Best of Milwaukee 2024: Arts and Entertainment

BY: EVAN MUSIL, CAROLE NICKSIN ANDARCHER PARQUETTE 

FIND MORE OF THE BEST OF MILWAUKEE 2024 HERE

Every year we have the privilege of curating Best of Milwaukee, highlighting our favorite things about our favorite city. This year, we wanted to share the love. Here you’ll find more than 20 guest curators – tastemakers, influencers and other people you know, or ought to – who give their perspectives on what makes Milwaukee great.

Our editors still weigh in with their picks from the last 12 months, and, of course, you have your say, too, in our annual Readers’ Choice poll. On to the medley of Milwaukee’s magnificent!

Pabst Theater Group’s newest, 450-seat venue arrived in February with unique charm (lots of leafy greens!) and impressive sound. And now that it’s a little less green, we can say it has a firm spot in the pantheon of local venues as a spot to catch budding talent. – EM

Parking lots, beaches, liquor stores, Culver’s – if you think of a place, SteveDaStoner has probably strolled up with a speaker and performed there. The Milwaukee rapper’s pop-up concerts aren’t his first time going viral, but they’ve certainly raised his profile. When storms cut Ludacris’ set short at the Tacos & Tequila Festival in June, he crashed 3rd Street Market Hall for a surprise show, with Stoner by his side. Who knows where the local rapper will end up next? – EM

The Trojan Players at Wauwatosa West High call it their Frozen era. After winning the chance to be the first Wisconsin high school to stage Broadway’s Frozen, they sold out every show in their initial fall run. Yes, initial: The troupe ran it back in June to celebrate being selected to perform at the International Thespian Festival in Indiana. Idina Menzel – Elsa herself – sent them a personal video message to wish them luck. With those kinds of memories, it’ll be hard to let it go. – EM 

Milwaukee Art Museum’s ambitious survey of contemporary painting sparked interesting ideas about how viewers absorb art beyond context. Green Gallery kept the convo going with “Moreover,” a regionally focused sister exhibition. Michelle Grabner helped curate both shows, and both leave a deep appreciation of an ever-changing medium. – EM 

Co-owned by sisters Barbara and Valeria Cerda, who grew up on Milwaukee’s South Side, La Revo specializes in Latinx literature, highlighting Latinx and BIPOC authors. They sell books in English, Spanish, Spanglish and more. Shop their selection at MARN, pop-up events and online. – BS

After a generous year of albums from local artists, it’s near impossible to pick favorites. But we’ll give a shoutout to this overlooked gem from alt-country rockers Ladybird, which holds just the right amount of wistfulness and rollicking fun. – EM 

Skylight artistic director Michael Unger produced the Midwest premiere of From Here to Eternity, a World War II-era novel and movie, reinterpreted for the stage as a musical with lyrics by Tim Rice and a blues/rock score by Stuart Brayson. The ambitious production left audiences contemplating the harsh realities of war long after the curtain came down. – CN

Michael Pink, artistic director of Milwaukee Ballet, deserves many rounds of applause for breathing fresh life into the old holiday standard with The Nutcracker: Drosselmeyer’s Imaginarium. No matter how many Nutcrackers you’ve seen, this one dazzled. Of particular note was the faceoff between the rats and the toy soldiers, which included a cheese cannon – how appropriate for Wisconsin! The new sets, costumes and of course, the choreography all worked together to make this Nutcracker one for the ages. – CN

I’ve been waiting a long time for a real, honest-to-goodness beach party here in Milwaukee, and this summer, my dream came true with Joy Engine’s Art Blaze series. The kick-off in July at Bradford Beach was the same night as Villa Terrace’s extraordinary drone show. It seemed like the whole city came out for the music, good vibes and spectacular show in the sky. – CN 

One of the summer’s biggest blockbusters had a Milwaukee native behind the camera. Michael Sarnoski, a University School grad, helmed the critically acclaimed third entry in the post-apocalyptic series. Day One had a fantastic cast, but no one stood out quite as much as Frodo the cat. And Sarnoski is poised to write and direct more exciting movies ahead – his next is The Death of Robin Hood, slated to start filming next year. – AP

Saint Kate – The Arts Hotel opened at arguably the worst possible time: June of 2019. Less than a year in, and boom, COVID effectively shut the entire industry down. We’re thankful that this new gem not only survived but thrived and is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year. The hotel – home to art galleries, event spaces, artist-designed rooms, restaurants and a lobby bar that always seems to be bumpin’– has managed to shape itself into a vibrant destination. – AP

I love this one-of-a-kind venue, and the Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service concert in May marking the 20th anniversary of their landmark records was a favorite.  – Heskeith Flavien, executive chef, Saint Kate – The Arts Hotel 

This Pulitzer Prize finalist play that delves into the world of a girls’ soccer team has been staged extensively worldwide, but the Renaissance Theaterworks-First Stage take on it stood out as the first professional production featuring an all high school-aged cast. This innovative approach not only filled the seats but also kept me personally on the edge of my seat throughout the performance. – Cody Estle, artistic director, Next Act Theatre

Drop-in once a month to find endless inspiration in a curated selection of typically unseen library materials ranging in themes like food, fashion, Milwaukee history and architecture. – Xoe Fiss, artist and director of youth and family programs at Milwaukee Art Museum

This amazing group out of the Clarke Square neighborhood continues to bring beauty to neighborhoods throughout Milwaukee by working with community groups and creating permanent ceramic art pieces and installations that beautify neighborhoods. Their project in the Muskego Way Neighborhood contributes to improving public safety, as well: parking bollards wrapped in ceramic tiles, created in collaboration with community members.

These caught the eye of not only local residents but also the mayor’s office, which  granted the project a Mayor’s Design Award. It’s well-earned recognition for using art to bring beauty, build community and improve safety in Milwaukee. – Jacobo Lovo, managing artistic director, Latino Arts 

Your Best

Best of Milwaukee Readers’ Choice will be online soon! Can’t wait? Grab a copy of the issue to see the full list.