Includes Three Wisconsin Premieres, One U.S. Premiere, All Written in Last Seven Years
Milwaukee, WI – With the overall season tagline “AGAINST THE ODDS,” this is the third Next Act Theatre season chosen and overseen by new Artistic Director Cody Estle and Managing Director Libby Amato. The upcoming season boasts four plays never before seen on Wisconsin stages – three of the plays are Wisconsin premieres and one is a United States premiere. All four plays are also comparatively new, having all been written in the last seven years. New season tickets alongside renewals of existing season tickets are on sale now. Single tickets will go on sale July 14, 2025. All tickets may be purchased by calling the Next Act Ticket Office at 414-278-0765 or through the Next Act website at www.nextact.org.
“From the serene beauty of fictional Cardiff Township in Wisconsin’s Driftless region, to the buzzing streets of Chicago, Newark, and all the way to Scotland and London, we’ve got a lineup that’s as diverse as it is thrilling,” said Estle. “As we follow these unforgettable characters, we’ll not only see pieces of ourselves, but we’ll also gain a greater understanding of one another.”
The 2025-26 season opens with the Wisconsin professional premiere of SANCTUARY CITY by Martyna Majok (September 10 – October 5, 2025). In post-9/11 Newark, NJ, two teenagers brought to America as children now face an impossible question: what are they willing to risk for a future in the only country they’ve ever known? These two DREAMers and lifelong friends will fight like hell to establish a place for themselves and each other in America. But as time hurtles on and complications mount, each must reckon with the sacrifices it will take in order to find a place to call home. Jake Penner will make his Next Act directorial debut – he has also directed at Madison’s Forward Theater Company and Spring Green’s American Players Theatre, where he was previously an Artistic Associate. King Hang, Joe Lino and Ashley Oviedo will make their Next Act debuts in the roles of “B,” “Henry” and “G,” respectively. Playwright Majok received the Pulitzer Prize for her play COST OF LIVING, which was presented by Renaissance Theaterworks at Next Act Theatre in 2023.
Next Act will bring a locally-developed play home for its Wisconsin professional premiere when it produces BOSWELL by Marie Kohler (November 19 – December 14, 2025). Kohler, a Wisconsin-based playwright, director and co-founder of Renaissance Theaterworks, workshopped the play at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside before premiering it at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2019. It played Off-Broadway at 59E59 in 2022. Next Act’s production will be the first professional production of Kohler’s play in its home state. An earlier version of the play, called BOSWELL’S DREAMS, was presented by Renaissance Theaterworks in 2005.
When ambitious 20th-century academic Joan goes looking for unpublished writings by literary giant Samuel Johnson, she finds her work interrupted by James Boswell. Chatty, bawdy, flawed and deeply honest, Boswell’s 18th-century journals of his grand journey through Scotland with Johnson take Joan back in time, showing her the power of authenticity and the need to make her own place in the world. Heart and mind spar wittily in this epic adventure of friendship, travel and the written word. Laura Gordon (directed SCARECROW, THE REVOLUTIONISTS, MOTHERHOOD OUT LOUD at Next Act), who directed the Off-Broadway and Edinburgh Fringe productions, will direct. Josh Krause (appeared in THE MOUSETRAP, EQUIVOCATION at Next Act) and Brian Mani (appeared in THE CHILDREN, THE VOICE OF THE PRAIRIE, ROUGH CROSSING at Next Act) will reprise their Off-Broadway roles of “James Boswell” and “Samuel Johnson/Father/Doctor,” respectively; Heidi Armbruster (appeared in and wrote SCARECROW at Next Act) will return to Next Act as “David Garrick/Mrs. Thrale/The Lady” and former Producing Artistic Director David Cecsarini will return as “Oliver Goldsmith/Professor/David Hume/Taxi Driver.” Madeline Calais-King and Sarah Zapiain will make their Next Act debuts as “Joan” and “Joshua Reynolds/Louisa/Serving Woman/Gardyloo Woman/Margaret Boswell/Hebrides Tavern Woman,” respectively.
After the new year, Next Act will stage the Wisconsin premiere of SWING STATE by Rebecca Gilman (February 11 – March 8, 2026). It’s hard to know who your friends are in a world that’s more divided than ever. Recently widowed, Peg tends to the native plants in her 40-acre rural Wisconsin prairie backyard. Her solitary days are interrupted only by visits from Ryan, a family friend with a checkered past. When a mysterious theft alerts the authorities, a string of events unfold that forever changes their lives and their community. Pulitzer Prize finalist Rebecca Gilman questions how we help each other when it feels like our way of life is in danger of disappearing. Gilman’s play won a Joseph Jefferson Award for New Work and was nominated for three other Joseph Jefferson Awards and a 2024 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play. The Chicago Tribune called SWING STATE “perhaps the first of the great American post-COVID plays.” Artistic Director Cody Estle (directed CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION, THE TREASURER at Next Act) will direct. The cast will feature Tami Workentin (appeared in CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION, PIPELINE, THE SECRET MASK at Next Act) as “Peg,” Elyse Edelman (appeared in CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION at Next Act) as “Dani” and, making their Next Act debuts, Jack Lancaster as “Ryan” and Kelli Strickland as “Kris.”
To close out the season, Next Act will produce the United States premiere of DINNER WITH THE DUCHESS by Nick Green (April 22 – May 17, 2026). At the end of a storied career, violin virtuoso Margaret gives her final interview to a young reporter. As the evening wears on, Margaret must confront secrets and ghosts of the past to face an impossible question: how will she be remembered? Boundaries are drawn, lines are crossed and tensions reach a crescendo as a simple dinner becomes a battleground in the fight for the truth. Nick Green’s tense, personal drama explores whether the artist or her art defines a legacy. Samantha Martinson willmake her Next Act directorial debut – she has directed and assistant directed at Madison’s Forward Theater Company and Spring Green’s American Players Theatre. Laura Gordon will appear as “Margaret,” her first acting role at Next Act since 2009. More casting for DINNER WITH THE DUCHESS will be announced at a later date.
More information on the 2025-26 season can be found at nextact.org or by calling (414) 278-0765.
