Construction project gives Milwaukee Rep chances to do some things differently next season

Milwaukee Repertory Theater plans to get through a disruptive season of construction by relying on music.

Nine of the Rep's recently announced 12 productions for the 2024-'25 season, including "A Christmas Carol," are either musicals or incorporate music in a substantial way.

In May, the Rep will break ground on a major element of its renovation project: transforming its mainstage, the largest of its three theaters, into the new Ellen & Joe Checota Powerhouse Theater. So during the 2024-'25 season, the five mainstage productions the Rep normally performs in the Powerhouse will be staged in other theaters.

In the planning the new season, Rep leaders wanted to give theatergoers strong incentives to put up with temporary changes.

"This is the first time we're going to start the (Powerhouse) season and end the season with a musical," executive director Chad Bauman said.

Audiences in a post-pandemic world are more fickle than they were pre-pandemic, Bauman said. "So every show has to be somewhat of a blockbuster. There has to be a reason … every single one of these shows is pretty much do-not-miss," he said.

In the biggest rerouting, audience members will go to Brookfield's Wilson Center for the big fall musical, "Prelude to a Kiss," a world-premiere coproduction with California's South Coast Repertory.

One reason the Rep is rebuilding its mainstage is for greater flexibility and production power, including the addition of a fly loft, which would allow the Rep to whisk scenery on and off from above the stage, which it cannot do in the Powerhouse at present. Coincidentally, the Wilson Center does have a fly loft, though Rep artistic director Mark Clements notes "Prelude to a Kiss" is not a fly-heavy show.

The Wilson Center is "the perfect mix" of a 600-seat venue with substantial production capabilities in a "fairly intimate" location, Bauman said.

A decade ago, when Bauman was an executive with Arena Stage in Washington, he learned a lot about communicating with audiences during a theater construction project. During a 28-month project, as Arena completely rebuilt its several theaters, its shows were staged elsewhere in D.C. and in northern Virginia.

"Generally, people give you about 12 months of a grace period before they really start getting … annoyed with the construction," he said.

Bauman said he had to remind Arena patrons they didn't need a passport to go to Virginia. "I have to do the same about going to Brookfield. It's a beautiful space, it's got ample parking, there's great restaurants around there."

For every other Rep show next season, including the two that will be performed in Marcus Performing Arts Center's Wilson Theater at Vogel Hall, audience will be able to park in the usual Rep parking lot and eat before the show at the Stackner Cabaret, Bauman pointed out.

Taking advantage of different spaces

In some schedule good news, venue switches next season to accommodate the construction schedule are allowing the Rep to stage two shows on its wish list that would not have worked before.

The mainstage season will close with "Million Dollar Quartet," the musical about the night Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins jammed together, at Wilson Theater. That show would have been too expensive to perform in the Stackner Cabaret, Clements pointed out, but is a good fit for the 465-seat Wilson Theater.

Also, the Rep will import the London cast and production of the ghost story "The Woman in Black" (Jan. 21-March 23, 2025) for a run in the Stiemke Studio. The storytelling of "Woman in Black" requires an intimate space like the Stiemke, but it wouldn't have fit the typical artistic profile of a Stiemke season show, Clements said. But in 2024-'25, the Rep is staging several of its mainstage shows in the Stiemke.

Here's a summary of next season's shows, in chronological order by opening date:

'The Coast Starlight'

Sept. 3-Oct. 6, Stiemke Studio, 108 E. Wells St.

Mark Clements directs Keith Bunin's drama with humor about the passengers on a long-distance train journey on the west coast.

'Women of Rock'

Sept. 6-Nov. 3, Stackner Cabaret, 108 E. Wells St.

Rep artistic director Clements is creating this music revue, which will span the '50s to the present, with songs associated with Janis Joplin, Tina Turner, Joan Jett, Debbie Harry, Alanis Morissette, Brandi Carlisle, P!nk and other expected.

'Prelude to a Kiss: The Musical'

Sept. 10-Oct. 20, Wilson Center for the Arts, 3270 Mitchell Park Drive, Brookfield

In a co-production with California's South Coast Repertory, the Rep will stage this world premiere musical adapted from Craig Lucas' play about how a kiss at a wedding changes the lives of three people.

'Marie and Rosetta'

Oct. 22-Dec. 22, Stiemke Studio

The Rep welcomes back powerful vocalists Bethany Thomas and Alexis J. Roston as groundbreaking electric guitarist Sister Rosetta Tharpe and her acolyte, musical partner and companion in George Brant's play with music.

'Lumberjacks in Love'

Nov. 8-Jan. 12, 2025, Stackner Cabaret

Flannel-flying Wisconsin musical comedy created by writer Fred Alley, composer James Kaplan and director-choreographer Jeffrey Herbst — the same team behind "Guys on Ice."

'A Christmas Carol'

Nov. 26-Dec. 24, Pabst Theater, 144 E. Wells St.

Matt Daniels returns as Scrooge in Clements' adaptation of Dickens' holiday ghost story.

'The Craic'

Jan. 17-March 16, 2025, Stackner Cabaret

Clements and Deanie Vallone are writing this world premiere filled with traditional Irish music, set in a South Kerry pub.

'The Woman in Black'

Jan. 21-March 23, 2025, Stiemke Studio

The Rep will bring to Milwaukee from London the West End cast and touring production of this ghost story, adapted by Stephen Mallatratt from Susan Hill's novel.

'Romeo and Juliet'

Feb. 25-March 30, 2025, Wilson Theater at Vogel Hall, Marcus Performing Arts Center, 929 N. Water St.

Director Laura Braza is setting Shakespeare's romantic tragedy in Appalachia. This production will incorporate folk and bluegrass music, akin to the way Braza's "Much Ado About Nothing" (2023) was flavored with grunge.

'The Last Five Years'

March 21-May 18, 2025, Stackner Cabaret

In Jason Robert Brown's intimate musical, a woman and a man sing the story of their romance, with his songs going from beginning to end, but hers in reverse chronological order.

'Espejos: Clean'

April 8-May 11, 2025, Stiemke Studio

In Christine Quintana's bilingual play, with Spanish translation and adaptation by Paula Zelaya Cervantes, two women from different worlds are thrown together by torrential flooding.

'Million Dollar Quartet'

April 22-May 25, 2025, Wilson Theater at Vogel Hall, Marcus Performing Arts Center

Braza directs this popular show about the remarkable night when Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins jammed together in the Sun Records studio.

"Prelude to a Kiss," "Marie and Rosetta," "Romeo and Juliet," "The Woman in Black" and "Million Dollar Quartet" constitute the traditional Powerhouse season.

"The Coast Starlight" and "Espejos: Clean" comprise the traditional Studio season.

For Rep subscription and ticket info, visit milwaukeerep.com or call (414) 224-9490.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Repertory Theater's 2024-'25 season is loaded with musicals