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Milwaukee, WI February 23-28, 2010; Marcus Center
Topic Started: Apr 6 2009, 11:34 AM (368 Views)
mouser
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February 23-28, 2010

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Uihlein Hall Marcus Center For The Performing Arts
929 North Water Street Milwaukee ,WI 53202

TICKETS:


Feb. 24, 7:30pm
Feb. 25, 7:30pm
Feb. 26 , 8:00pm
Feb 27, 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm
Feb. 28, 1:00 pm and 6:30 pm



SEATING CAPACITY: 2,305


SEATING CHART: Posted Image


THE VENUE:

Posted Imagephoto courtesy of jsonline.comKaren Sherlock

Located in the heart of downtown Milwaukee, the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts has been one of Milwaukee’s top entertainment destinations for over 30 years. Whether you are in the mood for a Broadway show or a world-class symphony orchestra concert, the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts is just the ticket.

The idea for the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, which was originally called the Performing Arts Center, was conceived after World War II by Milwaukee County officials. The city was looking for a way to honor the veterans coming home by building community oriented structures. The Performing Arts Center was erected in 1969 with funds from the county. It took three years to complete construction of the Marcus Center and the cost was $12.7 million. The building opened to the critical acclaim of architects across the country and received the prestigious Honor Award for Excellence in Architectural Design from the American Institute of Architects in 1970. In 1994, after a $5 million donation from the Marcus Corporation Foundation to renovate the structure, the center changed its name to the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts.

Posted Imagecourtesy of www.theticketking.com



DIRECTIONS:

From Chicago: 194 off at 1794 East. Take 1794
East and exit Plankinton. Plankinton to Kilbourn.
Go right on Kilbourn. Marcus Center is just over the bridge.

From Northern Wisconsin: Take I43 South. Exit on Wells. Go east on Wells to Water Street. Left on Water Street.

From Madison, Wisconsin: I94 east to Plankinton,Plankinton to Kilbourn, Kilbourn to Water Street.


HOTELS AND RESTAURANTS:


http://www.urbanspoon.com/ps/43/11115/Milwaukee/Landmarks/Uihlein-Hall-Marcus-Center.html Restaurants


http://www.eventective.com/USA/Wisconsin/Milwaukee/38015/Marcus-Center-for-the-Performing-Arts.html Hotels



POINTS OF INTEREST:


Harley-Davidson Museum
Posted Imagecourtesy of psfk.com

400 W. Canal St.
At the corner of 6th and Canal Milwaukee, WI

Even if you don't own a Harley, or even ride a motorcycle, this museum is a must see while in or driving through Milwaukee. It was a perfect stop for us while driving from Chicago on the way to Green Bay. We spent a good 3 hrs there. nyjets24, Warrington, Pa

We visited this museum not for the motorcycles, but for the architecture of the place. To be honest, I thought this would be quite boring as we're not bikers. However, the Museum and its grounds turned out to be one of our favorite things about Milwaukee! The museum itself it amazing - stefmo, St. Louis

The newly-opened Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee is a wonderful exhibit of the evolution of this American icon. The company was wise enough over the years to set aside one example of each year's model so that one day they could open a museum like this to the public. HD pulled out all the stops to make this fun.....U2_Navigator, San Jose, CA



Milwaukee Public Museum
800 W Wells St Milwaukee, WI 53233
Tel: 414-278-2702

Featuring more than six million objects and a variety of exciting exhibits, this is considered one of the best natural history museums in the United States.

This is place seems so small on the map, but its not. Its overwhelming on the amount of stuff they have there. I went for the special Titanic exhibit (incredible!) and toured the museum after I finished the Titanic. I spent 3 hours and still had stuff to see and look at. binny05, Wisconsin


This is one of the coolest and most fun museums I've ever been to, the dioramas are beautifully done and the (sort of) 70s design of some exhibits is one of its charms and best assets, not corny or distracting in any way. I think everything there is very well done and I recently took a weekend trip to Milwaukee... A TripAdvisor Member, Chicago, IL

Posted Imagecourtesy of .elephant-news.com


MEDIA:

1. Third Coast Digest

Taylor Hicks’ seven minutes in Grease are phenomenal

http://thirdcoastdigest.com/2010/02/taylor-hicks-seven-minutes-in-grease-are-phenomenal/

February 24th, 2010

By DJ Hostettler

If I have a guilty pleasure, it’s musical theater —probably because I always forget that I actually enjoy it in a live setting. When I’m not around it, I tend to make snarky jokes about the anachronistic clichés that permeate the classics of high school show choir: the standard boy-meets-girl plotlines; the pairing of the two overweight cast members because, well, they have that in common, so it must be love; etc. And yet, when seated in front of a good, ol’ fashioned song-and-dance number, this cynic’s heart melts like so much soft serve at the Burger Palace.

And so there I was at the opening of the Broadway revival of Grease (in town at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts now until Sunday, Feb. 28) even though I kept telling myself I would rather have been at WWE Smackdown over at the Bradley Center. Which is odd, because wrestling and musical theater are not dissimilar: both feature a hyperactive cast camping it up with occasional choreography. The only difference is that in musical theater, the gay audience members are actually aware of, and cool with, the fact that they’re gay. Point for musical theater.

Anyway, it wasn’t difficult to get wrapped up in the giddy fun of this classic high school comedy. Dominic Fortuna’s Travolta-esque Vince Fontaine got the room warmed up with some familiar ’50s sock-hop jams and some excellent improvised jokes about Cudahy, leading into an energetically electric rendition of the opening number, “Grease,” that set the tone for what was to come.




I’m guessing most people reading this have seen the 1978 film; if you have, you know what to expect from the show, as this revival incorporates the songs that were written specifically for the film, including the No. 1 smash, “You’re the One That I Want.” My not-so-dark confession: I have never seen the movie, but the music’s ubiquitous-ness in our culture is such that every number felt as cozily familiar as the wedding dance where I learned them. Each was brilliantly performed by a cast with serious pipes, including gifted leads Lauren Ashley Zakrin (“Sandy”) and Josh Franklin (“Danny”), as well as recent addition Laura D’Andre as the girl way too many of my ex-girlfriends wanted to be, the racy Rizzo.

Blah blah blah … WHATABOUTTAYLORHICKS?!? Yes, if you have watched any local television in the last few weeks, you know that the American Idol Season 5 winner, the silver fox of the “Soul Patrol,” Taylor Hicks, was cast in the traditional “Oh, hey, it’s that guy” musical cameo role of Teen Angel. Thank God a friend more familiar with the show’s history clued me in on the fact that the role is traditionally reserved for a ridiculous piece of stunt casting; otherwise, I would have sat through the entire first half asking “Ok, where the hell is he?,” followed up with an indignant “Wait, that’s it?” It’s true — Hicks is in the play for about seven minutes. But … he’s … really awesome in it. I admit I was expecting a “Hey, weren’t you supposed to sell a lot of records?” trainwreck, but the man was hilariously phenomenal, even making some playful jabs at his quasi-celebrity status. FAIR PLAY, HICKS. (By the way, it deserves mentioning that this production is drowning in reality TV; the musical was revived during NBC’s reality competition Grease: You’re the One That I Want, and Zakrin was a finalist on MTV’s Legally Blonde the Musical: the Search for Elle Woods. If I find out Dominic Fortuna was a finalist on Last Comic Standing, I swear I will say something very snarky about it.)

If Grease has a weakness, it’s the overly light, lazyish plot. Sure, there’s a pregnancy scare, but it’s conveniently and neatly resolved. And while it could be argued that the lesson learned from our protagonists is that people should stop being so uptight and enjoy life, it’s a little weird for a feminist dude in 2010 to watch a production where the romantic conflict is solved by the woman changing to suit the man of her dreams. Buuuuuuuut, whatever. It’s a 1970s musical that’s true to its era and expertly performed. There are worse things you could do with your weekend than watch Taylor Hicks emerge from a giant ice cream cone like some sequined moth in a doo-wop cocoon. Hey, didn’t last weekend’s WWE pay-per-view involve wrestlers emerging from glass pods? Something else the two have in common, I guess. When Hicks played us out of the auditorium with a song from his current CD, I can honestly say I regretted missing Smackdown not a lick.


2. The UWM Post.com

Not quite ‘Summer Nights’

Posted on 01 March 2010.

By Michael Ray

http://www.uwmpost.com/2010/03/01/not-quite-%E2%80%98summer-nights%E2%80%99/

Grease began its five-day run on Feb. 23 at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, 920 N. Water St., to a crowd of dancing grannies, gushing teens and a wide cut of the baby boomer nation singing along. A picture of the 1950s, the show brought something for everyone—hand-jiving madness, a gorgeous Greased Lightnin’ cruising across the stage and of course, American Idol winner Taylor Hicks.
And if anyone’s taking notes, the girls upstaged the boys quite a bit—both in terms of vocals and sheer entertainment value. Josh Franklin (Danny Zuko) definitely has acting chops and a powerful voice to back it, but Lauren Ashley Zakrin (Sandy Dumbrowksi) was just better. Her solo (“Hopelessly Devoted to You”) left the audience stunned.

Even in the more minor roles, the girls were more impressive and when the groups shared the stage, all eyes were on the Pink Ladies. Kelly Felthous (Marty) and Kate Morgan Chadwick (Frenchy) displayed incredible character voices that nearly stole the show from the leads. Both characters owned the stage, with well-placed asides and flawless body language. And all the girls danced circles around the guys in the “Born to Hand-Jive” sequences.

Speaking of hand-jiving, Dominic Fortuna (Vince Fontaine) did a great job as the kind-of-creepy but always funny DJ and dance emcee. In addition, Fortuna warmed up the audience pre-Grease with an interactive sing-along and dropped well-placed Milwaukee references (including some hilarious Cudahy-bashing) into the show.

Taylor Hicks gave no Milwaukee references but did use his turn on stage as Teen Angel to poke fun at his Idol persona. Not leaving well enough alone though, Hicks returned post-finale, guitar in hand, to play an unnecessary and gratuitous song off his new album. Luckily, the strength and energy generated by Grease was enough to give Hicks a free pass on this one.


Along with that strength and energy, Grease also brought teeth. Biting, almost trashy remarks from the Pink Ladies made more sense than the nearly-saccharine, harmless floozies of Grease the movie. The Burger Palace Boys almost seem like real greasers instead of the pretty boy wannabes seen in the film. The show isn’t unrecognizable—it’s just stronger.

Grease was originally written in the shadow of the sixties, a raunchy, edgy throwback to the days of malt shops and poodle skirts. For this tour, director Kathleen Marshall allowed some that raw energy back in and dialed back the sanitized fluff audiences know from the 1978 film. The show is better for it—more authentic, more relatable and much more enjoyable.



SOUL PATROL MEMORIES:

Posted Imagecourtesy of pc35


1. elicia

i met taylor hicks last night.


you're jealous.
he's super nice.
he was in a sparkle suit.
best moment of my life.
i'm never washin the shoulder he put his hand on.

his plan was for nobody to see him,
so he told me "don't tell anyone."
it was sorta funny .


Posted Imagecourtesy of pc35

2. pc35 Son # 2

He kicked ass, took names, and was damn hilarious doing it! If I may quote Randy Jackson: "I didn't know he had all that dawg!" I know he's an awesome entertainer and performer, but he went above what I thought he would. Very, very impressive. And may I say it's always refreshing for the performers to give a little smirk or seem like their about to crack up when they're doing something on the funny side. I thought he was going to loose it once and I started laughing.


Posted Imagecourtesy of pc35


3. rmeeusen:

At the end of "Grease" at the Marcus, Taylor Hicks does one of his own songs as an encore - nice touch


MEDIA BLITZ:


MEDIA BLITZ

1. 9:30 am CST
Live interview on The Morning Blend NBC-TV 2/25/10
DOWNLOAD AVAILABLE

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http://www.themorningblend.com/


2. 8:30 am CST
Live interview and performance on “Wake Up News” (FOX6) See video on the Media Board. Download to come

http://www.fox6now.com/ Live streaming


BEHIND THE SCENES DOWNLOAD AVAILABLE :







Link to Watch on Site:
http://www.themorningblend.com/NewsArticle...28/Default.aspx


WITI-TV, MILWAUKEE - American Idol winner Taylor Hicks is on tour with the Broadway production of "Grease" which is in Milwaukee. But he took some time Thursday morning to visit FOX6 WakeUp News.

Hicks talked about being on the tour of "Grease," saying it was a "dream come true." Hicks says he's a big fan of the original movie and he believes the production brings in a lot of the movie. "It's the best of both worlds for me," said Hicks.

Hicks was the season 5 American Idol winner. When asked about his CD, "The Distance." The CD is under Hicks' own label, something he's wanted to do for a while. He says it allowed him creative freedom to sing what he wanted.

Hicks was asked whether he still watches and can feel for the latest contestants of American Idol on FOX. Hicks says those singers who have a vision, can choose good songs and believe in the music will do well on Idol. "Those are things that carried me," said Hicks.

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3. 99.1 WMYX The Morning Mix 2/26/10 DOWNLOAD AVAILABLE

Watch on the Media Board . There are three videos : one Talking about Ellen on Idol, one talking about Dating and one talking about Grease. Some great expressions captured of Taylor responding to questions. He is thoughtful, playful and embarassed : Check it out on the Media Board as well as more pictures
Look who stopped by

Taylor Hicks stopped by to tell us all about his appearance in “Grease” at the Marcus Center this week. Find out more about the show here, and take a look at what Taylor had to say while he was in the Mix studios:

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Posted Imagecourtesy of Taylor's Facebook

4. Link to a video promo for Grease

http://marcuscenter.org/Grease.html

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