Milwaukee Rep

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 Studio, and the Stackner Cabaret. Milwaukee Rep produces an annual production of ''A Christmas Carol'' at the Pabst Theater. It 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 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. 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.

Milwaukee Repertory Theater is dedicated to presenting new playwrights, reliving classics, and commissioning translations of classic and contemporary foreign playwrights. Each year, Milwaukee Rep welcomes up to 275,000 people at nearly 700 performances of 15 productions ranging from compelling dramas, powerful classics, new plays and full-scale musicals in its three unique performance venues. Since 1958, Milwaukee Repertory Theater has premiered nearly 150 plays and musicals. Historically the theater has put on annual holiday productions of Charles Dickens' ''A Christmas Carol'' at the historic Pabst Theater since 1976. In 2012, Milwaukee Rep recorded a deficit of nearly $400,000, despite an increase in total ticket revenue of 60% from the previous season. Coming out of the recession, Milwaukee Rep refined 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.

Theater spaces

* 720-seat Quadracci Powerhouse Thrust Stage
* 186-seat Stackner Cabaret Theater, bar, and restaurant
* 205-seat Stiemke Studio

World premieres

*''The Last Days of a Young Man'' by James Andrews (1958)
*''Adam the Creator'' by Ray Boyle and Sam Lawent (1960)
*''Tartuffe'' translated by Richard Wilbur from the play by Molière (1962)
*''All Together Now'' by Nagle Jackson, Jeffrey Tambor, and Milwaukee Repertory Theater Company (1972)
*''An Occasional Piece Suitable to the Openings of Theaters'' by Nagle Jackson (1973)
*''Fighting Bob'' by Tom Cole (1979)
*''How I Got That Story'' by Amlin Gray (1979)
*''Lakeboat'' by David Mamet (1980)
*'' 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)
*''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)
*''after all the terrible things I do'' by A. Rey Pamatmat (2014)
*''Back Home Again: On The Road with John Denver'' by Randal Myler and Dan Wheetman (2015)
*''Five Presidents'' by Rick Cleveland (2015)
*''American Song'' by Joanna Murray-Smith (2016)
*''Sirens of Song'' by Kevin Ramsey (2016)
*''A Christmas Carol'' adapted by Mark Clements (2016)
*''Mark Twain’s River of Song'' by Randal Myler and Dan Wheetman (2018)
*''One House Over'' by Catherine Trieschmann (2018)
*''Antonio’s Song / I Was Dreaming of a Son'' by Dael Orlandersmith (2021)
*''New Age'' by Dael Orlandersmith (2021)

Notable artists

* Ayad Akhtar - playwright of ''Disgraced, The Who and The What''
* Marc Alaimo - member of the Rep's Company (1967—1970)
* Anthony Crivello - starred in ''McGuire''
* Carmen Cusazck - cast in ''Ragtime''
* Dick Enberg - wrote ''McGuire''
* Gordon Gano
* 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

Milwaukee Rep's community programs include student matinées, facility tours, residencies, and in-school workshops. It contributes complimentary tickets to Milwaukee area non-profit fund-raisers. Milwaukee Rep also sponsors adult acting classes, public lectures and discussions, pre-show "The Rep-In-Depth" presentations in the Quadracci Powerhouse and Stiemke Studio, 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 Milwaukee Repertory Theater is its official volunteer organization.

Milwaukee 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. Mark Clements is the current Artistic Director and Chad Bauman is the current Executive Director.

References

External links

Milwaukee Repertory Theater web siteMilwaukee Repertory Theater Photographic HistoryCharity Navigator: Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Mission

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Theatre companies in Milwaukee
Theatres in Milwaukee