Performing Arts - The Daily Cardinal

Every actor just seemed to fit perfectly with their character in this production of "Urinetown."

ARTS

Best Entertainment of 2018: Theater

By Emma Hellmer | Dec. 8, 2018

Our theater columnist picks her favorite Madison plays from this year.

Forward Theater Company, pictured above, hires upwards of 100 contracts, with over 95 percent of them going to Wisconsin residents.

ARTS

Local theater companies provide wages, opportunities for local artists

By Allison Garfield | Nov. 16, 2018

The theater industry is notorious for being difficult to find steady work, no matter what aspect of the field one is pursuing.

"Rocky Horror" is a legacy, a cultural monument and a beacon for anyone who feels outcasted.

ARTS

Velvet Darkness carries on cultural legacy of ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’

By Emma Hellmer | Oct. 29, 2018

“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is more than an objectively bad movie-musical from the ‘70s to the Madison-based shadow cast at Velvet Darkness; it’s a legacy, a cultural monument and a beacon for anyone who feels outcasted. The director of the group, Lantry, has been involved with Velvet Darkness for over 25 years.

Camden Ebert (above) and Jack Gammie played the young brother and sister, who said almost nothing during the show and yet delivered some of the strongest performances of the night.

ARTS

‘Six Characters in Search of an Author’ is self-referential delight

By Emma Hellmer | Oct. 25, 2018

Performances of University Theatre’s personalized version of Luigi Pirandello’s haunting play “Six Characters in Search of an Author” will be held through Oct.

Spitaletta, pictured above with co-star Jennifer Elizabeth Smith, leads the touring cast of the Broadway musical.

ARTS

Star of ‘Something Rotten!’ Richard Spitaletta talks favorite moments, being cast in tour

By Allison Garfield | Oct. 11, 2018

The Broadway hit musical “Something Rotten!” stopped in Madison at part of the Overture Center’s Broadway at the Overture series.

The playful Broadway musical set in Renaissance-era London centered on the plight of brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom and their struggle to become as famous and renowned as William Shakespeare.

ARTS

‘Something Rotten!’ delights audience but lacks strong female characters

By Emma Hellmer | Oct. 11, 2018

“Something Rotten!” stunned and delighted a packed crowd at the Overture Center on Oct. 9. The musical comedy kept audience members smiling by not taking itself too seriously.

The honest poet couldn’t have come at a better time, arriving with her feminist agenda just a day after Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh’s testimonies

ARTS

Rupi Kaur empowers women when America needs it most

By Sammy Gibbons | Sep. 30, 2018

Seeing Rupi Kaur Saturday was like going to therapy or yoga. Her honey-sweet voice lulled the audience into a meditation on self love, feminism and heartbreak, leaving us feeling empowered.

With comical performances and a bizarre plant that talks and sings, “Little Shop of Horrors” has it all.

ARTS

Theater to look forward to this fall

By Allison Garfield and overture's rising stars | Sep. 5, 2018

Madison is a hub of culture when it comes to the arts — concerts, art shows and poetry slams can be found every weekend. Few realize, however, that Madison also hosts dozens of theater performances, from Broadway tours to local productions. Here’s your guide for what to keep an eye out for this fall.

The skill of the University Theatre players makes this play as inspiring a call in 2018 as it was in 2000, and one that many in our society would do well to heed.

ARTS

?‘Laramie Project’ challenges audience to find empathy in the face of prejudice

By Andrew Bahl | May. 1, 2018

At a time when our political climate is as divided as ever, where a comedian’s routine at an otherwise unremarkable Washington, D.C.

The cast of LINES: A Theatre LILA Invention from left to right: Laetitia Hollard, Yadira De La Riva, Olivia Dawson, Lachrisa Grandberry, Aidaa Peerzada, and Mercedes White.

ARTS

‘LINES’ showcases various obstacles people of color have faced, different lines that connect, construct their lives

By Elise Goldstein | Apr. 24, 2018

Out of the eight different show times that the Theatre Lila is presenting the play “LINES: A Theatre Lila Invention” at the Overture Center, I was fortunate enough to gain perspective from it on Saturday night.

“Spring Awakening” is a rock musical that proves teen angst knows no time period.

ARTS

High schoolers impress in the risky ‘Spring Awakening’

By Anna Welch | Mar. 5, 2018

Express Yourself! put on its final production of “Spring Awakening” on Saturday night at the Bartell Theater after performing around Wisconsin since the beginning of November.

This play reflects a different side of Shakespeare’s writings, focusing on a rebellion and allowing for love stories to take a backseat.

ARTS

‘Henry IV’ is an interactive, yet inaccessible experience

By Cara Suplee | Feb. 15, 2018

The local theater looked like everything you’d imagine it would: a modest waiting room with a family of welcoming, eager staff and an intimate black box theater for the main event.

Gunderson’s play dives into ideas of life, death and time.

ARTS

I and You conveys Whitman’s deep themes

By Allison Garfield | Nov. 6, 2017

The Forward Theater Company kicked off its ninth annual season with Lauren Gunderson’s “I and You” at the Overture Center’s Playhouse Theater. The play opened on Thursday, Nov. 2 and will run until Nov. 19 and, trust me, this is a show you do not want to miss.

The Overture Center will be hosting several upcoming shows for the end of this year.

ARTS

Upcoming theater performances you won’t want to miss

By Allison Garfield | Oct. 30, 2017

Be sure to check out these upcoming theatrical performances coming to various theaters throughout Madison.

The production of 'Madagascar' bring fan-favorite characters from the movie to life on stage.

ARTS

‘Madagascar — A Musical Adventure’ captures fun, lighthearted energy to entertain all ages

By Allison Garfield | Oct. 23, 2017

The Children’s Theater of Madison kicked off its season with the adorably entertaining “Madagascar – A Musical Adventure,” based on DreamWorks animated motion picture.

Olga Kern displayed her musical talents through masterful collaboration with the Madison Symphony Orchestra.

ARTS

Olga Kern, Madison Symphony Orchestra perform the works of Barber, Rachmaninoff, Ravel at the Overture Center

By Flora Junhua Deng | Oct. 23, 2017

Piano Concerto always makes a scene. The orchestra and the pianist both give all of what they have to each other in the arena — they cooperate, speak and challenge each other.

The cast of "Falsettos" portrays an unconventional family dynamic.

ARTS

‘Falsettos’ challenges family norms but doesn’t break new ground

By Allison Garfield | Oct. 16, 2017

“Falsettos” tells the story of an unconventional family doing its best to pass as normal as they grapple with the everyday complexities that come with being a family. Stage Q’s hilarious production just finished its two-week run at the Bartell Theater.

The production of ‘Our Town’ is put on by the University Theatre.

ARTS

‘Our Town’ conveys universal themes

By Flora Junhua Deng | Oct. 16, 2017

Isn’t life realistic enough? Why do we need dramas to remind us about the cruelty of life? Nevertheless, reality is reality and attitude is a different matter. As Mrs. Soames, one of the characters in “Our Town,” says, “Wasn't life awful and wonderful?”

"A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder" will run until Sunday, Oct. 8 at the Overture Center.

ARTS

‘A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder’ charms at the Overture

By Allison Garfield | Oct. 5, 2017

On Tuesday night, Broadway’s Tony Award-winning musical, “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder,” made its Madison debut at the Overture Center for the Arts.

Kerry Billings and Kyle Wessel star in University Theatre's production of "The Underpants," showing from April 13 to 30 at Mitchell Theatre.

ARTS

University Theatre’s ‘The Underpants’ provides laughs, but also social commentary

By Flora Junhua Deng | Apr. 26, 2017

Do we ever see the world precisely as it is, or does everything we know differ due to our individual perceptions? A loose adaptation of German playwright Carl Sternheim’s “Die Hose,” University Theatre's “The Underpants,” is running in Mitchell Theatre on UW-Madison campus from April 13 to April 30.