Experience the magic of Christmas like never before! This uplifting holiday classic comes to life as a high-energy radio play, blending 1940s retro charm with hilarious theatrical hijinks, as five multi-talented actors portray dozens of characters with vintage sound effects, favorite songs and lovable Christmas spirit, right in front of your eyes (and ears). A mix of humor, heart and hope, this enchanting show has captivated audiences across the country and delivers a nostalgic treat that’s gift wrapped for you and your loved ones of all ages.

It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play

Associated Bank Theater Center

Milwaukee’s favorite hometown holiday tradition returns! Join your Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra as we deck Allen-Bradley Hall with holiday cheer. Ring in the holidays with Milwaukee Handbell Ensemble, keep your eye out for the Jolly Old Elf himself, and raise your voice during the audience sing-along backed by the full power of the orchestra and Milwaukee Symphony Chorus. Sheer musical magic and cozy holiday memories with family and friends await as we usher in a joyful season of celebration.

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Holiday Pops

Warner Grand Theater

For decades Wisconsinites have enjoyed A Christmas Carol as their favorite holiday tradition. Now join us as we celebrate our 50th Anniversary production of this Dickens’ classic. Experience the magic of this beloved tale as Ebenezer Scrooge’s heartwarming transformation inspires holiday cheer with the timeless message of peace, hope and joy. With beautiful music, lively dancing, stunning sets and eye-popping special effects, it’s a dazzling Christmas feast with enough theatrical goodies to fill any sized stocking hung by the chimney with care. Rep favorite Matt Daniels returns as Scrooge.

A Christmas Carol

Relive the chilling portrait of the Sicilian clan’s rise and near fall from power in The Godfather as the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra performs Nino Rota’s Oscar®-nominated score live to picture. This three-time Academy Award®-winning film features Marlon Brando as the Corleone family patriarch, accompanied by career-making performances from Al Pacino, James Caan, Diane Keaton, and Robert Duvall. A concert experience you can’t refuse!

The Godfather In Concert Film with Orchestra

Podcast link: https://youtu.be/4hagYvrYbuM

The Artelize Podcast and Kasper Holten - Pedefining Opera for the modern world

Podcast link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d36M5Hi6O80

The Artelize Podcast - A legacy of innovation in Opera: Celebrating Marc A. Scorca

Podcast link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59E40S_EQSY

The Artelize Podcast: A love letter that was never sent

Podcast link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THv6htilWtI

The Artelize Podcast and Adolfo Corrado: Mediterranean flavors, opera and social media

 This heartwarming Wisconsin musical is a testament to the power of sisterhood and self-discovery. When a governor’s order uproots the small village of Fish Creek to make way for Peninsula State Park, two sisters must confront their fears and fight for the home they love. This charming show comes direct from Northern Sky Theater and celebrates the deep connections we share with our family, community and the land around us. With touching songs and home-grown humor, you’ll treasure this funny, fitting love letter to a slice of our great state’s history.

The Fisherman's Daughters

This production of The Lehman Trilogy is a transfer from Guthrie Theater (Minneapolis, MN) in association with Shakespeare Theatre Company (Washington, DC).

The Lehman Trilogy

Kerson Leong, a violinist who speaks “with sincerity and without exaggeration” (The Strad), performs Beethoven’s beloved Violin Concerto; Beethoven changed the genre with this innovative and lyrical concerto, which leaves ample space for the violinist to dazzle. The MSO welcomes leading Baroque expert Bernard Labadie to conduct one of the era’s finest gems: Haydn’s rambunctious “Drumroll” Symphony.


Beethoven & Haydn

A highly distinguished pianist and the first classical performer to be granted a MacArthur Fellowship, Sir Stephen Hough’s magic is best experienced live — in these concerts, he performs Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21, which begins cautiously but soon dives into its true warmth and urgency. Guest conductor Jean-Marie Zeitouni guides this rollicking dance across central and eastern Europe: hear the spirit of Ligeti’s Romania, Kodály’s love for his native Hungary, and Mozart’s musical postcard from Prague.

Zeitouni Conducts Mozart

"Paul Jacobs is one of the great living virtuosos … he is utterly without artifice,” declares The Washington Post. Witness the musicianship of the first and only organist to win a Grammy Award as Jacobs performs Saint-Saëns’s “Organ” Symphony, a work so expressive the composer claimed, “I have given all that I had to give.” Jacobs also performs Samuel Barber’s exuberant Toccata Festiva. Beethoven penned four unique overtures to his opera Leonore; the MSO performs the sumptuous third iteration here, as well as brand new music by composer Edmund Finnis.

Saint-Saëns “Organ” Symphony

Direct from a sold-out Broadway run, Pulitzer Prize-winner Ayad Akhtar’s thrilling and darkly comic new work follows Jacob McNeal — a brilliant yet dangerously charming novelist obsessed with his own genius. On the eve of his greatest achievement, his thirst for whiskey, fractured relationships, and curious fascination with artificial intelligence threatens to unravel everything. You’ll experience jaw-dropping projections and special effects at this opening production in the new Herro-Franke Studio Theater, as McNeal explores the price of greatness and raises vital questions about art, truth and originality in the not-too-distant future.

McNeal

Will you be my Valentine? Cozy up with the one you love and enjoy the jazzy orchestral sounds of love and romance live on stage with vocalist Steve Lippia and your MSO. Featuring the sultry songs made popular by Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and more. Take a nostalgic journey that promises to leave you tapping your toes and humming along to some of the most memorable standards ever written.

A Simply Swingin’ Valentine

Undoubtedly one of the finest cellists performing today, Johannes Moser returns to the MSO stage to play composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s Before we fall, fresh off its world premiere with the San Francisco Symphony. "Before we fall centres around the notion of teetering on the edge," says the composer; Moser’s cello "generates the atmospheric progression of the world it inhabits." Alpesh Chauhan, “a charismatic, balletic conductor” (The Guardian), leads this energetic new work, as well as a romantic suite from Tchaikovsky’s iconic Sleeping Beauty.

Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty

The Piano Lesson is recommended for older teenage and adult audiences. As conflicts arise around the fate of their family’s heirloom piano, characters use adult language (including frequent use of the n-word) and explore mature topics including racism, death, murder, illegal activity, sex and violence.

August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson

Grammy-nominated pianist Joyce Yang puts her “agility, balance and velocity” (The Washington Post) on full display with Tchaikovsky’s highly original First Piano Concerto; Tchaikovsky’s colleague Hans von Bülow claimed that “this true gem shall earn you the gratitude of all pianists.” MSO Assistant Conductor Ryan Tani conducts this program.

Joyce Yang Plays Tchaikovsky

Step into a jumpin’ jazz joint where the legendary music of Fats Waller takes center stage. Five extraordinary actor-musicians transform into a jubilant swing band for the ages in this Tony Award-winning musical — last seen in our 2013/14 Season — that brings the razzle-dazzle spirit of the Roaring Twenties to the 2020s. Get ready to sing, dance and let loose with this brilliant celebration of an iconic trailblazer and his lasting legacy.

Ain’t Misbehavin’ The FATS WALLER Musical Show

Hailed as one of the greatest violinists of our time, Augustin Hadelich returns to the MSO to perform Brahms’s soulful Violin Concerto. Music Director Ken-David Masur conducts Brahms’s Third Symphony, a nostalgic work with a recurring musical theme of “free but happy;” wrote Clara Schumann, “All the movements seem to be of one piece, one beat of the heart, each one a jewel!” The program opens with a companion piece to Brahms’s Third Symphony: Glanert’s Vexierbild (“Hidden Image”) draws direct inspiration from the Third, but in Glanert’s words, “it’s my own Brahms.”

Hadelich & Brahms

The Tales of Hoffmann (Les Contes d'Hoffmann) is a haunting opera that dives into the stormy, occasionally uncanny, love life of poet Hoffmann. In a series of flashbacks (and perhaps a bit too much wine), Hoffmann recounts three romantic escapades, each with its own fantastical twist—and each disastrously interrupted by a shadowy villain determined to ruin his good time. The opera is a blend of romance, heartbreak, and just the right dose of the surreal, proving that in Hoffmann’s world, if something seems too good to be true, it probably involves an evil doppelgänger or a mechanical doll.

Tales of Hoffmann

Marcus Performing Arts Center

At a time when the church was questioning the morality of art, Bach gave the world a musical triumph of faith and spirit, and few masterpieces of this scope are as intimate and personal as his St. Matthew Passion. In these performances, the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus — celebrating its golden anniversary — sings the text from the Gospel of Matthew, sharing a profound biblical narrative with color and emotion.

Bach’s St. Matthew Passion

Principal Pops Conductor Byron Stripling returns for a power-packed evening of the decade’s #1 hit songs, including “The Power of Love,” “ Time After Time,” “Material Girl,” “Another One Bites The Dust,” “Footloose,” “Addicted to Love,” and many others.  Featuring the music of such iconic ‘80s stars as Madonna, Debbie Gibson, Huey Lewis and The News, Phil Collins, Queen, Joe Cocker, and others, Back to the ‘80s contains all new arrangements by Grammy©-winner Jeff Tyzik and features three incredible vocalists.

Decades: Back to the 80s

Join us for an unforgettable evening of performing arts on March 29, 2026, at the Turner Hall Ballroom in Milwaukee, presented by the renowned Mac-Haydn Theatre. Known for their captivating performances, Mac-Haydn Theatre promises a night filled with awe-inspiring talent and entertainment. The event starts at 7:30 PM. Don't miss out on this extraordinary showcase of performing arts. For more information and to book your tickets, visit the official website or check out their YouTube channel. See you there!

Events in Milwaukee, WI

It’s A Wonderful Life: A ...

Milwaukee Repertory Theater

Holiday Pops

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

A Christmas Carol

Milwaukee Repertory Theater

The Godfather In Concert ...

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

The Artelize Podcast and ...

Artelize

The Artelize Podcast - A ...

Artelize

The Artelize Podcast: A l...

Artelize

The Artelize Podcast and ...

Artelize

The Fisherman's Daughters...

Milwaukee Repertory Theater

The Lehman Trilogy

Milwaukee Repertory Theater

Beethoven & Haydn

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Zeitouni Conducts Mozart

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Saint-Saëns “Organ” Symph...

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

McNeal

Milwaukee Repertory Theater

A Simply Swingin’ Valenti...

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Be...

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

August Wilson’s The Piano...

Milwaukee Repertory Theater

Joyce Yang Plays Tchaikov...

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Ain’t Misbehavin’ The FAT...

Milwaukee Repertory Theater

Hadelich & Brahms

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Tales of Hoffmann

The Florentine Opera

Bach’s St. Matthew Passio...

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Decades: Back to the 80s

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Maria Bamford

Mac-Haydn Theatre