James Pickering News

While William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar dramatically retells history through rich verse, Door Shakespeare at Baileys Harbor's Bjorklunden gives the play a fiercely human touch in this intimate garden setting. Here a serene rose garden might be enjoyed before the show, directly accessible from the bleacher theater seating. While Director and Milwaukee Rep Artistic Associate James Pickering focuses Shakespeare's political tragedy on the personal relationships between Brutus and Caesar, Cassius and Brutus or Brutus and Portia, Marc Anthony weaves between these relationships before laying rest to the murdered dictator in his famous, 'Friends, Romans, Countrymen' oration... In the lush garden on this moonlit stage, the tragic drama acquires a highly intimate and personal interpretation between the litany of interconnections crossing the moral lines between friends and foes, honor and honesty.

This week, we go around our Broadway World to feature stories in Washington, DC, Maine, Milwaukee and more. Check out our top 10 stories around our Broadway World below, which include PROOF in Washington, DC, THE CRUCIBLE at Portland Players, and the world premiere of ELLA ENCHANTED in Milwaukee, just to name a few.

Scott Greer delivers a stirring performance that cuts straight to the heart and gives heart to Arizona Theatre Company and Milwaukee Repertory Theater's co-production of OF MICE AND MEN. There is artistry, substance, and depth enough in Steinbeck's allegory of man's existential struggle to make this staging a must-see before it leaves Phoenix.

Arizona Theatre Company's (ATC) powerhouse season continues with one of the most celebrated works in American literature, John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, the emotional and stirring account of migrant workers George and Lennie who dream of settling down on a farm where the land stretches forever and the soft rabbits need tending, tonight, March 5, through March 26 at the Temple of Music and Art, 333 S. Scott Ave. I.

Arizona Theatre Company's (ATC) powerhouse season continues with one of the most celebrated works in American literature, John Steinbeck's OF MICE AND MEN, the emotional and stirring account of migrant workers George and Lennie who dream of settling down on a farm where the land stretches forever and the soft rabbits need tending, March 5-26 at the Temple of Music and Art, 333 S. Scott Ave. I.

This week, we go around our Broadway World to feature stories in Milwaukee, Los Angeles, Denver, and more. Check out our top 10 stories around our Broadway World below, which include OF MICE AND MEN at Milwaukee Rep, the pre-Broadway engagement of EMPIRE in Los Angeles, and VIOLET in Denver,  just to name a few.

In a beautiful, breathtaking evening at Milwaukee Rep, Artistic Director Mark Clements reprises his critically acclaimed production Of Mice and Men. On stage, Todd Edward Ivins' elegant, grand set design creates a wooden bunkhouse where shadows flow onto the stage and complements Jesse Klug's sensual lighting. These technical elements elevate John Steinbeck's bindlestiffs and ranch hands set in 1935 California that represent humanity's great struggles to connect to another human being and achieve lofty if sometimes, unattainable dreams.

Milwaukee Repertory Theatre's OF MICE AND MEN begins tomorrow, January 19, at the Quadracci Powerhouse and runs through February 21, 2016. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

'I know of only one duty,' said George Bernard Shaw, 'And that is to love.' While Milwaukee Chamber Theatre (MCT) presents a trilogy of one acts titled Love Stories--- including Shaw's short, three-scene play titled 'Village Wooing'---next door to the Studio Theatre the Skylight Music Theatre features Shaw's My Fair Lady, a version of Shaw's 'Pygmalion,' both at the Broadway Theatre Center. Numerous themes echo through these separate shows regarding social class and male/female relationships, particularly those experienced in marriage. Actual life partners and actors Tami Workentin and James Pickering prove to be the genuine actors, true gems in this production, illustrating love inside and outside the theater to the delight of Milwaukee audiences.

For the holiday season, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre presents three classic one-acts by three celebrated writers, LOVE STORIES, now through December 20, 2015. The production features VILLAGE WOOING by George Bernard Shaw, THE JEWISH WIFE by Bertolt Brecht and HERE WE ARE by Dorothy Parker. Real-life married couple James Pickering and Tami Workentin star in LOVE STORIES under the direction of Paula Suozzi. LOVE STORIES performs in the Broadway Theatre Center's Studio Theatre in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward. Scroll down for a sneak peek at the cast onstage!

For the holiday season, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre presents three classic one-acts by three celebrated writers, LOVE STORIES, tonight, November 25 - December 20, 2015.

For the holiday season, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre presents three classic one-acts by three celebrated writers, LOVE STORIES, November 25 - December 20, 2015. The production features VILLAGE WOOING by George Bernard Shaw, THE JEWISH WIFE by Bertolt Brecht and HERE WE ARE by Dorothy Parker. Real-life married couple James Pickering and Tami Workentin star in LOVE STORIES under the direction of Paula Suozzi. LOVE STORIES performs in the Broadway Theatre Center's Studio Theatre in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward.

A few hours after their first production on a Saturday night, Door Shakespeare changes costumes, peotic canons and presents Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet at 8:30 p.m.  Under the velvet moonlght of a Bailey's Harbor sky that naturally resembles the darkness  that dominates much of the Bard's iconic story,  the tragic  play unfolds. A riveting Romeo and Juliet theatergoers will remember when the sun sets the following evening regardless of what they have ever known or seen of this production before.  

Milwaukee Chamber Theatre (MCT) announces its 41st season, with the theme of 'Looking for Love (in all the wrong places).' The 2015-2016 Season will feature five exciting productions performed at the Broadway Theatre Center in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward.

Milwaukee Repertory Theater announces directors, creative teams, and initial casting for 2015/16, a season featuring a Tony Award-winning musical, a play by the Pulitzer Prize-winning Milwaukee playwright Ayad Akthar, and three world premieres.

'Forgive me,' asks the bearded, finely dressed older man appearing on stage. He rests on a red velvet seat in a train compartment during the late 1800's and empties his pockets one by one and mentions, 'A white silk handkerchief brushed with red lips has not been washed in over a year...' Thus begins the one man performance by iconic Milwaukee actor James Pickering in Renaissance Theaterwork's adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's The Kruetzer Sonata on stage in the Studio Theater. Written by Tolstoy as a novella in 1889 when the story was often banned and unpublished, Nancy Harris reinterpreted Tolstoy's text from the original Russian. She focuses on the philosophical and psychological drama the main character, Pozdynyshev agonizes over when he has recently been acquitted for murder after a year in prison.

Award winning documentary filmmaker Nick Mollé recently announced the premiere of his newest documentary 'The Living Dream: One Hundred Years of Rocky Mountain National Park.' The 90 minute film documents the history of Rocky Mountain National Park from the Native American and Mountain Man eras through the pioneers. It continues through the 20th Century and into modern times. As a historical documentary it explores the influence of people from the obsessive naturalist Enos Mills, to the self-serving Lord Dunraven, and the benevolent F.O. Stanley on this national park. Gunfights and legal battles failed to stay the progress and process of protecting the park for future generations. 'Fires and floods have not deterred the determination of the communities of Estes Park and Grand Lake to live in harmony with Rocky,' said Mollé. 'Our goal in making this is to recognize that the bond between the wilderness, its wildlife, and the people who preserve it has an inherent power greater than any artificial possession.' One particular poignant quote from the movie is that of a park ranger Cynthia Langguth when she says, 'What people bring to the park is as important as what we perceive the Park gives to them.' The story is told through interviews with historians including James Pickering PhD, Curt Buchholtz, Dave Lively, and Bob Brunswig PhD. National Park personnel and local citizens contribute their personal insights. In particular, Tom Hornbein of Mt. Everest fame and world class climber Tommy Caldwell share their feelings about the Park's centerpiece, Longs Peak. Several years of filming and months of editing have gone into this production. Included in the work are numerous historical photos as well as rare archival films dating back to the beginning of the 20th Century. 'The Living Dream - One Hundred Years of Rocky Mountain National Park' will be released nationwide on PBS in September of 2015, but will make its theatrical premiere on Thursday, January 29th at the Reel Mountain Theatre in Estes Park, CO at 7 pm. Tickets are available in advance or at the door at Reel Mountain Theatre. Admission is $7.00. DVDs may be purchased with a portion of their sales going to the Rocky Mountain Conservancy.