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The Theater

 It has been a fantastic year for my experiences at the theater in Milwaukee. 

Who's Afraid Of Virginia Wolf 

This was an incredible production of this classic play. Staged in the small box of the Broadway Theater, the Milwaukee Chamber Theater did themselves well. It featured four outstanding actors and a wonderfully complex set that brought the story to us with humor and horror.

There Is A Happyness That Morning Is.

The title is not a stolen line from Shakespeare, despite how much it reads that way. Instead, the play is a complex yet funny/serious banter between two academics that ends with one of the most outrageous and entertaining twists I've ever witnessed. 

The banter was carried on a wave of emotional timing by actors Cassandra Bissel and Neil Brookshire, with direction by Mary Macdonald Kerr at Next Act Theater.

Tidy

Cassandra Bissel more than likely didn't even move from her dressing room when she starred in this one women play in which the protagonist reviews her life and future based on her possessions.

She didn't have to move since Renaissance Theatre is sharing the Next Act stage for this season. How she came from her role in There Is A Happiness That Morning Is and mastered the eighty-plus minute self-examination of this play is mind-numbing.

Seven Guitars

This August Wilson play was aptly done by The Rep. Wilson, a master of dialogue,  puts the problems of being Black in 1940s America as seen through the eyes of an ensemble of Actors. The exceptional set supported the aura of this era and helped present the play's theme.

Bent Compass

Armed with a water bottle and a folding chair Neil Brookshire also didn't have to move far from his role in There Is A Happiness That Morning Is. Using the rehearsal stage in Next Act, Neil told a story of what it means for a young man to go to War. This thought-provoking performance gives the audience the good, bad, and ugly that go into turning an impressionable young man into a warrior. A warrior that we hope will come home and what he will bring with him.

Poppa Jeff's Medical Report:

My doctor tells me that we have to remove the tumor on my Bladder. It's an outpatient procedure with a minimally invasive technique. He is almost certain it's cancer however we are certain of getting rid of it through removal and medication procedures. 

The procedure is scheduled for May10th.



On The Easel:

Mother & Child
Pastel
12 x 16


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