First Stage — Local services in Milwaukee

First Stage is Milwaukee's premier children's theater for learning and performing. I attended a high school age performance of Shakespeare's "Winter's Tale". There were some difficulties. The echoing in the small box theater in the complex. With minimal set and not a lot of fabric or carpet to absorb sound, my husband couldn't understand the dialogue. Frustrated, he left That's never happened before. The print on the brochure was very small and there was no brief synopsis of the play. So it was hard to know who the characters were, and their relationship to each other, and what the main arc of the story was. Also I didn't think of it, but the entire cast was clothed in white. Several royalty wore gold headbands. and a few other bits of costume helped somewhat. We've been to other plays with First Stage, including at least 3 holiday shows, and they've all been excellent. Elf is a knockout this season. Don't judge the...

First stage children's theater is truly a pillar of the Milwaukee community they have been a wonderful influence on the lives of children all the way up through teens with their philosophy of life skills through stage skills. They also have a wonderful program I believe it's called next steps which helps kids with autism learn skills for navigating what can often be the complicated social and emotional interactions leading to adulthood. I will say that I am absolutely proud to be married to Erin Whitehead who has been the Director of Organizational Support for a while now and has been with first stage for almost 17 years now. Everyone in this community would do well to take advantage of what they offer or to visit one of their many wonderful plays that they've put on. It's important for us as a community to support the arts and first stage is truly a pillar of the arts community that deserves...

I did a summer camp and a musical theatre class here. The students are amazing and honestly even though it was only a few weeks, it’s made a difference in my life two-ish years later. It was the first time I saw the weird kids, the struggling kids in an environment where they thrived and that made a giant difference in my life and confidence. Please, if your kid is thinking about doing a class here, DO IT! Obviously, not everyone has my experience but it can do so much for kids. I thought the “life skills through stage skills” thing was just branding but it’s true, which was pretty shocking for me. I wish I could give...