(gentle music) - 'Tis the season for holiday fun.

From plays on stage to playing with toys.

Here in Milwaukee, one tradition begins a new chapter as the Milwaukee Repertory Theater's annual production of "A Christmas Carol," has a new Scrooge.

Beloved and impressive local actor, Matt Daniels will now star in the classic Charles Dickens' holiday Tale.

In this episode of "The Arts Page," you'll meet Matt Daniels who'll share his approach to the iconic role of the miserly man with much to learn, Ebenezer Scrooge.

Be dazzled by a holiday lights contest, based on a 1980s Christmas comedy movie.

See how a talented couple creates tabletop plays with an unusual cast of old toys.

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.

These people aren't throwing punches, they're performing poetry.

All of these features and more now on "The Arts Page."

(bright music) Welcome to "The Arts Page."

I'm Sandy Maxx.

"A Christmas Carol," by Charles Dickens, is not just one of the most cherished Christmas stories ever, but it is one of the most influential stories in English literature.

Its message of generosity has inspired people for decades and its theme of transformation gives hope that there is good in everyone.

Now in its 48th year, the Milwaukee Repertory Theater's production of "A Christmas Carol," is going through a transformation itself.

In May of 2022 the Rep announced that fan favorite and Milwaukeean, Matt Daniels, had been selected for the role of Scrooge.

Daniels has a long and decorated career as an actor in Milwaukee and around the country.

Yet this is his first time performing in "A Christmas Carol."

Time now to meet Matt Daniels, the Rep's new Ebeneezer Scrooge.

(gentle music) - [Interviewer] How did acting start for you?

- I was one of those who knew from the very beginning.

My brother was just doing some excavating, and found an old Dr. Seuss, "My Book About Me," from when I was, I don't know, six or seven, and it said, "When I grow up I want to be..." And I had written in "Actor."

(gentle music) - [Interviewer] You went to Julliard, the famous acting school.

So tell us about your time there.

- So I was there in the mid nineties, '92 to '96.

It was a huge learning experience, and there were all sorts of ups and downs, and everything in between.

New York City is your campus which is incredibly exciting and terrifying.

When I got outta school, I thought that I would go down the path that a lot of my classmates went, of either doing a lot of television or doing big Broadway shows.

And it's not the direction that my career went at all.

I got involved with the fringe theater scene or the Downtown scene in New York, in a company that mostly did street theater called Gorilla Rep. And we were doing free Shakespeare in Washington Square Park for people who just walked by, and it was very rough and tumble.

And that really shaped, I think, a big part of my artistic personality, especially my directing work and my teaching.

(gentle music) It's been a real gift to be able to work with the students who I have at First Stage.

the company is called The Young Company.

What we do there is we just teach them on Saturday mornings, right?

They show up at 9:00 AM or 9:30 AM on their Saturdays.

These high schoolers are doing this out of their own free will, and we teach them what we learned in acting school.

They're hungry for it, they're excited for it.

I so, so appreciate the opportunity to be able to have that back and forth, that dialogue, and especially with young actors who it's new for, and exciting for and it just keeps it fresh all the time.

♪ We wish you a Merry Christmas ♪ ♪ We wish You Merry Christmas ♪ - [Interviewer] This is your first time in "A Christmas Carol," how is that possible?

- It's an amazing question.

I think that it's a rite of passage.

I feel like 95% of American actors find their way into a production of "A Christmas Carol," somewhere.

I don't know, I guess I'm just one of those 5% who made it this far before landing in it.

And then I just, I leapt straight to the top.

- [Interviewer] What was your reaction when you were chosen to play Ebeneezer Scrooge?

- I'll tell you that I wasn't expecting it at all.

The opportunity to play Scrooge is certainly one of the hardest things I will ever have to do.

The journey that he goes on is so intense and so far from A to Z that there's so many hills and valleys to traverse over it, that it's just an incredible opportunity to stretch.

I'll see you...in hell, first.

He has built this wall around him to protect himself.

He had things happen in his childhood and the way that his life was lived as a younger person, where the lessons that he took away, were that solitude equals control.

And that if you set up a wall so that no one can get in, then they can't harm you.

The collateral damage of course is that they can't love you either.

Get out!

Out!

Every time one of these ghosts, whether it's the ghost of his dead partner and friend, or the famous ghosts of past and present and future, show him a moment, it's an opportunity for him to change his ways and he realizes that A, that's good, but B it doesn't just have to be for Christmas.

You can have it all the time if you just allow it and give into that.

(voices chattering) (people applauding) - The Milwaukee Rep's production of "A Christmas Carol," runs now through December 24th at the historic Pabst Theater.

Another holiday classic in some people's opinion is a comedy movie from 1989 called, "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation."

Chevy Chase stars as Clark Griswold, the dad who wants his house to outshine everyone else's in his neighborhood with an extremely over the top outdoor lights display.

In a Sparks, Nevada neighborhood, that community loves this movie so much that they created the annual Griswold Challenge.

It's a contest that encourages members of the community to create their own unique and impressive holiday light displays.

And the annual event is a real way to embody the Christmas spirit of good cheer and of generosity, because it also is a fundraiser for the local food pantry.

Here's a look at how this community is shining a light, well, lots of lights on a good cause.

(bright music) - The Griswold Challenge started as a part of the 39 North Pole Village.

We created this challenge to bring the community together, both businesses and families, to have a little stake in the game of the North Pole Village.

It's all based on the infamous Mr. Clark Griswold who overly decorated his home, and we just wanted to pay homage to him in our 39 North Pole event.

Unfortunately, the pandemic has stopped that.

We just need to help do our part to keep the community safe.

So this year what we've had to do is take a step back from the North Pole Village and focus solely on the Griswold Challenge, allowing us to have a virtual event where people can enter their homes or their businesses for a donation of $20 or more if you would like.

And that goes to the community food pantry, which is local in Sparks.

- The community food pantry is here to serve those people who are having to make a decision between paying rent, buying medicine, putting shoes on their kids' feet, getting gas to get to work.

We are here to help them fill that food gap that they are experiencing really, really hard right now.

- We do pick and choose what events that we like to benefit the community and we go wholeheartedly in.

- Especially this time of the year, it's been a really hard year for many people and the proceeds going towards helping the food pantry for Christmas is gonna be an excellent cause.

- Every dollar donated through the Griswold Challenge through the entry fees, every dollar will buy three meals for someone in the line in the pantry.

And that dollar is really stretching a long ways.

- [Angela] Your family decorates your home together, creating those memories safely.

Your businesses can have a team building exercise for the holidays instead of going out to maybe a party or something, you get together and you decorate your business.

- What we notice about the staff, they love to decorate just like we do.

They have the same focus as us and they want to win.

- [Angela] The prizes that we are offering is first place is the Clark Griswold Award and you can win $500 whether you're a business or a resident.

Those are two different categories.

The second place is the Cousin Eddie Award, and that is for $250.

The creativity we get to see from the individual contestants is really cool.

Obviously everybody's different, and everybody brings something to the table.

So seeing all the displays together really make it a unique experience because you're going from one which might be beautiful and white and pretty, then you're going to the next display which is quirky and fun and super charismatic and crazy.

This year it's gonna be cool because you can drive around to the residents and individual businesses and see that same effect just on a much larger scale.

So that's gonna be fun to see how everybody's businesses do themes or not do themes, just gaudy it up with lights.

I mean, that's what Clark Griswold did.

- I'd say we're gonna channel our inner Griswold by bringing out Mr. Griswold himself.

We have a lot of lights up right now and so this morning we bought another 2,000 lights and that's gonna be going back up on the building behind us.

- I would say close to about 10,000 lights are gonna go up.

- I think a lot of people can relate to "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," because it was one of the main holiday funny movies that existed actually ever.

Clark Griswold really helped create the fun side of the holidays and showcasing that you can be wild with your decorations and it's okay.

- To see who won this year's Clark Griswold and Cousin Eddie Awards go to thirtyninenorthdowntown.com.

At the holidays lots of kids have lots of toys on their wishlist of gifts.

This next creative couple knows how to put the play into a play because they use old toys as their characters.

Mike Geither and Amy Schwabauer are actors and playwrights in Lakewood, Ohio who use unconventional storytelling with thrift shop toys and found objects.

They have very portable productions and perform in people's homes.

- What's your name?

- [Narrator] At a house in Lakewood, playwrights Mike Geither, and Amy Schwabauer perform their unconventional play, "The Events of the Warren County Fair as Observed by a Young Astronaut."

- It's a tabletop play that we've been doing for about a year and a half now.

The actors were mostly picked up at thrift stores.

- [Narrator] That's because the cast looks like this.

- All our characters are vintage toys or found objects.

For example, I play a wrench who's a mechanic.

"On any other day I'd just be disappointed.

But the clouds this morning reminded me, ah, you're dead."

Because it is a miniature scale, the table is the perfect surface for it.

It's like it creates a stage.

We've performed on so many different tabletops.

- [Narrator] Their actors are toys, their stage is a table and they even have stage lighting.

- The lighting has been, just little flashlights, little adaptable lights, for working on cars, that sort of thing.

- [Both] "The nebula!"

- We have an entire play that fits into two boxes, right?

Two giant containers and we can take it anywhere.

- [Narrator] And that's the point, because this is a play that's meant to travel from house to house.

- "And that's still my best joke."

- For me, the biggest part of the production and what makes it the most fun is going into people's houses and introducing this little tiny play there.

- I like weird.

The play is about a small town and a bunch of different characters who live in this little town.

And the culminating event is the county fair.

- [Mike] "Hey, the lights are coming on."

"Oh, it's my favorite part.

The magic hour."

- Adults, they see the toys, and at first they're like, "Whoa, is this really what we're watching?"

And then by the second scene, everybody's like...(gasps).

"I don't wanna know where he probably is.

I wanna know where he actually is."

- "Let me check the rides and booths again.

I'll look in the parking lot."

- "I swear if anything happened to him..." Because the story is a well crafted story, everything works then, right?

If this story was just "Blah," and you didn't care about it, then you're not gonna care about these toys.

You're not gonna invest in them.

So it's like any other play.

And it's amazing to see different groups of adults invest in our story.

- "So when do you leave for school?"

"August."

"And you like science?"

"I do, the best scientists are well rounded."

When you're working with puppets, your body is trying to put everything into that little thing and then it just follows along.

So it's not been hard to emote through the characters.

"Oh God, Ashley.

You're a complete idiot.

Stop overthinking this."

- With these characters, we are still there.

We're still a part of them.

And because their faces are stagnant, as a porcelain figurine, my face becomes their face, and there's this just this weird thing that happens and we build into that, right?

There's this scene where I'm smoking, but I'm the one who's physically smoking, and then my character puts out the cigarette.

- "Well, I didn't think they were gonna see the smoke."

- "If I get caught, I'm dead."

- [Narrator] If you're still thinking that this looks a lot like adults just playing with toys for a crowd, the creators aren't arguing with that.

- Well, I think the playing with toys part is right.

I mean that's essentially a lot of the joy of the show is that we get to do it.

And I think that's a lot of the joy for people in the audience.

They get reminded "Oh right, I used to do that.

It was a lot of fun to play with toys."

- The assumption of, is this just adults playing?

But for me, that's all theater, right?

Any type of theater is imaginary game time, especially as an actor.

That's just what we do, right?

We get these imaginary circumstances and we bring it to life and tell a story.

"Gary, this is the part where you grow up."

- Muhammad Ali was a legend both in boxing and in life.

He championed the rights of not just African Americans, but all human beings all while being a champion in the ring.

His way with words is well known and well-documented.

He had a special flow and cadence to his speech that was poetic and sometimes poignant.

Prepare yourself not for a flurry of fists in a Florida boxing ring, but instead a flurry of words, as we visit a poetry slam celebrating the principles and philosophies of the greatest of all time Muhammad Ali.

(bright music) - So tonight is a super combination of athleticism and also literature and poetry.

We got four of the best poets in the city who are gonna be competing head to head.

They wanted a stage to voice their love for Muhammad Ali and his principles and things like that.

- [Speaker] The way that the entire event is going to be organized is almost like a boxing match.

- Please clap it up for your first sacrificial poet, Charles Hines.

- So I focus my poem on resilience and overcoming obstacles.

And so I spin it into just fighting against depression and those everyday things that prevent you from being your best self, from seeing the light.

Every word they say just stings like, "Will I ever be all right?"

I am not a champion.

In this moment, you may not feel like a champion or your best self but always standing up again and just staying in the ring until one day you look and you're like, "Hey, I'm the champion."

- How am I going to put my socks on today and walk a mile in everyone else's shoes while I stay stuck in cement still trying to soothe?

I know.

Someone like Muhammad Ali, even he got tired and exhausted on days, I'm sure because it's all just so much sometimes.

So the poem that I wrote is just saying that it's okay to have bad days and it's okay to have days where you focus on yourself and do things for yourself and you're still a great person.

- I miss the days when we pulled out boxing gloves instead of handguns.

Before fists became semiautomatic pistols and double action revolvers.

- In 2017, I started GrowHouse, because I wanted to do something different.

The idea was to take the elements of slam poetry and the competition structure and use it for other forms of art.

- Nosy, shipwrecks, resurface to watch dolphins ornament black braids with gold.

She pulls Mount Everest out of her breasts and each nail lines up for its turn at getting even.

- 2019 is when I partnered up with Dennis.

He's an excellent host, and he's a great just people person.

He's a lot more outgoing than I would say I am.

And so we're definitely a great partnership, in that I'm more reserved and he's great at just being a people person.

- One of the most prolific and profound poets that I personally know, Walter "Wally B," Jennings.

Wally B is this tree trunk, right?

And he's brought poetry as spoken word down from Tallahassee.

When he brought it here to Tampa, from that just blossomed a lot of everything that you see today.

- This earth was not built by brick and mortar.

What you do may make you important, but why you do it will make you immortal.

The poem that I have is really about the whole aging process.

And how it's important for us to really recognize the totality of our life as one cohesive experience, rather than these fragmented parts where we fall in love with one and we hate the other.

And so with Muhammad Ali, a lot of people are able to segment his life into various sections.

When you talk about him as a young champion, and then when you talk about the attention that he got as an activist and then in his latter years as he dealt with Parkinson's and a lot of medical challenges.

So most people they experience or know him, and his life resonates with them heavily, usually in one of those three areas.

And remind everyone that greatness is always just over the horizon.

- Ali is actually one of the few people that can be like, "Oh, that is one of my superheroes."

- I just look at him as someone who is so dedicated to getting what he wants.

- Just going back and watching old footage of him and just seeing how he was able to just come out on top against some of the biggest fighters.

And then of course outside of the ring he was just an artistic person overall.

- He was one of the first, I would say, one of the first well known spoken word poets.

- Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.

Hey, rumble, young man, rumble.

Hey.

- That's the best type of poetry to me is the authentic genuineness.

And that's all Muhammad Ali is.

- The fact that he crafted himself as his own character and chose to be true to that come hell or high water, with all of the weight that each one of his decisions made, not just for himself but as a representative of his people here in America.

- He got something that he had been training for basically his entire life, and he decided to give it up for the good of other people.

- I loved him as being a Black man who was completely confident in who he was.

At that time, that was very not okay to do that.

- He became the first, in my eyes, the first athlete that was more than his sport.

I wish I would've had the opportunity to actually meet CB in the presence of Ali worthy of all praises, most high.

The poem that I wrote for this event, I was trying to take some of his core tenants and expound upon them and find how I am trying to exemplify them in my life, just as a small homage to Muhammad Ali.

And conviction, spirituality and dedication.

He was respect and giving.

- We want Tampa to be a city that people think of when they think of really dope spoken word poetry.

"Oh, we gotta go to Tampa to go to GrowHouse."

And we really believe in building community and working together with other people in the community who have the same goals as us.

- Tampa as a whole, outside even just poetry is really blossoming in a beautiful way in the art scene.

So we wanna be a part of that.

- We're all trying to get to the same place.

We all want Tampa to be known as this awesome city and there's a whole bunch of talent here and GrowHouse just wants to be a platform to show that and put Tampa on the map basically.

(bright music) - One way to dig deeper into Muhammad Ali's athletic and activist journey is to watch the Ken Burns four part documentary, simply titled "Muhammad Ali."

You can watch that documentary online on PBS Passport.

PBS Passport is a benefit of a Milwaukee PBS membership.

And for more information about Passport, go to our website milwaukeepbs.org, or call the number at the bottom of your screen.

Have you heard about the entertaining and interesting new exhibit at the Jewish Museum Milwaukee?

It is called "Jews in Space, Members of the Tribe in Orbit."

It is a fun way to learn about the role Jews have played in our exploration of the stars and in their role in creating some of the most monumental science fiction ever.

Here's Jewish Museum Milwaukee curator Molly Dubin to tell us more.

- Well, it came about that I learned that our colleagues in New York, a couple of organizations in New York, who have some incredible archival material and publications that they often will showcase and develop themes around.

And I had discovered that they were looking at Jews in space and I thought, "What a fascinating topic."

And one of the things that so interested me, was the multiple entry points, the multiple perspectives, in which this topic was approached.

So we're looking at the earliest connections between Judaism and space to all of the contributions, achievements, technological advances, pop culture influences, sci-fi influences to contemporary missions, including the Artemis.

We featured Jessica Meir as one of the pioneering women and all of her accomplishments.

And she is tied to the Artemis Project and likely will be the first woman to walk on the moon if she's part of that mission.

- Learn more about, "Jews in Space, Members of the Tribe in Orbit," at the website, jewishmuseummilwaukee.org, and in a special feature in our January episode of "The Arts Page."

Thank you for watching.

I'm Sandy Maxx, and please join me the first Thursday of every month for a full half hour of art on "The Arts Page."

(bright music)