Current Troupe and Alumni News

August 18, 2010

Fond du Lac Audience awaits the start of the KIDS show.

August 5 - 15, 2010
State Fair Performance Schedule

August 5, 2010



KIDS pose with Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle and his wife Jessica
on opening day of the Wisconsin State Fair


KIDS Producer Mark Dorn poses with Governor Jim Doyle and his wife Jessica


State Fair Opening Day Audience

August 2010
A HUGE THANK YOU!
An enormous vote of thanks goes to our President, Dr. James Maney, who has donated the funds to cover the cost of twenty new microphones which became a necessary purchase to comply with new federal communications regulations.

August 2010
Mathew deGuzman (2002-2004) is performing at the Drury Lane Oakbrook Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace, IL from August 12 - October 3 in Hot Mikado playing a Gentleman of Japan and understudying the role of Pish-Tush. The theatre's website is www.drurylaneoakbrook.com. Matt will head home to NYC following this production.

August 2, 2010
Letter published in the Wausau Daily Herald
Performance group did a terrific job

EDITOR: On Sunday, July 25, a dear friend invited me to go with her to see the performing group Kids from Wisconsin, whose performance was held at Wausau West. What an awesome experience. There were 33 members of the group and they were so artistically talented that if they made a mistake, it wasn't noticed.

If anyone gets to the Wisconsin State Fair in Milwaukee, I suggest that you stop to see them. You will not be disappointed. They will be doing two shows a day.
–Patricia Hiatt, Wausau

July 25, 2010
“On a scale of 1 to 10, this show is a 20!”

I just spent 3 wonderful days on the road with the 2010 KIDS, an experience everyone should have! This year’s group is well on its way to establishing itself as one of the best in our 42 summers.

Day One: Oconomowoc Arts Center. Wow! Absolutely incredible theater, with a wonderful audience. A first time performance for the KIDS in this beautiful space, with many more to come in the future, we hope.

Day Two: Sentry Theatre in Stevens Point. Our 21st year in this great venue. Every seat was sold, with over 700 in attendance. This year’s troupe is well-represented by communities in the area, including several of our KIDS who are music or music theatre majors at UWSP. This was one of the most enthusiastic audiences of the summer so far!

Day Three: Mayville High School. Mayville, population 4202 (although I was told by several that the new census predicts well over 5000!). Incredibly, we have 5 members of our 33 KIDS from Mayville! Todd Kruger, longtime choir director at Mayville, has one of the finest programs in the state, and sends us great KIDS every year. You can imagine the wild enthusiasm in that small Mayville auditorium, as nearly everyone in attendance was a friend or family member of our 5 Mayville KIDS! As I checked into the Mayville Inn that night, the desk clerk told me a friend had gone to the show and said, “On a scale of 1 to 10, the KIDS show is a 20!.”

From the music of Michael Jackson to George Gerswhin, from our rousing opener, “Stand Out!” to the inspiring closer “Unwritten,” this show packs a turbo-charged entertainment experience into 2 hours each night. Come and see us!

Mark Dorn
KIDS Producer

July, 2010

Gail Bennett back stage at a performance of The Sound of Music in Maine with former
President and First Lady, George and Barbara Bush.

July-August, 2010
Four KIDS alumni are involved in a production of Beauty and the Beast as part of the Heartland Festival in Platteville, Wisconsin. Connie Saloutos (1979-81) choreographed the show, Kelsey Klug Odorizzi (2001-05) stars as Belle, Jens Jacobson (2008-09) is a member of the cast, and Karl Bush (2000-02) plays clarinet, bass clarinet, and flute in the orchestra. The show runs on July 22, 25, 29 and August 1 and 8.

July 15, 2010

KIDS try Curling before the Green Bay show.

July 13, 2010

A large audience gathers for the UW-River Falls show.

July 2010
Gail Bennett, 1999 KID, was featured in a review published in the Wall Street Journal Digital Edition on July 9, 2010.

Few musicals are more beloved—and get less respect—than "The Sound of Music," in which Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein turned the tale of how the Trapp Family Singers escaped from the Nazis into a child-friendly love story. Highbrows are understandably wont to dismiss "The Sound of Music" as vapid and saccharine, yet it was hugely successful on stage and screen and continues to be revived with fair frequency, though I suspect that most people now know it through Robert Wise's 1965 film version rather than from a staged production. It happens that I'd never seen the show performed live, so I drove up to Maine last week to take a look at the Ogunquit Playhouse's new production, and found it altogether charming. Sweet it most definitely is, but never cloyingly so, in large part because Gary John La Rosa's staging (unlike the overopulent film) is modest and straightforward in both scale and tone.

Gail Bennett, who was so good as Eliza Doolittle in the superb revival of "My Fair Lady" that I saw in Ogunquit two summers ago, is equally pleasing as Maria von Trapp—she sings as well as Julie Andrews—and the children in the cast couldn't have been better chosen. The set and costumes are lovely. The audience at the preview I saw appeared to consist mainly of little girls and their mothers, all of whom quite clearly had great fun. So did I. —Terry Teachout, Drama Critic, Wall Street Journal  To read the entire review click here.

Congratulations Gail!

June 2010
KIDS camp 2010 opened on June 10 when troupe members, families and friends gathered in the Tommy Thompson Youth Canter at State Fair Park. Since then, rehearsals have gone full tilt in preparation for opening night. Come see our Premiere Performance at Greendale High School on June 27 and check our tour schedule . Come see us once, come see us often! Watch this page for updates as we travel the State.

March, 2010
As spring makes its reluctant debut, the Kids from Wisconsin are gearing up to launch their 42nd season! Auditions in February yielded a fine array of talented musicians, singers and dancers and selection was difficult. The final choices are listed on the current troupe page. The show program has been decided upon but no clues are yet available!

While the artistic staff is busy getting ready for the show, the operational staff is working feverishly to book the tour, prepare for camp and keep the business going! Our new Executive Director, Tamara Martinsek, is partnering with Barbara Dorn, Executive Director Emeritus, in the overall preparations.

Once again, we need to remind all our loyal fans that in order to keep our program alive, we need your help! Donations may be made via this web site or sent directly to our office.

We welcome any feedback on our web site and look forward to seeing you all again this year!