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08 Donna Re'nee Lewis Combines Artistry and Wellness with Genisx
Hero of the Month
10 Why Elon Can’t Smash and Grab Money from Social Security
Issue of the Month 12 Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee CEO Jeff Snell — MKE SPEAKS: Conversations with Milwaukeeans 15 This Modern World
16 March Madness Returns to Fiserv Forum
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Sports Spotlight 20 Shepherd Express Readers’ Favorite Milwaukee Friday Fish Fries — Food 22 Time to Start Thinking About Tomatoes
Garden 24 Tap into Milwaukee at Pilot Project Brewing — Spring Drink 26 The Black Stuff The Virtues of a Vice
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Judge Susan Crawford for Wisconsin State Supreme Court
TEndorsements for the April Wisconsin Election
BY SHEPHERD EXPRESS EDITORIAL BOARD
he Shepherd Express gives its strongest endorsement of Judge Susan Crawford for the state supreme court. She’s smart, she’s tough, she’s honest and she will follow the state constitution even when it conflicts with her personal opinions. That is what we want in a state supreme court justice.
Judge Crawford has been a very successful prosecutor for almost a decade and a highly respected circuit court judge for seven years. Her focus throughout her career has been to keep our citizens safe in their communities and in their homes. She is also focused on protecting our democracy by her strict interpretations of our state constitution and the rule of law. Her opponent cannot honestly say that.
Wisconsin had gone through a tough 13-year history with extremist lawmakers in their gerrymandered districts controlling both chambers of our legislature and the questionable supreme court majority that continually tried to push Wisconsin back decades. Two years ago, that changed when the state supreme court finally got a majority that respects our state constitution. Ruling that our state legislative districts were unconstitutional, as most legal scholars pointed out for years, Wisconsin finally got fair district maps. Fair districts in a state that votes close to 50/50 means that legislators now must try to fairly represent all their constituents, not just one party. That is how honest government works.
This election is important because the candidates are so different and there are several important issues that affect our daily lives. Each candidate’s legal history will indicate how they might rule.
Abortion: The question is whether Wisconsin is going to live under an 1849 law that bans abortion without exceptions for rape, incest and the health of the mother. Crawford supports a woman’s right to control her body. Her opponent, Brad Schimel supports extreme antiabortion positions.
Keeping Wisconsinites Safe and Sentencing the Bad Actors: Contrary to the false ads from the Schimel campaign, Crawford has dealt with some of the most serious and violent criminals in her courtroom and sent these violent criminals to prison. Schimel talks the “tough on criminals” talk, but he strongly supported pardoning the violent criminals who were convicted by juries of their peers for attacking over 140 police officers, who were just doing their jobs, at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Perhaps one of the most serious actions—or lack of action— was the fact that when Schimel was Wisconsin Attorney General for one term, he let over 6,000 sexual assault kits sit untested for over two years depriving women, who had been raped, from having a chance for their day in court and for seeing their perpetrators sent to prison. Not surprisingly, Schimel was defeated as attorney general in his first attempt at re-election.
Some have raised questions regarding an apparent relationship between Schimel’s administration of justice and campaign contributions. When he was attorney general, he refused to join the opioid lawsuit against Purdue Pharma by a bipartisan group of 15 attorneys general. By the way, he was the only Wisconsin elected official to accept campaign money from Purdue Pharma. Also, as district attorney, Schimel gave an amazingly lenient plea deal to a man caught with thousands of images of child porn, including images of children as young as six years old, after the sex predator’s lawyer gave substantial money to Schimel’s campaign.
Photo courtesy of Susan Crawford for Wisconsin.
Fundraising: The Wisconsin code of ethics for judicial candidates clearly states that judicial candidates cannot directly solicit campaign contributions. Schimel has bragged about violating the code of ethics when he says, “I have to invest in knee pads” as he begs the millionaire and billionaires for money, even naming one of the Wisconsin billionaires.
Honesty and Decency: Beside Schimel’s campaign providing a lot of nasty misinformation about his opponent Judge Crawford, his campaign digitally altered a photo of her in one of his ads. Schimel’s campaign admitted to doing such a nasty thing. They claimed they did it themselves without the help of AI since not disclosing the use of AI distorted pictures in campaign material is now a state crime.
Democracy and Treason: Today when the news headlines discuss the possibility of a constitutional crisis where the executive branch refuses to obey the decisions of the courts, Schimel has made his position clear. Last July at a campaign meet and greet in Adams County, he was recorded saying that a “Bloody Revolution” may be needed to get “freedom” back. Schimel is too extreme for Wisconsin.
Please Vote for Susan Crawford for Wisconsin Supreme Court
Jeff Wright for State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Unfortunately, our publication had to be at the printer by February 17 and the primary was February 18. As we send this to the printer, we have no idea who will get though the primary election. If Jeff Wright did not survive the primary, please check our website the following week for a new endorsement for the general election on April 2.
Shepherd Express enthusiastically endorsed Jeff Wright for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Jeff Wright was born and raised in Stevens Point by two public school teachers. He started his career as a social studies teacher, a Disney’s American Teacher Award Honoree, a high school principal in a tough inner-city Chicago high school and is currently the Superintendent of the Sauk Prairie School District where last year he was named the “2024 Administrator of the Year” by Wisconsin Rural Schools Alliance.
Wright has nine years of experience working in urban education in Chicago and 13 years of experience in rural education in Wisconsin. Our Wisconsin history has clearly shown that the most successful State Superintendents of Public Instruction rose through the ranks as teacher, principle and then superintendent.
A part of Wright’s success is that he understands that excellent education policy and politics do not mix well. The Sauk Prairie school system is in one the most purple counties in Wisconsin and Wright is supported by school board members who span the political spectrum. He understands that it’s all about the children and education, not ideology. Also, as a school district superintendent, he understands budgets and holding down costs since Wisconsin relies much too heavily on property taxes to support schools.
We ask you to Vote for Jeff Wright for State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
ADONNA RE'NEE LEWIS COMBINES ARTISTRY AND
WELLNESS
WITH GENISX
BY BEN SLOWEY
t Genisx, pronounced “genesis,” wellness and creativity are harmonious; one and the same, even. Donna Re’nee Lewis knows what it is like being a struggling artist, so she built Genisx for fellow artists, musicians and entrepreneurs to nurture and explore their creative passions and potential while engaging in good holistic practices. The nonprofit organization’s name ties originality to purpose, and it is spelled with an “x” to represent intersectionality.
Lewis, who artistically goes by Donna Re’nee, is a Milwaukee native who grew up singing in church and eventually fell in love with making music once she learned to play instruments while in college. In 2022, Lewis had been working a corporate accounting job that she felt unfulfilled by.
“After a year I had to say that I wasn’t in alignment with my passions and purpose,” she recalls. “I had no time for music and it became very taxing for my mental health.”
LEAP OF FAITH
She decided to take a leap of faith and quit that job to launch Genisx in 2023 with the help of Milwaukee Artist Resource Network (MARN). Starting with a podcast called Generations Decoded, Lewis began exploring how young creative individuals were learning to lead fulfilling lives while staying true to their values. She boiled it all down to one thing - wellness.
“We have the music and the art, but these “taboo” conversations don’t normally take place in work,” Lewis points out. “We’re going to be very deliberate about what it is that we stand for here.”
Out of all 50 states, Wisconsin has the least amount of funding for the arts in the nation, according to Wisconsin Public Radio. Artists and musicians are eager to find economically sustainable outlets, and Genisx is here to fill that gap.
PURPOSE WITHOUT COMPROMISE
To Lewis, wellness is tied into the notion of fully living into one’s purpose without compromise. “Oftentimes, society forces us to compromise who we are to be accepted. Our hopes and dreams become limited to the status quo, but Genisx encourages everyone to practice and protect their passions, whatever it might be, without pushing it off as a hobby. This space gives everyone grace, even those who are working traditional jobs.”
In addition to the podcast sessions, one notable Genisx program has been their Music Clinic series, free networking events and jam sessions led by featured guest musicians and wellness practitioners. Artists featured have included Brit Nicole, Marcya Danielle, Kristin Urban-Dias, Adeokola Adedapo and many others.
“You see older couples there playing alongside a 19-yearold boy,” Lewis remarks about those who have attended the series. “Who would’ve known that they would be there together sharing a moment of music.”
Lewis remembers, “We had an individual who was visiting the U.S. for the first time from Mexico. He came to the Music Clinic series through a relative, and he talked about how this event allowed him to feel like he can trust more. It was very profound and meant a lot to me, and it showed me the impact that by creating these spaces, nothing can suffice real human connection.”
PATHWAY TO PURPOSE
With their Pathway to Purpose workshops, Genisx offers resilience skills to local colleges, youth organizations and adults going through major life transitions. They even offer sponsorship opportunities for these workshops.
Photo by Mikaela Gared.
“We can help people create a proper road map to sustain themselves and pursue a more impactful life,” Lewis elaborates. Genisx also facilitates sponsorships for recent high school graduates and first-generation college students.
“We don’t want to miss an opportunity as a society or as institutions by not supplying people from disadvantaged backgrounds with what they need,” Lewis affirms. “My goal is to grow the FAST Fund and be a large philanthropy endowment so that we can give individuals services that our society is failing to meet.”
With her creative solutions agency Genisx Works, Lewis and her team help young artists engage their audiences through immersive event experiences. “It serves to pipeline local musicians to be hired or contracted for their services,” she mentions. This program is complemented with a business directory for artists on the Genisx website.
Lewis and Genisx are currently seeking sponsors and partnerships for 2025 programming. Visit their website at genisxsocial.org. “Do what’s right in your body,” Lewis concludes. “It’s highly important when it comes to following your intuition and following that north star.”
Ben Slowey is a regular contributor to shepherdexpress.com.
Why Elon Musk Can’t Smash and Grab Money from Social Security Why Elon Musk Can’t Smash and Grab Money from Social Security
BY WILLIAM HOLAHAN
Billionaire Elon Musk has volunteered to recommend ways to “get control of the federal budget.” He calls the operation the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a misleading title that suggests the authority of a government agency.
Their public assertion is that the deficit and debt are too high and threaten the prosperity of the nation. Their unstated objective is to save money by cutting safety net benefits that help middle- and low-income families, and to transfer the resulting savings to high-income families via tax cuts. Among their targets is Social Security, the government's most popular program. However, during their “on-the-job-training,” the DOGE duo will discover that there is no money in this program to be redistributed to the rich.
BE WARY OF CONSOLIDATED BUDGETS
It is common to lump Social Security into a consolidated federal budget in order to show that, at $1.35 trillion per year, Social Security spends a whopping 22% of total federal spending. Such huge figures have rich people salivating over the falsely imagined chance for upward redistribution, i.e., that Social Security benefits can be reduced in order to balance the budget or cut taxes. However, such consolidations are a mirage; Social Security is officially “off-budget,” not only because it is too popular to cut but because it has its own funding stream and spending schedules. By the logic of arithmetic, it is separate.
Moreover, it is a “pass-through” system: the money that flows into the system almost immediately flows out to pay the earned benefits of current retirees. Musk cannot get money out of Social Security for the simple reason that there is no money available in Social Security in the first place.
HOW IS SOCIAL SECURITY FUNDED?
To fund Social Security, workers pay the payroll tax of 6.2% of their first $168,600 of earnings, and their employers pay a matching amount. The payroll tax revenue flows into the system and then almost immediately flows out to meet scheduled payments to beneficiaries—retirees and disabled—and to maintain a bond fund.
The bond fund, officially called a trust fund, was designed in 1935 to stabilize the system, smoothing out good years and bad years. In years when payroll tax revenue is greater than needed for retiree benefits, the Social Security Administration uses the surplus cash to buy special bonds from the Treasury Department. In years when payroll tax revenue is insufficient to meet scheduled retiree payments, bonds are sold back to the Treasury in exchange for the needed cash.
ADJUSTING THE BOND FUND FOR BOOMER RETIREMENT
In the early 1980s the Reagan Administration recognized the looming problem of the Baby Boom retirement bulge that they knew would begin 35 years into the future. Seventy-seven million people were born in the United States during the 18 years between 1946 and 1964. This boom was followed by a bust: during the subsequent 18 years only 47 million people were born. Because of this boom-andbust sequence, it was easily predicted that if the system continued to rely solely on revenue from the payroll tax the busters would have a tough time paying for the boomers’ retirement benefits.
In a largely forgotten masterstroke of public sector management, the Reagan-appointed Greenspan Commission raised the payroll tax rate in 1985 when the boomers still had most of their working life ahead of them. This higher rate forced boomers to save more for their own retirement. Essentially the boomers paid Social Security to buy bonds while they were working and to sell the bonds as needed to add cash to supplement payroll tax revenue when they retired. Currently those bond sales are paying about 22% of retiree benefits.
WHY CAN'T THE DOGE DUO SMASH AND GRAB
Because Social Security relies on passing through both the payroll tax revenue and the revenue from bond sales, there is no money in the system for Musk to redirect to general funds for tax cuts or deficit reduction. If retiree benefits were cut, money could be extracted out of the system only if workers continued to pay the payroll taxes. Presumably this would be short lived as workers figure out that instead of financing retiree benefits, as well as earning the right to their own future benefits, they were financing a wealth transfer from themselves to the richest people in America.
The biggest threat to Social Security is ignorance of how it works.
William Holahan
is
emeritus professor and former chair of UWM’s department of economics.
Boys
& Girls
Clubs
of
Milwaukee CEO Jeff Snell Boys & Girls Clubs of
WGreater
Greater
Milwaukee CEO Jeff Snell
TEACHING DISADVANTAGED BOYS AND GIRLS TO BE PRODUCTIVE MEMBERS OF SOCIETY
BY TOM JENZ
hat is happening with young people in early 2025? What are their challenges, values, aspirations? Are they succeeding in school, community, career preparation and the knotty decisions life forces on them? We are living in an era where technology and artificial intelligence are racing faster than human development. Influenced by peer pressure through social media, youth are becoming more confused about their places in the world.
Since 1887, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee (BGCGM) has prepared young people to lead productive lives through self-esteem, school and learning engagement, and community volunteerism. With 50 locations in the area, BGCGM provides youth ages 4-18 with after-school and summer programming including academic support, mentorship, athletics, arts training and wholesome food. Programs include STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and organized sports leagues as well as programs for college and careers, health and wellness programs and leadership and service.
How does this successful organization function?
For answers, I turned to Jeff Snell, the newly named CEO, who had once been the club’s CEO in the early 2000s. He knows the territory. Snell was raised in Appleton, Wis., one of five children. His parents also cared for foster care children. Through those years, 327 foster children filtered through his home. “I never knew who would show up at the dinner table,” he said.
“These kids generally had no luggage, instead, carried black plastic bags for their belongings. That is when I first encountered children who were nursing self-doubt and lack of hope.”
By the time Snell was in high school at Appleton East, his parents had separated, and he lived with his dad. “Those were some hard times,” he told me, “but I developed empathy and a sense of humility. Many years later in 1997, when I first walked into the Milwaukee Boys & Girls Club, I saw a 10-year old boy, head in his arms. He looked up at me sadly, and I thought, ‘I get you.’ Like me in my youth, that boy was full of insecurities and disappointments.” That experience motivated Snell to work at the Boys & Girls Clubs.
He graduated from North Central College in Minneapolis, got his master’s degree on the east coast, then worked as an aide in the U.S. Senate before returning to Wisconsin for his Ph.D. at Marquette. He embraced Jesuit teachings and went on to work in youth development.
I met Snell in his offices on Sixth Street near Downtown Milwaukee. Through a contemplative style, he speaks slowly as if his thoughts had needed gathering. I found him a man of deep empathy embossed with respect for responsibility.
Photo of Jeff Snell courtesy of Boys & Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee.
Last spring when we got together, you had just started as the Interim CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs after being a professor at UW-Madison. One of your tasks was to find a permanent CEO. That CEO ended up being you. Why did you take on this rather daunting task?
I had been the CEO of BCGCM from 1997 to 2004. When I took on the interim CEO job last year in 2024, the more I got into the job, the more I realized I loved it again. This job gives me meaning and purpose.
Just what are your responsibilities as CEO?
They fall into the social innovation and social entrepreneurship space. The primary roadmap to all the Boys & Girls Clubs around the country revolves around the architecture of social innovation, the same concept I had been teaching at UW-Madison before I took this job again.
What is the social innovation concept as it relates to helping young people?
Social innovation supports the wellbeing of humans, and not just the profit motive. I liken it to being a social entrepreneur. I’m concerned that too many kids are going into life with a chip on their shoulders. It’s not just a teenage or racial thing. As you enter adulthood with the attitude that the odds are against me, that I won’t get a fair shake, and I hope I just get by—that is not what we are after at the Boys & Girls Clubs. Our mission involves a forward outlook, a sense of agency, resilience, and problem solving. Tackling social problems and finding sustainable solutions.
As CEO, how do you view the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee and the services it provides?
Our goal is that each youth who participates in our programs will enter adulthood as a productive and civil member of society and will make positive contributions to his or her community. We teach health, safety and wellbeing, and that can be difficult.
Is that difficulty because of young people’s exposure to social media and peer group pressure?
Yes, yes, and yes. That outside influence can affect social and emotional development. The first piece of our program is we try to get kids started as early as possible. The next piece is helping them to academic success. The third piece happens in their teens where we help them with career aspirations. This all includes character and leadership.
Who are the boys and girls that belong to the club? Where do they come from and what do they hope to get out of the experience?
We focus on the lower socioeconomic strata where the needs are greatest—the African American North Side and the Hispanic South Side. Some of our members attend programs inside Milwaukee’s schools, and others attend standalone programs in community buildings. At each of our 50 community sites, we serve anywhere from around 40 to more than 150 youth every day. Our current average daily attendance including the schools is 3,000 youth.
I read this on your website: “Every day, thousands of Milwaukee’s youth stream through our doors and participate in academic and recreational programming. We provide safety and support during critical hours of the day as well as meals, strong role models, organized athletics and access to the arts. At the Clubs, there’s a way for every kid to get involved and learn something new.” Can you give some examples of how this works for boys and girls?
We recently finished our Youth of the Year selection where kids tell their stories of coming up through the Boys & Girls Clubs. We then select a small number of them that are emblematic of our mission. Participating kids write essays and do formal presentations. The best essays revolve around refusing to be a victim of their troubled environments but rather on how they take control of their lives and change their destinies. Our Youth of the Year represents the Boys & Girls Clubs of Milwaukee. [Brandon Dike was the 2024 Youth of the Year.]
Social and emotional development is an important factor in young people’s ability to succeed in school, careers, and life. How does the club help these kids? We often deal with trauma-informed care, the kids who come from the low socio-economic strata. Those kids are experiencing family dysfunction, low income, crime in their neighborhoods, foster care, losing a friend or relative to gun violence, and sleep problems because of noise.
That “noise” is like the neighborhood music to many of these kids and families. Discordant music.
We focus on kids who are especially in need of social and emotional development. Kids that are constantly angry and acting out. They are in dire need of intervention. Our board of directors has connections to Froedtert Hospital and Rodgers Mental Health, who will help us with those kids in the near future.
About 97% of our members are either Black or Hispanic. The Hispanic population in Milwaukee is exploding. We have about 32,000 members in our clubs. Out of those, we identify hundreds of young people who need intervention. We did a sample survey of our members and found that 95% of families are headed by a single mom. The most important need they identify is the three hours we give to their children every day—time to be with their friends, eat healthy food and experience love.
The urban Black family structure seems to be more extended than the traditional two parent family. Caretakers can include grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins looking after the children as much as a parent. It’s because the single mom might have to work a job, sometimes two jobs. If a child is fortunate to get a good caretaker relative, he gets a break. If not, his life can go sideways.
That is a great point. I had this very conversation with several of our board members, some of whom are Black. They agreed about the Black family structure.
I am thinking of a few of your leadership programs. One is the Torch Club, and another is the Keystone Club. What happens in these clubs?
The goal of these clubs is to prepare late adolescents for a launch into adulthood. One thing we do is help them understand a business model, how to be an employee, and how to treat customers. One example is we will be using our parking lot for people going to the Milwaukee Bucks games at night. The car parking will be run by our kids, which will teach them how to do a business model. The kids will get to keep the money. We also have a Ready Center where we teach adolescents resume writing and college or postsecondary applications.
As CEO, you report to the board of trustees headed by David Gay. What is the process of working with David and the board members?
The Board wants communication and high transparency, establishing BGCGM relationships across the community. But their top priority is program quality for approximately 3,200 kids who participate in our afternoon activities and summer camp. In other words, that the kids are happy and coming back. We are the largest single city Boys & Girls Club in the country, and we have one of the largest daily attendance figures. My charge is continuing to improve program quality. Currently, BGCGM is the only Milwaukee organization that has the capacity to meet all the needs of our youth today.
I noticed that Jeffrey Norman, Chief of the Milwaukee Police Department, is on your board. How do you work with police and how do they help you?
Back in August, Chief Norman sent out a compelling call to action. In the letter, Chief Norman wrote that he has never seen such disregard for civility in certain neighborhoods. Kids that seem to enjoy injecting fear to residents, for example, 11-year-olds riding in cars with stolen handguns on their way to steal another car. A kid may go from backseat rider to the shotgun seat to the driver as he progresses. Chief Norman said it is not a law enforcement problem. It is a community problem. This is a youth segment that has no understanding of a social contract on how to behave in a civil society. He wrote that all community organizations must work together. We work closely with Chief Norman.
How would a boy or girl go about joining BGCGM?
At any of our community learning center physical sites, you can ask to become a member and fill out a form. You can also volunteer on our website. We welcome kids from 4 to 18.
For more information, visit bgcmilwaukee.org.
Tom Jenz writes the Central City Stories column for shepherdexpress.com.
March Madness Returns to Fiserv Forum
BY LIAM HANLEY
For the first time since 2022, the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament returns to Fiserv Forum. Milwaukee will host First and Second Round action on March 21 and 23.
In 2022, three Midwest teams—Wisconsin, Iowa State, and Purdue—were among the eight schools that came to town, resulting in sellouts for all six games. Fans watched Racine’s Tyrese Hunter lead Iowa State to upset victories over LSU and Wisconsin to reach the Sweet Sixteen.
WILL THERE BE MORE LOCAL MAGIC THIS MARCH?
Can Both Milwaukee Schools Reach the Big Dance?
Not since 2006 have Marquette and Milwaukee reached the NCAA Tournament in the same season. This year, the odds for full Cream City representation are favorable.
Marquette is three-for-three in NCAA Tournament bids under head coach Shaka Smart. But this MU squad expects more than an invite.
Marquette reached the Sweet Sixteen in 2024—its furthest tourney run in 11 years. Despite the departure of stars Tyler Kolek and Oso Ighodaro to the NBA, senior guard Kam Jones has emerged as a National Player of the Year candidate.
With the Golden Eagles in the AP Poll’s top 10, a tournament berth is nearly guaranteed—and a Final Four appearance within reach.
A block away from Golden Eagles home court at Fiserv Forum, at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, Bart Lundy’s UWM squad is poised for a March breakthrough in his third season. The Panthers fell agonizingly short in 202324, succumbing to Oakland 83-76 in the Horizon League Championship Game.
Preseason league favorites, the current UWM squad is the most balanced of Lundy’s tenure—the result of significant defensive improvement.
Photo by Tyler Klein.
Milwaukee also ranks in the top 30 nationally in offensive and defensive rebounding rates due to the interior impact of transfer forward Jamichael Stillwell, the program record holder for rebounds in a game and double-doubles in a season.
With an experienced and talented roster, Milwaukee has the tools to win its first NCAA Tournament game in a generation.
BREAKING DOWN THE FIELD
Last year, Connecticut became the first team to win backto-back National Championships since Florida in 2006 and 2007. The Huskies return a talented and youthful roster that must improve defensively to claim a three-peat.
The current title frontrunners are Auburn and Duke. Led by the nation’s most dominant player —big man Johni Broome—Auburn is a veteran team boasting four wins over top-10 opposition.
Duke is one of the youngest teams in college basketball. Three of its starters are freshmen, including Wisconsin Lutheran product Kon Knueppel. The Blue Devils’ catalyst is 18-year-old Cooper Flagg, the consensus number one overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
For fans craving a Cinderella story, look no further than the Big West duo of UC Irvine and UC San Diego. Irvine boasts a top-10 defense and is battle-tested—resulting from a demanding non-conference schedule. The team has played 10 of 12 games away from home, only dropping two.
Down the coast, UC San Diego is poised for a March run in its first season of NCAA Tournament eligibility. The Tritons are the lone team to win on the road against Mountain West frontrunners Utah State. UCSD and Marquette are the only squads in the top 20 nationally in offensive and defensive turnover rates.
Underdogs have caused chaos in recent years. Since 2011, 10 teams seeded eight or worse have reached the Final Four — including three double-digit seeds in the last six tournaments. But when it comes to champions, the number-one seeds still reign supreme, winning the title nearly two-thirds of the time during this stretch.
Expect mayhem to reign supreme this spring and embrace the drama of March Madness.
Liam Hanley cohosts the podcast MKE Sports Express on shepherdexpress.com.
Favorite Milwaukee Friday Fish Fries
BY SANDY REITMAN
Wisconsin is famous for its Friday fish frys. Rooted in the Roman Catholic tradition of not eating meat on Fridays, fish frys became even more popular during Prohibition so restaurants could offer something special instead of alcohol to keep afloat. And because of the close proximity to freshwater, there’s a constant supply of inexpensive local fish.
Over the years, it’s become a huge draw for people interested in the culinary scene of Milwaukee. In fact, it was a challenge on last season’s “Top Chef Wisconsin.” Furthermore, restaurants have added different types of fish and proteins to ensure people of all diets can participate. While everyone has their favorite local spots, Shepherd Express readers have spoken in the 2024 Best of Milwaukee contest, giving top votes to these four places for a true Friday fish fry in Milwaukee.
The Packing House
The Packing House is one of Milwaukee’s staple supper clubs located at 900 E. Layton Ave across from Mitchell International Airport. It’s known for its traditional Wisconsin menu and entertaining atmosphere. Steaks and chops might come to mind, but they’re also one of the most popular fish frys around town.
The restaurant has a scratch kitchen, meaning they make everything in-house. So, when you bite into their Friday fish fry, they make the breading and hand-bread each filet to order. The tartar sauce, potato pancakes and clam chowder are also made from scratch and accompany each fish fry.
Operating since 1974, The Packing House is a dependable dining landmark. Fish frys can be enjoyed in the bar, dining room, or through their drive-thru window every Friday from 3 to 9 p.m.
Kegel’s Inn
This year, Kegel’s Inn celebrated 100 years in business at 5901 W. National Avenue in West Allis, and it’s no surprise that its excellence has continued for four generations. Walking in, you immediately feel like you’ve jumped the pond and have been transported to Bavaria. Their Friday fish fry has options: classic cod, lake perch, walleye, bluegill, grouper, catfish, baked cod, jumbo shrimp, or vegan fishless. And if you can’t decide and want it all, they’ve got their 3-21 platter featuring three pieces of cod, two pieces of lake perch and a walleye filet.
Served Fridays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., each plate includes French fries, homemade coleslaw, Grebe’s rye bread and butter, house tartar sauce and a lemon wedge. For an extra charge, you can substitute fries for a baked potato (loaded or not), potato pancakes or German potato salad.
Photo by Sandy Reitman.
Photo by Timothy Czerniakowksi
Lakefront Brewery
Anyone who’s been to Milwaukee must stop at Lakefront Brewery on the Milwaukee River at 1872 N. Commerce Street. Home of “America’s favorite brewery tour” and many of our beloved local brews, it also has great food. Famous for their fried cheese curds, their menu is vast with salads, flatbreads, sandwiches, entrees and sausages. Let us not forget their excellent Friday fish frys either, served from 4-9 p.m. weekly with a side of polka.
Their classic fish fry comes with three pieces of fried cod, choice of side, creamy coleslaw, housemade tartar sauce and a lemon wedge unless otherwise specified. Lakefront offers a ton of different sides: potato pancakes, dill pickle kettle chips, fries, mac’n’cheese, coconut rice, a side salad or your choice of ginger, vegan or creamy coleslaw. Their food and drink menu offers a lot of choices for dietary restrictions and allergies, so this is the place to go for anyone who can’t stomach the more classic fish frys around town. Plus, they have different choices of proteins including shrimp, walleye or plant-based “fish” frys.
Friday nights at Lakefront Brewery are super fun with live music and dancing. While you might have to wait for a table, it’s always worth it. This is a great place to take out-oftowners or simply a fallback when you just feel like going out somewhere you know is going to be good.
Layman Brewing
A cozy West Allis nano-brewing corner bar, Layman Brewing offers tasty pub fare in a relaxed atmosphere located at 6001 W. Madison Street. What is a nano-brewery? One that produces less than 15,000 barrels of beer per year. And much like other places around West Allis, Layman is growing in popularity and gaining clout in the bustling food scene.
For their Friday fish fry, they serve crispy pub-style beerbattered cod, freshly dipped to order from 4 to 9 p.m. each week. Guests can order two, three or four pieces of fish with a choice of potato side, including their hand-cut fries. Meals also include rye bread, butter and lemon, along with scratch-made coleslaw and unique chunky onion tartar (a family recipe), which is closer to a relish than a sauce.
However, their fish fry is seasonal and disappears with warmer weather, so it’s best to go for it between October and May.
Sandy Reitman writes for the Let’s Eat! column at shepherdexpress.com.
Photo courtesy of VISIT Milwaukee Media Library.
Photo by Timothy Czerniakowski.
Time to Start Thinking About Tomatoes Time to Start Thinking About Tomatoes
BY SHEILA JULSON
Tomatoes are the one of the most versatile, multiuse fruits, and the plant is a popular choice for home gardeners. Growing a luscious bounty of these colorful nightshades takes some planning, patience and lots of sun, but the late summer payoff makes it worthwhile.
Tomato cages are available at most hardware stores and garden centers. Tomato plants spaced too close together tend to grow taller and not yield as much fruit because bees cannot easily access the flowers to pollinate them. Taller plants also break easily. Some tomatoes are good for fresh eating, while others are better for sauces and canning. Jorgensen recommends Roma varieties such as Martino’s Roma and San Marzano for canning.
Fresh eating tomato varieties that do well in Wisconsin’s cooler climate include Cour Di Bue, a beefy tomato, and St. Pierre, a French heirloom variety with meaty flesh that’s good for salads and sandwiches. Black Krim, a medium sized tomato with an earthy taste, produce higher yields.
Many gardeners welcome summer by planting during Memorial Day weekend, but that might not always be the best time to plant tomatoes. Tomato plants will grow when it’s 70 degrees and sunny, but the root system does not grow until ground is consistently 55 degrees. The Old Farmer’s Almanac suggests warming ground soil with black landscaping plastic for a couple of weeks before planting.
Sheila Julson writes the Eat/Drink column for shepherdexpress.com.
Photo
LTAP INTO MILWAUKEE AT PILOT PROJECT BREWING
TAP INTO MILWAUKEE AT PILOT PROJECT BREWING
BY DAVID LUHRSSEN
ocated in the historic Brewery District, Pilot Project Brewing (1128 N. Ninth St.) is a spacious venue open on two sides in the warm months with a patio upfront. It’s a bar with good food and it’s something more.
Pilot Project is an incubator for start-up breweries, “helping to support talented brewers in an industry with exceptionally high barriers,” says Pilot Project’s Madelaine Goldstein.
Pilot Project Brewery will be the site for Tap into Milwaukee, a Shepherd Express event with a curated lineup of beers, crisp ciders and hard seltzers from Brewer’s Kitchen, Devious, Standard Goods, Ope! Brewing, Water Street Brewery, Third Space Brewing, Supermoon Beer, Sprecher Brewing, Dead Bird Brewing, Coop Bev Works, Cache Cider, Bavarian Bierhaus, Arizona Beverages/Hornell Brewing and more. Enjoy bites from local food vendors, live music, games and raffles. Tap into Milwaukee is scheduled from noon - 4 p.m., Sunday March 9.
Since its 2019 inception in Chicago, Pilot Project has launched 20 beverage brands, including women-founded Luna Bay Hard Kombucha and ROVM Hard Kombucha; Black-owned Funkytown Brewery; travel-inspired Brewer’s Kitchen; Indian-led Azadi Brewing; Devious Cocktails and others. Pilot also helped the non-alcoholic Mash Gang expand to the U.S. from the UK last year and did the same with Mexico City-based brewery Cerveceria Paracaidista.
Milwaukee’s Pilot Project opened in November 2022 and “serves to launch and scale start-up breweries, offering assistance with fine-tuning recipes, production scaling, business development, marketing, distribution and more. We then feature the brands in our restaurants and have the network to scale them nationally,” Goldstein says.
As a tasting room, Pilot Project serves beer, hard kombucha and ready-to-drink cocktails on tap from its brewery partners as well as wine and cocktails.
Bill Wilkinson, the Milwaukee venue’s executive chef, oversees a lunch and dinner menu that includes shareables such as cheese curds and ahi tuna poke nachos, salads and a variety of handhelds such as a smash burger, steak sandwich, fried chicken sando and a vegan falafel wrap.
In January, Pilot Project Milwaukee launched a Sunday brunch serving unique items such as candied bacon benedict, créme brûlée French toast plus a bloody mary bar and bottomless mimosas served with a juice flight.
Pilot Project’s owners chose the Brewery District, whose castle-like buildings once housed Pabst Brewery, to connect with our city’s heritage of beer. But history aside, they found an ideal spot with “massive square footage for a production facility, multiple private event spaces, stunning views of the city from the rooftop bar, and a large restaurant with more than 30 beer taps,” Goldstein says.
For tickets, visit shepherdexpress.com/upcoming-events/ tap-into-milwaukee.
Ididn’t ask for the vice. The vice asked for me. It was New York City. It was an Irish bar. It was a Saturday morning. But was it five o’clock? Or was it six? And was I up all night? Or was I up early?
It was June of 2002. It was the World Cup in South Korea and Japan. I remember the soccer fans in the bar. I remember my stool up against the rail. I remember the matches on the television sets. I remember the cups of coffee. And I remember the glasses of Guinness.
I wasn’t looking for this vice. This vice was looking for me.
As a student in Europe, I drank Guinness and coffee one morning in Dublin, at a bar near Trinity College, with a cast of poets and philosophers, vagabonds and vagrants, and a little girl whose mother was among the apostles of this vice. A replay of a soccer match was on a television set. I remember the little girl looking at me impassively, with curiosity.
“Why do you like drinking all of this black stuff?” she asked me.
I wish I could have articulated for her one or two of the descriptors I would learn how to speak for myself. How the roasted coffee bean and bitter chocolate flavors of one brew were an ideal coupling for those of the other. How the texture of the coffee was a perfect foil for that of the Stout.
“I don't know why,” I answered her. “Maybe your mom could give you a taste of her black stuff.”
“She has.”
“And?”
“I’d like to taste them again.”
The beer part of this vice is Guinness Draught. (You may also find Guinness Extra, Guinness Foreign Extra, and Guinness 0.0, at your local bar or beer shop, but for the purposes of drinking glasses of Guinness with cups of coffee on a Saturday morning, Guinness Draught, with its modest alcohol of 4.5%, is ideal.) Guinness is an Irish Dry Stout.
The Black Stuff
THE VIRTUES OF A VICE
GAETANO MARANGELLI
A Stout is a dark ale made with roasted malted barley. (The two primary styles of beer are ales and lagers. Ales are made using yeasts which ferment at warm temperatures. Lagers are made using yeasts which ferment at cold temperatures.)
An Irish Stout is an especially dark ale, with roasted and bitter aromas and flavors. If you drink your Guinness Draught from a keg at a bar, its tap line infuses nitrous into the beer to create a smooth, creamy texture.
The vice followed me from New York City to Chicago back to New York City and then to Milwaukee, where I observe its rites on Saturday mornings with my nephews, Leighton and Marcelo. We buy blueberry Danishes at Rocket Baby Bakery (6822 W. North Ave.), and we go to the Highbury Pub (2322 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.), where we watch football, which is to say soccer, on its television sets. We eat the blueberry Danish as we drink the cups of coffee and glasses of Guinness. I cannot overstate the beauty of this alchemy. Marcelo says the pleasure is “like soccer, both sophisticated and common.” Leighton adds emphasis to the practical side of drinking Guinness in the morning. “Its relatively low alcohol,” he says, “allows me to operate heavy machinery later in the day.”
If you’d like to initiate yourself into this vice and taste the beauty of its virtues, may I suggest a cup of coffee and a glass of Guinness on the Saturday morning before St. Patrick’s Day? The Rocket Baby blueberry Danish and the soccer at the Highbury and are up to you.
Gaetano Marangelli is a sommelier and playwright. He was managing director of a wine import and distribution company in New York and beverage director for restaurants and retailers in New York and Chicago before moving to Wauwatosa.
Milwaukee Irish Pub Guide
We can be sure that the Milwaukee area’s many Irish pubs will be having a grand time on St. Patrick’s Day. Find one near you, wear something green and hoist a pint!
CHAMPION’S PUB
2417 N. Bartlett Ave.
BELFAST STATION IRISH PUB N64W23246 Main St., Sussex BUB’S IRISH PUB N116W16218 Main St., Germantown
MO’S IRISH PUB 142 W. Wisconsin Ave. 10842 W. Bluemound Ave. AJ O’BRADY’S IRISH PUB & GRILL N88W16495 Main St., Menomonee Falls
COUNTY CLARE IRISH INN & PUB 1234 N. Astor St.
DANNY LYNCH’S 2300 S. 108th St.
ERIN INN IRISH PUB 6102 Donegal Road THE HARP IRISH PUB
Juneau
W. Main St., Waukesha IRISH COTTAGE 11433 W. Ryan Road, Franklin
LUCKY CLOVER IRISH PUB 1048 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive
MCAULIFFE’S PUB 3700 Meachem Road, Racine
MCBOB’S PUB & GRILL 919 W North Ave
MCGUIRE’S BAR 6235 W National Ave
MCKIERNAN’S IRISH PUB & GRILL 2066 S. 37th St.
MORAN’S PUB
912 Milwaukee Ave., South Milwaukee
MULLIGAN’S IRISH PUB & GRILL
8933 S. 27th St., Franklin
MURPHY’S IRISH PUB 1613 W. Wells St.
NETTIE’S IRISH PUB 733 W. Wisconsin Ave., Pewaukee
O’BRIEN’S IRISH-AMERICAN PUB 4928 W. Vliet St.
O’CONNOR’S PERFECT PINT 8423 W. Greenfield Ave., West Allis
O’DONOGHUE’S IRISH PUB 13225 Watertown Plank Road, Elm Grove
O’LYDIA’S BAR AND GRILL 338 S. First St.
O’SULLIVAN’S PUBLIC HOUSE
W. North Ave., Brookfield
PADDY’S PUB
N. Murray Ave.
THISTLE & SHAMROCK 3430 N. 84th St.
TRINITY THREE IRISH PUBS 125 E. Juneau Ave.
Dogs and their Paws Dogs and Paws
BY JENNIFER JEPSON
HERE'S THE POOP... HERE'S THE POOP...
As a pet owner, having recently moved here from Oklahoma, I was so excited to be able to take my dog outside for a walk during the summer months. The pavement became so hot in Oklahoma it would burn my dog's paws within a minute of stepping outside, even at 9 p.m. at night. If I wanted to get him out of the house it would have to be in a pet stroller and to me, that seemed to defeat the purpose of a walk.
I thought "Wow! I'm going to get to experience a yearround outdoor exercise routine with my dog here in Wisconsin." That was until the first real snowfall here on December 19, LOL. I found out that frozen ground can be just as hazardous to their paws as the extreme heat.
It's an important topic that I never really thought much about until I saw my own dog experience the discomfort, and I don't think it gets the attention it deserves, so here I am, sharing what I've learned.
The American Kennel Club website states that 85 degrees Fahrenheit or above can be dangerous. If the pavement hasn't been given a chance to cool (days on end of high temperatures), it can yield burns and blisters on the pads of your dog's feet. The two charts to the left give a quick snapshot of what air temperature v ground temperature looks like. The Journal of the American Medical Association also warns not to discount other surfaces like sand, dirt or metal.
Cold weather is not so cut and dry. You need to factor in your pet's size, breed, weight, health and fur coat and let's not forget windchill. Some breeds thrive in cold weather and others, not so much. However, any paws exposed to ice or snow for any length of time will result in freezing or frostbite. Water repellent dog shoes are a good fix for snow and ice. Sizing your dog's paw correctly can be trial and error. I suggest finding a retailer that makes returns easy. Fitting your dog in the store? Even better!
If it's too hot or cold for your hands or feet, it's too extreme for your dog's paws. Experts suggest doing the “hand test.” Hold your hand down on the ground for 20 seconds to get a feel of what your dog’s paws will be up against.
So, before you step out the door for a walk with your fur baby or fur buddy, think about whether or not you would go barefoot on the pavement and do the hand test!
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Habitat for Humanity Strengthens
Community through Home Ownership
BY SHEILA JULSON
The late President Jimmy Carter’s signature cause, Habitat for Humanity, has partnered with more than 35 million people to access new or improved housing since its founding in 1976. While Carter has long been the face of Habitat, the organization’s roots date to 1942 with Koinonia Farm, an interracial living community outside Americus, Ga. Koinonia Farm still exists today as an agriculture-based Christian living community.
Racist threats and boycotts from locals put Koinonia Farm in peril, and it was on the verge of closing. In 1965, Jordan and Millard Fuller, seeking new purpose in life, arrived on the farm. They reincorporated Koinonia Farm into Koinonia Partners and in 1968 introduced the concept of partnership housing through their Fund for Humanity, which partnered those in need of adequate shelter with volunteers to build decent, affordable homes.
In 1976, the name was changed Habitat for Humanity. In 1984, Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, joined Habitat’s efforts. The first Jimmy Carter Work Project was held in New York City.
MILWAUKEE HABITAT MAKES HOMEOWNERSHIP ACCESSIBLE
Milwaukee Habitat’s chapter formed in 1984. In 2025, they’ll begin construction on their 750th new home in Milwaukee. This year, they plan to build 34 new homes and complete 115-130 home repairs. Since 1984, they’ve served nearly 1,500 local families through affordable homeownership and home repair services, confirms Jake Brandt, vice president of strategy and marketing for Milwaukee Habitat.
“Historically, Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity has worked to build and preserve homeownership in near north side neighborhoods. Throughout the 20th century, and to today, residents in these neighborhoods have been subject to a myriad of barriers to investing in the stability and equity of homeownership,” says Brandt.
Those barriers include practices such as redlining; displacement of Black Milwaukeeans during the ‘60s to facilitate construction of Milwaukee’s highway system; and the subprime loan crisis, which disproportionately targeted people of color.
Photo courtesy of Habitat for Humanity.
“Since 2010, Milwaukee has lost over 15,000 owner-occupied households, the majority of these in or near areas where we've built,” Brandt notes.
Fast-forward to today’s housing market, where in Wisconsin, the price of homes has nearly doubled over the past decade, and local and out-of-state property investment firms are buying up existing housing.
“Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity helps families become first-time homebuyers through new home construction and helps existing homeowners maintain their homes through affordable home repairs. These programs are exclusively offered to families earning below the median income,” explains Brandt.
Homeownership is a key driver for generational wealth creation. Milwaukee Habitat’s affordable homeownership program provides an alternative to the skyrocketing cost of housing in Milwaukee.
INSIDE A MILWAUKEE HABITAT HOME
A pocket of Milwaukee Habitat homes in the Harambee neighborhood exemplifies how homeownership strengthens neighborhoods. Erika Farrow, age 39, grew up in Milwaukee and works as a medical assistant. Farrow, her partner, Jeff, and son, Brenton, moved into her two-story, 1,200 squarefoot Habitat for Humanity home in April 2024. She quickly formed connections with her neighbors, some of whom she met through Milwaukee Habitat’s program.
Farrow and her neighbors have attended meetings at Milwaukee Habitat to discuss a neighborhood watch group and to plan events. “Harambee is an up-and-coming neighborhood.”
After tiring of renting in an apartment building, Farrow began the Milwaukee Habitat application process. Upon approval, she and other approved applicants were required to take finance and home maintenance classes.
She put in hundreds of “sweat equity” hours working at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Wauwatosa. Habitat participants can put in sweat equity hours at a ReStore location, or work on construction of Habitat houses.
“There is a lot involved; you don’t just get a free house. You must be very dedicated and disciplined,” Farrow emphasizes.
She drove past the construction site of her house every day to check the progress. When she received the keys at closing and her family was ready to move in, Habitat held a dedication ceremony.
Farrow’s two-story, three-bedroom home, along with the siding color, paint and wood plank flooring, was chosen for her. She got to choose the kitchen countertops and cabinet color; she selected a dark shade for a “cherry oak type vibe.” Milwaukee Habitat leaves samples of flooring and paint if owners need touchups.
In addition to new, up-to-code electrical and plumbing systems, and an alarm system, Farrow’s Habitat house came with a new refrigerator and a stove. She purchased a washer and dryer.
The bright, airy concept and neutral walls is a blank canvas for homeowners to be creative with décor. Farrow likes to decorate around holiday themes.
There is a half-bathroom downstairs and a full bath upstairs. A full basement provides ample storage. The kitchen has generous counter space with carousel-style lower cabinets. “That is my favorite part,” she says. The kitchen opens into a dining room.
A large backyard with a four-foot-high cyclone fence, installed by Habitat, offers space for a garden and socializing. Farrow’s property, as with most spaces where Habitat constructs new homes, was an empty lot. There is a parking space. Farrow may have a garage built later.
There is generous closet space and ambient lighting throughout the house. There are three bedrooms upstairs, and an attic crawl space.
While patience is key to participating in the Milwaukee Habitat program, Farrow enthuses that it is well worth it. “It’s a dream come true to move into a brand-new house. Habitat is changing people’s lives. I would not have been able to get something like this through a traditional mortgage. I’ve met amazing people on this journey.”
To learn more about Habitat for Humanity, its programs and impact, or to apply for a home, visit milwaukeehabitat.org
Sheila Julson writes the Eat/Drink column for shepherdexpress.com.
Spring Arts Guide 2025 GROHMANN MUSEUM IS ‘ON THE EDGE’
BY DAVID LUHRSSEN
The beauty of nature and the beauty of industry fold together in a unique way in “On the Edge: The Labor and Environment of Dimensional Stone Quarries.” “On the Edge” is a gallery of photographs from quarries across the U.S. (and Portugal) that rise above simple documentation to an aesthetic level.
The new exhibition is the fourth time the work of photographer Michael Schultz has been seen at the Grohmann Museum. “The subject matter first of all,” begins James Kieselburg, the museum’s director, explaining how Schultz’s interest in industry and labor coincides with the Grohmann’s mission of displaying art that depicts human labor.
“But just as important is his skill and quality as a photographer. He has great reverence for his subjects.”
Schultz’s previous Grohmann exhibits, “Foundry Work” (2010), “Forge Work” (2015) and “Electric Steel” (2021), focused on the manmade tools and materials undergirding the industrial age. With “On the Edge,” he turns to nature, the marble and granite hewn from the ground on industrial scale for constructing buildings.
The exhibit’s striking images were taken with 35 mm and medium format digital cameras. Schultz pays close attention to details as well as overall compositions. The stark geometry of quarry walls prepared for harvesting suggest cubism in stone. Human figures and their machinery are visible, often as tiny matchbox images working against the immensity of their task.
Kieselburg adds that quarrying is “part of the Grohmann Museum’s DNA,” given that its founder, Eckhart Grohmann, came from a family of German quarry owners,
Schultz comes to his projects from a different perspective. He became a fulltime photographer after a career in dentistry and has been exhibited in museums and galleries around the U.S. According to Kieselburg, Schultz’s industrial photos “capture the size and scale of industry” as well as “the role of the workers,” whether foundry workers or quarrymen. “With his eye for monumentality, he gives a complete view of an industry in scale and size, and in so doing, a celebration of industry and the workers.”
“On the Edge: The Labor and Environment of Dimensional Stone Quarries” runs through April 27 at the Grohmann Museum, 1000 N. Broadway.
Photo Courtesy of The Grohmann Museum
5 POINTS ART GALLERY 5ptsartgallery.com
ACACIA THEATRE COMPANY acaciatheatre.com
A Sleep of Prisoners, March 21-April 6 War was a living memory for English poet-playwright Christopher Fry when he wrote A Sleep of Prisoners. His 1951 verse play, dramatizing the vivid dreams of four POWs, caught on in the U.S. and UK for its antiwar message—a theme not irrelevant in today’s world. (David Luhrssen)
THE ALICE WILDS thealicewilds.com
ALL IN PRODUCTIONS allin-mke.com
ALVERNO ART & CULTURES GALLERY
AMERICAN PLAYERS THEATRE (APT) americanplayers.org
APERI ANIMAM aperianimam.com
ARTS @ LARGE artsatlargeinc.org
BACH CHAMBER CHOIR bachchoirmilwaukee.com
Spring Concert, April 27 (St. Jude the Apostle, Wauwatosa)
Mozart Solemn Vespers with chamber orchestra
For the final concert of their 55th Anniversary Season, the Bach Chamber will be accompanied by an orchestra for Mozart’s exuberant Solemn Vespers. It's one of the composer’s significant choral works and is rarely performed in Milwaukee. (David Luhrssen)
BRONZEVILLE ARTS ENSEMBLE facebook.com/ BronzevilleArtsEnsemble
BROOM STREET THEATRE, MADISON bstonline.org
Bloody Aftermath, April
CABARET MILWAUKEE facebook.com/cabmke
CAPITAL CITY THEATRE, MADISON capitalcitytheatre.org
Murder for Two, Feb. 21-March 2
Broadway Our Way, March 20 (The Bur Oak)
E. Faye Butler, May 6 (The Bur Oak)
CARROLL PLAYERS carroll-players.com
CARTHAGE COLLEGE THEATRE carthage.edu/arts/experience-thearts/theatre-dance-performances
Terminal Exhale, March 27-30
Away from the Mirror, April 4-5
Head Over Heels , April 25-27, May1-3
CATEY OTT DANCE COLLECTIVE cateyott.com
CATHEDRAL OF ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST stjohncathedral.corg
Wednesday concert series
CEDARBURG ART MUSEUM cedarburgartmuseum.org
“A Vision for Cedarburg: The Legacy of E. Stephan Fischer,” through April 27
Wisconsin Watercolor Society, through 27
CEDARBURG CULTURAL CENTER cedarburgculturalcenter.org
CEDARBURG PERFORMING ARTS CENTER cedarburgpac.com
Trailblazing Women of Country: A Tribute to Patsy, Loretta and Dolly, March 28
The Texas Tenors, April 4
Uptown: A Celebration of Motown and Soul, May 3
CHANT CLAIRE CHAMBER CHOIR chantclaire.org
CHARLES ALLIS ART MUSEUM charlesallis.org
CHAZEN MUSEUM OF ART (UW-MADISON) chazen.wisc.edu
“You Belong Here: Place, Purpose, and People in Latinx Photography,” through May 7
“The Crafted World of Wharton Esherick,” through May 18
CHORAL ARTS SOCIETY OF SOUTHEASTERN WISCONSIN choralartsonline.org
“Say It with Music, The Great American Songbook Concert,” April 12 (First Presbyterian Church, Racine)
CIVIC MUSIC MKE civicmusicmilwaukee.org
THE CONSTRUCTIVISTS theconstructivists.org
The Beauty Queen of Leenane, March 29-April 12
Some of the most familiar names in Milwaukee theater have gathered for this Tony-nominated play by Anglo-Irish writer Martin McDonagh. Among them, director James Pickering, and Flora Coker as a “spinster” in a remote Irish village. Also cast are Maureen Folan and Pato and Ray Dooley. (David Luhrssen)
CONCORD CHAMBER ORCHESTRA concordorchestra.org
“Not Far from the Tree: A Night of the New & Familiar,” March 22 (St. Sebastian Parish)
CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY cuw.edu
COVERED BRIDGE ART STUDIO TOUR cedarburgartistsguild.com
DANCECIRCUS dancecircus.org
DANCEWORKS PERFORMANCE MKE danceworksmke.org
Viewpoints, March 1 (Danceworks Studio Theatre)
Get It Out There: Spring Cycle, April 5 (Danceworks Studio Theatre)
Fables from the Wide Sky, May 22-24 (Milwaukee Youth Arts Center)
DAVID BARNETT GALLERY davidbarnettgallery.com
DAWN SPRINGER DANCE PROJECT dawnspringer.com
DEAD MAN’S CARNIVAL facebook.com/Dead-Mans-Carnival-338362982860387
DOOR SHAKESPEARE doorshakespeare.com
EARLY MUSIC NOW earlymusicnow.org
The Valencia Baryton Project: A Haydn Collective, March 1 (St. Paul’s Episcopal Church)
Magdalena - Salon: Scenes from a French Landscape, April 26 (St. Paul’s Episcopal Church)
Early music is attracting young talent. Magdalena is a newly formed professional ensemble of six young musicians who specialize in Renaissance music. “They will perform songs of love and lust that were popular and plentiful in 16th and 17thcentury French society. Early Music Now often presents emerging ensembles, offering our audiences fresh interpretations of centuries-old music,” says EMN’s artistic director Charles Grosz. (David Luhrssen)
EX FABULA exfabula.org
The Experience: Bodies, March 13
StorySlam: Tales from Milwaukee, March 26
Deaf Stories Project StorySlam, April 25
Teen StorySlam, May 6
All Stars: “If I’m Being Honest, May 15
FALLS PATIO PLAYERS fallspatioplayers.com
FESTIVAL CITY SYMPHONY festivalcitysymphony.org
Harmonies of the Heartland, March 8
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912), a British composer of mixed ancestry, was called the “Black Mahler” by American musicians. His Ballade will be included in this concert, along with Howard Hanson’s Romantic Symphony, Samuel Barber’s Second Essay and more. (David Luhrssen)
Spanish Dreams and Dances, April 12
FINE ARTS QUARTET fofaq.org
Arriaga, Shostakovich, Mendelssohn, May 5 (St. Paul’s Episcopal Church)
Beethoven, Mendelssohn, May 9 (UWM Recital Hall)
Mozart, Schumann, Dvorak, May 11 (Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts)
FIRST STAGE firststage.org
Disney & Pixar’s Finding Nemo, March 8-April 6
The computer animation pioneers Pixar Studios was still at its prime in 2003 when it released Finding Nemo (2003), a delightful fable about family, children and parenting. Like many other recent Disney and Pixar productions, Finding Nemo became material for the stage, a musical. (David Luhrssen)
Ride the Cyclone, March 28-April 13
Esperanza Rising, May 2-18
FLORENTINE OPERA
florentineopera.org
Versed: Viva La Mamma! March 3 (Wayne and Kristine Lueders Opera Center)
Viva La Mamma! March 21-23 (Alverno College, Pitman Theater)
Versed: Carmen, May 7 (Wayne and Kristine Lueders Opera Center)
Carmen, May 16-18 (Marcus Performing Arts Center, Uihlein Hall)
Georges Bizet chose Prosper Merimée’s novella Carmen as the source for his beloved opera. Considered shocking at its 1875 debut, the libretto concerns the promiscuous “gypsy” smuggler Carmen (mezzo-soprano) who seduces poor Corporal José (tenor) and turns his life toward crime. They are hopelessly mismatched; comedy turns tragic with a score of unforgettable melodies. (David Luhrssen)
FORTE THEATRE COMPANY fortetheatrecompany.org
The Secret Garden, April 5-13 (Saber Center for the Performing Arts)
FORWARD THEATER, MADISON forwardtheater.com
A Case for the Existence of God, March 27-April 13
Guilty Pleasures Monologue Festival, May 8-10
FOUR SEASONS THEATRE, MADISON fourseasonstheatre.com
Company, Feb. 20-March 2
FRANKLY MUSIC franklymusic.org
DSCH! A Commemoration of Dmitri Shostakovich, March 24 (Schwan Concert Hall, Wisconsin Lutheran College)
An Evening Showcasing Marta and Ani Aznavoorian, Celebrating the Anniversary of Bedrich Smetana, May 5 (Schwan Concert Hall, Wisconsin Lutheran College)
Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884) is honored in the Czech Republic for composing classical music using themes and melodies of his homeland. Violinist Frank Almond will be joined by Chicago-raised cellist Azni Aznavoorian and her pianist Marta Aznavoorian. The sister duo’s album Gems from Armenian features the haunting work of composer-musicologist Komitas Vardapet. (David Luhrssen)
FRESCO OPERA THEATRE, MADISON frescoopera.com
GALLERY 218 gallery218.com
GALLERY 224 Gallery224.org
ARTServancy Exhibition, March 1-April 28
GALLERY 2622 gallery2622.com
GALLERY NIGHT AND DAY, APRIL 11-12 gallerynightmke.com
Milwaukee’s original art hop happens quarterly with a focus on galleries in the Third Ward, East Town and Walker’s Point. (Morton Shlabotnik)
GERMANTOWN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER gsdwi.org
GREEN GALLERY Thegreengallery.biz
GREENDALE COMMUNITY THEATRE greendaletheatre.org
GROHMANN MUSEUM msoe.edu/grohmann-museum
“On the Edge: The Labor and Environment of Dimensional Stone Quarries,” through April 27
GROVE GALLERY gallerygrove.com
HAGGERTY MUSEUM OF ART marquette.edu/haggerty-museum
“Parallel Play: The Art of Science & the Science of Art,” Jan. 17-May 24
“The Big 4.0 Vol. 2: New Views of the Collection,” through May 24
The Haggerty Museum of Art is a gem tucked away on the Marquette University campus, an institution with an impressive trove of art in its vaults and an admirably creative tradition of programming. The Big 4.0 Vol. 2” is a something-for-almost-everyone survey of diverse work from the permanent collection to celebrate the Haggerty’s 40th anniversary. (David Luhrssen)
HARLEY-DAVIDSON MUSEUM
harley-davidson.com
“Creating a Legend: Art & Engineering at Harley-Davidson,” through spring 2027
“Ezy Ryders: History & Tradition, Heart & Soul,” through 2026
Photographer Cate Dingley’s book Ezy Ryders focuses on New York City’s Black riding culture today. Images and text from her book have been chosen for the new exhibition at the HarleyDavidson Museum. All of Dingley’s photographs are in black and white. “There’s a sense of timelessness to them, black and white can be a very expressive medium,” curator Ann Sinfield says. (David Luhrssen)
H. F. JOHNSON GALLERY OF ART carthage.edu/art-gallery
“The Carl Tour,” through March 6
Faculty Exhibition: Another Working Group, March 20-April 17
Annual Student Juried Art Show, March 27-April 5
Senior Exhibitions, April 25-May 3, May 9-17
HOVER CRAFT hovercraftmke.com
HYPERLOCAL MKE hyperlocalmke.com
INSPIRATION STUDIOS ART GALLERY inspirationstudiosgallery.com
IRISH CULTURAL AND HERITAGE CENTER ichc.net
JAMES MAY GALLERY jamesmaygallery.com
JAZZ GALLERY CENTER FOR THE ARTS
jazzgallerycenterforarts.org
Lavender & Green Carnation Exhibition, through March 15
Kierston Ghaznavi, March 22-May 17
The exhibit by this Milwaukee artists invites the audience to step into the space between dreams and waking life. The works include large articulated dolls, painted wooden figures with fabric masks, and intricate papercraft collages that reflect the tension between what we reveal and what we conceal. (Morton Shlabotnik)
Milwaukee Jazz Institute, Sundays
Open Gallery Exhibition, Thursdays
JEWISH MUSEUM MILWAUKEE jewishmuseummilwaukee.org
“Choices of Consequence: Denmark and the Holocaust,” through May 25
“In Denmark, where most of the population saw themselves as integrally linked to others through shared humanity, the Nazi perpetrated Holocaust largely failed as roughly 95% of Danish Jewry was saved by heroic grassroots decisions and actions,” says curator Molly Dubin. “In a time of distressing division, this exhibit holds up an extraordinary example and lesser-known story of allyship mobilized by ordinary people.”
JOHN MICHAEL KOHLER ARTS CENTER
jmkac.org/home.html
“Clocking In: 2024 Arts/Industry Residents,” through March 2
“Willie Kohl: Home Assembly,” through April 27
“Lunch Break: Arts/Industry In Between,” through May 4
Pao Houa Her: The Imaginative Landscape, March 15–Aug. 31
“Sam Barsky: It’s Not the Same Without You,” through July 20
“Ashwini Bhat: Reverberating Self,” through Oct. 19
KETTLE MORAINE SYMPHONY kmsymphony.org
Musical Travels, April 11 (Slinger High School)
Musical Bites, May 16 (Town Heritage Center)
KIM STORAGE GALLERY kimstoragegallery.com
Jordon Scott: Connections, March 8-April 19
Carl Jung might have loved Jordan Scott’s geometric abstractions, made from used postage stamps transformed into “meditative designs, inspired by mandalas, that reflect the interconnectedness of humanity and ideas of the collective unconscious.” (David Luhrssen)
KITH AND KIN THEATRE COLLECTIVE kithandkintheatre.com
KOHLER MEMORIAL THEATER kohlerfoundation.org
The Other Mozart, May 8
KO-THI DANCE COMPANY ko-thi.org
LAKE ARTS PROJECT lakeartsproject.com
LAKE COUNTRY PLAYHOUSE lakecountryplayhousewi.org
Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical, March-April 13
Proof, May 9-23
LAKEFRONT FESTIVAL OF ART mam.org
LATINO ARTS, INC. latinoartsinc.org
Her Colorful World: Su Mundo de Colores by Issis Macias, March 7-June 6
La Perla, March 7
Tres Souls, April 11
LILY PAD GALLERY WEST lilypadgallery.com
Art Passions of Collectors and Curators: Personal Visions, Shared Treasures, March 5
LUTHERAN A CAPELLA CHOIR OF MILWAUKEE lutheranacapella.org
LYNDEN SCULPTURE GARDEN lyndensculpturegarden.org
And then Down Became Up: New Works by Sonja Thomsen
March 15- June 1
Sonja Thomsen weaves an intricate narrative across time and space, bringing together the legacies of pioneering women artists through a multidisciplinary exploration of balance, perspective and maternal lineage. The new work, visible just beyond the gallery’s windows, is echoed in the interior space in small, light-modulating objects, large-scale mural prints and transparencies and photographs. (Morton Shlabotnik)
MADISON BALLET madisonballet.org
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, April 4-6
MADISON MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART mmoca.org
MADISON THEATRE GUILD madisontheatreguild.org
Arsenic & Old Lace, March 14-22
MAKING MUSIC VOCAL ARTS mmvocalarts.com
Chorale Showcase, April 2-4, April 6 (Milwaukee Youth Arts Center)
MARCUS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER marcuscenter.org
The Book of Mormon (Broadway Series), through March 2
Romeo and Juliette (Milwaukee Repertory Theater), through March 30
Yamato: The Drummers of Japan, March 5
Disney & Pixar’s Finding Nemo (First Stage), March 8-April 6
Martha Graham Dance Company, March 15
The Red Hot Chilli Pipers, March 21
Rumours: The Ultimate Fleetwood Mac Tribute Show, March 22
A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical (Broadway Series), March 25-39
Neil Diamond was often overlooked in the ‘60s by the rock cognoscenti— was he a bit too pop, too melodic and sentimental, too distant from the Summer of Love? Diamond’s hits have endured and are wheeled out in this jukebox musical named for his 1976 LP (produced by The Band’s Robbie Robertson). (David Luhrssen)
Love is a Game, April 4-5
Ladies of Hip Hop, April 4
Cesar E. Chavez Celebration, April 6
Sleeping Beauty (Milwaukee Ballet), April 11-13
Lakecia Benjamin, April 11
The Cher Show, April 19
Annie (Broadway Series), April 25-27
Esperanza Rising (First Stage), May 2-18
Dog Man: The Musical (First Stage), May 3-4
Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles, May 9
Carmen (Florentine Opera), May 16-18
MJ (Broadway Series), May 27-June 1
MARN ART + CULTURE HUB marnarts.org
MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY THEATRE marquette.edu/communication/theatre-arts.php
Bright Star, April 4-13
MASTER SINGERS OF MILWAUKEE mastersingersofmilwaukee.org
Transformation, March 2 (Christ King Catholic Parish)
Shelter in the Storm, May 18 (Crossroad Presbyterian Church)
MATERIAL STUDIOS + GALLERY materialstudiosandgallery.com
MEMORIES DINNER THEATRE memoriesballroom.com
Don’t Hug Me, March 7-16
Drinking Habits , May 9-18
MENOMONEE FALLS SYMPHONY www.mfso.net
Beethoven Triple Concerto, April 26 (Hamilton Fine Arts Center)
MIAD GALLERY AT THE AVE galleryattheave.miad.edu
MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM mam.org
“Light and Shadow: John Constable’s English Landscape Prints,” through March 16
“True Story: Photography, Journalism, and Media,” through March 16
Winter Series: Meadow, through April 13
The Netherlands are known for its love of flowers. Little wonder then that the Dutch DRIFT studio created the “upside down landscape” of “Meadow,” a bouquet of giant flowers suspended from the Quadracci Pavilion’s high ceiling. Fashioned from aluminum, fabric, steel and robotic components, the petals open and shut in regular rhythm mimicking the workings of nature. (David Luhrssen)
“On Site: Derrick Adams Our Time Together,” through May 11
MILWAUKEE BALLET milwaukeeballet.org
Momentum, March 1-2
Sleeping Beauty, April 11-13
Western Civilization has lived so long with Sleeping Beauty, and through ever evolving choreography, that it’s easy to overlook the beauty of Tchaikovsky’s music. When writing for ballet, the Russian composer had the extraordinary gift of catching the exact rhythm and mood need in every scene. (David Luhrssen)
Suzan-Lori Parks won a Pulitzer and a Tony for Topdog/Underdog. The dark comedy follows two Black brothers with troubled upbringings, Lincoln and Booth. Booth is a petty criminal while Lincoln wants only honest work— and the only job he can find is at a boardwalk arcade as an Abraham Lincoln impersonator. (David Luhrssen)
Community of Voices: 30th Anniversary Concert, May 11 (St. Sebastian Parish)
MILWAUKEE COMEDY milwaukeecomedy.com
MILWAUKEE FESTIVAL BRASS mfbrass.org
MILWAUKEE FILM mkefilm.org
Milwaukee Film Festival, April 24-May 8
MILWAUKEE FRINGE FESTIVAL mkefringe.com
MILWAUKEE INSTITUTE OF ART & DESIGN GALLERY miad.edu
“Bridge Work: Ten Years of Making,” Jan. 13-March 8
“Bridgework” features recent work by participants in the Plum Blossoms Initiative, a program developed by local artist Jason Yi and curator Leah Kolb to shore up the disruptive gap facing students upon graduating from art school. The work of the 23 participants in the show suggests that the infrastructure those two architects laid is both functioning extraordinarily well and holding up to the elements. (Shane McAdams)
MILWAUKEE IRISH ARTS milirisharts.wordpres.com
MILWAUKEE JAZZ INSTITUTE milwaukeejazzinstitute.org
Celebrate Milwaukee/414 Day, April 13 (Discovery World Pavilion)
Celebrate Spring, May 18 (Ivy House)
MILWAUKEE MUSAIK milwaukeemusaik.org
Guitar Grandmaster, May 17
MILWAUKEE OPERA THEATRE milwaukeeoperatheatre.org
Camille’s Rainbow, May 21-June 1
MILWAUKEE REPERTORY THEATER milwaukeerep.com
The Craic , through March 16 (Stackner Cabaret)
The Woman in Black, Jan. 21-March 23 (Stiemke Studio)
Woman in Black was made into a 2012 film starring Daniel Radcliffe, a slightly disjoined telling of a popular play based on a bestselling novel. Given the play’s remarkable run on London’s West End, 33 years, plus acclaimed international tours, Antony Eden, associate director of the Milwaukee Rep’s Woman in Black, can’t understand why Hollywood “would change the story so drastically! As a horror film fan, I enjoyed the film very much, but the real story, the best story can only be enjoyed by reading the book or, even better in my opinion, by spending two hours in a dark theater.”
(David Luhrssen)
Romeo and Juliet, Feb. 25-March 30 (Marcus Performing Arts Center/Wilson Theater at Vogel Hall)
The Last Five Years , March 21-May 18 (Stackner Cabaret)
Espejos: Clean, April 8-May 11 (Stiemke Studio)
Million Dollar Quartet, April 22-May 24 (Marcus Performing Arts Center Wilson Theater at Vogel Hall)
MILWAUKEE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
mso.org
Mendelssohn’s Third Symphony, March 7-9
Bach Celebration, March 21-23
Copland’s Appalachian Spring, April 4-5
Brahms Requiem, April 11-13
Dinur Conducts Tchaikovsky, April 26-27
Internationally respected, Yaniv Dinur became a welcome familiar face in town as the MSO’s resident conductor and organizer of chamber music concerts at Villa Terrace and Charles Allis. He returns to the MSO podium for a concert pairing two Russians, Sergei Prokofiev and Peter Tchaikovsky, with an American, Samuel Barber, influenced by Tchaikovsky. Alexander Korsantia will perform on piano. (David Luhrssen)
Pines of Rome, May 9-10
Bernstein & Bartok, May 30-31
The link between Bela Bartok’s The Miraculous Mandarin and Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story is that both were written for an ensemble of dancers. It’s an imaginative coupling, supplemented by Czech composer Bedřich Smetana’s symphonic poem Vyšehrad. Stefan Asbury conducts, with Tai Murray as featured violinist. (David Luhrssen)
MILWAUKEE YOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA myso.org
New Light Recitals, March 16 (Milwaukee Youth Art Center)
Grand Finale, May 4 (Bradley Symphony Hall)
Lyrical Journey, May 7 (Wisconsin Lutheran College Schwan Concert Hall)
Rhythm and Blues, May 10 (Milwaukee Youth Art Center)
New Adventures, May 16 (Zelazo Center Bader Hall)
Symphonic Celebration, May 17 (Shattuck Music Center Auditorium)
Dynamic Frontiers, May 17 (Shattuck Music Center Auditorium)
Encores and Masterpieces, May 18 (Shattuck Music Center Auditorium)
May Melodies, May 21 (Zelazo Center Bader Hall)
MILWAUKEE YOUTH THEATRE milwaukeeyouththeatre.org
Murder on the Orient Express , March 14-16
MKE BLACK THEATRE FESTIVAL blackartsmke.org
MKE STUDIO TOUR mkestudiotour.com
MORNING STAR PRODUCTIONS morningstarproductions.org
MUSEUM OF WISCONSIN ART wisconsinart.org
“Jennifer Angus: Into the Blue: An Immersive Installation,” through March 2
The Sculpted World of Adolph Rosenblatt, through April 13
Sherrie Levine: After Russell Lee, through July 27
Franklin Boggs: The Art of Tanning, through June 8
“Impressions in Clay: The Sculpted World of Adolph Rosenblatt,” through April 13
My Balcony, a complex clay sculpture by the late Milwaukee artist and educator Adolph Rosenblatt, represents a full house of patrons in the balcony of Milwaukee’s Oriental Theatre, the 81 figures depict actual friends, neighbors and family members of the artist, who prior to his death in 2017 spent 50-plus years living and working on the city’s East Side. (Michael Muckian)
MOWA | DTN (Saint Kate-The Arts Hotel) MOWA on the Lake (St. John’s on the Lake)
Rosalie Waranius Vass Art, through April 8
NEXT ACT THEATRE nextact.org
The Children, through March 9
In British playwright Lucy Kirkwood’s The Children, the routine of retired couple Robin and Hazel is upset by the unexpected arrival of Rose, a former colleague. All three are scientists who once worked together at a nuclear power plant; a recent accident gives them pause to consider the results of their past. And then Rose offers “a looming disruptive proposal involving all of their futures,” says Marie Kohler, director of Next Act’s production of The Children. (David Luhrssen)
Circle Mirror Transformation, April 23-May 18
NŌ STUDIOS nostudios.com
NORTH SHORE ACADEMY OF THE ARTS
facebook.com/northshoreacademyofthearts
NORTHERN SKY THEATER northernskytheater.com
OAK CREEK PERFORMING ARTS AND EDUCATION CENTER oakcreepaec.com
Artrageous, March 16
OCONOMOWOC ARTS CENTER oasd.k12.wi.us/artscenter
Guys on Ice, March 7-8
Wisconsin Philharmonic, Superheroes, March 31
The Beat Goes On, March 16
Wisconsin Philharmonic, Magnificence and Grandeur, April 17
Studio One Dance Company, May 10
Take 3 Where Rock Meets Back, May 17
OIL A CITY GALLERY oilmilwaukee.com
OPTIMIST THEATRE optimisttheatre.org
OUTSKIRTS THEATRE facebook.com/outskirtstheatre
OVER OUR HEAD PLAYERS overourheadplayers.org
Ride the Cyclone: The Musical, April 11-May 4
PAINT CEDARBURG: A PLEIN AIR PAINTING EVENT cedarburgartistsguild.com/paint-cedarburg
PENINSULA PLAYERS peninsulaplayers.com
“Do You Turn Somersaults?” March 3
“A Body of Water,” April 7
PHILOMUSICA QUARTET philomusicaquartet.com
English Elegance, April 14 (Wisconsin Lutheran College Schwan Concert Hall)
PIANOARTS pianoarts.org
PINK UMBRELLA THEATER Pinkumbrellatheater.org
PORTRAIT SOCIETY GALLERY portraitsocietygallery.com
Behold: Bernard Gilardi, Norbert Kox, Rosemary Ollison, Curtis Wilks and others, March 28-May 10
Behold is a word with profound meaning—it’s not just seeing something ordinary but something “awesome” in the truest sense. The artists in “Behold” approach artmaking as a spiritual endeavor, each from their own perspective.
“Curtis Wilks created hundreds of drawings and paintings of Biblical verse while incarcerated. Bernard Gilardi re-staged Catholicism,” says gallery director Deb Brehmer. (David Luhrssen)
PRESENT MUSIC presentmusic.org
intO tHe WiLd, March 26-27 (Jan Serr Studio)
Carla Kihlstedt returns to PM with “26 Little Deaths” based on Edward Gorey’s The Gashleycrumb Tinies. Composer Andy Akiho premieres “Copper Canvas,” “which examines the prime number ’29’ (from the Periodic Table of Elements) with Calder-like shifting perspectives,” says PM artistic director Eric Segnitz. PM favorite Kamran Ince “asks the tough existential questions with his new piece then, nothing,” Segnitz continues, “and David Lang responds with “Born to Be Wild,” a tongue-in-cheek romp through the Steppenwolf classic.” (David Luhrssen)
Baroque Pop! With Julia Holter, May 25 (Milwaukee Art Museum)
PROMETHEUS TRIO wcmusic.org
Concert, April 21
(Wisconsin Conservatory of Music)
RACINE ART MUSEUM ramart.org
Watercolor Wisconsin 2024, through April 19
“Low: Rene Amado,” through July 2025
Rene Amado showcases the cars, bicycles, and community of lowrider culture through photography and video. “Low” blends his photography with custom bicycles and other small vehicles from various builders/makers (including himself) and a video in which he expands on the story of lowrider culture through interviews and documentation. (Morton Shlabotnik)
RAM Showcase: Focus on Adornment, through Nov. 22
RACINE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA racinesymphony.org
Musical Flights, March 21, Uncorkt, Racine
Spring Masterworks, April 26, First Presbyterian Church, Racine
RACINE THEATRE GUILD racinetheatre.org
And in This Corner: Casius Clay, through March 2
Chicago playwright Idris Goodman’s And in This: Corner Casius Clay explores the early life of the boxer who—as Muhammad Ali—became one of the world’s most famous athletes and America’s most controversial sports celebrity. (David Luhrssen)
Little Red Riding Hood, March 7-9
Extra Crispy Brass Band, March 15
Always a Bridesmaid, April 3-13
Janet Planet, April 19
Legally Blond, May 16-June 1
REAL TINSEL GALLERY realtinsel.com
Ceci est une pipe: Pipelines from Z through X, through March 30
QUASIMONDO PHYSICAL THEATRE quasimondo.org
“The title refers to a 1929 painting by René Magritte that lives as one of the earliest examples of a society grappling with the difference between a thing based in language and the physical object it represents—the idea of something and the thing itself,” says gallery director Shane McAdams. (David Luhrssen)
RENAISSANCE THEATERWORKS r-t-w.com
Buyer & Cellar, March 23-April 13
SACRA NOVA CHORALE sacranovacathedrale.com
SAINT KATE - THE ARTS HOTEL GALLERY saintkatearts.com
Jason Vaughn: Hide, through April 13 (The Gallery)
Beth Bennett and Michael Sternoff: Under the Ice, through April 13 (The Closet)
Leif Larson: Snow Globe, through April 13 (The Vitrine)
Danielle Winger: The Peace of Wild Things, through April 20 (The Space)
SCULPTURE MILWAUKEE sculpturemilwaukee.com
Truman Lowe, through March 9 (Bradley Symphony Center)
This fall, Ho-Chunk artist Truman Lowe (1944-2019) will be the subject of an exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution. Meanwhile, we can look for ourselves at a trio of his sculptures visible through the windows of Downtown Milwaukee’s Bradley Symphony Center. “The indoor location provides 24/7 access and a 180-degree perspective from outside,” says John Riepenhoff, executive director of Sculpture Milwaukee, better known for the array of sculpted objects displayed for a mile-long stretch of Wisconsin Avenue. (David Luhrssen)
SEAT OF OUR PANTS
READER THEATRE
mkereaderstheatre.com
SHARON LYNNE WILSON CENTER FOR THE ARTS wilson-center.com
Goitse with Athas, March 8
Cantus, March 12
Allison Mahal Band, March 14
Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, March 29
Kat Edmonson, As Time Goes By: Songs from the Silver Screen, April 16
Singer-songwriter Kat Edmondson was raised on old movies—and the songs that helped carry their stories. She calls her own music “vintage pop.” For her Milwaukee debut, she might perform selections from Wizard of Oz, Arthur, Midnight Cowboy, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Purple Rain and more. “Watching old movies and absorbing the music from those films has been one of the key sources of inspiration in my artistic life so among the classic songs I’ll be singing, I’ll be peppering in a few movieinfluenced songs I’ve written,” she says. (David Luhrssen)
Paul Taylor Dance Company, May 10
SHEBOYGAN THEATRE COMPANY stcshows.org
Legally Blond: The Musical, May 9-17
SKYLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE skylightmusictheatre.org
Frankenstein: The Musical, through March 9
Skylight Music Theatre’s Frankenstein: The Musical will look nothing like director James Whale’s classic 1931 movie. “This is not about a big lumbering guy with bolts sticking out of his neck,” says Skylight’s artistic director, Michael Unger. Those who have always said that the book— Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel—was better than the movie should be pleased. “The production maintains Shelley’s sensibility,” Unger continues. “It speaks to the promise and perils of technology.” (David Luhrssen)
Sister Act, April 4-27
SOUTH MILWAUKEE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER southmilwaukeepac.org
Tessa Lark, Joshua Roman, Edgar Meyer Trio, March 26
Unleashed, April 6
SUNSET PLAYHOUSE sunsetplayhouse.com
Drinking Habits , March 6-23
Pop Divas, March 10-11
This One’s for You, March 27-30
Honky Tonk Angels , April 3-6 (Bombshell Theatre Co.)
The Frog Pal, April 9-12
Grand Hotel: The Musical, April 24-May 11
Boy Bands Tribute, April 28-29
THEATRE GIGANTE theatregigante.org
Terminus , Feb. 27-March 9 (UWM Kenilworth Studio 508)
Co-artistic directors Mark Anderson and Isabelle Kralj describe Terminus as “A rip roaring crazy whirlwind of a ride told in verse—a dark tale written by one of Ireland’s contemporary darling playwrights,” Mark O’Rowe. (David Luhrssen)
THEATRICAL TENDENCIES theatricaltendencies.com
THIRD AVENUE PLAYHOUSE, STURGEON BAY thirdavenueplayworks.org
THRASHER OPERA HOUSE, GREEN LAKE thrasheroperahouse.com
THREE POINT PROJECT
threepointproject.wi.wordpress.com
Milwaukee has an important new dance company founded last year by 27-year-old artistic director Ashley Tomaszewski whose previous years as a dancer and associate artistic director with Water Street Dance Milwaukee helped that group to greatness. (John Schneider)
TOOTH-AND-NAIL GALLERY toothandnailmke.com
TORY FOLLIARD GALLERY toryfolliard.com
Claire Kellesvig: A Body of Water, through-March 8
Embodied Connections: Figurative Ceramics and Cultural Narratives, through March 20
BA & BSE Senior Show, April 7-17
BFA Senior Exhibition, April 28-May 8
UW-WHITEWATER YOUNG AUDITORIUM uww.edu/youngauditorium
VAR GALLERY & STUDIOS vargallery.com
VILLA TERRACE DECORATIVE ARTS MUSEUM villaterrace.org
VILLAGE PLAYHOUSE villageplayhouse.org
VOICES FOUND voicesfoundrep.com
WALKER'S POINT CENTER FOR THE ARTS wpca-milwaukee.org
WAREHOUSE ART MUSEUM wammke.org
WATER STREET DANCE MILWAUKEE waterstreetdancemke.com
Performance, April 11 (Schauer Arts Center, Hartford)
WAUKESHA CIVIC THEATRE waukeshacivictheatre.org
Cruel Intentions: The ‘90s Musical (Outskirts Theatre Co.), Jan. 10-19
101 Dalmations Kids , Jan. 30-Feb. 1
Akeelah and the Bee, Feb. 7-23
“Music on Main,” Feb. 12
Vanya and Sonia, Marsha and Spike, Feb. 28-March 9
WEST ALLIS PLAYERS westallisplayers.org
A Fox on the Fairway, April 4-6, April 11-13
WEST BEND THEATRE COMPANY westbendtheatreco.com
WEST PERFORMING ARTS CENTER nbexcellence.org/community/westpac. cfm
WILD SPACE DANCE COMPANY wildspacedance.org
Choreo Kitchen Series 2, April 18-19 (Broadway Theatre Center)
WINDFALL THEATRE windfalltheatre.com
WISCONSIN CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC wcmusic.org
WISCONSIN CRAFT wisconsincraft.org
WISCONSIN LUTHERAN COLLEGE CENTER FOR ARTS AND PERFORMANCE wlc.edu
Spring Jazz Band Concert, April 23
Spring Band Concert, May 2
WISCONSIN MUSEUM OF QUILTS & FIBER ART wiquiltmuseum.com
Winter Quilt Show Fiber Contest, Feb. 12-March 5
Heidi Parkes: Soft Magic, March 6-June 8
WISCONSIN PHILHARMONIC wisphil.org
Superheroes!, March 13 (Oconomowoc Arts Center)
Magnificence and Grandeur, April 17 (Oconomowoc Arts Center)
WOODLAND PATTERN BOOK CENTER woodlandpattern.org
Open Mic: Resound Return, March 28
Open Mic: Resound Return, April 25
Open Mic: Resound Return, May 30
WUSTUM MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS ramart.org
Music For All Occasions
HOW MILWAUKEE COVER BANDS AND TRIBUTE ACTS FILL A NICHE
BY BLAINE SCHULZ
During festival season Milwaukeeans cram as much fun as possible into a three-month window of opportunity. That includes everything from block parties and church festivals to ethnic festivals, the Wisconsin State Fair and Summerfest. At these events you will likely witness a crowd reliving the soundtrack of their golden era as performed by local musicians.
For many musicians, original material is the art they hope to be remembered for. But does it pay the bills?
A local musician with a lifetime in bands playing originals spent one summer as part of the crew for a busy Milwaukee cover act. That band’s leader once commented that when the conversation turns critical of cover bands, he laughs all the way to the bank.
Playing since 1967, Jason Klagstad started at bar mitzvahs with the late Howie Epstein and went on to Semi Twang, Bill Camplin, Jerry Harrison, Peter Buffett, Plumb Loco and Arroyo. He has owned music stores, coordinated festivals and worked in marketing.
He has maintained a balance of playing covers and originals. “The Beatles started out as a cover band and most orchestras today are just cover bands,” Klagstad points out.
In recent years local venues have populated their calendars with tribute acts focusing on a group or a genre. Shank Hall’s Peter Jest says that as members of nationally known bands retire or die, tribute acts became popular when fans realize they will never get to see the real thing in the flesh. He jokes how the late Mark Shurilla kept track of deceased stars and set up tribute acts. According to Jest about 20% of his club’s shows fall under the tribute category with Led Zeppelin tribute Headley Grange a good draw; The Cars, Supertramp and Fleetwood Mac acts will play in upcoming months.
STRADDLING ART AND COMMERCE
Bassist Jack Rice and guitarist Bob Eickhoff have played in bands since high school including The Mighty Deerlick and The Carolinas. In recent years those bands slowed down and Rice found himself with New Wave appreciators Radio Radio and Eickhoff with Rolling Stones tribute act Shattered.
“It's just different to learn existing music or parts than to come up with your own,” Rice says. “In the original bands I've been in, I've been free to come up with my own basslines and vocal parts, for the most part,” he says. “With Radio Radio at least, we mostly try to hew pretty close to what the original song sounds like, but we still each bring our own spirit or personality to the song. I'm embarrassed to say I'm not real big on sitting around the house practicing the bass, so it's definitely improved my playing overall and forced me to learn things and approach music in a different way.”
Rice says Radio Radio “is much more organized and efficient than most original bands I've been in … everybody shows up to rehearsals prepared and knowing exactly what we'll be working on.”
Likewise, Eickhoff saw Shattered as an opportunity to grow as a musician. “I was never interested in the cover band aspect jumping from song to song from different artist to different artist. The tribute appealed to me, but it would have had to be the right band. I had started putting together a R.E.M. tribute and we were ready to go but it kind of fizzled after a member decided he wasn't interested anymore,” he says.
“The idea still appealed to me with the right band and when I was approached to join Shattered it was a perfect fit. It gave me a huge opportunity to grow as a guitar player learning to play in open G and E tunings which I had never done before.”
The Stones’ looseness is appealing. “The beautiful thing about The Stones is that their live versions can be dramatically different than the recorded versions and have evolved over time, so we tend to pull the best out of the different versions out there from different tours. There are also areas where they stretch out live and we do the same. We are all into vintage gear and utilize instruments from the Stones DNA—Fender amps, Gibson and Fender guitars.”
A HYBRID MODEL
After 26 years, Milwaukee’s Zappafest is America’s longest running tribute to the music of Frank Zappa. Local band Gozortenplat has anchored the festivities, has performed in Germany and will soon head to Las Vegas.
What sets Gozortenplat apart is drafting Zappa-band vocalists Ike Willis and Ray White to front the group for the Zappafest shows. It’s like throwing a knuckleball at all the legacy acts touring with one original member or the cousin of the original singer.
Zappafest is also notable for offering an opening set to The Mirror Men, a local group performing material by Zappa’s teenage friend Captain Beefheart.
Brian Wurch released an album of original material and toured Europe the Psycho Bunnies. These days the vocalist-guitarist leads The Falcons, a cover band that haunts suburban VFW halls. The Falcons formed when Wurch was booked for a David Bowie tribute, The Spiders from Milwaukee, at Legion Post 449. When he blew out his voice in rehearsals he called in some favors “slapped together a night of English Invasion. Kept getting booked monthly there for eight years,” he says.
THAT PESKY MUSIC DEGREE
Eli Holman is classically trained and started playing jazz at Roosevelt Middle School before getting a music degree at Oberlin College. He considered working as a professional musician but decided it was easier to make a career in tech. “I wouldn’t end up burning myself out on something I loved,” he says.
He joined the Love Monkey nearly 10 years ago. He says he was friendly with the band because he had been playing Latin jazz with Love Monkeys’ drummer Carlos Adames in the Carlos Adames Group and was excited to have a chance to join them. “I think the sheer size of the repertoire that the band can conjure up at a moment’s notice is pretty incredible, and after nearly 10 years with the band I feel like John Hauser can still break into something I’ve never heard before but everyone else seems to know,” he says. “I think it was also surprising how much opportunity there has been for improvisation and general experimentation. It sometimes feels more like a jam band than a cover band.”
Holman also addresses the financial reality of playing music. “The Monkeys play 30 times or so in a year and I earn a fixed amount per show so it’s very consistent. I usually play more like 8-10 shows a year with the Carlos Adames Group but they tend to be more like concerts with money coming from ticket sales or the door which can vary. The truth is though, it’s nearly impossible to support yourself from gigging alone as a local act in a city the size of Milwaukee so I think it’s more about what you enjoy!”
FAMILIAR FACES
The 5 Card Studs have played in the area of 2,000 shows in the past 29 years. “We’re all pretty proud of it. And it’s still fun and a very good paycheck,” says guitarist Jeff Benske. Like Jason Klagstad before him, Benske spends his 9-5 at his music shop Top Shelf Guitars in Bay View.
Members of the Studs cut their teeth in original bands like Loyal Order of Water Buffalo, Chief and Johnny and the Losers playing at long gone clubs like The Boardwalk and The Unicorn.
The Studs found a way to stand out early on. “Music for sexy people, by sexy people,” was the conceit, along with sly alter egos and stage names. But a carefully curated set list of top 40 AM gold nuggets dug deeper and proved more rewarding than standard cover-fare. The group was formed on a lark and managed to weave a particular schtick—it was a joke, but everybody got the joke.
“I never thought that I’d ever be in a cover band. The thought of doing it never crossed my mind,” Benske says. “I wanted to play original music. There’s nothing wrong with playing covers if that’s what you decide to do, but I can’t recall a cover band that was really great from back in the day because I never paid any attention to them.”
He recalls the origin. “We didn’t do it for the money. Mike Eitel needed a lounge band for New Year’s Eve at the Nomad in 1995 so he asked Paul Jonas, who worked for him at the time, to see if he could throw something together.” Around 2000 the band began making money. We were all still playing original music, so it created an artistic conflict of interest. Art vs. money.
“We were so brow bashed by not getting paid for all of those years, that when we started getting real money, it was hard to pass up,” he recalls. “The plus side was The Studs was our idea, we were very different from other cover bands. We were so bad that it was good. I don’t believe there was a cover band that did what we did. It was an original band from that perspective. The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra is a popular cover band if you want to go that route.”
Milwaukee has produced a lot of great original bands, but there’s no money in it, he says. “If I recall correctly, the Loyal Order of Water Buffalo would be pretty ecstatic over making $350 at the door and then you pay the other band half and split the $175 or put it in the band kitty. And then there were the $25 dollar nights.”
He considers himself lucky to have experienced both sides. “I miss the creative aspect of original music, and maybe I’ll do it again someday,” he says. “Who knows maybe 60 will be the new 20.”
SECOND INCOME
For nearly 25 years and over 1,500 performances Chris Tishler, per his nom de rocke Cesar Palace, fronted the Studs. In 2021 Tishler released the album Reach for the Sun as a solo artist. Referring to the Studs he says, “For me personally, all of the members of the cover band that I was in had stage names and played/ portrayed certain ‘characters.’ I was the loungey/flirty/sleazy frontman guy, using catch phrases and had to be in character all the time.”
When the Studs got established, Tishler says, the 80-100 gigs a year “was definitely a nice second income.” On the flipside, with original bands he says “some venues will offer a flat amount, some do a guarantee vs the door, and a few don't do any at all and even then maybe have a tip jar or whatever. It’s been varied, but one can always incorporate the ‘labor of love’ aspect as being kind of an underlying unwritten rule in being in an original band.”
Any regrets about stepping away from the Studs? “I don't do ‘regret.’ It's a waste of one's time.”
Matt Liban takes his view from different angles. Aside from playing in the Studs, he has played originals, played with top blues players, played studio gigs and taught music. His dad, Jim Liban, offered Matt a first-hand look at what the life of a musician entailed.
“Milwaukee has always had popular cover bands. All of the festivals and community concerts as well as bars want to get the masses to buy drinks,” he says. “It’s the least common denominator for an audience, they want what’s familiar and/or nostalgia for a more innocent time in their lives.” He recalls the Studs have played both wedding and divorce parties for the same couple.
With original bands the audiences seem more in tune with what’s going on musically, “which asks a lot of the listener. In the ‘90s and early 2000s we had definite scenes or cliques that would catch the local, original bands. We were young, we would drink and support other bands in the community and could stay out late.”
There are certain audiences that expect a party, a good time; those are the folks who attend cover band shows. “Once again, they know what they’re going to get. The original band audience is possibly more open to taking chances with what they’ll receive-good and bad,” he observes.
Blaine Schultz is a veteran Milwaukee musician and Staff Writer for the Shepherd Express.
This Month in Milwaukee SEVEN THINGS TO DO IN MARCH
BY SOPHIA HAMDAN, ELIZABETH LINTONEN, DAVID LUHRSSEN AND BLAINE SCHULTZ
TUESDAYS IN MARCH
Tuesdays in the Garden for Parents & Very Small Children
Lynden Sculpture Garden
Designed for children three and under, the program provides a nurturing environment where curiosity and wonder are extended through play and exploration. Kids and caregivers learn and discover side-by-side. Art educators Claudia Orjuela and Denice Niebuhr demonstrate hands-on art making and an all-senses-engaged exploration of the outdoor world at the Lynden’s incomparable grounds. 10:30-11:30 a.m. Register at lyndensculpturegarden.org.
MARCH 7-9
Anime Milwaukee
Baird Center and Hilton Milwaukee City Center
Save the date! Anime Milwaukee returns to the Baird Center and Hilton Milwaukee City Center. Join like-minded animeenthusiasts in a three-day convention celebrating all-things geek culture, including anime, manga, cosplay, music and gaming. From cosplay competitions to creative panels with industry professionals, Anime Milwaukee promises an unforgettable weekend. For more information, visit animemilwaukee.org.
MARCH 11
Alice Austen
Boswell Book Company
Milwaukee author and filmmaker Alice Austen premieres her debut novel, 33 Place Brugmann. This historical fiction follows the lives and interactions of the inhabitants of an apartment building in Brussels after the Nazi takeover. Austen’s debut is full of romance, thrilling action, and topical historical detail. Her poignant novel touches on the definition of community and impossible choices in the face of adversity. Boswell Book Company hosts Austen on Tuesday, March 11, at 6:30 p.m. March 14
MARCH
14
The Dollyrots w/ Jinksie, Doubter and Socially Suspect Cactus Club
The Dollyrots take their fun seriously, whipping up punk energy and pop hooks. The band’s annual Spring Fling Tour stops in Bay View; it often doubles as “bring your kids to work day” with Kelly Ogden and Luis Cabezas giving their children stage time. This co-production from X-Ray Arcade and Cactus Club leads off with a trio of local acts, Jinksie, Doubter and Socially Suspect.
MARCH 18
Madeleine Peyroux w/ Bettye LaVette Turner Hall Ballroom
Early in her career, she was compared to Billie Holiday and Patsy Cline. For Let’s Walk, Madeline Peyroux’ first album in six years, the pandemic offered a silver lining. She seized the opportunity to hunker down with longtime collaborator, multi-instrumentalist Jon Herington. The pair reflected on the seismic era at hand and wrote and re-wrote in what Peyroux calls “a shadow of reckoning.” While Bettye Lavette’s soul and R&B roots reach back to her 1962 debut, a Summerfest concert a few years back saw LaVette reinterpreting the songs of Bob Dylan.
MARCH 19
Marshall Crenshaw Shank Hall
Marshall Crenshaw’s career has taken him from portraying John Lennon and Buddy Holley to writing historical liner notes and musical history books. A long-ago guest spot on WMSE-FM also illuminated his skill as a DJ. But for many fans, ground zero was Crenshaw’s 1982 self-titled album. He’s collaborated with the Gin Blossoms, the MC5 and more recently, The Smithereens. The latter collaboration played a memorable show at Summerfest in 2022.
MARCH 21
Dwight Yoakam w/ The Mavericks Miller High Live Theatre
“That California sound from the Dust Bowl to the Hollywood Bowl,” as Dwight Yoakam says of his sound. The singersongwriter’s career has found touches of honky tonk country and Beatles pop hooks on his albums. Touring on his recent record Brighter Days, Yoakum shares the bill with The Mavericks. That group tosses rock & roll, country, and R&B, Tex-Mex twang, Cuban rhythms, Jamaican ska, and other Latin influences into a blender. Recording in Nashville, New Mexico and Louisiana, heir recent album Moon and Stars features collaborations with Sierra Farrell, Nicole Adkins and Maggie Rose.
Dear Ally,
Hibernating out of Necessity
Dear Hibernating out of Necessity,
You are not alone. We’re under the covers with you, desperate to do something, but not sure how to move forward. Especially when this win feels so much different than the first time President Trump won. His policies now are even more dangerous.
What are we to do? Brené Brown talks about helping people get up again after they’ve fallen. In this case, half of the country feels defeated, but there’s so much work that needs to be done.
When you’re ready to leave the protection of your blankets, you will need to start slowly and pay attention to your heart. What is it you’re drawn to? What will get you up from the temptation of returning to the covers? Each one of us will need to find our own way of healing and getting ourselves back in the game.
I’ve listed below, some of the things that could help.
Get Inspired: When I’m feeling depressed or powerless, I crave inspiration that will help me shift my mindset. Hopeful quotes, music or even laughing at funny cat videos sometimes can do the trick. The historian Howard Zinn put it this way:
“To be hopeful in bad times is not foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness … And if we do act; in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future.
The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”
Find out and Stay Informed: Even when we’re feeling hopeless, we can’t cut ourselves off from pertinent information. It’s our responsibility to be informed. Public Broadcasting System (PBS) radio and television are a reliable source of information. Explore YouTube for multiple perspectives.
For example, there are experts like investigative reporter Greg Palast, who presents evidence that, because of voter suppression in some states, Vice President Kamala Harris lost over three million votes. www.gregpalast.com
Political Action: The most important thing you can do right away is vote, volunteer and help Susan Crawford win the State Supreme Court race. info@crawfordforwi.com
You can join You can join the Democratic Party for progressive grass roots action; Indivisible is another option as well an organization like Indivisible, organizing progressive grass roots action; Push for immigrants’ rights with Voces de la Frontera; work for legal rights with the American Civil Liberties Union; fight for reproductive rights with Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin or spread the word about climate change with The Sierra Club.
I just can’t get past the election results. I want to stay under the covers and hibernate for four years. Listening to the news is the last thing I want to do and know that’s unrealistic. It’s already been two months and look at the damage that’s been done; pardoning the criminals of January 6, mass deportations, firing the inspectors general, incompetent cabinet choices and whatever else they dream up whenever this letter gets published. Unbelievable! I feel betrayed by friends, relatives and neighbors; by half of the country. Don’t they care about preserving democracy? I’m going crazy. Please help. Send your questions to
Provide Service: If joining a political action organization is not your thing, you can help any of the numerous non-profits in the greater Milwaukee area. You can always help your elderly neighbors or a family that welcomes a helping hand. The ripple effect will take hold and you’ll begin to feel it.
Contact your Federal and State elected officials: It’s very important to communicate with your Federal and State elected officials. Always remember that your elected officials work for you. They do count your comments and will react to your message. Thank Congresswoman Gwenn Moore and U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin for their courage and support. Let Rep. Scott Fitzgerald and U.S. Senator Ron Johnson know your outrage.
Call: 1) Your Congressperson, 2) Your U.S. Senator; 3) Your State Representative and 4) Your State Senator.
To contact your Federal Legislators: 202-224-3121
To contact your State Legislators: 888- 534-0045
You can make a difference during these turbulent times.
“Hope is the hardest love we carry.” (Anonymous), but it’s also what will carry us forward. Here for you,
EWhat Drives Dysfunctional Communication?
What Drives Dysfunctional Communication?
BY PHILIP CHARD
ver come away from a conversation that went sour or turned ugly and you didn’t have a clue why? You may have wondered, “What just happened?” Well, human communication is a complex hummer, made more so by something called “perceptual drivers.”
These are mental filters that shape our intentions when interacting with others. During a conversation, these drivers work in one’s mind, often subconsciously, and emerge as hidden agendas. So, perceptual drivers reflect what one wants from an interaction, and they tend to coalesce into six major categories:
• Stay safe: This prioritizes avoiding conflict, rejection or other emotional dangers. It often leads to passivity, accommodation, appeasement or diminished engagement during an interaction.
• Dominate: Obviously, this involves maneuvering to possess the highest rung on the dominance hierarchy. This frequently appears as interrupting, dismissing others, taking all the air out of the room, or otherwise asserting one’s control.
• Be right: This is driven by over-confidence, selfrighteousness, condescension or, in the worst cases, narcissism. The need to be right often leads to holding court and insisting on having the last word.
• Look good: This driver compels us to seek approval and admiration. People use a variety of behaviors to put their best foot forward during a conversation, everything from an attractive outward appearance to being witty, gracious, elegant or erudite.
• Belong: The desire to affiliate is a powerful motivation in many interactions. Often, this is typified by harmonizing with the views, mannerisms and normative behaviors of the other person(s). Some call it the chameleon effect.
• Connect: The desire to connect and engage with others on a deeper level fuels this driver. These people often display empathy, good listening skills, a sense of presence and sound emotional intelligence. Their objective is meaningful engagement.
Some of us lean heavily on one of these drivers, sometimes exclusively, while others embrace a mixed bag. What’s more, one’s drivers can shift depending on the context, what is happening and who is present. The problem? When people have very different or similar but competing agendas, there’s lots of fuel for dysfunctional communication.
ON AUTO PILOT?
While some folks have contemplated their needs and intentions in certain interactions, many of us, if not most, function on auto pilot. The nature and influence of our perceptual drivers often constitute blind spots in our self-awareness.
Now, emotionally intimate communication, such as the kind between dear friends, appears less influenced by these drivers. One feels emotionally safe, there is no need to dominate (you are equals), differences of opinion are respected, there is a strong sense of belonging, as well as freedom to be oneself rather than project a manicured self-image.
Relationships work best when each person is aware of their perceptual drivers and, when necessary, consciously compensates for them during interactions, which is an important attribute of what we call “emotional intelligence.”
Illustration by GettyImages/Cemile Bingol.
If I am cognizant of my need to be right, for instance, I can use that insight to be more thoughtful, fair-minded and measured in my responses.
Unfortunately, when it comes to the underlying drivers that sculpt communication, many of us are oblivious. We just react, often without knowing why.
One way to overcome this is to ask a trusted confidant to observe one’s interpersonal behavior with an eye on these drivers, and then provide kind but candid feedback. Another is simply to contemplate your intentions going into a conversation, perhaps using the list of perceptual drivers as a reference.
Ask yourself: “What do I want from this exchange? To feel safe, in charge, right, accepted, to look good, or what?”
This kind of insight doesn’t come easily, and many simply never get it, but if you’re blind to your drivers, don’t expect to be a satisfied communicator.
Just anticipate a lot of interpersonal train wrecks followed by the inevitable, “What happened?”
Philip Chard is a psychotherapist and author with a focus on lasting behavior change, emotional healing and adaptation to health challenges. For more, visit philipchard.com.
STINKY SITUATION
DEAR RUTHIE,
My partner and I have lived together for two years. Recently, he quit bathing in favor of having what he calls a “manly-man” scent. He stopped wearing deodorant, wears socks for days and avoids contact with soap and water that could stop the stink. Plus, his overuse of pot makes things even smellier than usual. It’s embarrassing to be in public with him.
I talked to him, and he says the smell of a man is a new turn-on for him and that if I don’t like it there are plenty of men who do. This is my house, my guy and my life, too!
What can I do here?
HELP,
Smelly Scenario
DEAR SMELLY,
Sounds like your lothario may have olfactophilia, finding sexual pleasure in various aromas. In my opinion, it’s perfectly fine when two partners don’t share a fetish; however, when the fetish upsets day-to-day household living, it’s time to talk.
Is there a way you two can meet in the middle? Do you find his comments about other men threatening? Open communication even more than you have and see what happens. Do it calmly. Do it maturely. In the end, however, you may need to bring in a couple’s counselor if agreements can’t be found. XXOO
Ruthie
Ruthie's Social Calendar
MARCH 6
TASTE OF MILWAUKEE AT MARCUS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER (929 N. WATER ST.): Put on your your comfy jeans and head over to this 43rd annual nosh fest that serves up the best dishes the city has to offer. A fundraiser for Broadscope Disability Services, the 5:30 p.m. event’s tickets can be purchased at www.broadscope.org.
MARCH 9
DAYLIGHT SAVINGS FLEA MARKET AT STORY HILL FIREHOUSE (407 N. HAWLEY ROAD): Vintage finds, one-of-a-kind art pieces, incredible clothing and more are all up for sale during this must-stop market. You’ll also find a cash bar and food trucks during the 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. marketplace.
MARCH 15
LGBT CRAFTERNOON AT WAUKESHA PUBLIC LIBRARY (321 WISCONSIN AVE.): The team at LGBT Waukesha hosts this 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. gathering of crafters! Whether you bring a project you’re working on or take part in one of the crafts offered by the organizers, you’re sure to have a great time.
MARCH 21
MAM AFTER DARK: MASQUERADE AT MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM (700 N. ART MUSEUM DRIVE): If you’ve never attended a MAM After Dark event, this magical night is the perfect way to experience the excitement. Cloak yourself in grandeur and add a mask for mystery as you enjoy live music, dancing, cash bars, a DJ and more from 7-11 p.m. Waltz over to www.etix.com for tickets.
MARCH 23
BROADWAY DIVAS DRAG BRUNCH AT OGGIE’S KITCHEN & BAR/METRO HOTEL (411 E. MASON ST.): There’s no business like showbusiness, and there’s no brunch like drag brunch at Oggie’s! Don’t miss this 1 p.m. salute to the Great White Way featuring some of the city’s top performers. These brunches always sell out, so nab tickets soon via www.opentable.com.
MARCH 25
OPENING NIGHT A BEAUTIFUL NOISE: THE NEAL DIAMOND MUSICAL AT MARCUS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER (929 N. WATER ST.): Featuring hits such as “Sweet Caroline” and “Forever in Blue Jeans,” this toe-tapping musical honors the rock-and-roll hall of famer in the most magical way imaginable. Stop by www.marcuscenter.org for tickets before the run closes on March 30.
MARCH 27
LGBT GAME NIGHT AT WAUKESHA STATE BANK COMMUNITY ROOM (151 E. ST. PAUL AVE.): Game on! Bring your favorite game, a snack, or a friend or simply bring yourself to this 6:30 p.m. get-together. Meet a few new friendly faces while you play card games, board games and more.
MARCH 29
FRONTRUNNERS MILWAUKEE AT NORTH POINT WATER TOWER (2288 N. LAKE DRIVE): Open to LGBTQ+ folks as well as their allies, including people of all ages and abilities, this weekly fitness group meets at 9 a.m. (rain or shine) for a run/walk/jog along the lakefront. Stick around after the 50-minutes jog for breakfast with everyone at a nearby restaurant. You’ll find more information at www.mkelgbt.org.
Amemorial for Carl Bogner, director of the LGBT Film/ Video Festival and UWM faculty member, takes place on March 22, 2-5 p.m. at the Helene Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts located on the UWM Campus. Organized by Bogner’s friend and colleague Polly Morris and others, the memorial is open to the public. Morris described the memorial, saying “We're putting together this event for the community to gather and hold Carl and share memories. Communities may be a better word: Carl had so many interests and was part of so many communities—so many scenes—both here and elsewhere. In this spirit, we expect the memorial to be interactive and participatory, with film clips, performances and recollections from the many and varied chapters of Carl's history.”
The Milwaukee LGBT Film/Video Festival was one of those many communities and his legacy. Founded in 1985 by Carl Szatmary, Bogner took over direction of the annual event under the auspices of the UWM Film Department. As the slogan goes, “the language of film is universal.” Combine that with the universality of LGBTQ life and one may discover Bogner’s raison d’être, namely, to communicate our humanity through a cinematic celebration of our unique being, our valid difference and our discrete perspective. Of all of Milwaukee’s LGBTQ community institutions, the film festival truly represented all our many facets.
Under Bogner’s direction, the festival evolved, changing its title as it did so. The initial “gay and lesbian” centric festival expanded over the decades, accommodating the ever more diverse social and political nature of the struggle for our civil rights and our identity. As the festival’s director, Bogner undertook a very unique task, each year cobbling an ever-broadening inclusive program as local, national and international filmmakers that addressed the varied issues facing the community. Through that effort, Bogner reached us all and united us all. Of any LGBTQ event I can recall, the Film/Video Festival’s annual opening night gala held at the Oriental Theatre represented Milwaukee’s diversity, bringing us together for a common experience in a fabulous venue in celebration of ourselves.
Carl Bogner Memorial to Be Held March 22
BY PAUL MASTERSON
A true and discerning curator, Bogner selected works that were not merely the current favorites making the film festival circuit, but rather nuanced choices based on each film’s cinematic qualities and, perhaps more importantly, its messaging. Above all, Bogner’s sensitivity to the community as a whole made his programming diverse and inclusive. His selections ran the gamut with insightful documentaries, queer comedies and dramas. They touched subjects across the spectrum from coming out stories, relationships in all their dynamics, activism and HIV/AIDS. Among the feature films were, of course, the perennial festival favorites, the nights of “Men’s Shorts,” “Women’s Shorts” and, later, “Trans Shorts.”
Over the years I had the opportunity to interview Bogner as an annual exercise to preview the LGBT Film/Video Festival. I barely had to ask any questions. One general introductory query would allow Bogner to unleash an enthusiastic critical review of that year’s features. Taking written notes, I was barely able keep up with his unrelenting cascade of details about each film, its director and its importance in the greater pantheon of LGBTQ filmmaking. Despite the rigors and mindboggling logistics of producing the festival, Bogner’s joy in the exercise was palpable. His mission was to share not only his enthusiasm for the art of film but also hold up a mirror for viewers to see themselves and their community as something extraordinary and meaningful.
The LGBT Film/Video Festival was also well integrated into the community at large. Bogner made sure the festival connected with Milwaukee’s queer population. Whether the Lesbian Alliance or PrideFest, or any other of the community partners and sponsors integrated into the programming, each was highlighted during the festival.
MANY AWARDS
Of course, we reciprocated and over the years, Bogner received numerous honors. Among his awards were the PrideFest Medal (2012), the Shepherd Express LGBTQ Progress Award (2015), City of Milwaukee Arts Board Friend of the Arts and the Universities of Wisconsin P.B. Poorman Award for Outstanding Achievement on Behalf of LGBTQ+ People (2023).
But perhaps the most noteworthy and moving recognition was conferred after Bogner’s brain cancer diagnosis in the summer of 2022. It was then when Polly Morris launched a GoFundMe campaign to assist in paying Bogner’s medical bills. Over 1,500 individual donors responded and contributed nearly $180,000. Morris would later acknowledge her shock at the community’s quick and generous response. Then, at the news of his passing in December of last year, the dozens of tributes made by friends, acquaintances, artists, academics and professional colleagues as well his students and others who knew him in various capacities, filled social media for weeks.
His memorial will no doubt be a reprise of those glorious opening night galas. It will be a shared moment of community brought together, once again, by Carl Bogner. I hope there is a red carpet.
Paul Masterson is an LGBTQ activist and writer and has served on the boards of the Milwaukee Gay Arts Center, Milwaukee Pride, GAMMA and other organizations.
From The City That Always Sweeps
BY ART KUMBALEK
I’m Art Kumbalek and man oh manischewitz what a world, ain’a? So listen, I’m all agog and farschimmelt, trying to figure out and remember if our month of March has come in like a lion or a goddamn lamb, what the fock.
Yeah yeah, as this year’s edition of the month of March meteorologically may sports lamb’s clothing, you can bet your bottom dollar these days that the lyin’ from the Executive Office will roar from beginning to end, makes no difference what month you be talking about the next four (?) years, I kid you not.
But it’s the mercurial month of March, in like a lion, out like a lamb, goes the March trajectory as they say. Or, gosh darn it, is it “in like a lamb, out like a lion”? And in some quarters, does she go in as a lamb and come out as lamb chops? What with the climate change, who knows from the peculiarities of March anymore, ain’a?
Yes sir, yes ladies, it’s the third month of the year (unless President Trumpel-thinskin chooses to re-order such a thing), the one that the Romans named “Martius” way back when from the Gladiator Age.
Subsequently, so-called astronomers who had discovered the telescope sighted the fourth rock from the sun, and they decided to call it “Mars,” shorthand for the Roman god of war and agriculture (Martius, remember?), which from the pictures I’ve seen of late, did a damn good job of wiping the landscape clean out of life from the planet named after him without a chance of growing some corn or what-not. And such is war, gods and nonesuch be damned.
March forecast, 2025:
The madness with the college basketball tournament; St. Patrick’s Day; the first day of spring; daylight saving time (ouch!); International Women’s Day; Purim; a latewinter monumental snow storm; a couple, three celebrity deaths; Art Kumbalek figures how to come up with another rent payment; Harry focking Houdini’s 151th birthday not to mention Fred “Mister” Rogers’ 97th (who would’ve been a great president but I’m thinking he had more important work to do); and Chico (Leonard) Marx’s 138th. Jeez louise. That’s a chock-packed jam-full calendar load to deal with, I don’t care what month you’re talking about,
And this ferkakta month with the daylight-saving time where we lose an hour, as if a guy my age can afford to flush a focking hour pinched from out of my life’s dwindling minutes of days.
If only there were a saving-time day where instead of pushing the clock back a measly hour, you could push it back, say, 40-50 focking years and then load up on Microsoft stock at a bargain-basement price. Now that’s the kind of dicking around with time that I could get behind, I kid you not.
Anyways, that stolen lost hour come the 9th just happens to be the hour I had set aside so’s to finally plow through the Irishman James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake as a tip o’ the hat to St. Patrick’s Day. I’ve always been curious as to “who done it,” thus the need for a wake, duhh!. My guess is it’s either the leprechaun, a rowdy tavern rapscallion or itinerant sheepherder, ain’a?
But can some lass or laddie please tell me how St. Patty’s “Day” has morphed into St. Patty’s Week-and-a-fockingHalf over the years, but yet the celebration will be culminated by many the morning after with the “pukin’ of the green” beer into the porcelain Saint Potty.
Tús maith leath na hoibre, St. Patty’s Day arrives mid-March, that time of year you can actually start believing that a winter around here might take up less calendar time than the 100 Years War. But here’s the thing: Yes, winter may suck, but did you forget about what comes next? Sure, you get some kind of spring come in for a week, 10 days, but then you’re right back into hot-focking-humid summertime with all kinds of insects and such, what the fock.
And so, I am reminded of a traditional story repeated often only here:
Mary O’Reilly finds Father O’Grady after his Sunday morning service, and she’s in tears. He says, “So what’s bothering you, Mary my dear?” She says, “Oh, Father, I’ve got terrible news. My husband John passed away last night.”
The priest says, “Mary, that’s terrible. Tell me, did he have any last requests?” She says, “That he did, Father.”
The priest says, “Pray tell, what did he ask, Mary?”
“He said, ‘Please Mary, put the damn gun down.’” O’ ba-ding!
And as we spring ahead toward who-knows-what-the-fock, I wish “may the road rise up to meet you” as we march to the month of April showers, ’cause I’m Art Kumbalek and I told you so.
