Performing Arts

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ARTS

Bent: presenting queer life in Nazi Germany

By Ace Filter and Diti Belhe | Oct. 26, 2022

From Oct. 19 to 29, Bartell Theater is showing the production “Bent.” The play, written by Martin Sherman in 1979, tells a story about the persecution of gay individuals in Nazi Germany. Following the life of Max, a gay man estranged from his wealthy family living in 1930s Berlin, the audience is immersed in the heart-wrenching representation of what life was like living as a queer person under Hitler’s rule.

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ARTS

'I fucked Bucky’: Hannah Berner returns to Madison

By Hannah Ritvo | Oct. 25, 2022

We’ve all spent long nights thinking about sleeping with Bucky the Badger — or is it just Hannah Berner? The female comedian began her show laughing about one of her many claims to fame — actually sleeping with the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s very own Bucky. 

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ARTS

15 ways to enjoy performing arts in Madison in the end of 2022

By Breanna Bylak | Oct. 7, 2022

The performing arts community in Madison is full and flourishing. From theater to dance to improv, there is something for everyone in downtown Madison. Below are 15 local venues and groups that students, staff, community members and more should be looking forward to:

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ARTS

Fetch or not, ‘Mean Girls’ is happening

By Athena Kafkas | Sep. 8, 2022

  The Overture Center for the Arts hosted a performance of ‘Mean Girls’ worthy of a seat at the lunch table.

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ARTS

Broadway phenomenon ‘Hamilton’ takes the crown at Madison’s Overture Center

By Samuel Mayo and Ian Wilder | Aug. 20, 2022

With performances like this, you better not throw away your shot to be in the room where it happens.

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ARTS

The Amazing Acro-Cats are purrfect

By Jeffrey Brown | Aug. 10, 2022

 The traveling cat show is pawsitively delightful. 

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ARTS

Ain’t Too Proud: Tempting the Jukebox Musical Towards Something Great

By Cailyn Schiltz | Jun. 20, 2022

"Ain't Too Proud" uses the timeless music of The Temptations to tell the complex, compelling story of the group. 

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ARTS

Department of Theatre and Drama kicks off sold-out production of 'Heathers the Musical'

By Athena Kafkas | Apr. 22, 2022

Hey, Westerburgers! There’s a new kid in town…

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ARTS

The Nicest Kids in Town stop by the Overture Center for the Arts

By Emily Knepple | Mar. 11, 2022

Broadway lovers and Madisonians alike had the chance to catch “Hairspray” at the Overture Center for the Arts from Feb. 22-27. 

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ARTS

The DEIB Festival, An Interview with the President and Secretary of MTNA

By Maddie Urlaub | Mar. 2, 2022

The DEIB Festival could be a big step towards diversity for the Mead Witter School of Music.

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ARTS

Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman shine in “Ma Rainey's Black Bottom”

By Dominic LeRose | Dec. 21, 2020

Adapting the life of playwright August Wilson to the screen, director George C. Wolfe captures the heart of Wilson’s story, creating a film with terrific performances that clearly feels like it’s in the wrong medium. 

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ARTS

A mirror up to art: ‘Equivocation’

By Caitlin Rowe | Nov. 16, 2019

From Nov.14-23, the Undergraduate Theatre Association will be putting on a modernized version of the production, “Equivocation.”

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ARTS

‘The Book of Mormon’ punches down, racist tropes remain

By Emma Hellmer | Sep. 25, 2019

“The Book of Mormon” fails to evolve, persisting racism in a controversial political climate. Is it time to pull the curtain? 

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ARTS

‘Anastasia’: An unforgettable journey to the past

By Lauren Souza | Aug. 8, 2019

The national tour of “Anastasia” stops in Madison for an eight-show run, filling the Overture Center with idyllic sets and songs.  

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ARTS

Bernadette Peters performs classic musical hits — and misses —at the Overture

By Emma Hellmer | May. 1, 2019

Tony® Award-winning actress Bernadette Peters comes to Madison to dazzle the audience with some of her hit performances on stage and television.

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ARTS

Summer Arts Preview: Theater

By Emma Hellmer | Apr. 25, 2019

Emma Hellmer, the Daily Cardinal's theater columnist, previews a few musical performances that are coming to Madison this summer. 

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ARTS

UW-Madison graduate student shines spotlight on accessible, sustainable theater

By Robyn Cawley | Apr. 20, 2019

After spending years on the stage, Cyra K. Polizzi is switching roles to create a sustainable, accessible, feminist theater practice — from play programs to accommodating tour locations.

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ARTS

Say goodbye to ‘The King and I’: ill-written relic should be left in the past

By Emma Hellmer | Mar. 12, 2019

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “The King and I” might take the cake when it comes to virtually fossilized, ethnocentric, and downright offensive pieces of American theatre. Maybe its “white savior” narrative and hyperbolic representation of Thai culture were considered all fine and dandy when this show debuted in 1951. But in our wanting-to-be-woke society of today, there was no justifiable reason for this show’s revival tour and subsequent stent at the Overture Center from Feb. 26 to March 3.  

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ARTS

‘A Raisin in the Sun’ celebrates 60th Anniversary: A look at Broadway’s first African-American woman playwright

By Lauren Souza | Mar. 11, 2019

UW-Madison alumna Lorraine Hansberry debuted her play "A Raisin in the Sun," making her the first African-American female playwright on Broadway. 

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ARTS

Madison prepares to celebrate city’s first Black Arts Matter Festival

By John Everman | Mar. 1, 2019

The inaugural Black Arts Matter Festival will be held from March 3-9 at multiple locations throughout downtown Madison. The goal of the festival is both to provide a platform for black artists and to get the community thinking a little more about curing a noticeable lack of representation in a largely white city.