Whither Wendest Thou, Wisconsin?

February 15 being National Wisconsin Day, we now add it to the small number of American states to which we are paying tributes in a series, making a sort of midwestern trilogy with our two recent posts about Kansas and Iowa. What could be more tedious, right? I mean, come on: “Industry, Agriculture”. That wouldn’t get me out of bed if the house was afire. But the entire point is that it’s not like that — there’s almost always at least a couple of things that animate me on behalf of the state in question, that even have made it onto my Bucket List, though it may not be what excites the populace at large. I stay away from what I take to be trite and not so unique after all. Wisconsin has no monopoly on dairies, cheese, Germans, beer, or sports teams. The state has produced famous politicians of both the far left (Fighting Bob La Follette) and the far right (Joseph McCarthy) so it’s hard to categorize in the same way as you might, say, Massachusetts or Alabama. But here are some things that *I* take to be of particular interest.

The Ringling Brothers were from Wisconsin and they gave their first performance in Baraboo. The town was their original home base, and for many years, several other circuses made their home there as well. It’s been the location of the Circus World Museum since 1959. There’s also the Al Ringling Mansion, which is both a museum and a hotel. And since 2010, the town has also had The International Clown Hall of Fame and Research Center in Baraboo, Wisconsin, unaffiliated with the other organizations, and run by some guys I’ve followed on social media for over a decade. They also promote the terrific website Clown Alley, which was started by Pat Cashin, who passed away back in 2016. So if you’re into circus arts, Baraboo ought to head your list as a mecca.

Comedyout of Madison

For whatever reason, Madison has developed a thriving comedy scene, including numerous improv groups and comedy clubs. Chris Farley and his brothers are from the area, and The Onion was born at UW-Madison in 1988. Jim Abrahams met the brothers Zucker at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and formed a local improv company they called Kentucky Fried Theatre, their brand in the pre-Airplane! years. If I may presume to categorize a lot of the comedy of the region — it has a tone not unlike that of their neighbors slightly to the north. Like Canadian comedy, it is often dry, and prone to satirical spoofing delivered with a straight face. The scene is perhaps minor compared to Second City in Chicago and Toronto, UCB in NYC, The Groundlings in L.A., or The Committee in San Francisco, but it is perhaps comparable to the Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis. It is absolutely on my agenda to check out the comedy scene in Madison.

Houdini

Movies often lean into the fact that Harry Houdini was a Brooklynite, and in films he has been played by the urban likes of Tony Curtis, Harvey Keitel, Adrien Brody, and Paul Michael Glaser. But Houdini didn’t move to New York until he was 13. His hometown was actually Appleton, Wisconsin, and he was very proud of the fact. His foundation was a bit of small-town, Tom Sawyeresque Americana, before his family’s moves to Milwaukee and then Brooklyn. Houdini died before the advent of talkies, but I have always imagined that his accent bore some evidence of his early years in the midwest. Appleton’s local museum has a good Houdini collection; learn about them here.

I should also mention that HUNDREDS of important stage and screen actors come from Wisconsin. It’s very tempting to start listing them, but then where do you stop? And anyway, you can find such lists elsewhere. I just wanted to point out a couple of points that interest us here at Travalanche Laboratories.

Happy Wisconsin Day, Cheeseheads!

For more on show biz historyconsult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous,