Milwaukee Repertory Theater
 | |
| Address |
108 E Wells Street Milwaukee, Wisconsin United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 43°02′27″N 87°54′41″W / 43.0408808°N 87.9113174°WCoordinates: 43°02′27″N 87°54′41″W / 43.0408808°N 87.9113174°W |
| Type | Regional theatre |
| Capacity |
Quadracci Powerhouse Theater: 720 Stiemke Theater: 205 Stackner Cabaret: 132 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1954 |
| Reopened | 1987 (current location) |
| Website | |
|
www | |
Milwaukee Repertory Theater ("Milwaukee Rep") is a theater company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded as the Fred Miller Theatre Company, the group is housed in the Patty & Jay Baker Theater Complex, which includes the Quadracci Powerhouse Theater, the Stiemke Theater, and the Stackner Cabaret. The Rep produces an annual production of A Christmas Carol at the Pabst Theater. The Rep serves an annual audience of over 200,000 patrons, including over 15,000 subscribers.
History
After being established as the Fred Miller Theatre Company, the name was changed to the Milwaukee Repertory Theater in the late 1950s, to reflect its growing catalogue of classic and contemporary plays, and a commitment to develop the resident acting community. In 1968, it moved from its original space—the Fred Miller Theatre, on Oakland Ave.—to the Todd Wehr Theater at the Performing Art Center in downtown Milwaukee. In 1974, a small warehouse was converted into the experimental Court Street Theater, which served as a laboratory for creative exploration and a testing ground for new playwrights. The Milwaukee Repertory Theater moved to its current location in 1987 and closed its Court Street operations. The theater is now located on the east bank of the Milwaukee River in the Patty and Jay Baker Theater Complex at 108 E Wells St, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[1]
Milwaukee Repertory Theater is dedicated to presenting new playwrights, reliving classics, and commissioning translations of classic and contemporary foreign playwrights. Historically the theater has put on annual holiday productions of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol at the historic Pabst Theater since 1976. In 2012, the Rep recorded a deficit of nearly $400,000, despite an increase in total ticket revenue of 60% from the previous season.[2] Coming out of the recession, The Rep reigned in its budget, increased ticket sales, and received a single donation of half a million dollars helping to pay down the accumulated deficit from past seasons.[3]
Theater spaces
- 720-seat Quadracci Powerhouse Thrust Stage
- 132-seat Stackner Cabaret Theater, bar, and restaurant
- 205-seat Stiemke Studio
World premieres
- The Nerd by Larry Shue (1981)
- The Foreigner by Larry Shue (1984)
- Work Song by Eric Simonson and Jeffrey Hatcher (2000)
- The Bachelors by Fred Alley and James Kaplan (2001)
- Moby Dick adapted by Eric Simonson (2002)
- Winter Wonderettes by Roger Bean (2003)
- Bach at Leipzig by Itamar Moses (2004) [4]
- Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure by Steven Dietz (2005)
- Holmes and Watson: A Musical Mystery by Jahnna Beecham and Malcom Hilgartner (2009)
- Soultime at the Apollo by Kevin Ramsey (2009)
- Liberace! by Brent Hazelton (2010) [5]
- after all the terrible things I do by A. Rey Pamatmat (2014) [5]
- Back Home Again: On The Road with John Denver by Randal Myler and Dan Wheetman (2015)
- Five Presidents by Rick Cleveland (2015) [5]
- American Song by Joanna Murray-Smith (2016)
- Sirens of Song by Kevin Ramsey (2016)
- One House Over by Catherine Trieschmann (2018)
Notable artists
- Ayad Akhtar - playwright of Disgraced, The Who and The What
- Anthony Crivello - starred in McGuire
- Carmen Cusazck - cast in Ragtime
- Dick Enberg - wrote McGuire
- Gordon Gano [6]
- Tom Hulce - Romeo and Juliet 1978-79 season
- Judith Light - member of the Rep
- David Mamet - playwright, Lakeboat first premiered at the Rep
- Rita Moreno - actress at Fred Miller Theater
- Chris Noth - starred in The Torch 1988-89 season
- Larry Shue - member of The Rep
- Erika Slezak - member of the Rep’s Company
- Jeffrey Tambor - three seasons at the Rep (1971—75)
- Betty White - actress at Fred Miller Theater
Community involvement
"The Rep's" community programs include student matinées, facility tours, residencies, and in-school workshops. The Rep contributes complimentary tickets to Milwaukee area non-profit fund-raisers. The Rep also sponsors adult acting classes, public lectures and discussions, pre-show "The Rep-In-Depth" presentations in the Quadracci Powerhouse and Stiemke Theaters, and audience talk-backs. Additional patron features include "pay-what-you-can" performances, audio described performances, American Sign Language-interpreted performances, captioned performances and numerous special events including Opening Night and Closing Night parties. The Friends of The Rep is Milwaukee Rep's official volunteer organization.
The Rep is also home to one of the oldest internship programs in regional theater. Each season acting, directing, and production interns join the company full-time to gain experience in professional theater.[7] Mark Clements is the current Artistic Director.
References
- ↑ "Milwaukee Repertory Theater – History and Mission". The Milwaukee Rep. Archived from the original on January 28, 2015. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
- ↑ Schuyler, David (January 6, 2014). "Milwaukee Repertory Theater posts fiscal 2013 deficit despite attendance growth". Milwaukee Business Journal. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
- ↑ "Theater Management Knowledge Base » Case Study: Milwaukee Repertory Theater (2014)". yaletmknowledgebase.org. Retrieved 2017-07-27.
- ↑ Hernandez, Ernio (December 18, 2005). "The Pipes Are Calling: Bach at Leipzig Ends Off-Broadway Run Dec. 18". Retrieved January 31, 2018.
- 1 2 3 Oleksinski, Johnny (February 26, 2014). "Milwaukee Repertory Theater announces 2014-15 season". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
- ↑ Milwaukee, Urban. "Milwaukee Repertory Theater Receives $1 Million Gift to Name the John D. (Jack) Lewis New Play Development Program". Urban Milwaukee. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
- ↑ "Joseph Hanreddy Joins UWM's Peck School of the Arts to Launch New Fellowship in Directing and Design" (Media Release). Milwaukee Repertory Theater. February 22, 2010. Archived from the original on February 10, 2015. Retrieved February 10, 2015.