Marcus Center For the Performing Arts

Great place to catch a great Broadway show. Wish they had more.

The Milwaukee Brewers’ loss of a box office manager a few years ago was truly the Marcus Center’s tremendous gain. John Barnes works hard to provide terrific customer service, and is one of the nice guys in the business. If you have a group that wants to see a Broadway production, John is the guy to contact to have a very memorable experience.

My daughter and I went today because fellow Elite Carrie G. told us about the lottery the Marcus holds 2 ½ hours before the performances. We got there a tad early at a little after 9. We were the first ones there. Finally about 9:45AM another family came. We were let into the building around 10 AM and got to fill our a form and put our names into a cauldron. More and more people came in and I thought our chances were nil 20 tickets were only available and each person could get 2. Finally it was time for the drawing. They called my daughters name! We were able to purchase Row A Orchestra seats at $ 25.00 each! The seats were amazing on stage left! Last time I had seen it I was in the balcony and could hardly see anything. We were able to see the actors clearly and the sound was great! If you have a child, I highly recommend getting a booster seat. We were three actual rows from the front and could see into the orchestra pit. We waited outside after the performance and got autographs and pictures with the cast. Truly an amazing time!

This place reminds me of the Kennedy center in DC. What year is it? The brass light bulbs are calling. It’s a good place to see roaming acts like Broadway productions and our local ballet. Sound could be a bit better in the main theater but most seats are good. I like the gallery in front although it can get a little crowded.

Went to Book of Mormon here last night. Very nice theatre! Clean and well taken care of. I didn’t get drinks so I can’t speak to the price or quality but the theatre itself was great! Definitely the preferred venue of all the ones I’ve been to in Milwaukee so far!

I attended my first performance at the Marcus Center this weekend; The Book of Mormon. Although, I wasn’t overly impressed with the play, I loved the Marcus Center! I sat in the box which is the first level above the floor. The price for this seat was the same as sitting in the back of the floor (or orchestra seats). The view and sound were perfect! ½ level down, there is a cash bar for before the show and during intermission.
The bar was expensive, but it’s nice to have a drink available. I bought water for $ 2.25 for a small bottle (ridiculous!), but I also got a cup of ice and took advantage of free refills from the water fountain :) Lesson Learned: There are plenty of water fountains scattered around.
There are also good sized restrooms on both sides of the loge level. I can’t speak for the other levels. Of course, there was a line for the women’s room at intermission, but I was able to get in and out and have time for my high-​priced water.

Saw Book of Mormon touring show. Just being back in Milwaukee and in the place where I played many concerts as a student is very exciting. The show was very energetic, great singing and dancing!

Went on Friday for the ballet. There truly is not a bad seat in the house! Ticket prices were reasonable and they sell student tickets for half price of you have a student ID. The seats are comfortable, we were in the orchestra in row X and could still see everything just fine. All in all a beautiful venue to watch a show.

We saw the blue man group which was an amazing show. The venue offers a bar upstairs and you can bring your drinks in the theatre in a plastic cup, lid and straw which they will provide on request. They are sturdy cups too, and not the thin flimsy ones lol. Prices on drinks were high, but that is expected. Its not any higher than prices at a the ball park or even some bars. There is plenty of open space to wait before theatre doors open so you dont feel like a sardine. As for the seats… We had floor seats, about 10 rows back, right in the center. The rows are so long that you have to get up to let people pass a lot before the show starts. I noticed that even though we had center seats, the ones near either end would have been good as well. Any seat on the floor is great. From what i could see, the upper Loge is not worth the discounted price. Stsy with orchastra. Once the show starts, you are golden

The concert today was a twin bill, Mozart and Schubert. Richard Goode was in town to play Mozart’s «Concerto No. 18 in B-​flat Major for Piano and Orchestra» (K 486.) I’ve never really been much of a Mozart fan. When I was playing Mozart, I found his repetitive phrasing to get really boring but as I’ve gone along, I find it much easier to listen to than to play. Richard Goode was excellent, and Edo de Waart did a delightful job of tying the orchestra together with Mr. Goode’s interpretation of Mozart, the echo phrases between solo and orchestra were a joy to listen to.
The second half of the bill was Schubert’s Symphony No. 8 in C Major (or 9^th, there is some historical controversy over it) also known as the Great Symphony. It is a majestic piece of music, probably the pinnacle of Schubert’s work. Like Mozart, Schubert died young, and both men sadly passed, likely with more wonderful music left undone. Both were prolific composers and we are graced with large catalogs by both of these great composers.
In fact, Schubert is best known in popular culture for his 7^th Symphony, simply called the Unfinished Symphony. Perhaps it was because Peter Schickele made fun of it with PDQ Bach’s Unbegun Symphony, but I digress.
Again, Maestro de Waart led the Milwaukee Symphony in a hearty rendition of Schubert’s majestic work, bravo!
As usual, the acoustics of Uihlein Hall are superb, there aren’t many bad seats in this house. I’ve been coming to Uihlein Hall for decades, for the Milwaukee Symphony, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Tuba Christmas and if memory serves me correctly, «Man of La Mancha» many, many years ago. It is a great place to hear the Great Symphony.
(Disclaimer: If you are a musicologist and wish to take issue with any of my opinions, please remember I am a rank amateur. These are only my humble opinions, and nothing more.)

The Marcus center is nice… for Milwaukee. It gets used for quite a few different things and serves all of them well enough, but isn’t going to be ideal for any of them. The overall design is a bit dated, and it lacks bathrooms on the upper levels for a crowd (2 stalls). In addition the front room for drinks feels classically styled, but never looks well integrated.
I was here again last night for Phantom of the Opera. I was impressed at how much they were able to do with the stage for this show. The sound carries well and the site lines are good from most areas I’ve seen.

The Marcus Center is a very good compromise multipurpose design theater that’s not quite ideal for any of its important functions. The lack of access aisles make symphony concerts uncomfortable on the main floor. The acoustics aren’t quite generous enough for the opera (which by tradition shouldn’t be amplified electronically). Many seats to the sides or up in the back of the balcony don’t have good sight lines for the ballet or musicals. Still, it’s better than adequate for any of these purposes, and it’s just as well, it’s the only game in town and Milwaukee probably couldn’t support the 4 or five specialty venues found in bigger cities. It’s superior to what I’ve experienced in similarly sized cities like Grand Rapids, Detroit, or Albuquerque. The Milwaukee Ballet, the Milwaukee Florentine Opera Company, and the Milwaukee Symphony are almost on par with Chicago’s Symphony, Chicago’s Lyric Opera, and the Chicago’s Joffrey Ballet, really, all three deserve better than the Marcus.
The usher staffing is irregular, I’ve experienced very polite and competent help, as well as indifferent and incompetent workers who didn’t even know where the seats were. On two occasions I’ve been subjected to the mild racism of being the only one having my ticket checked (the assumption being the White people are in the right seats, and the brown man could not possibly be the season ticket holder). Audiences here are on the one hand much better behaved than in Chicago, we’ve found that we’re much less likely to see boorish behavior (patrons rushing out without applause to try to beat the crowd, talking loudly during quiet performances, clapping between movements, gym shorts and tee-​shirts and such) but on the other hand, some of the finest performances across the high arts are embarrassingly poorly attended here as opposed to the Windy City.
Still, the Marcus is visually beautiful in design, much better washroom access than older venues, and the bridge to the parking structure make it a comfortable place to visit when you’re dressed up, even in foul weather. It takes longer to get into the parking garage and into the Center than you think; allow for an extra 20 minutes or so from arrival in the vicinity to sitting in your seat with your program. If you’re downstairs towards the outside, be prepared to stand up and stay out of the way during intermissions, if you’re in the balcony bring opera glasses or small binoculars.

Have seen many shows here, the venue is beautiful and hardly a bad seat in the house. If you don’t want to fight crowds in the parking structure there is plenty of street parking near by. There are also plenty of places very close to grab a drink or food before or after your show. My only complaint is they could really use more restrooms, the lines before, intermission and after the show are always long and slow.

I have been coming here since i was a kid to see the Nutcracker, The Christmas Carol, and many other performances. It is always great getting back here that brings back memories of my youth.
I haven’t been to other performing centers so I don’t know how this stacks up against others yet I have always really liked the location, the performances, and the staff. The no aisle down the middle is a bit of a hassle when there are a crazy amount of seats and you can only come in from one side or the other, making about 30 people get up to let you in.
The parking is easy to find on the street if you pay the meter or they usually charge $ 10 at the parking structure (they don’t take credit cards). The upstairs during intermission is always nice to view on what they are selling, get a beverage and a snack, and walk around.

MKE can be proud of this theater. It is a large, beautiful space. Not a bad seat in the house. Great accoustics. Nice parking tri-​level building right across the street with a bridge into the upstairs part of the theater.
Been here a dozen times or so in the past and never had any problems or issues. Just saw Whitte Christmas this evening and will be going to see Nutcracker Suite later this month (for the third time at this theater).
Great times and memories at the Marcus Center.

This venue is beautiful! Easy enough to find parking — I ended up right across the street! There are a few restaurants in the area for easy food before a show. They offer beverages (both alcoholic and non) inside and an awesome perk is that you can choose and pre-​pay for beverages at intermission. You get a ticket and can walk right up — great way to ease congestion in that 15 minutes.
I saw Wicked and my problem was also one of the perks, it is a very small venue. It seemed to have been built for orchestras, as their voices were pretty drowned out and it was hard to understand the different verses and jokes. I think that the seats were really comfortable and the stage was a good size, but for a show like Wicked it just didn’t seem quite right.
I look forward to returning for another production.

I really appreciate the line up of great shows the Marcus has been bringing in lately.
This really is (besides the newer and less comfortable Milwaukee Theater) the only place to catch a touring musical in Milwaukee.
My advice — catch the MSO here if you can. The acoustics are great. Go ahead and Treat Yo’self!

And people say Kyle K lacks culture. Far from it, let me tell you. I saw Tuck Everlasting here when I was in elementary school. Suck on that, culture hounds.
This review is solely for the Todd Wehr Theater, which was the venue for the Upright Citizens Brigade show last Friday. My buddy and fellow Unilocaler Jacob T. and I were set up with tickets from Unilocal.A big thank you for that!
This venue is rough to say the least. It is more or less a basement, complete with bare concrete everything. Take Soviet era Brutalist architecture and crank it to 11. Seating for about 500 situated on 3 sides around the stage. VERY utilitarian. I can’t imagine live music sounding very good.
There is a small bar right outside of the hall that also sells little snacks. I ordered a Woodford Reserve, which was served in a plastic cup complete with lid and straw. I’ve given some crazy looks in my life, but I issued the craziest yet when presented with this little number. In the end, the show was pretty funny, mostly because the crowd was significantly older than a UCB crowd should be and I was one of the few people laughing. Three Stars and not one more.

I saw Blue Man Group at the Marcus Center.
PEOPLE FLOW: The Marcus Center is designed well for people traffic. A sold out show of 2,305 patrons didn’t FEEL like there were a few thousand people in the building. The ushers were really helpful. You don’t want to arrive late to a Blue Man show because they will call. your. ass. out.
SEAT COMFORT: Seats are about the same size as on an economy flight in coach. No cupholders but the theater does allow patrons to bring in drinks they purchased in the lobby.
GERIATRIC: The building itself feels geriatric. Like rich old people picked out every design detail down to the gaudy sculptures that are stuck in corners. Drinking fountains sprouting from the carpet in random places?
REMINDS ME OF: A smaller version of C.Y. Stephens Auditorium in Ames, Iowa.
END HITS: Kidding aside, I think the Marcus Center is a great space in a city that seems to have many unique venues. It’s centrally located and has a parking garage that’s accessible via skywalk. The colored lights that Rachel F. speaks of are a nice touch and they were blue for Blue Man Group.

Um. I don’t care how weird this is. I’m writing a review about these lights and none of y’all can stop me, dammit.
I love those freaking lights A TON. I mean, I can’t review *them* as the Marcus Center. I would then have to review the building and the venue and all that. They’re their own thing, the lights. And they’re GLORIOUS. All the colors, and in all sorts of different combinations. They make me so happy I could spit. Or cry. Or grin like an idiot. Whatever. Who’d have thought something so so simple as big colorful lights on the Marcus could bring me so much joy? (scoffs at self)
It’s like, one night I could be sad and it might be sleeting and snowing and I’m driving down Water Street and the Marcus Center could be lit up like the most majestic of all ice castles; the shades of blue and purple swirl together in expertly situated confluence. I then like to image that a giant yet friendly abominable snow person is inhabiting the venue. Maybe he or she is conducting the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Maybe there are tiny ice gnomes carving snowflakes made of crystal inside. Maybe winter fairies are sprinkling glitter on the Ballet. Any and all of those things are most certainly happening inside.
Another night, I could be headed to roller derby practice, and the building might be lit up all crazy shades of green. I might be in a bad mood, but how can I be in a bad mood when it’s a swamp monster that lives inside of that giant green building? (Except for that he’s a friendly swamp monster, and he’s working with the Ents and the pixies on a PowerPoint presentation that teaches conservation to all the visiting schoolchildren. The pixies swing from rainforest-​y type vines and they use tropical flowers for chairs. The Ents are sipping on water from giant tea cups and their pinky branches are up, because Ents are civilized like that.)
Some nights the building is lit up yellow and red. It makes me feel weird. When it’s yellow and red, I think of the BCB Allstars (their colors are gold + red), but it also makes me think of Ronald McDonald. I don’t really like when the Marcus is lit up yellow + red because Ronald McDonald scares me.
When the Packers won the Super Bowl, the Marcus was green + yellow. That was super great, too.
I love these lights. Too much, probably. I never professed to not have strange hang-​ups though. So butt out! Or whatever.