Company Info

The Skylight produces the full spectrum of music theatre works to a wide and diverse audience. Five productions each season include a mix of classic and contemporary opera, operetta, musicals and musical revues. All productions in English.

Skylight Opera Theatre
Broadway Theatre Center
158 North Broadway
Milwaukee, WI 53202

Tickets: 414-291-7800
Administration: 414-291-7811
Fax: 414-291-7815

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Contacts:

Bill Theisen, Artistic Director

Season

A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine

3/12/2010 - 4/4/2010

Two one-act musicals provide a �double feature� as hilarious as any presented in Hollywood�s heyday. The first act, A Day in Hollywood, takes us to the lobby of Grauman�s Chinese Theatre in the 1930s where the ushers sing a musical tribute to the screen stars and productions of that magical era � including a musical homage to film clich�s and a tap salute to the 1930 Production Code governing on-screen sex and violence. The second act, A Night in the Ukraine, is the funniest musical the Marx Brothers never wrote � sweeping us away to Russia for a madcap musical featuring all the usual Marx Brothers suspects, and loosely based on Chekhov�s one-act play, The Bear. Nominated for five Tony Awards, this rollicking, innovative two-musicals-in-one is a guaranteed toe-tapping, belly-laughing delight.

RENT

5/21/2010 - 6/20/2010

No day but today. Set in 1989 New York City�s thriving Bohemian East Village, RENT is a modern take on Puccini�s 1896 classic, La Boheme. With a driving rock score integrating dance, pop, rock �n roll, R&B and salsa, RENT features video artists, performance artists, guitarists, strippers, cross-dressers, and drug addicts all trying to find themselves and find their way in a tumultuous society. RENT sings of our time; of facing an uncertain future with courage, humor, loyalty and love; of celebrating life while struggling to make it. A rock opera bringing musical theatre to the MTV generation, RENT won the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 1996 Tony Award for Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book.

An Evening with GIlbert and Sullivan

5/28/2010 - 6/20/2010

The show that started the Skylight in 1959! William S. Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan created fanciful topsy-turvy worlds, where each absurdity is taken to its logical conclusion � fairies rub elbows with English lords, flirting is a capital offense, gondoliers ascend to the monarchy, and pirates turn out to be noblemen who have gone wrong. Lighten the mood with this splendid revue of Gilbert and Sullivan favorites, full of satirical laughs and music and starring Skylight G&S favorites Gary Briggle and John Murielo. Featuring well-known numbers from HMS Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado, The Gondoliers, and many more, An Evening with Gilbert and Sullivan is a delightful show packed with memorable melodies and fun to spare.

Dames at Sea

9/17/2010 - 10/3/2010

Dames at Sea is a musical parody of the grand and glorious Busby Berkeley movie musicals of the 1930s. Calamity strikes when a group of performers, preparing for their upcoming show, needs to find a new venue because their theater is demolished. The show�s songwriter, Dick, happens to be a sailor who offers up his boat after being persuaded by leading lady and diva, Mona. Ruby, a sweet small-town girl with plans to make it big on Broadway, is the chorus girl who saves the day. Dames at Sea charms and delights with comedy, love songs and rollicking tap numbers. It�s the perfect beginning to Skylight�s 51st season! Dates: 09/17/10 at 7:30 pm 09/18/10 at 7:30 pm 09/19/10 at 2:00 pm 09/22/10 at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm 09/23/10 at 7:30 pm 09/24/10 at 7:30 pm 09/25/10 at 7:30 pm 09/26/10 at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm 09/29/10 at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm 09/30/10 at 7:30 pm 10/01/10 at 7:30 pm 10/02/10 at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm 10/03/10 at 2:00 pm

H.M.S. Pinafore

11/19/2010 - 12/19/2010

H.M.S. Pinafore is a hilarious operetta from that famous team of Skylight favorites, Gilbert and Sullivan. The story takes place aboard the British ship H.M.S. Pinafore where a navy captain�s daughter, Josephine, falls in love with a lower-class sailor instead of her father�s choice, the First Lord of the Admiralty, Sir Joseph Porter. This charming story pokes fun at the Royal Navy, parliamentary politics and the rise of unqualified people to positions of authority. H.M.S. Pinafore is filled with memorable music and a surprise twist. Join us in a nod to the old Skylight where the tradition every holiday season was to perform a G&S operetta! Dates: 11/19/10 at 7:30 pm 11/20/10 at 7:30 pm 11/21/10 at 2:00 pm 11/24/10 at 7:30 pm 11/26/10 at 7:30 pm 11/27/10 at 7:30 pm 11/28/10 at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm 12/01/10 at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm 12/02/10 at 7:30 pm 12/03/10 at 7:30 pm 12/04/10 at 7:30 pm 12/05/10 at 2:00 pm 12/08/10 at 7:30 pm 12/09/10 at 7:30 pm 12/10/10 at 7:30 pm 12/11/10 at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm 12/12/10 at 2:00 pm 12/15/10 at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm 12/16/10 at 7:30 pm 12/17/10 at 7:30 pm 12/18/10 at 7:30 pm 12/19/10 at 2:00 pm

Gershwin and Friends

12/31/2010 - 1/9/2011

It's New Years Eve at the New York City home of George Gershwin in the midst of the Jazz Age. I GOT RHYTHM, SUMMERTIME and RHAPSODY IN BLUE can be heard wafting through the air. We join the party's staff as they celebrate Gershwin's music from behind the scenes before heading back home to Harlem to ring in the New Year in their own high-style with the music of Gershwin's "friends" Fats Waller, Duke Ellington and Harold Arlen. This dynamic and innovative review of classic tunes from the 20's, 30's and 40's will be performed in the intimate Studio Theatre by Cynthia Cobb, Parrish Collier and Paul Helm. Dates: 12/31 7:30pm 1/1 7:30pm 1/2 2:00pm 1/5 2:00pm 1/5 7:30pm 1/6 7:30pm 1/7 7:30pm 1/8 7:30pm 1/9 2:00pm

Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris

1/28/2011 - 2/20/2011

While Jacques Brel is no longer alive, well or living in Paris, the singer/songwriter�s legendary vision of romance, humor and moral conviction endure. Each song in this contemporary musical revue tells a story and examines themes of love, war, being young and growing old�but never forgetting that life, with all its tragedies and complexities, is filled with humor. Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris is a powerful and bold theatrical experience that was an overwhelming success in its original off-Broadway production in 1968 and again in the 2006 revival. Brel�s songs are as relevant today as they were when they were written. We promise this show will light a fire in your heart in the midst of the long, cold Wisconsin winter. Dates: 01/28/11 at 7:30 pm 01/29/11 at 7:30 pm 01/30/11 at 2:00 pm 02/02/11 at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm 02/03/11 at 7:30 pm 02/04/11 at 7:30 pm 02/05/11 at 7:30 pm 02/06/11 at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm 02/09/11 at 7:30 pm 02/10/11 at 7:30 pm 02/11/11 at 7:30 pm 02/12/11 at 7:30 pm 02/13/11 at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm 02/16/11 at 7:30 pm 02/17/11 at 7:30 pm 02/18/11 at 7:30 pm 02/19/11 at 7:30 pm 02/20/11 at 2:00 pm

Cosi Fan Tutte

3/18/2011 - 4/3/2011

Skylight puts a fresh contemporary spin on the classic comic opera Cosi fan tutte by Mozart. We begin with two sisters, their fianc�s, and a bet � will the women be faithful? The men disguise themselves and woo each other�s lovers, managing through various tricks to win over the initially reluctant women. However, as deeper feelings surface, the suitors become uneasy with their antics. In true Skylight fashion, we will update Mozart�s masterpiece to the 21st century while retaining all the charm and delight of the original work. Cosi fan tutte translates to �Women are like that�, but in the contemporary world the woman will have the last laugh! Dates: 03/18/11 at 7:30 pm 09/19/11 at 7:30 pm 03/20/11 at 2:00 pm 03/23/11 at 7:30 pm 03/25/11 at 7:30 pm 03/26/11 at 7:30 pm 03/27/11 at 7:30 pm 03/30/11 at 7:30 pm 04/01/11 at 7:30 pm 04/02/11 at 7:30 pm 04/03/11 at 2:00 pm

Adding Machine- A Musical

5/20/2011 - 6/12/2011

Darkly comic and heartbreakingly beautiful, Adding Machine � A Musical is an adaptation of Elmer Rice�s 1923 Expressionist drama. It tells the story of Mr. Zero, who after 25 years of service to his company is replaced by a mechanical adding machine. In a vengeful rage, he murders his boss. An eclectic score gives passionate and memorable voice to this stylish and stylized production, which follows Zero�s journey to the afterlife in the Elysian Fields where he is given one last chance for romance and redemption. Milwaukee native Joshua Schmidt says he wrote Adding Machine � A Musical with Skylight in mind! Already a hit in New York and Chicago, we are thrilled to be performing this Wisconsin premiere. Dates: 05/20/11 at 7:30 pm 05/21/11 at 7:30 pm 05/22/11 at 2:00 pm 05/25/11 at 7:30 pm 05/26/11 at 7:30 pm 05/27/11 at 7:30 pm 05/28/11 at 7:30 pm 05/29/11 at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm 06/01/11 at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm 06/02/11 at 7:30 pm 06/03/11 at 7:30 pm 06/04/11 at 7:30 pm 06/05/11 at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm 06/08/11 at 7:30 pm 06/09/11 at 7:30 pm 06/10/11 at 7:30 pm 06/11/11 at 7:30 pm 06/12/11 at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm