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 . . .

The Milwaukee Rep’s Stackner Cabaret kicks off its season tonight with an 8 p.m. performance of Isn’t It Romantic, a tribute to classic romantic songwriters like George and Ira Gershwin and Rodgers and Hart staring Jimi Ray Malary, who recently stared in the Stackner’s Duke Ellington tribute Ellington: The Life and . . .

"Even Shakespeare gave the guy playing King Lear a 20-minute break," says actor Michael Gotch, who is embracing a challenging lead role with the Milwaukee Rep. When the Rep's Stiemke Theater opens the season with I Am My Own Wife on Sept. 10, Gotch won't be given the luxury of any time offstage.

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 . . .

Shrouded in feedback and distortion, the experimental electro-grind of Milwaukee noise master Peter J. Woods seems like an unlikely pairing with the straight-forward socio-political commentary of Insurgent Theatre’s play Paint the Town. Fresh from their run at the Alchemist Theatre as well as a short US tour, the . . .

George Bernard Shaw's first play ever produced, Widowers' Houses, is a sharp, socially conscious analysis of morality that still resonates today. American Players Theatre (APT) in Spring Green brings Shaw's 115-year-old comedy to the stage as one of its final summer productions. Though the plot involves the tiring drama of finance and morality, APT brightens even the dreariest moments, having assembled a brilliant ensemble cast, authentic period costuming and a classy set free from excessive ornamentation . . .

This afternoon at 2:30 p.m., Boulevard Theatre opens its production of The Misanthrope, 17th-century French playwright Moliere’s most enduring work and an early predecessor to “Curb Your Enthusiasm” if there ever was one. The plot, in short, follows Alceste, a grump with no regard for the social conventions of . . .

Sorry fans of the short-lived ABC sitcom “Cavemen,” the touring production of Defending the Caveman isn’t about those particular, Geico-promoting early humans, but rather about Mars/Venus observations about the differences between men and women. Like the ABC sitcom, though, the material isn’t . . .

Sorry fans of the short-lived ABC sitcom “Cavemen,” the touring production of Defending the Caveman isn’t about those particular, Geico-promoting early humans, but rather about Mars/Venus observations regarding the differences between men and women. Like the ABC sitcom, though, the material isn’t . . .

In the fall of 1888, a series of five murders took place in London's Whitechapel district. Newspapers referred to the murderer, whose victims were all prostitutes, as "Jack the Ripper." The killer was never caught. The drama of this serial killer has been adapted to stage and screen numerous times over the years. He returns to the Milwaukee stage next month as Alchemist Theatre launches the premiere of Ripper!-a new play written and directed by Jackie Benka. Benka's Roaring Gemini Productions is co-producing the show.