Summit Players
It’s a truism that Wisconsinites like getting outside to do pretty much everything during the warm weather months. That holds true for watching live theater, too, because despite the possible impediments of unexpected downpours, swarms of mosquitoes, and the occasional threatening bat, there is something magical about watching the (metaphorical) curtain rise as the sun sets.
Alley Stage
June 8, Sept. 7, Oct. 12 • Mineral Point
Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts is the home to Alley Stage. The set is simple, but with a dramatic backdrop of a former quarry. Seats are cafe chairs. The season of staged readings of original plays-in-progress for summer and early fall begins with Minneapolis playwright Cass Erickson’s The Dreamer of Oyster Bay, a contemporary tragicomedy about a mid-life crisis. Fran Zell’s Reading Anna K is still a summer production on Sept. 7, and DC Cathro’s ITCH closes out the year Oct. 8. Shows are at 4 p.m. and followed by a talkback and a reception. Tickets are $5 — practically free.
American Players Theatre
June 8-Sept. 29 (outdoor season only) • Spring Green
The gold standard for area outdoor theater, APT has an idyllic, removed setting in the Driftless Area, a more-or-less convenient 45-minute drive from the west side of Madison, and an extensive, well-equipped picnic table area for pre-show dining or even grilling. Yes, there are gas grills on site. Or the less ambitious can order a box lunch for pickup. This year’s outdoor slate is varied. There are two from Shakespeare, a comedy — Much Ado About Nothing — and the biggest of the tragedies — King Lear. Rounding out the season are a trio of well known plays: Jean Anouilh’s Ring Around the Moon, August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and Brian Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa. Don’t dally if you plan to buy tickets; shows sell out rapidly.
Door Shakespeare
July 3-Aug. 17 • Baileys Harbor
Of course the so-called “Cape Cod of the Midwest” should have outdoor summer theater, and Door County delivers. Door Shakespeare is located on a former summer estate called Björklunden (now owned by Lawrence University), on Lake Michigan just south of Bailey’s Harbor. The season starts on July 3 with Romeo and Juliet (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m.); productions of that play alternate with a dramatization of Jane Austen’s Emma adapted by Joseph Hanreddy, former artistic director of the Milwaukee Rep and the now-departed Madison Repertory Theater (Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 5 p.m.).
Madison Shakespeare Company
June 28-30 • Madison Children’s Museum
The fanciful and multi-level outdoor climbing structure known as the Wonderground at the Madison Children’s Museum is the set for Madison Shakespeare Company’s summer production, and it should make for some inventive staging. The play is Christopher Marlowe’s Dido, Queen of Carthage, one of his least performed (it’s his first play, possibly written during his undergraduate days) but with hallmark Elizabethan bloodshed and sexual intrigue. Aeneas stops by Carthage on his travels and Dido falls in love with him. Suffice it to say things go south from there. The performance is suggested for adults and mature teens; seating is provided by the venue. Shows are Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 5 and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 6 p.m. Tickets through Madison Children’s Museum. MSC is also performing Love's Labour's Lost August 9-18 at Madison Country Day School in Waunakee. More info here.
Northern Sky Theater
June 14-Aug. 26 • Peninsula State Park, Fish Creek
The other outdoor theater in Door County is Northern Sky Theater — the one inside Peninsula State Park. It’s a large outdoor amphitheater with wooden bench seating and a wooden backdrop against the woods that is a blank slate for imaginative staging. Here, theatergoers do not have to pay state park admission fees to attend, if they arrive no earlier than one hour before the performance. Campers at the park get a special deal on tickets (but you must call the box office, no online orders). And, conveniently for those traveling or camping with a dog, your furry friend can come to the show with you (though you are asked to sit near the back on an aisle in case you have to make a quick escape). This summer’s fare starts with the world premiere of a full staging of The Fisherman’s Daughters, about two sisters whose land is claimed to create Peninsula State Park. The musical comedy Belgians in Heaven, a perennial favorite at Northern Sky, returns for a 30th anniversary run, and is accompanied by a new prequel to that play, Hell’s Belgians. See full schedule and ticket info at northernskytheater.com.
Optimist Theatre
July 15-Aug. 11 • Milwaukee area parks
Optimist Theatre is changing and expanding its offerings this year, from touring one play to coordinating different shows from multiple companies for almost 50 shows performed at parks all over Milwaukee. The season, overall dubbed “Optimist Presents: Shakespeare in the City,” includes Another Midsummer Night’s Dream, performed by The Available Players; The Comedy of Romeo and Juliet: Kinda Sorta, performed by Schmitz n Giggles Shakesparody Players; a one-woman-show version of Hamlet; and Macbeth by the Pocket Park Puppet Players. The first Milwaukee Shakespeare Festival, Aug. 4 at Forest Home Cemetery, will include multiple performances of all the shows. Free; see full schedule at optimisttheatre.org/2024season.html.
SummerStage of Delafield
W329 N846 County Highway C, Delafield • June 6-Sept. 7
Just off I-94 on the way to Milwaukee, SummerStage of Delafield puts on three plays per summer at the amphitheater at the Lapham Peak Unit-Kettle Moraine State Forest. Bring a lawn chair and picnic before the show, or arrive extra early and take the short hike up to the observation tower, which gives a commanding view of the surrounding countryside. This year’s plays are Steel Magnolias (June 6-22), Unnecessary Farce (July 18-Aug. 3), and Hamlet (Aug. 22-Sept. 7). Shows, Wednesday through Saturday, are at 7:30 p.m. and Wednesday is “value night” with a bargain $13 admission fee. (State park admission fee is reduced to $5 for playgoers, if you don’t already have a yearly state park sticker.)
Summit Players’ Shakespeare in the State Parks
June 14-July 29 • State parks throughout Wisconsin
Summit Players is the only theater troupe in the country that tours state parks with productions of Shakespeare. Since 2015, in partnership with the Wisconsin State Parks System and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Summit has been putting on 45-minute theater workshops and then 75-minute versions of some of The Bard’s most popular plays, emphasizing how he used nature as part of the story. As you might expect, sets are simple, but costumes are evocative. This year, Summit is remounting one of its first productions, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The tale of four truly mixed-up lovers and the mischievous spirits who confuse them is one of the best to watch outside in mid-summer. No tickets are required, and the play is free (although State Park admission is still necessary), and while the theater workshops held in advance of the performance are intended for kids 8 and up, adults are also welcome. The troupe takes the play to parks all over the state (see the full schedule at summitplayerstheatre.com), the closest to Madison are Blue Mound State Park on June 23 (workshop at 1 p.m., performance at 2:30 p.m.); and Lake Kegonsa State Park on July 19 and Mirror Lake State Park on July 20 (workshops at 5:30 p.m., performances at 7 p.m.)
