Community Calendar

Step into a jumpin’ jazz joint where the legendary music of Fats Waller takes center stage. Five extraordinary actor-musicians transform into a jubilant swing band for the ages in this Tony Award-winning musical — last seen in our 2013/14 Season — that brings the razzle-dazzle spirit of the Roaring Twenties to the 2020s. Get ready to sing, dance and let loose with this brilliant celebration of an iconic trailblazer and his lasting legacy.

“Classy and glamorous... a dose of old-school pizzazz.” – Chicago Tribune

Created and Originally Directed by Richard Maltby Jr.
Conceived by Richard Maltby Jr. & Murray Horwitz
Directed by E. Faye Butler

Direct from a sold-out Broadway run, Pulitzer Prize-winner Ayad Akhtar’s thrilling and darkly comic new work follows Jacob McNeal — a brilliant yet dangerously charming novelist obsessed with his own genius. On the eve of his greatest achievement, his thirst for whiskey, fractured relationships, and curious fascination with artificial intelligence threatens to unravel everything. You’ll experience jaw-dropping projections and special effects at this opening production in the new Herro-Franke Studio Theater, as McNeal explores the price of greatness and raises vital questions about art, truth and originality in the not-too-distant future.

“A brilliant and transfixing new play... Akhtar goes to a place that few writers have visited so effectively.” – The Atlantic

By Ayad Akhtar
Directed by Mark Clements

August Wilson’s explosive, award-winning play is a gripping story of family, legacy and the choices that define us. During the Great Depression, the Charles household reaches a boiling point over a decision that will define them: sell the family’s cherished heirloom piano to secure their fortune or preserve it as a testament to their ancestor’s spirit and struggle. The ghosts of the past collide with the promise of the future in this Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning masterpiece. From the celebrated director Lou Bellamy, who brought Milwaukee Rep audiences the acclaimed August Wilson’s Fences, The Piano Lesson marks our ninth production in Wilson’s American Century Cycle.

“Like other Wilson plays, it seems to sing even when it is talking.” – The New York Times

By August Wilson
Directed by Lou Bellamy

Step into a jumpin’ jazz joint where the legendary music of Fats Waller takes center stage. Five extraordinary actor-musicians transform into a jubilant swing band for the ages in this Tony Award-winning musical — last seen in our 2013/14 Season — that brings the razzle-dazzle spirit of the Roaring Twenties to the 2020s. Get ready to sing, dance and let loose with this brilliant celebration of an iconic trailblazer and his lasting legacy.

“Classy and glamorous... a dose of old-school pizzazz.” – Chicago Tribune

Created and Originally Directed by Richard Maltby Jr.
Conceived by Richard Maltby Jr. & Murray Horwitz
Directed by E. Faye Butler

Direct from a sold-out Broadway run, Pulitzer Prize-winner Ayad Akhtar’s thrilling and darkly comic new work follows Jacob McNeal — a brilliant yet dangerously charming novelist obsessed with his own genius. On the eve of his greatest achievement, his thirst for whiskey, fractured relationships, and curious fascination with artificial intelligence threatens to unravel everything. You’ll experience jaw-dropping projections and special effects at this opening production in the new Herro-Franke Studio Theater, as McNeal explores the price of greatness and raises vital questions about art, truth and originality in the not-too-distant future.

“A brilliant and transfixing new play... Akhtar goes to a place that few writers have visited so effectively.” – The Atlantic

By Ayad Akhtar
Directed by Mark Clements

August Wilson’s explosive, award-winning play is a gripping story of family, legacy and the choices that define us. During the Great Depression, the Charles household reaches a boiling point over a decision that will define them: sell the family’s cherished heirloom piano to secure their fortune or preserve it as a testament to their ancestor’s spirit and struggle. The ghosts of the past collide with the promise of the future in this Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning masterpiece. From the celebrated director Lou Bellamy, who brought Milwaukee Rep audiences the acclaimed August Wilson’s Fences, The Piano Lesson marks our ninth production in Wilson’s American Century Cycle.

“Like other Wilson plays, it seems to sing even when it is talking.” – The New York Times

By August Wilson
Directed by Lou Bellamy

Step into a jumpin’ jazz joint where the legendary music of Fats Waller takes center stage. Five extraordinary actor-musicians transform into a jubilant swing band for the ages in this Tony Award-winning musical — last seen in our 2013/14 Season — that brings the razzle-dazzle spirit of the Roaring Twenties to the 2020s. Get ready to sing, dance and let loose with this brilliant celebration of an iconic trailblazer and his lasting legacy.

“Classy and glamorous... a dose of old-school pizzazz.” – Chicago Tribune

Created and Originally Directed by Richard Maltby Jr.
Conceived by Richard Maltby Jr. & Murray Horwitz
Directed by E. Faye Butler

Direct from a sold-out Broadway run, Pulitzer Prize-winner Ayad Akhtar’s thrilling and darkly comic new work follows Jacob McNeal — a brilliant yet dangerously charming novelist obsessed with his own genius. On the eve of his greatest achievement, his thirst for whiskey, fractured relationships, and curious fascination with artificial intelligence threatens to unravel everything. You’ll experience jaw-dropping projections and special effects at this opening production in the new Herro-Franke Studio Theater, as McNeal explores the price of greatness and raises vital questions about art, truth and originality in the not-too-distant future.

“A brilliant and transfixing new play... Akhtar goes to a place that few writers have visited so effectively.” – The Atlantic

By Ayad Akhtar
Directed by Mark Clements

August Wilson’s explosive, award-winning play is a gripping story of family, legacy and the choices that define us. During the Great Depression, the Charles household reaches a boiling point over a decision that will define them: sell the family’s cherished heirloom piano to secure their fortune or preserve it as a testament to their ancestor’s spirit and struggle. The ghosts of the past collide with the promise of the future in this Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning masterpiece. From the celebrated director Lou Bellamy, who brought Milwaukee Rep audiences the acclaimed August Wilson’s Fences, The Piano Lesson marks our ninth production in Wilson’s American Century Cycle.

“Like other Wilson plays, it seems to sing even when it is talking.” – The New York Times

By August Wilson
Directed by Lou Bellamy

Step into a jumpin’ jazz joint where the legendary music of Fats Waller takes center stage. Five extraordinary actor-musicians transform into a jubilant swing band for the ages in this Tony Award-winning musical — last seen in our 2013/14 Season — that brings the razzle-dazzle spirit of the Roaring Twenties to the 2020s. Get ready to sing, dance and let loose with this brilliant celebration of an iconic trailblazer and his lasting legacy.

“Classy and glamorous... a dose of old-school pizzazz.” – Chicago Tribune

Created and Originally Directed by Richard Maltby Jr.
Conceived by Richard Maltby Jr. & Murray Horwitz
Directed by E. Faye Butler