The Next Act Theatre attempts to capture the life of a legend in its latest production, Lombardi: The Only Thing, a biographical play about the seminal Green Bay Packers coach. Revised by playwright Eric Simonson, the play ranges from comedic and dramatic to factual and fantastic. Set in a crucial time for the coach . . .

Milwaukee Ballet, Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra and First Stage Children's Theater have teamed up for an adaptation of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf that uses dance, music and narration in English, Spanish and sign language to convey the battle of wills between boy and beast. The result of this ambitious endeavor is a sweet production that benefits from being short (35 minutes).

Because they were never solved, the Jack the Ripper murders have been a particularly ripe muse for writers for over a century, as countless pieces of fiction have speculated who may have been the killer and—more interestingly—what his or her motives could have been. Local writer and director Jackie . . .

The Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s latest production, I Am My Own Wife, features more than 30 characters—a feat that is especially impressive since it only features one actor, Michael Gotch. He works overtime to tell the remarkable true story of German transvestite Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a resilient individual . . .

Lombardi: The Only Thing, a biographical play about legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi, debuts at Milwaukee's Next Act Theatre on Sept. 11. Playwright Eric Simonson recently revised the script, which premiered in Madison last year. Next Act worked closely with Simonson to amplify the show's impact, says Lombardi director Edward Morgan.

Ah, love. It has it ups and downs, twists and turns. And in the arc of romance, the despair of heartbreak can unexpectedly bring about the promise of new love. Isn't It Romantic follows the journey of a modern relationship centered on the timeless music of composers George and Ira Gershwin, Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart and Jerome Kern. Playwright/Director David Hunter Koch has created the songbook as a musical revue, which opened last weekend at the Rep's Stackner Cabaret. Singer/performer . . .

Popular local actor, comedian and, increasingly, city spokesman John McGivern reminisces about youth in the Marcus Center’s latest production, The Wonder Bread Years, reflecting on sugary snacks, family trips, vintage television and school misadventures. The play runs through Sept. 21, with a 7:30 . . .

Past scholars have often decried Love's Labour's Lost as wholly insignificant, a self-indulgent piece by William Shakespeare before he moved on to more serious work. More recently, Cambridge University's Anne Barton described the play as "relentlessly Elizabethan," with dialogue that is mostly inaccessible to modern . . .

Sergei Prokofiev’s musical tale Peter and the Wolf has been a staple of kids productions for decades, but the Milwaukee Ballet’s new production, a collaboration with First Stage Children’s Theater and the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, puts a new spin on the familiar tale: It is narrated in three different languages . . .

Past scholars have often decried Love's Labour's Lost as wholly insignificant, a self-indulgent piece by William Shakespeare before he moved on to more serious work. More recently, Cambridge University's Anne Barton described the play as "relentlessly Elizabethan," with dialogue that is mostly inaccessible to modern . . .