Category: Youth Theater

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PSA: First Stage Presents A World Premiere Of THE GRACIOUS SISTERS

The final production in First Stage’s 2022/23 season will be THE GRACIOUS SISTERS, freely adapted from Aeschylus’ The Eumenides by noted playwright/ filmmaker and First Stage Resident Playwright Alice Austen. Austen’s play GIRLS IN THE BOAT premiered at First Stage in 2018 and has since gone on to having productions across the country. Popular Milwaukee/First Stage actor (THE HOBBIT) and Director of the Young Company Matt Daniels will direct this world premiere production.

When archaeological intern Alice falls down an ancient Greek rabbit hole, she discovers the aftermath of a violent murder, with the goddesses of vengeance, or “Furies,” chasing down the accused to exact bloody retribution. Athena, the goddess of wisdom (and war), persuades the Furies that the accused should have a fair trial before a jury. When the jury is divided in a split decision, all must come to terms with the balance of a desire for vengeance and the need for grace. THE GRACIOUS SISTERS is part of World Premiere Wisconsin, a statewide festival celebrating new plays and musicals. Sponsored by United Performing Arts Fund. 

THE GRACIOUS SISTERS runs May 5 – May 21, 2023 in the newly renovated, theater-in-the-round Goodman Mainstage Hall, 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 90 minutes with no intermission. Suggested for families with young people ages 13+. 

From Director Matt Daniels: “I love ancient Greek plays almost as much as I love Shakespeare, so the opportunity to partner with one of First Stage’s playwrights in residence to bring one of these pieces into our modern age was too good to pass up. After her amazing work on GIRLS IN THE BOAT, I knew Alice Austen was the ultimate fit for creating a play for our young people that highlights their unique blend of curiosity and determinism. Especially as we all traverse this incredibly unstable era of modern history.” 

This is a Young Company production, showcasing the work of First Stage’s award-winning advanced high-school actors. Produced in the intimate Goodman Mainstage Hall, the connection of actor to audience is enhanced and the words of the play come alive in exciting ways as these young artists apply their graduate level skills to this piece, commissioned specially for them. 

What: First Stage’s Young Company presents: THE GRACIOUS SISTERS  By Alice Austen A free adaptation of The Eumenides, by Aeschylus. Directed by Matt Daniels, the Director of the Young Company. Sponsored by United Performing Arts Fund.

Location: Goodman Mainstage Hall, Milwaukee Youth Arts Center, 325 W. Walnut Street, Milwaukee 

Live Performances: May 5 – May 21, 2023 

Ticket and information:Tickets are $15. Call (414) 267-2961 or online at: firststage.org 

About Young Company First Stage Young Company, the Theater Academy’s award-winning training program for advanced high school actors, is open to students who want to take their work to the next level. Accepted students will complete college and graduate-level training in Acting, Voice, Movement and Shakespeare as well as electives ranging from Auditioning to Stage Combat to Dialects. Traditionally, the Young Company hosts master classes with guest artists from across the nation, produces a season of three plays and facilitates special excursions to the Utah Shakespeare Festival and American Players Theatre. To learn more, please visit: firststage.org/theater-academy/young-company/ 

This play is part of World Premiere Wisconsin, a statewide festival celebrating new plays and musicals. worldpremierewisconsin.com 

Performances: 

• Friday, May 5 at 7:00 p.m. 

• Saturday, May 6 at 1:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.  

• Sunday, May 7 at 3:30 p.m.  

• Friday, May 12 at 7:00 p.m. – PAY WHAT YOU CHOOSE PERFORMANCE 

• Saturday, May 13 at 1:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.  

• Sunday, May 14 at 3:30 p.m.  

• Friday, May 19 at 7:00 p.m. 

• Saturday, May 20 at 1:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.  

• Sunday, May 21 at 3:30 p.m.  

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PSA: First Stage’s Young Company Presents: LITTLE WOMEN

Details and Ticket Information at THIS LINK but the over view is below:

 First Stage’s Young Company will present LITTLE WOMEN, a modern-retelling of the classic novel by award-winning, contemporary playwright Kate Hamill, adapted from the novel by Louisa May Alcott. “Kate Hamill has made a name for herself by writing ingeniously wrought stage versions of popular 19th-century novels that treat their source material with mischievous freedom,” commented The Wall Street Journal’s Terry Teachout. The play is directed by popular Milwaukee actor,director and First Stage alum Karen Estrada, recently seen on stage in First Stage’s charming production CARMELA FULL OF WISHES. This fresh adaptation of the beloved book centers around the women of the March family. Jo March isn’t your typical Victorian lady. She’s ruthless and headstrong, and destined to be a great American novelist. As Jo and her sisters grow up in the middle of the Civil War, they strive to be brave, intelligent and imaginative young women, while reconciling their own ambitions with society’s expectations. Alcott’s celebrated coming-of-age novel comes to stage in this modern and relevant adaptation. Sponsored by United Performing Arts Fund. 

LITTLE WOMEN runs March 24 – April 2, 2023 in the newly renovated, theater-in-the-round Goodman Mainstage Hall, 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 two hours and 15 minutes with a brief intermission. Suggested for families with young people ages 12+. 

From Director of the Young Company Matt Daniels: “Kate Hamill’s adaptation of this essential American story manages to be startlingly modern even as it explores a long-gone era. This play is about whip-smart, resilient, sparkling young women looking to make their mark on a world that may not be ready for them. Sounds like an ideal match for YC’s excellent performers! This version of the story is intimate, beautiful and surprising, just as Alcott’s novel is to anyone who picks it up for the first time.” 

Added Director Karen Estrada: “Everyone identifies with a character in Little Women. Those who love the story can endlessly debate character choices and events from the book; furthering that with spirited discussion regarding which of the many, many adaptations best capture these classic scenes. Fans of Alcott’s Little Women have done so across all the years, languages and cultures that have access to the story. They sympathize because the March sisters and their friends’ coming-of-age story elements are both familiar and beautifully composed; they are learning how they identify as young adults and doing so while balancing their place in the wider world, within their family dynamic and against their own ambitions. Their stories are funny and heartbreaking and confusing and poignant. These actors (and to some extent all of us) are in that place too – learning who they are and who they want to be in the wide world. The story is immediate and timeless, intimate yet funny and absolutely lovely.”  

This is a Young Company Performance Project – an actor-driven presentation 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, allowing 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. 

What: First Stage’s Young Company presents: LITTLE WOMEN 

By Kate Hamill 

Adapted from the novel by Louisa May Alcott 

Directed by Karen Estrada 

Director of the Young Company Matt Daniels 

Sponsored by United Performing Arts Fund 

Location: Goodman Mainstage Hall, Milwaukee Youth Arts Center, 325 W. Walnut Street, Milwaukee 

Live Performances: March 24 – April 2, 2023 

Performances: 

• Friday, March 24 at 7:00 p.m. 

• Saturday, March 25 at 1:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.  

• Sunday, March 26 at 3:30 p.m.  

• Friday, March 31 at 7:00 p.m. – PAY WHAT YOU CHOOSE PERFORMANCE 

• Saturday, April 1 at 1:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.  

• Sunday, April 2 at 3:30 p.m.  

Ticket and information: Tickets are $15. Call (414) 267-2961 or online at: firststage.org 

Little Women Trailer:

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Find Your Pineapple Under The See At The SpongeBob Musical For Young Audiences!

Milwaukee’s foremost theater for young people, First Stage, is currently performing The SpongeBob Musical For Young Audiences at the Todd Wehr Theater at the Marcus Performing Arts Center. And there is no way that the young (or even older) audiences aren’t going to have fun. And yes, there is some turmoil and some danger but we all know that SpongeBob SquarePants to solve the problem and the delight is watching him come up with a solution.

Now, before we get too far into the musical, performance, or cast, let me mention the stage set. First Stage always amazes with how much they get our of their sets and how they repurpose common objects in props that we easily accept as the correct time or place or environment. And they have done that time and time again all season…but in SpongeBob they have completely outdone themselves. Waiting for the play to start, you sense that we are underwater as the flickering stage lighting gives us that feeling of light shimmering on water but we are under the surface. Pool noodles become sea weed, kelp, and the stem of the world’s most famous pineapple. And if you look carefully you’ll see the huge abandoned Wisconsin license plate (first three letters: FST), a surfboard with a huge bite out of it, and other bits of flotsam and jetsam that indicate we are in fact, looking into Bikini Bottom! Scenic Designer, KRISTIN ELLERT and Lighting Designer, JASON FASSL have done some amazing work here and it all frees the director and choreographer to pull off this fast paced and entrancing musical. This set is simply enchanting!

Gracie Halverson (center) with Bree Beelow (left), Raven Dockery (far left, rear), Zach Thomas Woods and Jesse Bhamrah (rear, center), Doug Clemons, Lachrisa Grandberry (far right, rear) and cast in THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES. First Stage, 2023. Photo by Paul Ruffolo.

Now on to the story! It’s a great day in Bikini Bottom and we get to meet all of the residents as they come to spend their day on our stage. But something isn’t right as a few tremors shake our landscape and scare a few residents. It turns out the nearby active volcano Mt. Humongous is going to erupt and threatens the existence of Bikini Bottom…and there is just over 24 hours to do something about it! Well, only Director Tommy Novak and Choreographer Katelin Zelon know whats going to happen but they let us know how all of the residents feel and what they all are going to do as they keep the music, action, and dancing moving at break neck speed.

And although the story is aimed at families with young people 6 and older, the story and characters present us with a lot of personal and social dynamics. Different characters have different roles…different solutions…and different rationales for what actions they decide to take. And of course we have a delightful villain in Sheldon Plankton who wants to take advantage of the situation to the advantage of his restaurant the Chum Bucket…and his enabling assistant Karen. Meanies for sure but so cute you can’t quite bring yourself to boo them! All of the other characters are here as well. Squidward wants to finally put on a show and gain some recognition. SpongBob’s best friend forever, Patrick, gets distracted easily but comes through when he needs to. And Sandy Cheeks, the diving suit dwelling squirrel, is initially overlooked but brings her science to save the day…with help.

esse Bhamra and Bree Beelow in THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES. First Stage, 2023. Photo by Paul Ruffolo.

And what finally wins out? Friendship, teamwork, and co-operation as Sandy, Patrick, and SpongeBob manage the climb up unclimbable Mt. Humongous and save the day to everyone’s delight…well…except for maybe Sheldon!

Gavin Miller, Gracie Halverson, and Natalie Ortega in THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES. First Stage, 2023. Photo by Paul Ruffolo.

AND! Oh my goodness, I almost forgot. There is another character who isn’t ‘on’ stage…and that’s the Foley Artist who provides any number of sounds and sound effects as required during the performance. The Foley Artist is hiding in plain sight on an elevated platform to the audience’s right…behind a railing and string of colored plastic soda bottles. I wanted to watch but the stage action was too fast and too engrossing to allow that. There are two artists manning the platform, Paul Helm and Jonathon Gideon ( the understudy who was on duty when I attended).

Thatcher Jacobs (center) with Lachrisa Grandberry (far left), Doug Clemons, and cast in THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES. First Stage, 2023. Photo by Paul Ruffolo.

And as always First Stage employs two casts of young actors who alternate performances…so check the program and links below for cast members. The photos here will show members of both casts. And the casts always have clever names relevant to the play so in this case we have the Sponge and Starfish casts! But we mustn’t overlook the adult actors who provided the anchor (no pun intended but it works, right) for our story and younger cast members. What fun and what a wild ride from Doug Clemons as Squidward, Jesse Bhamrah as Plankton, Zach Thomas Woods as Krabs, Bree Beelow as Karen, Lachrisa Grandberry as Mrs. Mayor, and Raven Dockery as Puff!

Oh, and did I mention that there are bubbles? There ARE bubbles!

Zach Thomas Woods and Thatcher Jacobs (front, center) with Bree Beelow, Doug Clemons, and cast in THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES. First Stage, 2023. Photo by Paul Ruffolo.

Additional information from First Stage and ticket info for The SpongeBob Musical!

And extra credit reading: The Playbill!

The SpongeBob Musical For Young Audiences runs through April 2, 2023 and what a perfect way to get us ready for spring! And there is always a 5 minute talk back after the performance for young audience members to ask a question about what they have just experienced! What fun…

Thatcher Jacobs and Naima Gaines (front) with Terrance Ilion, Isabella Schmitz, and Evie Patrick in THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES. First Stage, 2023. Photo by Paul Ruffolo.