“It’s so much like the old Boulevard space, it’s incredible,” says Artistic Director Mark Bucher about the new Walker’s Point Center for the Arts, 839 S. Fifth St. The art gallery will be the site of Gideon’s Knot , Boulevard Theatre’s second production as a company on the road. Bucher saw the play in a similarly small space in Chicago and loved it. When his friend, East Coast director and actress Patricia Durante who has worked in both capacities at Boulevard, suggested he produce the Wisconsin premiere, he asked her to come back to town and direct it.
Bucher calls the play “an indictment of the American educational system.” The fine script by Johnna Adams was recently published in American Theatre Magazine . First produced at Shepherd University in West Virginia in July 2012, it shows the visit of a young mother to the high school teacher who suspended her son for a five-day period during which he committed suicide. The actors are Lisa Schnell and Nicole Gorski.
Performances are Oct. 3-12, hot on the heels of the Boulevard’s Pal Joey this weekend. For tickets, call 414-744-5757 or visit brownpapertickets.com.
John Schneider is an assistant A&E editor and the Shepherd’s dance writer. He is a longtime artist-in-residence and performing arts faculty member at Marquette University, and the founding director of the much-awarded Project Non-Violence.