Author: Correspondent

José A. Olivieri has been selected to receive the 2017 Robert H. Friebert Social Justice Award. The award was established in 2014 by the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation. Previous honorees are attorney James H. Hall and Danae Davis. “We are so pleased to honor Jose for his relentless pursuit of equal access to opportunity,” said JCRC Chair Michael Pollack. “In his nomination, Jose was described as having ‘an impressive combination of courage, compassion and conviction.’ Those qualities make him an exemplar of the values of the Friebert Award.” Olivieri, who will receive the award...

Optimist Theatre, presenter of Milwaukee’s Shakespeare in the Park (SitP), announced details of this July’s schedule for LIVE @ Peck Pavilion. The three-weekend run will feature Kelley Faulkner* and Todd Denning* as Beatrice and Benedick, Michael Stebbins* as Don Pedro, Jonathan Wainwright* as Don John and Jim Pickering* as Dogberry. The cast for “Much Ado About Nothing” is: Bob Balderson as Antonio, Todd Denning* as Benedick, Mohammed ElBsat as Conrade, Kelley Faulkner* as Beatrice, David Flores as Leonato, Jennifer Glueckstein as Ursula, Alejandra Gonzales as Watch/Ensemble, Di’Monte Henning as Claudio, Logan Milway as Balthasar/Watch, Emmit Morgans as Borachio/Friar, Bividiana...

BMO Harris Bank announced that it is donating over $4 million to neighborhood programs throughout Wisconsin in 2017 to mark BMO’s 200th year in business, including over $2.8 million in the Milwaukee area. Almost 200 community organizations in the Milwaukee area have or will receive donations from BMO Harris Bank in 2017, including: The United Way of Greater Milwaukee, which supports programming to increase healthy birth outcomes and reduce the city’s high infant mortality rate United Performing Arts Fund, which includes support for arts education outreach Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee, which provides programming support to help...

The historic AAA Four-Diamond Pfister Hotel, owned and managed by Marcus Hotels & Resorts, announced Nicole Mattke as its tenth “Pfister Narrator.” In this role, Mattke will spend time in the hotel’s lobby and public spaces interacting with visitors and guests and sharing their stories on The Pfister’s award-winning blog. As narrator-in-residence, Mattke will share her experiences at the hotel through blog entries at least twice each week over the course of a year. She also plans to host events and book clubs to bring the literary community together. “I am so honored to be named the next Pfister...

The “Bus Rapid Transit Detour” on June 10 will be a guided tour led by Adam Carr and will include stops on or within walking distance to the planned BRT line. NEWaukee’s Detour by Carr: Sidewalk, Storefront, and Sofa Tours of Milwaukee Neighborhoods program on Saturday, June 10th will feature stops along Milwaukee County’s proposed East-West Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line. BRT is Milwaukee County’s planned 9-mile, regional, modern transit service connecting major employment, education and recreation destinations through downtown Milwaukee, Milwaukee’s Near West Side, Marquette University, Wauwatosa and the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center. BRT would provide improved access...

Live @ Peck Pavilion and Peck Flicks returns to the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts grounds this summer. The season will run from July 6 through August 26 and each day of the series will have a different program focus. This year, Optimist Theatre: Shakespeare in the Park will join the line up on July 6 to 9, July 13 to 16 and July 20 to 22 with a performance of Much Ado About Nothing. All the events in Peck Pavilion will all be free and open to the public, with Sunday afternoon concerts at 2:00 pm. LIVE...