The show that Heidi and I attended – Those Fabulous Fifties – was about as fast-paced as any I have ever witnessed, and the energy released was roughly equivalent to that required by all the air-conditioners of Los Angeles during a summer heat wave! Add to that, the professional costume designers, set and lighting designers, and the musical directors and choreographers, and you have a very high-class production, available in but a few areas of the country. This, and all his shows, to be sure, are well-written and masterfully performed. The rigorous schedule to which they will commit includes over 80 performances in a 9–10-week period. When looking for a cast for his show, Flesch heads to New York, where he’ll see more than 600 actors auditioning for perhaps 20 parts. The theater talent is scouted by Artistic Director Ed Flesch, producer of all the Fireside’s roughly five shows per year since coming on board in 1978. And those youngsters were having just as much fun as anyone in the large audience (the Fireside theater-in-the-round can accommodate up to 650 at a time). This is a fact that was exemplified by the large number of children that I observed attending the performance that evening. Atkinson, as well as the entire Midwest, a truly Broadway-caliber theater that will appeal to all age groups. When I revisit the Fireside – which I promised myself would be very soon – I am going to sample as much as possible of what Money Magazine calls one of the “Hottest Little Boomtowns”. The town itself is big on amenities and long on activities. Atkinson, Wisconsin is located at the junction of routes 26 and 12, an easy two hours from Chicago and surrounding suburbs, an hour from Milwaukee and a mere 45 minutes from Madison, where I had chosen to stay for the weekend ( more on Madison). I hope the reason for the urgency will become clear momentarily. And third, the shows were generally too long and never all that exciting to begin with.Īllow me at this juncture to jump to the end of the story first, and strongly urge you to pick up the phone and call the Fireside – immediately – and make a reservation for one of those experiences that will have you talking about it for a long time to come.

Second, it was always too easy to nod off before the theater portion was twenty minutes into the not-well-produced and boring show. First, the dinners have generally been in the range of mediocre to poor – at best.

It has been a long time since I have attempted a dinner/theater evening, and this, for several reasons. You can read our Affiliate Disclosure here.) (This page may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. A good friend had been urging me to go for almost a year and this time everything fell into place. This was an opportunity to get away for an “overnighter” and we were off like a flash to Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. A small hole had opened in my schedule and presented itself like a freshly drilled orifice in the ice of my favorite lake.

Fireside theater in fort atkinson wi