, but he disappeared into the back and returns with a black leather motorcycle jacket and a pair of mirrored aviator sunglasses. So, put these on. Now sneer!
And with that I was the original bass player in the band, Death. According to the history books (The Cease Is Increase and Brick Through the Window) and a documentary film (Taking the City By Storm), we were apparently proto-punk and the godfathers of Milwaukee’s punk scene. That store clerk was Brian Koutnik who was the founder and lead vocalist of Death. And yes he confronted the audience from the stage and in the audience during solos. And his determination to growl put Tom Waits and Captain Beefheart to shame. And the band’s image was clearly one of aggression and outsider posturing and the music was similarly positioned and exploded. And maybe surprisingly to our audience, the band members were very serious musicians and there was a lot of discussion around dynamics and spacing…and many of the solos were often more influenced by free jazz than actual rock and roll. But yes we were as loud and noisy and obnoxious as we could possibly be.
I probably played in a dozen bands between 1964 and 1974, but Death is the band that I feel the most fondness for. It was the only band that really had an identity. It was the only band where my band mates became actual friends beyond the music. And friends who recognized the act on stage or for our audience, wasn’t the act we wore with friends. The longest running version of the band was Jack Stewart on keyboards, Keith Sommer on lead guitar, Jim Richardson on drums, Ed Heinzelman on bass, for a bit James Chance on sax, AND Chuck Meyer on rhythm guitar.
Chuck was probably the most relaxed member of the band. He could tell a good story and he had an infectious laugh that brought everyone around him along for the joke. He was also instrumental in bringing the band back together in the social media era. Not as a band but as friends and even created a private Facebook page called Friends to link with the band, our friends, and our close fans. Chuck lived in Boston (see more below) and once a year would visit Milwaukee to see his family and friends. And we all made the effort to meet for libations one evening during his stay to remember and catch up and just be friends again.
I was still processing my brother’s passing when I got an email from Jack Stewart titled Chuck Meyer. I knew it couldn’t be good news and I didn’t want to open it. But Jack related that he hadn’t heard from Chuck for a bit and tried messaging him without any response and finally Googled him and found this obit: Obituary: Professor Charles (Chuck) Meyer. I was totally devastated and just lost it for the rest of the day.
Left: Chuck Meyer, right Ed Heinzelman. Photographer Michael Gehrke
Now I knew that Chuck was a Professor Emeritus in linguistics at the University of Massachusetts – Boston. I knew he enjoyed it and was very very happy there…but I wasn’t aware of his success in academia nor how much he was admired on campus and beyond. But I wasn’t surprised. I am sure the same attention to detail that he put into his music was applied to his research, his teaching, and his studies. I am sure the warm personality and comfortable demeanor that I admired, that he had in and around the band, was the same individual who graced UMass Boston. Although I hadn’t seen him for just over a year, I still feel a profound sense of loss…
I am going to reprint a bit of his obit here, just to fill in his remarkable life:
Born and raised in Milwaukee, Professor Meyer received his B.A. in Linguistics (1976), M.A. in English (1978), and Ph.D. in English (1983), all from the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee, where his dissertation, A Descriptive Study of American Punctuation, foreshadowed his lifelong interest in the empirical study of language and grammar.
Professor Meyer’s pioneering research in Corpus Linguistics and World Englishes transformed how we understand language variation, change, and use. As Co-Director of the American Component of the International Corpus of English (ICE), he helped lead a groundbreaking global effort to document and analyze English across national and regional contexts. He was a major figure in ICAME, the society attached to the ICE project, attending the annual conference for many years. He was invited to give guest lectures in England, Northern Ireland, Spain, Germany, and Japan. His work always transcended data collection; it sought to illuminate how language reflects identity, community, and the dynamic processes of communication and change.
Left Jack Stewart, right Keith Sommer. Photographer Michael Gehrke
There are only three of us left. Jack Stewart, Jim Richardson, myself, and Chuck reached a ripe old age. Some of the others fell silent to the vagaries of sex, and drugs, and rock and roll much too early.
Left, Keith Sommer, right, Jim Richardson. Photographer Michael Gehrke
So my one tribute to Chuck Meyer’s legacy today is to listen to the exceptionally poor quality recordings out there in the wild that were done in the early 1970s with a handheld cassette deck and try to assimilate the energy and enthusiasm we had for the band and the music…particularly the Stooges’ I Wanna Be Your Dog and the Velvets’ Sister Ray. Death’s signature songs and the ones that we always got j-u-s-t right.
Front right, Brian Koutnik, rear left Chuck Meyer, rear right Ed Heinzelman. Photographer Michael Gehrke.
One last quote from the UMass Boston obituary: We are deeply saddened by the passing of our beloved colleague, Professor Emeritus Charles (Chuck) Meyer. Professor Meyer was a cornerstone of the Department of Applied Linguistics — a brilliant scholar, devoted educator, and kind, generous human being whose humor, humility, and intellectual depth touched everyone around him.
I have never seen a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta and I think that is still true. But I do remember way back in the late 1950s and early 1960s, show casts appearing on variety shows and doing a number or two. Or comedy variety shows exaggerating the pomp and circumstance and having a bit of fun. And of course serious or comic, they always performed a portion of “When I Was A Lad” and drove deeply into our memories: “He polished up that handle so carefullee, That now he is the ruler of the Queen’s Navee!”
UWM’s Mainstage Theater’s thrust stage is the ideal venue for Pinafore, and scenic specialist Christopher Kurtz has made the most of every square inch. What an amazing deign of ship’s rigging, from fo’c’sle, to poop deck, to bridge, strewn cargo crates, coiled rope, and such give us the impression of a 19th Century British Royal Navy frigate. And there is plenty of room throughout of lively dance and chorus numbers plus the varieties of songs and interactions between the lead characters.
And very carefully nestled just to the rear of the main deck is the quartet of musicians who are supporting the cast. Here we have a string bass, accordion, a guitar, and a woodwind switching time between a clarinet and a horn pipe. What a marvelous nautical H.M.S. Pinafore musical touch is the horn pipe. Over the course of the play other cast members add a second clarinet and a violin…plus a supportive ukulele for/by Little Buttercup and a mournful English horn for/by Capt. Corcoran. And a bell choir!
But this isn’t just any presentation of Pinafore…instead a modern local adaptation created by Co-directors Jill Anna Ponasik, Milwaukee Opera Theatre Artistic Director, and Jeffrey Mosser, UWM Lecturer, in collaboration with the student cast and crew. A very popular and successful way to make contemporary theater. But what does this mean? From the background info from UWM’s website:
Originally set in the late 1870s, H.M.S. Pinafore explores timeless themes of love, status, and class. This new version reimagines the story in 2025 and relocates the action to Milwaukee, allowing the cast to connect the work directly to their own community.
“For me, the most exciting, delightful aspect of this adaptation is working on a team that includes Jeff Mosser, Dana Rochester, James Zager, and 17 UWM students to devise this together,” Ponasik said. “The collaborative spirit of the project is what gets me out of bed in the morning.”
That collaborative spirit extends directly to the student cast. As young adults living in the 21st century, their perspectives helped ground the adaptation in the realities of today.
“We were asking for their collaboration throughout the entire process,” explained Mosser. “This play wouldn’t have been the same without the collaboration of the actors and their contributions to the play itself”.
On stage that means we get date checked when the cast mentions that it is 2025! And then we do get local identifications with mentions of the Packers, Kopps, Door County, and other local contemporary landmarks. One crew member wants to retire to Door County and have goats on the roof. All the more amusing given we are hearing these words from an antique sailing vessel.
One of the key ‘characters’ is the ensemble. but which I am going to call the chorus…since they play a role very akin to the Greek chorus. At times being of one mind and voice, at others advancing the story, and others supporting the leads or opposing the leads depending on the which way the wind is blowing. And this is a marvelous chorus of full throated voices in boisterous and wondrous song. All the while moving about stage in some pretty intricate choreography interacting with each other or a variety of props. Wonderful visuals here. But the highlight is the adult sized and adult entangled cat’s cradle that they weave to start the second act…until it just devolves into a web! So Kudos to choreographer James Zager.
But we mustn’t forget that this is essentially a love story. As classic a love story as you could expect. So let’s get on with it.
Austin Franz is Captain Corcoran, the captain of the Pinafore. He is a calm and solid captain, empathetic with his crew and the doting father of daughter, Josephine. He thinks he has a match made in the admiralty when Sir Joseph Porter proposes to Josephine. But as you could guess Josephine is in love with another. Franz stands tall and sings with a full rich voice that is perfect for Corcoran.
Josephine is played by Serena Vasquez. And she’s perfect in this demanding role as she moves from weeping over her fate to acquiescing to marrying Porter for love of her father, to deciding to elope with the sailor of her dreams. Vasquez dwells in this role and even when not the focus of a scene, she remains in character and is just a pleasure to watch. She also puts the opera in operetta here (I originally typed hear, but that might work too) with a clear ringing voice that fills the room. I think that we will see her on professional Milwaukee stages after she completes her studies at UWM.
And who is Sir Joseph Porter? Well he is the “the ruler of the Queen’s Navee!” So you might expect him to be a pompous self-important ass. Well as Nathaniel Contreras plays him he certainly is self important but he is more buffoon, depicted as a stumbling character in loud clothing, Contreras presents the precise comic relief that the story demands. One delightful Porter shortcoming is his inability to remember Captain Corcoran’s name, calling him Capt. Carrot, Capt. Canary, and such until the final Capt. Crunch which got a big laugh. And a very appropriate sobriquet given that Captains Corcoran and Crunch, the cold cereal pitchman, wear the same style hat.
Oh, I haven’t forgotten Josephine’s love interest. He is Ralph Rackstraw, an ‘able seaman’, ably played by Josh Thone. A very agile young adult, Thone easily moves across stage in and out of the chorus and moves from emotion to emotion without effort. Part of his appeal here is he has one of the most expressive faces that I have seen on a Milwaukee stage this year.
And one last quick mention, is Ryder Ruck, a loose limbed dancer portraying Dick Deadeye. Some of Ruck’s dance moves incorporated Irish dance, the jigs often used in depictions of English sailors, and of course, a bit of modern dance. Ruck is also listed as assistant choreographer so should share in the praise for the overall choreography here.
Josh Thone being lifted by his costars during H.M.S. Pinafore rehearsal | Photo by Cameron Wise ’25 (BFA Film)
But how does it end? Most like a Shakespearean comedy as secrets are revealed, mistaken identities come to light, and love triumphs.
And one small quibble. Once again, despite being miked, some of the actors were hard to hear. Partly a technical issue but also from often speaking too quickly.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is an award winning play by Simon Stephens based on a novel of the same name by Mark Haddon. It is a multi-faceted theatrical gem.
Christopher is the protagonist here, a 15 year old math genius who is somewhere on the autism spectrum. And one night just before midnight, he discovers that his neighbors dog has been killed by being stabbed with a pitchfork. While surveying the incident and mourning the loss of the dog, he is discovered by the neighbor who, of course, immediately suspects him. Christopher decides to become a detective for the moment in investigate Wellington’s death (that’s the dog) and discover the person who murdered him. His father forbids it. But Christopher determines that it is the right thing to do and continues on his quest anyway. And the drama begins…
The deeper subjects of the play are readily apparent in the text and actions on stage. Of course there are the stories around family and neighborhood and village…but we go on to get a glimpse into how people with autism perceive the world around them…and how the world around them reacts to them…there are myriads of subtle cues. But Christopher steps completely outside his comfort zone and shows remarkable focus and bravery, a positive message for all of us.
We have two Christophers here. Zane Kurs for the first half and then Skylar Staebler post intermission. Both young actors personified the goals and struggles that Christopher exhibited in his quest. The only quibble I have here is Kurs speech was lost or indecipherable at times in his efforts to adopt an English accent.
Despite not being the focus of the play, for me, I see Christopher’s dad, Ed, as the most dynamic character in the play. Played by Gabe Rodriguez, Ed swings from doting father, to demanding father, to angry spouse, to a confused and desperate adult in the just that moment’s notice that the play requires.
One other actor that I’d like to single out is Autumn G. Gill as Siobhan. Siobahn is Christopher’s personal support staff and mentor at the special school he attends. Gill is remarkable in providing the stable support and empathetic help he needs to find his way.
Christopher’s mother, Judy, is lovingly played by Mikaela Bowers. We don’t get to meet her directly until late in the play, but Bowers brings out a loving and protective mother who despite her feelings doesn’t quite always know how to react to Christopher’s needs.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time has dozens of other characters who a played by an ensemble of remarkable young actors. Each one of them has to assume a number of roles (that is the way the script is written), from policeman, to principal, to a number of neighbors, to strangers on the street and train, to train station staff.
Director Ralph Janes is presenting this play in the round, using the Mainstage Theatre’s thrust for most of the action. In addition, a fair amount of technology is involved. Large screens are set up around the theater and behind the proscenium, as well as a half dozen monitors just about the stage. These were used to project scenic bits at times, like the train station that Christopher is looking for, and other times, video shots taken by ensemble actors with handheld cameras in the pit or the camera mounted to Christopher’s chest. I found these a bit confusing and distracting. If they were meant to signal the confusion that Christopher experiences outside his normal world, well maybe. But I think the action that Janes choreographed on stage with the cast was far more effective and deserved our full attention.
A better use of technology here might have been mics on the actors.
As I write this there are only two more performances….tonight at 7:30 and tomorrow, May 4, 2025 for a 2 PM matinee. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is being performed on the Mainstage Theatre in the Theatre Building at 2400 E Kenwood Blvd (just west of Mitchell Hall and North of Mellencamp Hall).
