Series finds new way to savor local theater

Theater has the power to transport us to another time and place, and summon buried emotions. With local theater groups presenting top notch performances, audiences don't have to travel far to savor the delights of the stage. Hoping to unite residents with local theaters, fine dining, and a better understanding of drama, the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha Continuing Education Department will be hosting their first ever Culinary Delights and Curtain Calls series beginning this month.

Bridging community, cuisine, and curtain calls

Dr. Steven Decker, Professor of Communication and Theatre Arts at UW-Waukesha, explained that the idea for Culinary Delights and Curtain Calls originated from the desire to bridge campus with the larger community, and to make an impact in the larger community. Additionally, Continuing Education was trying to promote art and education of the arts together through one program, said Candy Decker, Steven's wife and Continuing Education's Marketing Communications Coordinator at the school.

"We wanted that more engaged community," Steven Decker said.

As the Continuing Education Department mulled ways to accomplish this, the thought arose to use this opportunity as a way to encourage people to visit their local theaters.

In the end, three local theaters were chosen to participate in the event: the Waukesha Civic Theatre, the Falls Patio Players, and the UW-Waukesha Lunt-Fontanne Theatre Ensemble.

"It's an effort to reach out to the community and get people in the theaters' doors," Steven Decker said of Culinary Delights and Curtain Calls. "We want to develop the experience and habit of people going to the theater."

As a way of engaging audiences with theater and to better understand the shows, the series was created with an educational focus. Each event will begin with a brunch at UW-Waukesha. Meals will be designed around the play and will reflect the location and era of the play. Following lunch, Steven Decker will present an overview of the play, the production's history, the background of themes, and other information on the show. Guests will take a bus to the hosting theater to see the production and will return to campus after the show.

"It's a wonderful way to expose people to the different theaters in our community and to educate them about the plays," Decker said. "People should take the opportunity to support local arts because they really are doing good work and interesting work you might not normally see" right in our own backyard.

The shows

The first program in the series is from 11:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19, and features the Falls Patio Players presentation of "Almost, Maine." The comedy involves a series of romantic encounters on a cold winter's night. Love is lost, found, and confounded in one evening in this fictional town. The show is not suitable for young children.

Menu items are still being finalized, but tentatively include Cabot cheddar scrambled eggs, croissant French toast with maple sauce, apple wood smoked bacon, slow cooked meat, field green salad, fingerling oven roasted potatoes, fresh fruit and cheese cake.

Waukesha Civic Theatre will present "The Miracle Worker," the second production in the series. The program will be from noon to 5:30 p.m. Sunday, March 11. The show, the story of Helen Keller and her teacher Annie Sullivan, begins in Tuscumbia, Ala. in the 1880s when infant Helen survives a dangerous fever but is left both deaf and blind. The powerful story is one of determination and love, and the ways that language connects us all together.

Tentative menu items include apple cranberry muffins with apple butter, omelet made to order, fresh fruit, chicken fried steak with buttermilk biscuits, quiche and croissants with jelly.*

The trio of shows will wrap up with "Three Musketeers," presented by UW-Waukesha Lunt-Fontanne Theatre Ensemble on Sunday, April 15. Brunch starts at 12:30 p.m. with a return to UW-Waukesha scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

The action-packed stage adaptation of the literary romantic adventure classic features the musketeers' rendezvous with villains, international intrigue and exotic women.

Brunch for the production tentatively is scheduled to include a variety of breads with fruit preserves and marmalade, eggs and sausage, chicken stew with onions, leeks and garlic, fruits, oranges and strawberries, salad of greens and dessert.

For more information or to purchase tickets, contact the UW-Waukesha Continuing Education Department at (262) 521-5460 or email wakce@uwc.edu.

IF YOU GO

Who: University of Wisconsin-Waukesha

What: Culinary Delights and Curtain Calls

Where: Brunch and discussion will be held at UW-Waukesha. Performances will be held at the presenting theater's location.

Cost: $99 includes brunches, discussions, shows and transportation to and from UW-Waukesha

Information: (262) 521-5460 or email wakce@uwc.edu.