Join us for 12 world-class productions, three of which will take will take place off-site while the new Associated Bank Theater Center is under construction.
For our 2024/25 Season we are excited to offer 12 productions that are sure to entertain and inspire. Discover remarkable performances, soul-shaking rhythms, fresh takes on classics and bold world premieres. This season includes:
* A World Premiere musical based off the Pulitzer Prize finalist and Tony-nominated play by Craig Lucas, Prelude to a Kiss: The Musical.
* Two World Premiere musicals created by Artistic Director Mark Clements in the Stackner Cabaret – Women of Rock and The Craic.
* A Studio Season with the regional premiere of The Coast Starlight direct from Lincoln Center and a bilingual play, Espejos: Clean.
* The acclaimed London West End production of The Woman in Black with its stellar British cast
Don’t miss Milwaukee’s favorite holiday tradition, A Christmas Carol celebrating its 49th Anniversary in the historic Pabst Theater with Rep favorite Matt Daniels returning as Ebenezer Scrooge.
and extra credit reading: information on the rebuilding of the Rep spaces and their capital campaign can be found here.
We are all aware of the Milwaukee Repertory’s strength on their main stage with big cast dramas and popular musicals. But I tend to look forward to their offerings in the black box Stiemke Studio hidden away under the grand staircase. The Stiemke brings us edgy dramas, divine comedies, serious contemporary content, and alternative forms of presentation. The Rep’s current Stiemke offering, What the Constitution Means to Me, lives at the nexus of all of those strengths.
Jessie Fisher photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater
Our protagonist, Heidi, steps out front and introduces herself and starts to present us with the backstory of the play. As a teenager she was driven to excel at speaking at American Legion Halls on the US Constitution as part of their oratorical contest in order to win college scholarships. This is a bit autobiographical and the original role was played by Heidi Schreck in many early productions of the play.
Here in Milwaukee, Heidi is played by Jessie Fisher who owns the role and this viewer is completely convinced that Fisher is Heidi and actually lived these experiences. And Fisher moves smoothly from the fifteen year old Heidi to the adult Heidi and brings out all of the questioning and doubts that life presents and how our society and the Constitution have helped or hindered Americans over the centuries.
Jessie Fisher and Will Mobley (center stage) photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater
In opposition to Heidi early on is a strict and seemingly no-nonsense legionnaire played by Will Mobley. The legionnaire is responsible for timing the contestants and keeping them on track and laying out the ground rules for the contestants and the audience. As the story continues, Heidi again breaks theater tradition and introduces the legionnaire as her long time friend Danny who she has recruited to play the part since she trusts him.
Late in the play, the scene shifts from play and exposition to a debate on wither the United States should retain or replace the US Constitution. This requires Danny to reprise his role as timekeeper and rule keeper for the debate. And it also requires a third character, the debater. This role is filled in rotation by three actors from First Stage’s training programs: Maria (Rose) Campbell, Hazel Dye, and Maya O’Day-Biddle. The evening performance I attended was graced with an amazing performance by Rose Campbell.
Will Mobley and Maria (Rose) Campbell (center stage) photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater
Director Laura Braza scores some gold stars here for making this play run so incredibly smoothly and incredibly realistically…it is hard to tell that we aren’t listening to a friend or neighbor relate their life experience.
So, besides the drama and humor surrounding the events in the play, there is a fair amount of history and discussion on culture and politics. And you will learn about any number of prominent Americans and hear snippets of their own speeches and commentary, and you will get some in-depth analysis of the 9th, 13th, and 14th Amendments to the Constitution.
The play runs without intermission and the Rep says about an hour and forty minutes. The night I was there, I think it was closer to two hours. It continues at the Stiemke through March 17, 2024 and you can find ticket information and more details here.
Rebecca Cort, Katie Peabody, Colleen Madden, Amelio García, and Cy Paolantonio in Little Women. Photo by Bronwen Houck.
So am I suggesting that playwright Kate Hamill and director Marti Lyons have updated Louisa May Alcott’s fascinating story to the new century? No, far from it, the play hews closely to it’s 19th Century roots…but the story around family, the effects of war on families, the position of women in society, gender identity, and the coming of age for young women…continue to ring true today and the audience in the Rep’s Quadracci Powerhouse Theater certainly felt the emotional effects and shifts…as was apparent from the laughs and sighs and silences clearly exhibited during the performance.
And this is a play not to be missed. I was surprised and elated by the range of emotions it pushed across my horizons. I knew there would be some angst and sorrow but I was surprised by the humor…the type that made me laugh out loud…what a joy and a plus. But yes there was dread and concern and loss resulting in mourning for the Marches and for us. And it all reached out to me beyond my expectations.
Of course we have Alcott’s famous March sisters, Amy, Jo, Meg, and Beth, and their family, friends, and community. The central character is Jo, who struggles to define her role in the family as she grows. An aspiring writer she also faces discrimination from the local editor because she is a woman. He dismisses her first attempt at a novel out of hand simply for that reason and suggests she return with her father or husband. Amelio Garcia is Jo at the Rep…and gives us every nuance the character demands…self doubt, swagger, love of family, longing for friendship, and frustrations from the limits imposed on her by her gender and gender identity.
A key performance for me is Rebecca Cort’s Amy…played in a fashion that was in no way suitable…I mean subtle (you’ll understand if you attend the play and gather in Amy’s malapropisms which are annoyingly documented by Jo). But Cort easily shifts from the youngster: an annoying, brash, lively, and absolutely adorable school girl to a rather abrasive shrew in young adulthood. Cort just nails this role and you need to watch her even when she isn’t the focus of the scene!
Cy Paolantonio is Meg March, the one sister who is initially comfortable with the social norms of the time and is ready and willing to comply. But she too has her moment of crisis and returns to the comfortable familiar surroundings of home and family before she finally comes to the realization that her chosen path is where she belongs. And Beth March is emphatically portrayed by Katie Peabody, the one March sister who actually seems to be the odd one out but is the most comfortable in her skin. Described as the conscience, Peabody presents a young woman in touch with her family, her society, and nature and is good with that. And her role is the family touchstone is clearly displayed during her illness and eventual death in the play.
But it’s not all just Little Women here. There is a little man in the form of Laurie, full name Theodore Laurence, a well-to-do neighbor who seems smitten with Jo while Amy seems to be smitten with him. Laurie is played by Austin Winter and moves from a confident and playful young man into a very thoughtful, suave, and loving adult. His interest in Jo is unrequited and he doesn’t realize that until late in the play when he proposes to her. He is to be forgiven his lack of awareness here as Jo finds him attractive in her own way and they enjoy a sincere and playful friendship early on.
The set design here is truly amazing as the only constant is a colorful patterned rug apparently painted on the theater floor. Every other set piece is readily and easily movable and tends to be in constant motion via exchanges by the actors. This little ballet is just a miracle and director Lyons, movement director Paolantonio, scenic designer Collette Pollard, stage manager Kira Neighors, et al should get a standing ovation as well as the cast.
