Courtesy of Children’s Theater of Madison Courtesy of Children’s Theater of Madison More Madison Magazine
Curtains rise on three beloved off-beat musicals for kids of various ages as well as the young at heart this weekend. “Spongebob The Musical” is at Overture Hall, “Roald Dahl’s Matilda” is in The Playhouse, for at the Overture Center for the Arts, while Mel Brooks campy “Young Frankenstein” gets the community theater treatment in Verona.
World music performances and a 40th anniversary screening of “The War at Home” are also standout options.
THEATER
“The SpongeBob Musical,” Overture Hall, Overture Center
Thursday, Oct. 10, 7:30 p.m.; Friday, Oct. 11, 8 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 12, 2 & 8 p.m.; Sunday, Oct. 13, 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Critics have called “The Spongebob Musical” — based on the goofy animated children’s show now in its 13th year on Nickelodeon — visually stunning, hilarious and heart-warming. The Broadway musical garnered 12 Tony Award nominations in 2018. The pop music soundtrack includes songs by several Grammy winners, too.
“Young Frankenstein,” Verona Area Community Theater
Thursday-Friday, Oct. 10-11, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 12, 2 & 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Oct. 13, 2 p.m.
The lead up to Halloween wouldn’t be complete without taking in “Young Frankenstein,” originally a 1974 horror film parody by Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder. But the monster is alive again with Brooks’ musical on the Verona Area Community Theater stage with an orchestra this weekend.
“Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical,” The Playhouse, Overture Center
Friday, Oct. 11, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Oct 12, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Sunday, Oct. 13, 2:30 p.m.; Oct. 18-20, 24-27
Children’s Theater of Madison presents “Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical,” based on the 1988 book “Matilda,” the story of the friendship between an imaginative and telekinetic 5-year-old girl and her teacher. The musical, which premiered on Broadway in 2013, has an overall message about the importance of friendship, learning and empowerment.
MUSIC
Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain & Edgar Meyer, Shannon Hall, University of Wisconsin–Madison Memorial Union
Thursday, Oct. 10, 8 p.m.
More than a decade ago, Grammy Award-winning banjoist Béla Fleck, tabla player Zakir Hussain and double bassist Edgar Meyer recorded “Melody of Rhythm: Triple Concerto & Music for Trio.” Now they’re back together to meld world, bluegrass and classical instrumental music at a concert at Shannon Hall. The trio will be joined by Rakesh Chaurasia, a bansuri bamboo flutist.
Coyote Brother, Anna Vogelzang and Courtney Harman, The Winnebago
Saturday, Oct. 12, 8 p.m.
Folk duo Coyote Brother, made up of Milwaukeean Hayward Williams and Madisonian John Hardin, headline a night of artists with new releases. Also on the bill is singer-songwriter Anna Vogelzang, who returns to Madison for L.A., with a new batch of songs from her upcoming seventh album “Beacon.” Courtney Hartman, formerly of the bluegrass band Della Mae, will open.
Kaki King, Stoughton Opera House
Saturday, Oct. 12, 7:30 p.m.
A composer and virtuoso guitar player, Kaki King comes to the Stoughton Opera House to perform her immersive multimedia piece “The Neck is a Bridge to the Body,” in which King’s guitar becomes a projection screen for images, colors and animation as she plays it. A fascinating documentary short abut King and this piece, which she has been performing since 2014, can be found on her website.
SPECIAL EVENT
Latino Art Fair, Overture Center for the Arts
Saturday, Oct 12, 2-7 p.m.
The seventh annual Latino Art Fair on Saturday — featuring music, art and poetry — is brought to Overture Center by the Latino Chamber of Commerce of Dane County during National Hispanic Heritage Month. Columbian singer-songwriter Angela Puerta will perform three times for Kids in the Rotunda; local Latinx poets will read their works; the Acoplados Latin Project will play in the Promenade Hall; and the evening will culminate with a concert by Latin Grammy nominee Mariachi Herencia de Mexico on the Capitol Theater stage. Paintings, photography, pottery and jewelry will be available for purchase by attendees.
“The War at Home,” Orpheum Theater
Sunday, Oct. 13, 6 p.m.
“The War at Home,” the documentary film about the student protests against the Vietnam War in Madison from 1963 to 1970, premiered at the Majestic Theater on Oct. 12, 1979. On its 40th anniversary, a one-night-only Sunday screening of the film and a panel discussion will take place at Orpheum. Restored last year to a 4K digital format, “The War at Home” was shown at the 2018 NewYork Film Festival. Attending the Sunday event at the Orpheum will be co-director Glenn Silbur and journalist John Nichols to talk about the legacy of the antiwar movement. All proceeds from the event will go to The Progressive Inc., the nonprofit that publishes The Progressive magazine.
Joel Patenaude is associate editor of Madison Magazine.
