Summer in the upper Midwest demands a seize-the-moment attitude. Madisonians make the most of it with art fairs, live music and a robust slate of theater both indoors and out.
Note that rain and other unpredictable weather (like the wildfire smoke of 2023) can delay, move and otherwise change these scheduled events. Check specific websites for up to date information, as well as details about pets, alcohol policies and ticket prices.
(For more arts news, read this detailed preview of American Players Theatre’s summer season, as well as a guide to Madison summer festivals.)
See an event we missed below? Email us, check our weekly “things to do” section in print and online, and subscribe to the weekly features newsletter at captimes.com/newsletters.
Happy summer, Madison!
Madison Shakespeare Company presents ‘Shakespeare’s Lovers in June’
Saturday-Sunday, June 7-8
Tyranena Brewing Co., 1025 Owen St., Lake Mills
madisonshakespeare.org
Lovers court, serenade and squabble through Madison Shakespeare Company’s summer kickoff, a reimagined version of the company’s “A Valentine’s Affair” staged outside at a Lake Mills brewery. Afternoon performances (2 p.m. both days) include eight scenes, collected from “Antony and Cleopatra,” “The Comedy of Errors” and “Henry the Fifth” among others, plus a few of the bard’s contemporaries. Suggested ticket price is $10.
Dress in layers and drive home with friends this summer at APT, featuring ‘Midsummer,’ ‘The Winter’s Tale’ and a Noël Coward marital farce.
‘MJ the Musical’
Tuesday-Sunday, June 17-22
Overture Hall, 201 State St.
overture.org/tickets-events/2024-25-season/mj-the-musical
The King of Pop himself — the man in the mirror who won’t stop ‘til he gets enough and whose lover is definitely not Billie Jean — moonwalks into Madison in mid-June for the final jukebox musical of Overture’s 2024-25 season. Jordan Markus currently stars as Michael Jackson (or MJ) on the first national tour, which features hits like “Beat It,” “Bad,” “Smooth Criminal,” “Thriller” and more. Tickets cost $48.50-$290.45. Run time is 2 hours and 30 minutes with one intermission. The recommended age is 8 and up.
From intimate jazz performances to massive rock shows, Madison’s live music schedule has range.
Verona Area Community Theater presents ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’
Friday, June 20-Saturday, June 28
Badger Ridge Middle School Performing Arts Center, 300 Richard St., Verona
vact.org
Go, go, go Joseph! Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1960s biblically inspired musical tells the story of a favorite son turned prisoner and exile, saved by his ability to interpret dreams and sing like Donny Osmond. With tunes inspired by Elvis, calypso, go-go and country and western, Verona’s “Joseph” stars Brandon Polzin in the title role and features a full kids’ chorus. The run time is about 90 minutes with an intermission, and tickets cost $17.
Concerts on the Square
Wednesdays, June 25-July 30, 7 p.m.
Capitol Square
wcoconcerts.org
With a lineup ranging from Mozart to Motown, Concerts on the Square promises family friendly musical variety this summer. Each Wednesday on the King Street corner of the Capitol Square, musicians in the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra play a free, roughly two-hour program of classical movements, pops (like movie scores) and operatic overtures. Bring a blanket or low lawn chairs, buy a picnic dinner at one of many vendors around the Square, and settle in for the 42nd season of this Madison summer tradition.
‘Wicked’
Wednesday, July 9-Sunday, July 27
Overture Hall, 201 State St.
overture.org/tickets-events/2024-25-season/wicked
Audience love for Stephen Schwartz’s musical blockbuster “Wicked” is, to quote Elphaba, “unlimited.” While fans wait to defy gravity with the second half of the film later this year, revisit the witches of Oz in Overture Hall with the two-week run of the national Broadway tour. Run time is 2 hours and 45 minutes with one intermission, tickets cost $56.20-$203.90, and the show is recommended for ages 8 and up.
Art Fair On (and Off) the Square
Saturday-Sunday, July 12-13
Capitol Square and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard
mmoca.org/event/art-fair-on-the-square
Artists come from around the country to this annual art fair, hosted by the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art around the Capitol Square. Art Fair on the Square brings hundreds of vendors selling everything from photorealistic paintings and hyper-pigmented photographs to hand-carved furniture, mosaics, collage and fabric pieces. The fair runs from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday (moving the Dane County Farmers’ Market temporarily to Breese Stevens Field) and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Nearby, shop local artists at the Art Fair Off the Square in the 200 block of MLK, which features only Wisconsin makers. Free.
Madison Shakespeare Company presents ‘The Comedy of Errors’
Friday, July 18-Sunday, July 27
Madison Country Day School, 5606 River Road, Waunakee
madisonshakespeare.org/errors2025
Two servants, two masters, two sets of identical twins — “The Comedy of Errors” was built for maximum hijinks. John Hendel directs this high energy comedy for Madison Shakespeare Company in the amphitheater at Madison Country Day School. (If you’re new to Shakespeare, this is definitely a gateway drug.) Show times are 6:30 p.m. Fridays and 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Bring a blanket, cushion or chair to sit on; performances will continue in light rain. Tickets cost $21.10.
Opera in the Park
Saturday, July 19, 8 p.m.
Garner Park, 333 S. Rosa Road
madisonopera.org
A little “La bohème,” a touch of “Cosi fan tutte” and a couple numbers from a brand new ghost opera called “Everlasting Faint” (“That Devil Killed Her,” “Whisky Girl”) will make this annual celebration of opera at Garner Park a grand night for singing indeed. Hear guest performers Emily Treigle, Andrew Bidlack, Benjamin Taylor and Reneé Richardson with the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Madison Opera chorus. Family friendly and free. (This event got rained out right before the performance in 2023, so the opera deserves a win this summer. Send clear sky energy!)
Madison Savoyards present ‘Iolanthe’
Friday, Aug. 1-Sunday, Aug. 10
Bartell Theatre, 113 E. Mifflin St.
madisonsavoyards.org
A half-fairy, half-mortal shepherd named Stephon wants to marry a pretty young shepherdess. In his pursuit, he ends up a member of the British Parliament with the power to pass any bill he wants, thanks to the help of a fairy queen. “Iolanthe, or The Peer and the Peri” is the summer offering of Madison’s 62-year-old Gilbert and Sullivan troupe. Two weekends of performances at the Bartell Theatre (now with 3 p.m. Saturday matinees) include a free children’s pre-show at 1 p.m. on Aug. 2. Tickets for this “frolicking foray of fairies and fools” cost $21-$36.
Capital City Theatre presents ‘Assassins’
Friday, Aug. 1-Sunday, Aug. 10
The Playhouse, 201 State St.
capitalcitytheatre.org
“Everybody’s got the right to be happy,” sing the merry murderers (actual and attempted) in Stephen Sondheim’s 1990 musical with John Weidman. From John Wilkes Booth to Lee Harvey Oswald with some lesser known names in between (remember Leon Czolgosz? Sam Byck?), “Assassins” plumbs the dark underbelly of an impossible American dream. Tickets for Capital City’s production cost $51-$58.50 with discounts for seniors. Recommended for ages 12 and up.
Jazz at Five
Wednesdays, Aug. 6-Sept. 3
South Hamilton side of the Capitol Square
jazzatfive.org
Opening with the Charlie Painter Quintet and closing with a celebration of big bands featuring the Madison Jazz Orchestra, Jazz at Five turns downtown into a live music venue every Wednesday night in late summer. Each performance begins with a youth group at 4:30 p.m., followed by two acts through 8 p.m. Among this year’s acts: Feestet, led by vocalist Helen Feest; the UW Jazz Ensemble All Stars; the Austin Cebuske Quintet and the Marques Carroll Quintet; and the DB Orchestra. Food and beverages are available for purchase. No carry-in alcohol or glass containers. Free.
Music Theatre of Madison presents ‘The Bridges of Madison County’
Friday, Aug. 15-Sunday, Aug. 24
Play Circle Theater, Wisconsin Memorial Union, 800 Langdon St.
mtmadison.com
Jason Robert Brown’s gorgeous musical, inspired by the book that inspired the 1995 Meryl Streep/ Clint Eastwood movie, closes the season for Music Theatre of Madison. The music in this piece is folk-like and moving, telling the story of an Italian war bride who marries an Iowa farmer. Francesca builds a life for herself — one that feels suddenly precarious when a handsome, reticent photographer comes through town while her family is away. Tickets go on sale June 16.