The Milwaukee Post

16 • Milwaukee County Post • February 1, 2019 ENTERTAINMENT By Tom Jozwik Special to Conley Media Brookfield resident Mark Krause will soon be condensing a two-week journey of 1,650 miles into approximately 40 minutes. "Lincoln's Funeral Lite," Krause, 60, said by way of summary during a recent telephone interview. Formally titled "The Assassination and Funeral of Abraham Lincoln," the Krause-led mini-trip will be in the form of a speech at the Hart Park Senior Center, 7300 Chestnut St. in Wauwatosa, Tuesday, Feb. 12 — Lincoln's birthday. Cost for the program, which will begin at 1 p.m., is $3 for senior center mem- bers, $5 for non-members. Preregistration is encour- aged (414-471-8495). Krause's presentation represents a combination of academic and profes- sional interests. A graduate of the Worsham College of Mortuary Science in Illinois, he is president of Krause Funeral Homes and Cremation Service and a third-generation mortician in a concern founded by his grandfather. He also is a University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee alumnus who studied history as an undergraduate. "I enjoy history," said Krause, as well as minutiae that "connects to my profes- sion." At Hart Park, Krause will mention "some of the key people involved" in the original U.S. presidential assassination — among them, "conspirators." The 16th president's murder was part of a conspiracy that involved an assassina- tion attempt that wounded Secretary of State William Seward and an abortive plan to take out Vice President Andrew Johnson, Krause noted. The route John Wilkes Booth traveled in an a t t e m p t to escape c a p t u r e a n d a r r e s t a f t e r f a t a l l y shooting L i n c o l n will also be dis- cussed. T h e a f o r e - mentioned final railroad journey for Lincoln origi- nated on April 21, 1865, in Washington, D.C., site of the assassination and a subsequent state funeral. Krause noted that addition- al funerals were held in some dozen cities in which the train stopped en route to the president's home- town of Springfield, Illinois, where he would be buried. Services were held in cities including Philadelphia and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; New York City and Albany, N.Y.; Columbus, Ohio; Indianapolis; and Chicago. The president's body was invariably on public dis- play, in an open coffin. The American people wanted to see their fallen leader, after all. First public funeral The funeral services "were huge events," Krause said, adding that "each city created its own hearse" for local transportation of the body and each city tried to outdo the others in ornate- ness. (A hearse with no con- nection to any of the Lincoln services, but ironi- cally dating to the assassi- nation year of 1865, is encased, on permanent dis- play, outside one of the four Krause mortuaries, at 7001 W. Brown Deer Road, Milwaukee.) Embalming was a novel funerary art in 1865, having come into vogue during the Civil War when bodies of soldiers killed in battle were regularly sent back home; it also was a danger- ous art for early practition- ers who without gloves used "extremely harsh chemicals" such as arsenic. Lincoln's body, rather inex- plicably, was embalmed five or six times, according to Krause. Lincoln's assassination "created a whole interest and angst" among the pres- ident's countrymen, said Krause. The result, he noted, was the first public funeral for an American dignitary — in an era when "all funerals were basically in the home" and essential- ly family affairs. "The con- cept of how we do funerals today kind of started with Lincoln's funeral," Krause said. While the cross-country Lincoln memorialization was much more than a fam- ily affair, First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln, the heart of the assassinated presi- dent's family, reportedly was too grief-stricken to make the entire Washington-to-Springfield trip. "I think she ended up at the (final funeral) in Springfield," Krause said. Krause added that attempts to steal Lincoln's body followed his tempo- rary interment in a "hold- ing tomb" in Springfield in advance of a permanent memorial shrine. The Milwaukee area mortician began research- ing Lincoln's death and funeral rites last summer, using printed material, the internet, and television's History channel as sources. Krause has made his Lincoln presentation at Milwaukee's Luther Manor retirement community and elsewhere. Audiences, which have typically num- bered about 70, "seem to be fascinated with the idea that there's something else to know" regarding a man about whom they already know so much, Krause said. Funeral home president to address Lincoln assassination Krause By Julie McHale Special to Conley Media Given a well-honed, clever script and a sterling cast while tucked into the inti- mate little theater in Hartland, you're in for a delightful experience. In "The Explorer's Club," a fairly-new gentle satire by Nell Benjamin, the woman who penned the script for "Legally Blonde," we jour- ney back to London at the turn of the century when Queen Victoria's reign, and strict rules for gender roles were in force, and England was still engaged in coloniz- ing countries and fighting territorial wars. We now are introduced to a posh all- male clubhouse where sever- al "scientists" are dis- cussing their latest projects and accomplishments. Lucius Fretway (Zachary Klahn), the mildest and least self-impressed member, is conducting the meeting. Professor Cope (Logan Milway) with his pet snake curled about his neck shares the couch with Professor Walling (Jim Baker) who is coddling his pet rodent, his only pet who hasn't figured out how to escape his cage. Across the room is the deluded historical scholar, Professor Sloane (Paul Weir), who is planning his next lecture in Ireland where he will defend his the- sis that the Irish are really misplaced Jews. Suddenly their relative rigor is interrupted when a beautiful, intrepid woman enters their midst, accompa- nied by a man whom she captured on her latest fear- less expedition to a remote land. Phyllida (Katie Krueger) lovingly calls her captive Luigi (Mike Crowley). They both look like two misfits in this staid setting, but neither seems intimidated by their unprecedented intrusion. Another character, Harry Percy (John F. Reilly), a bom- bastic narcissist, also dis- turbs the peace mightily, boasting of his latest travels to the East Pole, his newest discovery. Reilly can domi- nate a scene, both with his bodily and vocal volume. Phyllida is scheduled to bring her native "finding" to the queen. She is also hoping to be allowed membership in this exclusive club, but there are some strong objections to her admission. Lucius, however, is very attracted to her, which helps her cause, but Professor Sloane huffs and puffs his strong opposi- tion. Shortly thereafter, every- thing starts to fall apart. The Irish begin to revolt at Sloane's suggestion, Luigi unwittingly insults the queen, one of Percy's mates (Eric Starr), thought to be dead, returns, determined to kill Percy, and an emissary from the queen, Sir Bernard Humphries (Jeffrey Seelig) sends in the British troops to quell the Irish revolt, defend the honor of Her Majesty, and secure a map from Phyllida to the country Luigi comes from, so England can go to war with them. Of course, the clever dia- logue all delivered in impec- cable British dialect, the unpredictable events, and the colorful characters all provide many laughs for us. Sometimes we even muted our laughter so we wouldn't miss the next good line. There were no weak links in this superb cast. Every actor delivered splendidly. Katie Krueger, Zachary Klahn and Logan Milway are relatively new to the Lake Country Playhouse. We welcome them heartily and hope they all return. The old reliables were, as ever, reliable. I don't want to give away the ending. I highly encour- age you to come to discover for yourselves. A top-notch, hilarious show, well- direct- ed by Diane Powell and Ed Sarna. "The Explorer's Club" The play runs through Feb. 10 at the Lake Country Playhouse, 221 E. Capitol Drive, Hartland. Call 262-367-4697 or visit lake- countryplayerswi.org. 'Explorers Club' worth a trip to Lake Country Playhouse Cast keeps exploring one funny line after another

• Cover