For the week of October 18-24…
WMSE Fall 2016 Membership Drive, now-October 28 (wmse.org)
Six months have passed since the last fundraising drive at Frontier Radio WMSE…a record-breaking drive that reached its goal a full 24 hours ahead of schedule! Now it’s time for the MSE community (that’s y’all!) to once again pledge its support to reach the $91,700 goal (as in 91.7 FM…pretty good, eh?) So tune in or fire up the stream and check out the great variety of music and craziness that go hand in hand during the pledge drive! And while you’re at it, call us at 414-799-1917, where we’ll be standing by to take your pledge and tell you how great you are! Or if that sort of thing embarrasses you, you can make your pledge securely at wmse.org. And check out the Thank You gifts that are available, including the NEW 35th Anniversary Fireside Coffee Mug with a pound of our famous Radio Roast blend, known for keeping our graveyard shift DJ’s super-alert, and it will do the trick for you too!!
The Taming, thru October 23, Next Act Theater, 255 S Water St (nextact.org)
Laura Gunderson’s clever political satire makes for an appropriate opener for Next Act’s new season. A conservative senator’s aide (Marti Gobel), a liberal blogger (Sara Zientek) and a beauty pageant contestant (Bree Beelow) are whisked back in time to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and magically are transformed into James Madison, Charles Pickney, and George Washington, among others, with their task to hammer out a final draft of the Constitution that can effectively replace the Articles of Confederation and set the standards by which this country has run ever since! (Apparently Alexander Hamilton was busy with that Broadway show of his, but he sure does get mentioned!) It’s thought-provoking as well as entertaining, but keep in mind that, like the election itself, the show’s run will soon be over!
Scheherazade and Angels in the Architecture, now-October 23, Marcus Center, 929 N Water St (milwaukeeballet.org)
The Milwaukee Ballet opens its new season with a program featuring the return of an old favorite and something new. Mark Godden’s Angels in the Architecture makes its MBC premiere, a work that features the glorious music of Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring. Finishing things off is the return of Kathryn Posin’s Scheherazade, first performed by the MBC in 2003 and featuring Rimsky-Korsakov’s sumptuous orchestral tone poem inspired by the Tales of1001 Arabian Nights. It’s about a princess who must spin stories (including those featuring Aladdin and Sinbad) in order to stay alive. And her tales, as told through the talented MBC dancers, will leave you entranced as well!
Brass Band Animated, October 22, St John’s Lutheran Church, 20275 Davidson Road, Brookfield (mfbrass.org)
Milwaukee’s award-winning Festival Brass opens its 32nd season (and follows up its First Place showing at last spring’s National Brass Band Convention in Fort Wayne and enthusiastically received performance at Marcus Center’s Peck Pavilion Summer Series) with a truly unique concert. All fans of animated films (and admit it, who doesn’t love cartoons?) will want to be on hand for this unique program of music (original and adapted) used in films ranging from recent Disney hits (Frozen, Little Mermaid) to Michael Giancchino’s jazzy theme from Pixar’s The Incredibles to the finale of Rossini’s William Tell Overture (aka “The Lone Ranger Overture”), which has been used in scores of cartoon classics (most notably Disney’s 1930’s hit The Band Concert-which inspired conductor Leopold Stokowski to contact Walt Disney to propose teaming up for a classical music cartoon starring Mickey Mouse, which resulted in the feature film Fantasia-and the rest is history, but I digress). Add to the music the virtuosity of the Brass members, and you just can’t go wrong! Be there or be square, Doc!
And before signing off, I want to take a moment to congratulate the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Chorus for their well-received performances of the National Anthem and John Williams music during Thursday’s Packers-Bears game at Lambeau Field. The 78,000 fans on hand were the largest single audience in MSO history! And you can watch video of the performances at the MSO website (mso.org)…Go Pack! Go MSO!!
Tuning In With Randy-O 