One of the most interesting plays I’ve seen in the last half-decade is called "The Whale," written by young playwright Samuel D. Hunter.

I saw it off Broadway about four or five years ago, and the story of a 600-pound man bent on killing himself with food has stayed with me since. The man, Charlie, teaches writing on the Internet and is on his way to dying because of his sorrow over a former love, now lost.

I mention this because Hunter is coming to Milwaukee with "The Few," another play that promises a level of fascination that's both gentle and enveloping. It opens this week at Milwaukee Chamber Theatre.

The story is of Bryan, who has returned to his home in Idaho and is worn from publishing his labor of love, a newsletter aimed at long-haul truck drivers. He reconnects with a past lover and a young boy who wants to live in the orbit of Bryan, his idol.

There's a powerhouse cast in this production directed by C. Michael Wright. James Ridge and Mary MacDonald Kerr, two of the very best in this state, will be joined by newcomer Mitch Bultman.

Ridge and Kerr each did one-person shows at Chamber in 2013, Ridge in "Underneath the Lintel" and Kerr in "The Detective’s Wife." Both were among the best plays I saw that season, and getting them together on a stage promises to be a wonderful experience.

Charles Isherwood of The New York Times reviewed "The Few," and here are some of his observations:

Mr. Hunter, the author of the fine plays "A Bright New Boise" and "The Whale," writes with unusual insight into, and empathy for, people whose lives have settled into sad stasis, or strategic withdrawal. All three characters in "The Few" bear unhealed emotional bruises. QZ hides hers behind a stoicism that begins to fray as she and Bryan confront the darkness in their past. Bryan, emanating an air of bitter defeat in Mr. Laurence’s (Bryan) chilly-eyed performance, deals with his despair by deflecting it into sarcasm and subtle digs at QZ for turning his newsletter into nothing more than a pickup joint on paper.

Matthew, on the other hand, all but broadcasts his vulnerability. He scampers like an overexcited puppy around Bryan, who has long held a mystique for Matthew. He idealizes him as a sort of latter-day beat poet, and hopes that his return means the publication’s glory days can be revived. Bryan greets his idol worship with cold condescension, although there is a suggestion, too, that he’s touched and gratified to think that someone might hold a man like him in esteem; he certainly doesn’t.

Information on showtimes and tickets for "The Few" is available here.

Royalty at The Pabst

In the history of black vocal quartets – the Temptations, Supremes, Drifters, Platters – the Four Tops sit right up there as part of the royalty spawned by Motown, the hit factory born in a tiny white house in Detroit.

The group started singing together in 1953 and is still touring today, even though the membership has changed some.

The list of hits is full of both memories of yesterday and the promises of a brighter tomorrow, something that might seem pretty important right now. Among the many hits are "Ain’t No Woman (Like the One I Got)"; "Baby I Need Your Lovin’"; "Reach Out I’ll Be There" and "Standing in the Shadows of Love."

The group is composed now of Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Ronnie McNeir, Lawrence Payton, Jr. and Harold Bonhart. Fakir, 81, is the only original member left and Payton is the son of his dad, who was one of the originals.

The Tops will be on stage at The Pabst and accompanied by the Milwaukee Children’s Choir, which is a combination that, on the surface, seems likely to deliver some magic moments (with apologies to The Drifters).

Information on showtime and tickets is available here.