Joel Kopischke

Joel has been performing professionally for over 25 years, proving that singing loudly can be a sought-after commodity.

The past few years Joel has performed in a variety of settings, including:

singing on several radio stations and at the CD release parties for I Got Yule Babe
singing with composer David Friedman in Milwaukee & Chicago,
singing Kurt Weill at Barbariere's in Paris' Montmartre district,
singing at a Midsummer Festival in Finland,
singing at a multi-cultural gathering in South Africa,
singing with the Chicago Cabaret Professionals at Chicago's Royal George and Davenport's,
originating the role of bowling alley owner Pee-Wee Kaputisch in the original smash-hit musical A Cudahy Caroler Christmas and its original cast recording,
performing George Bernard Shaw's Inca Of Perusalem,
appearing in a Noel Coward revue ("Every word of Coward's witty lyrics is clearly heard, even in Kopischke's rendition of 'I've Been to a Marvelous Party,' throughout which he becomes more and more hilariously inebriated." - The Milwaukee JournalSentinel),
singing Freddie Trumper in a concert performance of Chess ("Kopischke's finesse in evolving his character's turbulence and self-awareness is superb" - OnMilwaukee.Com),
playing Neil Simon & Anton Chekhov's The Good Doctor,
performing in the holiday-themed cabaret/revue A Christmas Survival Guide at the historic Brumder Mansion ("Highlights include 'I Guess There Ain't No Santa Claus,' in which a department store Santa who hates kids laments his loneliness" - The Shepherd-Express),
portraying a modern-day Aristide Bruant in Moulin Rouge Cabaret Fantastique and
singing the role of Sheriff Joe Sutter in the benefit concert performance of The Spitfire Grill with American Folklore Theatre.

Joel has written for, directed and performed with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra on numerous occasions, including Gershwin, Bernstein and Mozart programs, singing Marcellus in The Music Man and Antonio in The Marriage Of Figaro, directing Tony Randall in Peter And The Wolf & Carnival Of The Animals and adapting and directing le bourgeois gentilhomme, starring John de Lancie.

Joel has also been a frequent performer with the Skylight Opera Theatre, including such roles as the Sergeant of Police in Pirates Of Penzance, Lt. Brannigan in Guys And Dolls, Lucky in Dames At Sea, the Padre in Man Of La Mancha, and Action in West Side Story. He has also written and performed in a number of cabaret shows at the Skylight including Lost In Boston, The Wizard Of Skylight, Becky And Joel Get Away From It All, and You've Got A Friend In Me - The Songs of Randy Newman.

In 1999, Joel wrote, directed, and performed in Hooray For Hollywood for Broadway Baby Dinner Theatre ("Kopischke has added material and reworked the show since it was first staged at Broadway Baby, making it tighter and giving it more personality. As the director, he has continued the improvement, transforming what had been a rather bland series of songs, chatter and comic material into a sharply focused and crisply entertaining two hours of fun. … Kopischke and Miller are terrific as Groucho and Chico Marx doing a scene from 'The Cocoanuts.'" - Damien Jacques, The Milwaukee JournalSentinel).

As part of an international Peace Run Joel performed in Sedona, Arizona and at the closing ceremonies at the United Nations' Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza and can be heard on "May Peace Prevail On Earth--The Peace Music Initiative".

Joel has also written, directed, produced and performed in dozens of corporate cabarets/revues.

Joel appeared in the world premiere opera Shining Brow and has sung with Swing Nouveau, recent winner of a Best Swing Band WAMI (Wisconsin Area Musicians). He has toured Europe and much of the US, singing Gershwin in Florence & Rome, Mozart in Salzburg & Vienna, and somethin' a little less high-falutin' in Normal, Kentucky.

Joel has performed an original composition at Milwaukee's 1996 Olympic Torch Run ceremony and at the historic Pabst Theatre with Senegalese drummer N'Dongo "Lucky" Diopp and WAMI-award winning bands Oasis and Leahy's Luck.

Joel has been heard nationally on dozens of commercial jingles (and non-jingly commercials, too), is a member of the Dramatist's Guild, ASCAP, and the Chicago Cabaret Professionals, and has performed stand-up comedy.

Joel has studied cabaret with Ann Hampton Callaway, Amanda McBroom, Ron Cohn, Shelly Markham and Julie Wilson.

Future plans include losing weight and updating this website.

Email me at opaljoel@tds.net

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