The Cap Times • 20th January 2024

Late MMoCA leader Stephen Fleischman shaped Madison's art scene

Stephen Fleischman, a beloved figure in Madison’s art world for more than three decades, died on Jan. 14. He led the contemporary art museum for 27 years in an industry where it’s common for leaders to move around.

The Cap Times • 30th December 2023

Two Crows Theatre returns to Spring Green with a supernatural thriller

Two Crows Theatre has continued to clarify its artistic niche: compelling, “deliberately intimate” plays.

The Cap Times • 16th December 2023

UW-Madison grad Carrie Coon talks 'Gilded Age' and 'Ghostbusters'

Every time Carrie Coon talks about “The Gilded Age,” people want to know about the clothes. And not just the clothes — the hats.

The Cap Times • 22nd November 2023

Eliza learns what she’s made for in a fresh ‘My Fair Lady’

Was Eliza Doolittle the original Barbie? In a 2018 Lincoln Center revival of Loerner and Loewe’s “My Fair Lady,” director Bartlett Sher recasts Eliza’s story as one of self-discovery.

The Cap Times • 5th November 2023

Forward Theater’s comedy ‘Clyde’s’ heats up hope and humor

A serene counterpart to the raging title character in “Clyde’s,” onstage from Forward Theater in the Overture Center Playhouse through Nov. 19, diner cook Montrellous places every piece of ham and slice of tomato onto bread like he’s sculpting in miniature.

The Cap Times • 30th October 2023

A contemporary classic, 'Proof' at APT moves like music

Full of tenderness and humor, David Auburn's “Proof” moves like a contemporary classic.

The Cap Times • 26th October 2023

Mary Bero, Babette Wainwright named 2023 Forward Art Prize winners

Mary Bero, a maker of “tapestry paintings” in Schenk-Atwood, and Babette Wainwright, a ceramicist on the north side, are the fifth pair of winners of the prize, announced Thursday at a reception at Arts + Literature Laboratory.

The Cap Times • 25th October 2023

UW Memorial Union scraps Tudor Dinners in favor of ‘Frosty Bites’

After 90 years of carols and wassail, the Tudor Holiday Dinners at the Memorial Union have flamed their final figgy pudding. A new event, Frosty Bites, is set to take their place.

The Cap Times • 22nd September 2023

John DeMain announces planned departure from Madison Symphony

As the Madison Symphony Orchestra prepares to open its 30th season under the baton of artistic director John DeMain, the maestro has announced that he will step down in two seasons’ time.

The Cap Times • 16th September 2023

Pianist Simone Dinnerstein explores what's hidden in 'Undersong'

Early in the pandemic, classical pianist Simone Dinnerstein didn’t feel much like making music.

“I hadn’t been playing much at all during the first few months of lockdown,” said Dinnerstein, who sheltered in place with her husband and son in New York City. “I just felt, like everyone, disturbed and depressed.”

The Cap Times • 19th August 2023

Deaf actor Joshua Castille brings a new Romeo to APT

Joshua Castille, a Chicago-based Deaf actor making his debut at American Players Theatre this summer, doesn’t wear his hearing aids onstage, to fully embody a young character who — like Juliet — is struggling to be heard.

The Cap Times • 14th July 2023

APT's "Once Upon a Bridge' connects three strangers on a London street

“Once Upon a Bridge,” Sonya Kelly’s woven-through monologue play for three actors, is now running in the Touchstone at American Players Theatre.

The Cap Times • 18th June 2023

APT's campy 'Merry Wives' goes walking in a Windsor wonderland

American Players Theatre kicks off summer with a candy-colored Dr. Seussian version of “Merry Wives of Windsor.”

The Cap Times • 25th April 2023

Madison Opera’s ‘Marriage of Figaro’ conductor defines her own success

Like many conductors, the Texas-based Rhodes Russell is often on the road. Unlike most conductors, Rhodes Russell travels with her 14-month-old twins, Samuel and Remington.

The Cap Times • 15th April 2023

World premiere of 'Artemisia' at Forward is lovely to look at

Lauren Gunderson’s new play is lovely to look at, accented by fragments of Artemisia Gentileschi’s real paintings. But “Artemisia” comes up a little dry, like an art history lesson (albeit one with a sexy romantic center).

The Cap Times • 8th April 2023

'Without us, there is no Madison': Arts conference focuses on business

When the pandemic closed the Chazen Museum of Art in 2020, director Amy Gilman began to repeat a message to her team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“From that moment, I have been saying, ‘If we come back exactly the way we closed, I should be fired,’” Gilman said midway through her keynote speech at the 2023 Dane Arts Buy Local conference. She looked out into a room filled with local artists, musicians, entrepreneurs and arts administrators.

“If any of you have ever experienced a life

The Cap Times • 7th February 2023

For soccer-themed play 'The Wolves', authenticity is the goooaaalll

“The Wolves,” set in 2016 in ambiguous suburban America, follows an indoor high school girls’ soccer team as they stretch, chatter, make friends and fight.

The Cap Times • 22nd January 2023

Madison artist John Hitchcock honors Native roots in prints and neon

Installation artist, musician and printmaker John Hitchcock spoke with the Cap Times about his artistic roots, narrative resilience and what Native heritage means to him.

The Cap Times • 9th January 2023

Strollers' 'Hir' promises anarachy and absurdity at the Bartell

Strollers Theatre's production of "Hir" is surprisingly, uncomfortably funny, and sometimes too real.

The Cap Times • 20th December 2022

The year in arts and culture: 7 stories from Madison's stages

As 2022 winds down, stages in Madison are humming again. Here are some of my favorite arts and culture stories of the year.

The Cap Times • 23rd November 2022

It's popular. Is it art? 'Immersive Van Gogh' comes to Madison

For the past two years, immersive art — lately, shorthand for large-scale, digital exhibitions — has spread across the country. On Thanksgiving, Middleton gets its own bit of van Gogh writ large when the Canadian company Lighthouse Immersive opens “Immersive Van Gogh” at a former DSW shoe store.

The Cap Times • 5th November 2022

Madison Opera stages Strauss' haunting ‘Salome’

Salome’s been dressing for revenge. Armed with seven veils and a look that could snap a soldier into action, the central character in Richard Strauss’ opera has a knack for spotting weakness.

The Cap Times • 31st October 2022

APT's Irish comedy 'Stones in His Pockets' is extra entertaining

There’s nothing nondescript about this highly entertaining two-hander, running in the Touchstone Theatre in Spring Green through Nov. 20.

The Cap Times • 26th October 2022

Cheesy, cynical 'Pretty Woman' musical never heats up

With a repetitive, schlocky score and a script that did not age well, the musical of “Pretty Woman” limps through nearly two and a half hours to a conclusion no one is waiting for.