Milwaukee’s Marcus Center for the Performing Arts is the home venue for many local performing arts organizations, from Milwaukee Symphony to the ballet and the Florentine Opera.
But it also hosts performances by any number of national touring companies. Each year, the center unveils its Broadway at the Marcus Center series schedule, featuring performances of big Broadway musicals that people might not see, unless they traveled to New York or London.
Opening this week, is one of the most celebrated musicals of the last 30 years. And Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of Opera has not been out of production since it opened in London in 1986.
The production coming to Milwaukee is an updated version, and it features Wisconsin native and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee graduate, Linda Balgord, playing Madame Giry. Balgord has a long and storied career on stage, starring in many big name musicals.
Balgord relishes the opportunity that she has with touring in The Phantom of the Opera.
"It’s an adventure. That’s kind of how I look at it at this point in my life," says Balgord. "Getting to go out, I haven’t toured in 17 years. So for me, it’s kind of playtime."
Performances of The Phantom of the Opera take place at Uihlein Hall, July 24th-August 3rd.
