The Rep - Theaters - – Quadracci Powerhouse

Quadracci Powerhouse

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By Lorraine Hansberry
March 12 – April 14

One of the most powerful and beloved American plays ever written, A Raisin In the Sun tells the story of the Younger family’s struggle for dignity and a better life—and the backlash that erupts when they try to move beyond their oppressive Chicago tenement home. Set just before the dawn of the Civil Rights and Women’s Movements, A Raisin In the Sun demonstrates how a single family’s dreams can change the world. Don’t miss the play that the New York Times said “changed American theatre forever.”

“One of the handful of great American dramas.” – The Washington Post

MILWAUKEE REPERTORY THEATER
in association with ONE NIGHT PRODUCTIONS, LLC,
THE ESTATE OF JANIS JOPLIN and JEFF JAMPOL OF JAM, INC., presents
ONE NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN
Created, Written and Directed by Randy Johnson
May 3 – June 2, 2013

With a voice like whiskey and a laugh like pure joy, Janis Joplin took the music scene by storm. Simultaneously rough and vulnerable, Joplin was dubbed the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll, proving music wasn’t just a man’s world anymore. Packed with classic songs (“Piece Of My Heart", “Summertime,” “Mercedes Benz”), the show also shines the spotlight on trailblazers who influenced Janis – like Bessie Smith, Etta James and Aretha Franklin. Now, in a new musical event featuring more than a dozen singers and band members, playwright-director Randy Johnson creates “a compelling portrait of an artist” (Culturemob) through the words, inspiration and music of one of America’s greatest rock ’n’ roll originals.

“Exhilarating… Remarkable… A joyful ruckus.” – The Washington Post

2013/14 Season

During the 2013/14 Season an epic slate of personalities and productions awaits you on the Quadracci Powerhouse stage! The monumental, moving, and Tony Award-winning musical Ragtime gives us a glimpse at the early 20th century life of three distinct groups of people, while the side-splitting comedy, Noises Off, peeks behind the curtain at a group of struggling actors. The tumultuous final days of Judy Garland unfold before our eyes in End of the Rainbow, a single virtuoso artist will lead a blazing, contemporary retelling of a Homer classic in An Iliad, and the dynamic birth of Superman will be explored with The History of Invulnerability, forever changing the way we look at superheroes.

Ragtime

Book by Terrence McNally
Music by Stephen Flaherty | Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens
Based on the novel “Ragtime” by E.L. Doctorow
Directed by Mark Clements
September 17 – October 27
Quadracci Powerhouse

Adapted from E.L. Doctorow’s novel (voted by Time Magazine as among the Top 100 Best Novels of the 20th century), this sweeping musical portrait of early 20th century America tells the powerful tale of a white, upper-middle class family, an African-American couple, and an Eastern European immigrant escaping to America with his daughter, as they all confront the timeless contradictions of wealth, poverty, freedom, prejudice, hope, and despair in pursuit of the American Dream. Unfolding through the fiery rhythms of Harlem and Tin Pan Alley, delicate waltzes, and the vibrant klezmer of the Lower East Side, this vivid and unforgettable Tony-winning score bursts onto the Quadracci Powerhouse stage “on the wheels of a dream” in what will be the largest and most epic production ever staged at The Rep.

Noises Off

By Michael Frayn
November 19 – December 22
Quadracci Powerhouse

Called “the funniest farce ever written” by the New York Post, Michael Frayn’s uproarious play-within-a-play follows the on- and off-stage antics of the members of a mediocre touring company as they blunder from an ominously bad dress rehearsal to a spectacularly disastrous closing performance. The perfect show for the Holiday Season, Noises Off is a hysterical romp packed full of a side-splitting collection of forgotten cues, missed connections, and backstage hilarity.

End of the Rainbow

By Peter Quilter
January 7 – February 9
Quadracci Powerhouse

Explosive acting and classic songs bring down the house in this critically-acclaimed exploration of Judy Garland’s infamous 1968 London comeback. Named in Time Magazine’s “Top Ten” List and called “electrifying” by the New York Times, this savagely funny and emotionally searing play finds the once-glittering starlet sparring with her new fiancé, her devoted accompanist—and her personal demons. Filled with Garland’s legendary tenacity, razor-sharp wit, and once-in-a-generation voice, this is a piece of theater truly befitting the late, great songstress who took us “over the rainbow.”

An Iliad

Adapted from Homer
By Lisa Peterson and Denis O’ Hare
Translation by Robert Fagles
February 25 – March 23
Quadracci Powerhouse

“It’s a good story,” says the lone figure, just emerged from the darkness, as he launches into this modern, enthralling adaptation of Homer’s epic poem that relives the glory and brutality of the Trojan War. Wisconsin favorite actor, James DeVita, shares the stage with a virtuoso cellist in this lean, muscular, tour-de-force performance filled with wit and wisdom that conjures the rage of the gods as it delves deep into mankind’s attraction to violence and destruction.

The History of Invulnerability

By David Bar Katz
Directed by Mark Clements
April 8 – May 4
Quadracci Powerhouse

For every Superman, there must be a Jerry Siegel—the creative brains behind the fantasy brawn. Siegel, a Jewish writer creating comics on the brink of World War II, is torn by the atrocities taking place in Europe as he struggles to retain control of his most famous creation. Filled with real-life heroes and villains every bit as boldly drawn as the panels from the Golden Age comics that they echo, The History of Invulnerability will forever change the way we see our superheroes.

Program, artists and prices subject to change.