With its first event coming up fast, Milwaukee Repertory Theater gave everyone a sneak peek of the 152,000-square-foot Associated Bank Theater Center that has transformed its presence on Wells Street.
The photos of the exterior and interior are another major step for the project, which has been in the works for seven years and required almost 240,000 construction work hours to reimagine the historic former powerplant. Milwaukee Rep has occupied the space since 1987, but this will be the first time that all of its facilities will be connected via a shared multi-level lobby. The complex includes:
- The Ellen & Joe Checota Powerhouse Theater
- The Herro-Franke Studio Theater (to be completed in February 2026)
- The Stackner Cabaret
- The Herzfeld Foundation Education & Engagement Center that will serve more than 20,000 students annually
- The Sandra & William Haack Galleria, a three-level lobby with concessions, seating and restrooms
- Event spaces, a full-service restaurant and a donor lounge
- Accessibility programs and adaptive technology
The public gets its first chance to actually step inside the complex this Saturday, Oct. 11, when Milwaukee Rep will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony followed by a grand-opening concert with Bernadette Peters. Tickets for the 2025-2026 season — featuring It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, Come From Away, August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson and more — are also on sale now.
