The Sound Of Milwaukee

I spent today in the Cream City with my friend Vladislav Ivankovich; I met Vlad when we were living on the seventh floor of the Langdon last year, and I tutored him in mathematics this past fall. He picked me up from my bus stop, bought me lunch, and then we stopped at his aunt and uncle's house, where I met his maternal grandparents and his two cousins Kat and Tina, who I must say were two of the most quickwitted high school students I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. Both of the girls were busy, so Vlad and I headed downtown by ourselves. Our first stop was the Milwaukee Public Museum. It was a mixed bag; the place was clearly intended for much younger visitors, but I had a great time in the butterfly room. I had insects swirling about me almost constantly, and I got to watch some of them feed from up close. Afterwards we stopped at a huge (but somewhat smelly) used book store and a Starbucks, where I had a Chocofino and the necessary accompanying glass of water.

We proceeded to the main event of the day, which was the play Bach at Leipzig by Itamar Moses at Milwaukee Repertory Theater. This new play proved to be quite hilarious, and I'm looking forward to seeing another work from this young playwrite. The play is set in Leipzig in 1722, and features a cast of seven organist/composers, all of whom are named either Johann or Georg. I was particularly delighted to find actor Mark Corkins playing the role of Georg Friedrich Kaufmann, for I had seen and enjoyed him in the role of Sir Andrew Aguechee in Twelfth Night last October.

The play ran longer than Vlad expected, and we most unfortunately had to forgo dinner with the family so that I could catch my bus back to Madison.