Community Calendar

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

For over 10 years, we've been supporting local farmers, food producers and artisans, & creating a more sustainable community. Every week, the market is home to about 45 farmers and food producers, selling a first-class mix of produce, plants, cut flowers, bread and baked goods, award-winning cheese, coffee, waffles, popsicles, fish, meat and poultry, and prepared breakfast and dinner items. The first Saturday of each month, we also add a Makers Market, featuring a juried selection of local artisans selling handmade arts and crafts.

We’re excited to introduce Green Spaces with Familiar Faces — a new series of nature walks led by some of Milwaukee’s most inspiring community members!

Join us as local personalities take us on guided tours of their favorite green spaces, sharing stories, insights, and what makes these spots so special. Hosts include State Representative: Darrin Madison, Rita Flores from BIPOC Birders of Wisconsin, UEC Vice President & Executive Director: Jen Hense, Milwaukee Riverkeeper: Cheryl Nenn, and Milwaukee icons like Eddee Daniel, Chuck Hagner, Ken Leinbach, and more.

Registration is $20.00/person for each date or $110.00 for the whole series!

It’s hard to know who your friends are in a world that’s more divided than ever. Recently widowed, Peg tends to the native plants in her 40-acre rural Wisconsin prairie backyard. Her solitary days are interrupted only by visits from Ryan, a family friend with a checkered past. When a mysterious theft alerts the authorities, a string of events unfold that forever changes their lives and their community. Pulitzer Prize finalist Rebecca Gilman questions how we help each other when it feels like our way of life is in danger of disappearing.

Producing Sponsor Donna Martynski
Associate Sponsor Sandra Zingler
Co-Sponsors Judges John and Jean DiMotto, Pam Frautschi, and John McGivern

On New Year’s Eve 1999 in war-torn Uganda, two young lovers — one a local girl and the other the daughter of American missionaries — marry in secret. Their joy is shattered by violence in this powerful drama about hatred, forgiveness, and love.

It’s hard to know who your friends are in a world that’s more divided than ever. Recently widowed, Peg tends to the native plants in her 40-acre rural Wisconsin prairie backyard. Her solitary days are interrupted only by visits from Ryan, a family friend with a checkered past. When a mysterious theft alerts the authorities, a string of events unfold that forever changes their lives and their community. Pulitzer Prize finalist Rebecca Gilman questions how we help each other when it feels like our way of life is in danger of disappearing.

Producing Sponsor Donna Martynski
Associate Sponsor Sandra Zingler
Co-Sponsors Judges John and Jean DiMotto, Pam Frautschi, and John McGivern

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