Milwaukee Rep Cancels “Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol”

This is sad news indeed. Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol was the first play scheduled for the renewed Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s 2020/21 season. And this was a much anticipated return of Rep favorite Lee Ernst for the holiday season. And I was looking forward to a new telling and a new viewpoint on this classic tale. But I agree with the Rep’s decision. As Wisconsin continues to set records for daily positive cases of COVID-19, it would be foolish to put the audiences and staff of the theater at risk right now.

Here is a few details from the email that I received this morning…and the full story appears here.

Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol

Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the incomparable Lee E. Ernst playing more than a dozen characters in the Dickens’ classic with a unique soundscape developed by foley artist Dan Kazemi, under the direction of Artistic Director Mark Clements. Our fully realized production will be taped and distributed to a limited number of people on a first come, first served basis. The production will be available to view for $20 during the month of December. Proceeds from ticket sales will be used to employ and compensate artists involved in the production. Look for more details on how you can purchase tickets later this month.

So please, make the most of this holiday season and purchase a ticket to Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol. It will not only enlighten your holiday but help support the Milwaukee Repertory Theater. (something we talked about a bit ago)

And for those of you who have had a holiday tradition of seeing the Milwaukee Rep’s A Christmas Carol at the Pabst Theater…you don’t have to miss out on that this year either. The Rep will be streaming a complete multi-camera recording of their 2016 presentation. And these two events are not Zoom readings, but full streaming video stage presentations…so they should be a great way for all of us to celebrate the 2020 holiday season!

Mark Clements’ Classic Production of A Christmas Carol

Each year, nearly 40,000 people experience Artistic Director Mark Clements’ epic production at the beautiful, historic Pabst Theater. We are opening our video vault to bring a never-before-seen recording of the record-breaking 2016 production filmed and produced by HMS Media. The production will be available for FREE to view during the month of December on our website as our gift to theater lovers worldwide. Donations encouraged and welcomed.

emphasis mine

It seems that I have been sharing too much sad news around theater cancellations this year. But this time there is a silver lining and we have alternatives and we can still enjoy a unique and expressive A Christmas Carol in our homes.

Merry Christmas.

And again, the full details can be found here.

Milwaukee Repertory Theater Asks For Financial Help

I have been negligent and not written about the issue of underfunded artistic organizations as I’ve meant to do for most of October. Other things keep requiring my attention. That is until this message appeared in my inbox this afternoon.

The video is just under two minutes but if you can’t take the time to hear what Mark Clements has to day…here is the gist of the message from the Rep’s email:

And here is the link to donate.

Thanks for your consideration!! The Milwaukee Repertory Theater is a very bright star in Milwaukee’s artistic firmament.