Kids From Wisconsin to open 53rd season ‘Live’

2021 tour includes concert in Medford on July 12

The Kids From Wisconsin are back on live tour this season with some familiar local faces as part of the show. An iconic Kids From Wisconsin performance is a professional, fully staged Vegas-style performance designed for a multi-generational audience. The group tours the Midwest and will perform to over 120,000 people over a summer.

Kids from Wisconsin is coming to Medford on Monday, July 12 with a show sponsored by Medford Area For Tomorrow (MATI) and area business and civic supporters. The show will be at the Taylor County Faigrounds beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Cade Shipman of Medford and Michael Decker of Colby are part of this year’s show, bringing a local spotlight on the tour.

Shipman is doing percussion for the show. He currently attends the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in pursuit of a Neuroscience major. He has been playing drums since the sixth grade and was elected President of the Medford Area Senior High band program during his senior year. Shipman had also written and helped direct the Medford marching band drumline starting his Junior year. He was awarded the John Philip Sousa band award upon graduating and is now performing with the UW-Eau Claire marching band. This is his first year with KIDS and he could not be more thrilled to be a part of the experience.

Decker is doing vocals in the show as a tenor. He is currently a freshman at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Michael graduated from Colby High School, where he was active in the music and drama program. He played the role of Troy in High School Musical, “Tyler” in the play Lockdown, and participated in Little Shop of Horrors. Decker was also heavily involved in Show Choir, earning numerous Top Male Vocalist awards, including at FAME Nationals in Orlando. Decker also participated in the Chanhassen Theater Teen Intensive program as well as the Broadway Student Summit in New York City. This will be Decker’s first time performing with KIDS and he couldn’t be more excited. The Kids from Wisconsin troupe will present Live! In Living Color as their themed production orchestrated and produced by Taras Nahirniak and his creative and talented artistic staff. This show marks the first production since the onset of the pandemic a year ago. The show will highlight the greatest live music venues throughout the history of this country and the musical artists that helped define their legacies. The Ed Sullivan Theater, Caesars Palace, The Grand Ole Opry, House of Blues, and Broadway just to name a few. The brilliant costumes and magnificent talent of the high energy dancers and musicians will be something to marvel and take you back to those musical moments.

The summer tour has been planned incorporating safety protocols for each stretch of the 6,000 mile tour. “The pause that was necessary this past year created a cavernous void for our annual audiences and our talented performers,” said KIDS Managing Director Tina Weiss. “We cautiously considered our staff, performers and the safety of our audiences as we planned out rehearsals, venues, overnight stays and travel for this summer’s production tour. I am confident in safely getting this tour on the road.”

This season will include an “Arts Spotlight” in several locations where the arts have been greatly affected by the pandemic. Thousands of individuals who work in arts and culture have joined the ranks of the unemployed. Some arts and cultural organizations and venues that play unique and important roles in Wisconsin and nationally now face an existential threat. A community arts showcase will allow for arts organizations and businesses to represent upcoming performances/ programs and workshops to attendees a few hours before the Kids From Wisconsin’s performance and at intermission.

Live! In Living Color has an approximate run time of 120 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission. The production will be performed over 36 times from July 4 through August 15, which includes performances daily at the Wisconsin State Fair.

Highest Honor — Caidyn Zenner.

A Honor — Kathryn Bucki, Riley Casken, Mata Decker, Cassandra Filas, Gannen Fuchs, Novalee Hoover, Isabel Niehausen, Caleb Parks, James Parks, Macie Parks, Seth Parks, Ivan Sayer, Genevieve Scheithauer, Lillian Scheithauer, Archer Weimer and Jayse Weimer.

B Honor — Paige Bettner, Raymond Bettner, Savanna Bucki, Olivia Decker, Dawson Fox, Kingston Fox, Easton Hartman, Micah Heldman, Kylie Niehausen, Vanessa Niehausen, Allie Parks, Issabell Risch, Lindy Stelzel and Lincoln Zenner.