Madison is a city blanketed with many patches: parks, athletics, restaurants, theater and much more. All of these things make up the giant quilt that covers Madison. Theater, a well-known big-city feature, makes up more of those patches than most people realize.
While many theater companies exist to bring entertainment to the community, others serve as learning tools for actors and audiences. Many theater venues exist in Madison, and each holds their own specific goals. They showcase a variety of shows appealing to a broad audience, hoping to bring in people of all cultures and interests. The Madison Civic Center, 211 State St., Strollers Theatre, 113 E. Mifflin St., and University Theater, 821 University Ave., are just a few of the many theaters that Madison is home to.
Twenty-one years ago, members of the Madison community questioned building the Civic Center with public money. They didn't see the purpose of building a large theater facility, and the Center was largely under used and under appreciated. During the Center's first 10 years, the press, as well as the community, held a negative image of the Center. It wasn't until 1990, with the entrance of Executive Director Robert D'Angelo, that the Civic Center began to house a broader range of events and earn the respect of Madison community members.
Since then, the Civic Center has become one of the largest theater venues in Madison and home to art forms such as Broadway, ballet, jazz and blues. The Civic Center also brings in shows from the Madison Repertory Theater, Madison Family Theater Company and various national and international dance companies.
This year's season includes the Broadway musical \Titanic"" (March 15 and 16) and various folk, country and gospel shows.
D'Angelo says the Civic Center's wide range of art forms exists for a broad audience, although he notices trends in what the Madison community is interested in.
""We exist for a broad audience, for the common people. We bring in all art forms, but jazz and blues seem to be our niche. Madison seems to have a large interest in jazz, story ballets and Broadway theater,"" D'Angelo said.
Although cultural diversity exists among the Civic Center's shows, D'Angelo thinks of their mission as providing entertainment, instead of culture, to the community.
""Our mission is to entertain and enlighten. Some nights we entertain, and some nights we enlighten. On good nights, we do both,"" D'Angelo said.
Although Strollers Theatre is a less popular theater company throughout the Madison community, its actors bring a roar from the crowd during every show. With each performance, they aspire to perform at the level of the Madison Repertory Theater. While the Rep hires strictly professional actors and actresses, Strollers brings in community performers who volunteer their time because they are interested in theater. They perform five shows each year at the newly remodeled Bartell Theatre.
Strollers Theatre began in 1957 as a parish group and was later founded as an independent theater company by Leo and Lee Ann Cooper. The Coopers stress the importance of bringing culture to the community through theater. They say people learn a lot about other people, arts and history during theatrical performances.
Although Leo admits convincing the community to attend their shows can be a challenge, the real, close-up features of live theater are something that can't be beat.
""Once you get them in the door, you don't have to convince them again,"" Leo said.
Strollers' goals are consistent with those of the Civic Center. They strive to appeal to a broad audience by performing a variety of shows each season, including musicals, drama, mystery and comedy. All shows run three to four weeks. This season includes: ""A Thurber Carnival,"" highlights from comedian James Thurber (March 7 through 23) and ""Bad Habits,"" a pair of satirical plays about sanitariums (May 9 to June 1).
University Theater rooted itself 80 years ago as an extracurricular club that performed in Bascom Hall. During the 1960s, it moved to Vilas Hall and co-existed with the speech and communication arts departments. Since then, University Theater has put on a more curricular, yet professional face.
University Theater is one of few theaters on campus that exists primarily as a learning and teaching tool for UW-Madison students. Part of their mission as a campus theater is to approach plays from a different angle, so they are more understandable for the audience. They show less popular, more historical plays that put both the actors and audience in situations where they can learn from the theater's approach to production.
While University Theater focuses primarily on UW-Madison students, they also target the Madison community during their summer season. They perform less serious plays that bring in older members of the community, as well as students.
Dennis Dorn, director of University Theater, feels their facility is a nice complement to traditional theater in Madison because they take a unique approach to their shows. He also says that University Theater is issue-driven and intellectually challenging, opening people to things they didn't know of before.
""We can provide more depth, in terms of topics and the overall history of shows. University Theater might be a fuller experience, one that goes beyond the walls of theater,"" Dorn said.
These theaters represent only a few patches of Madison's quilt. Although there are others of different shapes and colors, all of the patches are made from the same creative fabric that serves to entertain and educate the community.
