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Milwaukee Rep, Associated Bank pull back the curtain on new theater complex

As our esteemed Director of Marketing Sarah Mac Lahr always says: “People loveeeee a rendering.” And darned if we don’t have a doozy for you courtesy of Associated Bank and Milwaukee Repertory Theater (which, in the interest of full disclosure, are both Business Supporters of ours).

Today, the Wisconsin-based bank announced a 20-year, $10 million sponsorship of the Milwaukee Rep, which plans to revamp its current home on East Wells Street. I have more details, but I know what you came here for:

As you can see, the financial institution will get good value for its money via exclusive naming rights through 2042. The Associated Bank Theater Center will be attached to the Associated Bank River Center, which will look decidedly different in the coming years. 

Just last week, the River Center (not the Theater Center) unveiled a gaggle of improvements scheduled to open next spring: a marketplace of quick-service dining options, a coffee shop and a riverfront bar currently carrying the name “Vault.” You know what that means, right? MORE RENDERINGS!!!

Pretty nice, huh? I especially enjoyed "businessman happily talking on phone" and "flock of birds flying either away from or directly into wall."

Getting back to the Milwaukee Rep project, its Board of Trustees approved a plan to overhaul two of the three theaters and expand the facility’s overall footprint to create more community gathering spaces and more student-programming opportunities. According to the Journal Sentinel, construction is scheduled to begin late next year and wrap up in mid-2025.

Designs for the full project aren’t available yet, but that just means more renderings to keep us warm in the long, dark, cold months ahead.


Director of Digital Content | Radio Milwaukee