Actors Katie Brotherton & Kathleen Tissot talk about Strollers Theatre's production of Steel Magnolias.

STEEL MAGNOLIAS
​By Robert Harling
Directed by Scott Albert Bennett
March 31st to April 15th

​The action is set in Truvy's beauty salon in Chinquapin, Louisiana, where all the ladies who are "anybody" come to have their hair done. Helped by her eager new assistant, Annelle (who is not sure whether or not she is still married), the outspoken, wise-cracking Truvy dispenses shampoos and free advice to the town's rich curmudgeon, Ouiser ("I'm not crazy, I've just been in a bad mood for forty years"), an eccentric millionaire, Miss Clairee (who has a raging sweet tooth), and the social leader, M'Lynn. Meanwhile, Shelby (the prettiest girl in town), is about to marry a "good ole boy." Filled with hilarious repartee and not a few acerbic but humorously revealing verbal collisions, the play draws on the underlying themes of strength and love, which makes each character truly touching, funny, and marvelously amiable in good times and bad.

http://www.strollerstheatre.org/

https://itkt.choicecrm.net/templates/BRTL/?prod=SteelMagnolias2017

As most of you know, this podcast was hosted by Christian Neuhaus for a long time. Then, he handed the reins over to Suzan and Buzz. So who are these two? Learn a bit about them in this episode!

Suzan and Buzz chat with playwright/director Malissa Pettersen and actor/assistant director Heather Jane "HJ" Farr about their upcoming production of Pettersen's "Dumpster Flower" at Broom Street Theater.

Dumpster Flower

By Malissa Petterson

Directed by Malissa Petterson

The members of a struggling theatre company make a last-ditch effort to save their jobs and their interpersonal relationships in this meta comedy. With the artistic director and his staff on the chopping block, the Nova Nilla Theatre Collective stages a bizarre rendition of A Midsummer Night's Dream with imminent failure on the horizon. A fully immersive experience, Dumpster Flower weaves together our love affair with theatre and our theatrical love affairs.

Produced by Broom Street Theater at Broom Street Theater, 1119 Williamson Street, Madison

Performances: March 25 - April 15, 2017

Performance Times:

Ticket Prices: $11

http://www.madstage.com/Shows/dumpsterflowe170101.html

Suzan and Buzz chat with Phrannie Lyons and Jan Levine Thal about their upcoming performances of Wrong for the Part, which opens Thursday, March 23 at the Bartell Theatre in Madison.

Wrong for the Part 2017

Directed by Jan Levine Thal and Phrannie Lyons

Now in its sixth uproarious year, Wrong for the Part 2017 is a collection of monologues and scenes from plays, movies, books, historical speeches – played by the wrong actors for those roles! This year’s WftP theme is “Flight” -- running away, having wings, riding an airplane, daydreaming –- whatever “flight” means to each miscast performer. Come laugh, love, be moved, and support Kathie Rasmussen Women's Theatre (KRASS), Madison’s only theater dedicated to promoting women playwrights and directors.

Produced by Kathie Rasmussen Women's Theatre at Bartell Theatre's Evjue Stage, 113 E. Mifflin St., Madison

Performances: March 23-25, 2017

Performance Times:
Three Nights Only: Thursday March 23, Friday March 24, and Saturday March 25 -- at 8pm

Ticket Prices: $20

http://madstage.com/Shows/wrongforthe161108.html

Suzan and Buzz chat with director David Pausch about Mercury Players Theater's production of August: Osage County, running at the Bartell Theatre March 10-25.

AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY

By Tracy Letts

Directed by David Pausch

A vanished father. A pill-popping mother. Three sisters harboring shady little secrets. When the Weston family unexpectedly reunites after Dad disappears, their Oklahoma family homestead explodes in a maelstrom of repressed truths and unsettling secrets. Mix in Violet, the drugged-up, scathingly acidic matriarch, and you've got an amazing play that unflinchingly - and uproariously - exposes the dark side of a Midwestern American family. WINNER OF THE 2008 PULITZER PRIZE AND TONY AWARD.

Produced by Mercury Players Theater at Bartell Theater's Drury Stage, 113 E. Mifflin St. , Madison

Performances: March 10-25, 2017

Performance Times:
Friday-Saturday, March 10-11 @ 8:00pm
Thursday, March 16 @ 7:30pm
Friday-Saturday, March 17-18 @ 8:00pm
Sunday, March 19 @ 4:00pm
Thursday, March 23 @ 7:30pm
Friday, March 24 @ 8:00pm
Saturday, March 25 @ 4:00pm (FINAL PERFORMANCE-MATINEE ONLY)

Ticket Prices: $20 General Admission $18 Students & Seniors Thursday shows March 16 & 23: $15 Sunday matinee March 19: $15

Call 608-661-9696 for reservations or more information.

http://madstage.com/Shows/augustosage161007.html

Are We Delicious? 5th Anniversary

By the ensemble
Directed by Tony Trout and Andrew Rohn

Are We Delicious? 5th Anniversary celebrates 5 years of abundant creativity. An all-star ensemble of Madison writers, performers and musicians join to create original plays with original music in just 7 days.

Acting/Singing Ensemble: Karen Saari, Doug Reed, Bree Prehn, Amber McReynolds, Dee King, and Catherine Capellaro
Musical Ensemble : Andrew Rohn, Dan Kennedy, and Nick Stanton

Running time: 90 minutes with intermission

Are We Delicious? is an ensemble of Madison writer/performers/musicians who conceive, write, rehearse and perform an original one-hour show in a seven days. Everyone writes, everyone acts, everyone sings! and no one can rest until the final curtain.

Produced by Are We Delicious? at Bartell Theatre's Evjue Stage, 113 E. Mifflin St., Madison

Performances: March 7 - May 15, 2017

Performance Times:
When: March 7, 8, 14 and 15 @ 7:30 pm

Ticket Prices: Admission: $14 general, $10 with student ID. Available at arewedelicious.com/tickets or bartelltheatre.org

Call 608-293-4999 for reservations or more information.

http://madstage.com/Shows/arewedelicio170221.html

The Whipping Man

By Matthew Lopez

Directed by Dana Pellebon

It's April 1865 and the Civil War has just ended. Caleb DeLeon, a severely wounded Jewish Confederate officer, returns to his family home, now in ruins and abandoned by everyone except for two of his family's former slaves. It is the second night of Passover, and the three celebrate a Seder, commemorating the freeing of the Hebrew slaves from bondage in Egypt. But the pains of more recent enslavement are not so easily soothed.

The Whipping Man explores the bitter irony of Jewish slave-owning and the challenging new world in which former slaves and masters find themselves.

Produced by Madison Theatre Guild at Bartell Theatre's Evjue Stage, 113 E. Mifflin St., Madison

Performances: March 3-18, 2017

Performance Times:
Friday, Mar 3 - 7:30, Saturday, Mar 4 - 7:30, Thursday, Mar 9 - 7:30, Friday, Mar 10 - 7:30, Saturday, Mar 11 - 7:30, Sunday, Mar 12 - 2:00 pm, Thursday, Mar 16 - 7:30, Friday, Mar 17 - 7:30, Saturday, Mar 18 - 2:00 pm

Ticket Prices: $20

Call 608-661-9696 for reservations or more information.

http://madstage.com/Shows/thewhippingm161129.html

Morticians in Love

By Christi Stewart-Brown

Directed by Suzan Kurry

"Every body should love death this much."

A shy mortuary owner and her assistant toil alone among the dead until the arrival of a handsome rival mortician who wants to share more than workspace. And the two corpses make five. “V-day is all but dead … flowers and chocolates, formaldehyde and chloroform…”

The play has no nudity, although the corpses will be scantily clad and there are adult sexual situations.

Praise for the play:
"In the midst of death, there is life and love--sacred, profane, unrequited and almost always dysfunctional--in Christi Stewart-Brown's very black, five-character comedy (counting two corpses). Scarcely fare for the squeamish, with its excursions into heterosexual and homosexual couplings among the living and dead, the play nonetheless comes off as a caustic, funny, sharp-eyed autopsy on the difficulties of love...Morticians in Love may be morbid, but it has a heart." - The New York Times

"...a morbid, pervy, and very funny farce...Sure, it's strange, but strangely touching too." - The Washington Post

Christi Stewart-Brown's charmingly morbid comedy is so cheerful and upbeat, you'll hardly believe that you're watching a play about bisexual necrophilia."
— Paul Birchall, Back Stage West

"Morticians is a simple enough idea: the tender story of first love between two devout necrophiliacs. Now, the idea itself gets a laugh, but what's a pleasure is that Stewart-Brown follows through and creates characters, dialogue, and stagings that are a real joy to watch" — Matthew Richter, The Stranger (Seattle)

Produced by Kathie Rasmussen Women's Theatre at Bartell Theater's Drury Stage, 113 E. Mifflin St. , Madison

Performances: February 24 - March 4, 2017

Performance Times:
EIGHT PERFORMANCES (TWO MATINEES)
Friday, Feb 24 -- 8pm
Saturday, Feb 25 -- 8pm
Sunday Feb 26 -- 4pm MATINEE
Wednesday, Mar 1 -- 8pm half price tickets
Thursday, March 2-- 8pm $5 Discount for two or more together
Friday, March 3 -- 8pm
Saturday, March 4 -- 4pm MATINEE
Saturday, March 4 -- 8pm

Ticket Prices: $20

Call 608-661-9696 for reservations or more information.

http://madstage.com/Shows/morticiansin160324.html

Part II as Francisco Torres of Madison Shakespeare Company talks with Suzan & Buzz about their upcoming production of Richard II. MadStage Podcast is co-produced and co-hosted by Director/actor Suzan Kurry and Audio for the Arts studio owner/voice talent actor Buzz Kemper.

Francisco Torres of Madison Shakespeare Company talks with Suzan & Buzz about their upcoming production of Richard II. MadStage Podcast is co-produced and co-hosted by Director/actor Suzan Kurry and Audio for the Arts studio owner/voice talent actor Buzz Kemper.