Milwaukee Chamber Theatre’s 51st season opener, Old Wicked Songs , at its heart, is centered on the power of music and the stories it helps us tell.

A burnt-out and arrogant American piano prodigy, Stephen Hoffman (Brett Ryback), is in Vienna in 1986, hoping to reignite his love for piano. He finds himself in the hands of Josef Mashkan (Steve Watts), a quirky, temperamental voice teacher, who forces Stephen to take a beginners singing class, much to his dismay.

Understudy Steve Watts stepped into the role of Professor Mashkan for the performance I saw on Sunday. On Tuesday, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre announced that he would take over for the rest of the production, as Jack Forbes Wilson, who was originally cast to play Mashkan, had to step down due to illness.

But the show must g

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