It was in the era of TV sitcom Bosom Buddies. It covered some of the comedic ground as I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry nearly three decades earlier. William Van Zandt and Jane Milmore�s stage comedy Love, Sex and the I.R.S. is a comedy about a couple of roommates. The two guys�Jon and Leslie�decide to save some money on taxes by listing themselves as� a married couple. You can probably see...

The Wisconsin Hybrid Theatre brings its unique brand of live/old timey radio drama comedy to a couple of different venues this month. February 6th at 8:30 am, 91.7 WMSE  welcomes the group to the FM airwaves as a part of its Frontier Radio Theatre. The February 6th program features what promises to be an odd fusion with playwright Charles Sommers’ Hansel & Gretel and the Candy Planet. Sounds ...

It was a simple, early 20th century work by a woman born in Siberia�a board book that people the world over remember from childhood. Esphyr Slobodkina, who wrote Caps For Sale, passed away a few years ago. As an artist, she�d done a lot of work in every major form of media. She�ll be best known as a name on the cover of Caps For Sale�a book that looks vaguely familiar. I distinctly remember a ...

There’s something about Elm Grove in Winter that kind of feels like north eastern Wisconsin. There’s just a little bit more open space than there is in Milwaukee. There’s just a little bit more room between the buildings. Thursday night there was a bit of snow drifting around—perfect weather for the preview performance of Sunset Playhouse’s Guys On Ice. A large, appreciative audience d...

    There are countless challenges and difficulties with bringing one of the most beloved holiday films in history to a live theatre stage. The Sunset Playhouse does an admirable job of this with its production of It�s A Wonderful Life. Adapted for the stage several years ago by playwright James Rodgers, the stage adaptation is a strong distillation of Frank Capra�s original film lovingly broug...

� In 1946, RKO released possibly the only film ever to be based on a Christmas card. The short story The Greatest Gift, which appeared only in 200 Christmas cards the author sent to friends and family in the early �40�s. A film producer heard the story, resulting in a 1946 Frank Capra film It�s A Wonderful Life. Years ago the film was adapted into a stage play, which is now being produced i...

Though thoroughly accepted as a perfectly valid way to acquire fish, most people think of ice fishing as more than a bit odd. Fishing in a wooden closet above a hole in the ice has been described with horror, admiration and, often, equal amounts of both. The appeal of the subject matter has caused Guys On Ice to become an immensely successful musical. The James Kaplan/Fred Alley musical made i...

The flyers taped to every door clearly let everyone know that they were in for a preview show. The Sunset Playhouse’s production of You Can’t Get There From Here opens tonight. The 1993 Pat Cook comedy is written very much like a vintage mid-20th century TV sitcom . . . a fact which is not lost at all on the production. There’s a different sitcom theme song between each scene. The solid co...

A little over a year ago, Jason Powell’s sci-fi musical comedy Invader? I Hardly Know Her hit the stage of the Alchemist Theatre. The show featured some of the most offbeat, intellectually complex lyrics to emerge from the usually quite simple format of the American Musical. This October, Powell teams-up with the Milwaukee Opera Theatre to present a super hero musical comedy. Powel’s Fortun...

It’s difficult to imagine how future generations are going to view It’s A Wonderful Life. For better or worse, Frank Capra’s classic Christmas film has been viewed by countless people on countless TV’s since light was first cast through the original film 60-some years ago. The film’s immense popularity (and resulting ubiquity) has afforded the story of George Bailey that special place ...