Category: Theater

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PSA: American Players Theatre Announces Its 2025 Season!!

AMERICAN PLAYERS THEATRE ANNOUNCES 2025 Season

To Run June – November in the Outdoor Hill Theatre and Indoor Touchstone Theatre

Artistic Director Brenda DeVita said, “First, I’d just like to say that I’m so proud of the season we produced this year. Our 45th season. The work was exquisite from beginning to end, and I’m so grateful to our artists and actors, and the staff that takes such great care of our amazing audience. An audience who comes to these shows, whether or not they’re familiar with the story, and puts their trust in us, and in the art we make here. It’s incredible the community that’s been created out here, in the middle of Wisconsin farmland – it consistently fills my heart and blows my mind.

This season has felt like a huge step in our growth as an organization. The company is gelling and maturing, which gives us confidence that the work we do here is special, and important, as well as being beautiful and engaging. We carry that confidence with us into 2025, when we will invite some exciting and new-to-us directors – especially female directors, the most we’ve ever had directing in a season – to work at APT for the first time. Shannon Cochran, who is an actor and director, will do Noël Coward’s Fallen Angels, a playwright she is very familiar with, and can deftly play with that wit and language. Shana Cooper, the talented director who created that indelible, creative production of The Taming of the Shrew at APT in 2021 will return to direct The Winter’s Tale.

And additionally, we continue to expand and grow the talents of our company. David Daniel, a member of the Core Company, and our education director, who directed Oedipus for us in 2021, will direct this Midsummer Night’s Dream. Gavin Lawrence, another Core Company member – he directed Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom for us this season – will direct a play he has written – The Death of Chuck Brown. And John Taylor Phillips who you’ve seen on stage at APT in Private Lives and Born Yesterday and many other plays, will be back to direct The 39 Steps. And we have a number of wonderful returning directors – John Langs on Tribes, Robert Ramirez on Anna in the Tropics, I’ll be directing Picnic, which has been a dream project of mine. We’re already getting started, and I believe it’s a lineup that fits our foundation, while allowing the organization to continue to grow and evolve.”

In the Hill Theatre:

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

By William Shakespeare

Directed by David Daniel

Love weaves a tangled web in this iconic Shakespearean fairy tale. Hermia and her beloved Lysander flee into the forest to avoid Hermia’s arranged marriage to Demetrius. They’re pursued by Demetrius himself, along with Helena, who is, in turn, in love with Demetrius. In that same forest, Oberon and Titania – king and queen of the fairies – are having a quarrel of their own. And when Oberon enlists his accomplice Puck, aka Robin Goodfellow to throw some magic into the mix, everyone  – including a hilarious group of “rude mechanicals” led by Nick Bottom – gets caught up in the spell.

Fallen Angels

By Noël Coward

Directed by Shannon Cochran

Noël Coward’s sparkling wit returns to the Hill for the first time since 2015. Jane and Julia are happily married to charming men when a message arrives from a former flame, sending their perfect lives into a tizzy. It appears a man with whom they’d each had a passionate tryst in the past is planning a visit, and they are both questioning whether they can – or want to – withstand his charms. As the husbands golf, the ladies plot and plan over copious glasses of champagne, with some “help” from a very worldly housekeeper, while awaiting the arrival of their former lover in this decadent and utterly entertaining comedy. Contains adult themes

Picnic

By William Inge

Directed by Brenda DeVita

It’s almost time for the annual Labor Day picnic in Independence, Kansas. But the town buzz is all about Hal – the young handyman hired by sweet Helen Potts. Her neighbor, Flo, is less than enthusiastic about having Hal in the vicinity of her daughters, Madge and Millie. When it turns out Madge’s steady guy, the steadfast Alan, is an old friend of Hal’s, Flo relents, and plans are made for Hal to stick around town more permanently. But young love may have other ideas, and hearts will be filled and broken in this play about desire, expectations and the sacrifices and settlements people make when it comes to love. Contains adult themes & language

Anna in the Tropics

By Nilo Cruz

Directed by Robert Ramirez

In the heat of Florida, a Cuban-American family spends long days rolling cigars for a factory. They carried with them many traditions from Cuba, including employing a lector to read to them as they work. But with automation on the rise, money is tight, and there are differing opinions on whether that tradition should continue. Still, matriarch Ofelia hires a new lector, Juan Julián – a charismatic young man who captures the attention of her daughters, Marela and Conchita. Juan Julián begins his reading sessions with Anna Karenina. As the book’s story unfolds, the family’s lives run parallel, bringing secrets and lies to the forefront and threatening their livelihood and relationships. Contains adult themes

The Winter’s Tale

By William Shakespeare

Directed by Shana Cooper

Shakespeare’s sweet and complex romance returns to the Hill. When King Leontes suspects his pregnant wife Hermione of having an affair with his good friend Polixenes, he jealously hides Hermione away in the palace. He has become so enraged that Leontes orders their infant daughter to be abandoned in the wild, leading Hermione to die of a broken heart. But all may not be as dire as it first appears, as a shepherd saves the young girl to be raised as a shepherdess, with help from a pair of ridiculous clowns, setting in motion a series of events that opens up paths to forgiveness, love and redemption.

In the Touchstone Theatre:

The World Premiere of

The Death of Chuck Brown

By Gavin Dillon Lawrence

Directed by Gavin Dillon Lawrence

A local icon’s death signals the end of an era and the beginning of a new look for a once-predominantly African American neighborhood in Washington, DC. A barbershop is the backdrop for conversations about gentrification, race and family as the owner, Kofi, considers selling his beloved establishment while keeping his son Prince on the path to success. A funny, touching and devastating world-premiere from APT Core Company Member Gavin Dillon Lawrence. Contains adult themes & language

Art

By Yasmina Reza

Director TBA

Reza’s philosophical comedy comes to APT at last. Three long-time friends – Serge, Marc and Yvan – ponder art, class and love; fraught and funny discussions sparked by Serge’s extravagant purchase of a painting that is simply a white canvas with a few thin lines. As the conversation progresses, cracks form in the men’s relationships as they question whether they are who they think they are, or if they are who their friends think they are, in a play that has been awarded the Tony, New York Drama Critics’ Circle, and Olivier Award for Best New Comedy. Contains adult themes & language

Tribes

By Nina Raine

Directed by John Langs

There is the family we choose, and the one we’re born to. And neither are perfect. When Billy, Ruth and Daniel – Beth and Christopher’s adult children – all move home, the rivalry is intense among this group of “creatives.” But not for Billy, who is the sole deaf member of this hearing family. The family made the decision long ago that Billy should not learn sign language, and instead learn to read lips. But when he meets Sylvia, who comes from a deaf family and is coping with losing her own hearing, Billy’s world opens up as she teaches him to sign. What his family makes of this new world is another thing entirely, as they try to elevate themselves while holding Billy at status quo in this funny, biting play. Contains adult themes & language

Opening in October

The 39 Steps

By Patrick Barlow

Directed by John Taylor Phillips

Richard Hannay’s adult life has taken a decided turn for the boring, when one night he decides to go to the theater. There he meets a mysterious woman (and a couple of clowns) during a performance by Mr. Memory. When shots are fired, Hannay finds himself hurtling toward a hilarious adventure built from a foundation of all the most famous noir, and into a delightful parody of the genre itself. A theatrical and hilarious send up of Hitchcockian thrillers, with four actors playing every character – a special event perfect for fall in the Touchstone Theatre.

About American Players Theatre:

APT is a professional repertory theater devoted to the great and future classics. It was founded in 1979 and continues to be one of the most popular outdoor classical theaters in the nation.

The Theatre is located in Spring Green, Wis., on 110 acres of hilly woods and meadows above the Wisconsin River. The outdoor amphitheater is built within a natural hollow atop an oak-wooded hill. Under the dome of sky, 1,075 comfortably cushioned seats encircle three sides of the stage. In 2009, APT opened the 201-seat indoor Touchstone Theatre, offering a different type of play and experience.

For more information, visit www.americanplayers.org

The 2025 schedule will be available in January, and tickets will go on sale to returning patrons in March. More information at www.americanplayers.org.

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The Lake Country Playhouse Opens With ‘The Outsider’, And It’s A Lulu!

It might seem a little bold, opening your new season at the height of a boisterous presidential election with a political comedy. But in this case you have no fear! The Outsider is non-denominational,…no, no, I mean non-partisan: except that it leans heavily towards the laughs! We are in a small state governor’s office, we don’t know which state. And we never know what particular party any of the characters belong to. But we will recognize the characters and characterizations very very clearly as typical denizens of American politics…and playwright Paul Slade Smith pushes to the limits for all that he is worth.

left to right: Jack Anderson, Peter Brian Kelly, and Michael Stickney. Photo courtesy of the Lake Country Players. Photographer: Breanne Brennan

It is the first day in Governor Ned Newley’s administration. He was the policy wonk Lt. Governor until the incumbent had to resign for a number of sexual peccadilloes. And just hours in, it appears to be a disaster as the socially awkward Newley froze up during his swearing in and the cringe worthy video is making its way around the world via social media and YouTube. And because his staff covered up the former governor’s sins, they have all resigned and Chief of Staff Dave Riley finds himself as the only staffer in Newley’s new administration. And he sets out to rectify that immediately by bringing in pollster and campaign advisor Paige Caldwell and puts in a call to HR for a temp to work reception and answer the phones. And from the very moment that Paige and Dave start their initial discussions, all kinds of comedy hell and sleight of hand breaks loose!

Director Goo has put together a delightful cast just ready to mine the humor in The Outsider. And then Goo has enabled them to completely inhabit their characters as the over the top political stereotypes that Paul Slade Smith has provided. It is so seamless that this is one play where keeping the actor separate from the role is nearly impossible.

Jack Anderson. Photo courtesy of the Lake Country Players. Photographer: Breanne Brennan

Jack Anderson is an astute Dave Riley. He is earnest, honest, and idealistic and becomes the butt of a few jokes. Anderson has the ideal cringe for the cringe worthy episodes and his exasperated pacing, glances, and hand wringing perfectly suit the characters and the scenes. I have met a few young campaign managers and activists, and Anderson has given Dave all of those ‘guys’ a run for their money. Dave clearly believes in Newley and Anderson portrays that loyalty through the rough spots here. But Dave turns the tables at the end and Anderson’s change in persona gives us the perfect I told you so feeling at the end.

Michael Stickney and Zoe Osk. Photo courtesy of the Lake Country Players. Photographer: Breanne Brennan

Paige Caldwell is a very skilled and competent campaign pollster and Zoe Osk portrays her in an imposing confident style through out. She and Dave have a history that isn’t quite a friends thing but he wants her on board anyway…because, well, as they both agree, she was always right. And she isn’t necessarily right this time, and when a big name campaign manager shows up unbidden, Caldwell gives us Paige’s initial push back and eventual buy in a clearly believable fashion. But Paige isn’t necessarily the by all means hack she first appears to be, and Caldwell brings her humanity and sense of purpose to the fore, eventually. But, she WAS initially one of those having fun at Newley’s expense by sharing the swearing-in video on line.

Zoe Osk and Michael Stickney. Photo courtesy of the Lake Country Players. Photographer: Breanne Brennan

So who is Governor Newley? Well, for Michael Stickney, he’s a well versed policy wonk one on one with Dave but is a hilariously disheveled mess when confronting his new role or coming upon strangers in his new office. The office draperies are key to some of the humor here. And Stickney is just flat out funny as he morphs from his natural shyness around groups of people to the average guy persona that the consultants think he should become. It makes no sense on the face of it but Stickney sells the shift in character as he ‘struts’ across the stage in his new flannel look and recites a series of non-committal answers to questions. And then he comes alive as he returns as the policy wonk and wins the day!!

Arthur Vance is the campaign manager who swoops in from Washington DC after seeing Newley on social media. Newley is just the candidate he is looking for, someone who doesn’t appear competent for his job. And Peter Brian Kelly has brought on all of the smarm that this character needs. Vance has no compass other than he just wants to win and he is sure that Newly is his ticket. And Kelly just maintains his strut, his composure, his sales technique, and his smooth even as things go askew OR he finds a new opportunity under his nose. And did Costumer Nancy Hurd put him in a perfectly fitting ‘sharkskin’ suit or what?

in foreground: Jessica Schulz and Jack Anderson, behind is Nick Marzinski. Photo courtesy of the Lake Country Players. Photographer: Breanne Brennan

And Vance arranges a new interview for Newley through a buddy at Channel 3, and they send reporter Rachel Parsons over. And she is played by Jessica Schulz with a sense of unbounded determination and energy that makes her a pleasure to see in action. She too experiences some trepidation about what is happening but is determined to keep her job by doing the job she was given. Schulz gives us that sense of angst without totally surrendering the spunk that her character is meant to exhibit…and also exudes a certain sense of coy around Dave that may or may not be flirting??

Michele McCawley. Photo courtesy of the Lake Country Players. Photographer: Breanne Brennan

And then there is Louise Peaks, the temp that HR sent along to act as the governor’s receptionist, who brags about never having held a job more than one day. And Michele McCawley just runs with Louise: High energy, pure confidence, and a certain swagger despite having absolutely no apparent qualifications for any job whatsoever! In the first act she is pure comic relief and McCawley knows what she’s all about. Overplaying the character is exactly what Peaks requires and that is just what McCawley delivers. There are no pratfalls here but there is a certain physical humor and humor built around mistakes and social miscues. But McCawley brings it all into high gear when she becomes the focus of Act II and LULU takes center stage. At this point Vance gives up on Newley as he’s found his new best worst politician. Shouldn’t say more on that, you need to see it. But McCawley knows her comedy and can play it big and bold and I imagine we’ll see her in more comedies here in the future.

And congrats to the scenic crew on setting us in a wholly believable gubernatorial office!

So, if the contemporary political environment leaves you a bit frustrated, take some time to find the humor in The Outsider and take that edge off!!! The Outsider runs at the Lake Country Playhouse in Hartland WI from now through Oct. 6th, 2024. More information and to order tickets, click here!

Michele McCawley. Photo courtesy of the Lake Country Players. Photographer: Breanne Brennan
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Music and Mystery Produce Magic In The MKE Rep’s ‘Prelude To A Kiss a musical’

Photos courtesy of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Michael Brosilow photographer.

At the end of last season I was about musical’d out so I cautiously approached the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s opening musical. But not any longer, I am sold on Prelude To A Kiss!! This is a world premiere directed by Kenneth Ferrone. Prelude To A Kiss was developed in partnership with the South Coast Repertory and after being performed there is now being presented at the Rep.

With music by Daniel Messe and lyrics by Messe and Sean Hartley, writer Craig Lucas has adapted his play to a musical. And they have given us a bit of a gem in contemporary musicals. My favorite Rep musical since In The Heights. The story, briefly, features Peter who is searching for something, not quite sure what, and is ready to leave for environs unknown, until his best friend Taylor introduces him to a neighbor, Rita. And then all bets are off and we are transfixed by their whirlwind romance and easy assimilation into each others lives…until they get married…and the mystery begins.

And then comes the story telling. Lucas, Messe, and Hartley present a pretty straightforward attempt at documenting young and older love, its ins and outs and ups and downs, and the models we have for partnership and aging. The characters are clearly defined and fully rounded and we are drawn to each and everyone of them!! And the music follows suit. I really appreciated that few of the songs here are big production numbers where story gets lost or the lyrics are unclear or we seem to be going on a tangent that is good for spectacle while short on actual story. It really works as wonderful theater when you can watch and listen to couples or friends or other pairings as they converse directly in song and we were are able to savor every moment.

And the cast is simply marvelous and obviously are having fun working together. But of course the principals need some particular mention.

Rita and Peter, Photos courtesy of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Michael Brosilow photographer.

Caitlin Houlahan is amazing as Rita. Flirty and precocious (yes) and sexy and then later moody and withdrawn. But Houlahan has this confident stage presence that just draws you to her and then she sings with a voice you just want to hear in every song in the performance. I hope that she has the opportunity to return to the Rep in future productions. She was a favorite of mine and very obviously a favorite of the entire audience as well.

Peter is wonderfully worked out by Chris McCarrell. Peter moves through a number of conundrums, first so eagerly giving himself over to Rita just as he was set out to leave town and then trying to figure out her complete change in persona after they are married. Others try to convince him that marriage changes people but he has the fortitude to buck that trend and discover the truth…and then fix it! And McCarrell holds his own in song and brings out the best in Peter and the best in Houlahan as well.

Peter, Rita, Rita’s mom and dad, and a certain banjo. Photos courtesy of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Michael Brosilow photographer.

And other favorites are James Moye as Rita’s dad and Karen Ziemba as her mother. They are professionals in their careers but free spirits in their personal lives…and you can feel where Rita gets her own independence. There is a banjo involved (but in Milwaukee an accordion might have been a reasonable substitute). And Keirsten Hodgens’ sarcastic but loving Angie, Rita’s best friend and co-worker is also a stand out performance here.

Julius, Rita, and Peter at the wedding. Photos courtesy of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Michael Brosilow photographer.

And a Milwaukee favorite, Jonathan Gillard Daly, makes a first act appearance as a strange unknown man at Rita’s and Peter’s wedding and sets the whole mystery plot in motion…and we later learn that he is Julius and will become an integral part of the happy ending that we all are hoping for.

And we mustn’t forget the orchestra. They are in residence on the second floor of the stage/apartment building and it is wonderful to have live accompaniment here. And the stage set at nearly three stories tall gives us some insight into why the downtown complex is being remodeled. I don’t think this set would have worked there as built.

Because of the extensive remodel of the Rep’s downtown theater complex, Prelude is being performed at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts in Brookfield, WI. It runs through October 19, 2024 and additional information and tickets can be found here. There is plenty of free parking at the center and it is warm and inviting and very comfortable!

Angie, Rita, Taylor, and Peter. Photos courtesy of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Michael Brosilow photographer.