Wisconsin’s first statewide theater festival kicks off

WISCONSIN – All the state’s a stage in a recent inaugural festival that’s celebrating premieres of Wisconsin plays and musicals.

Four years in the making, World Premiere Wisconsin is the first statewide, collaborative theater festival in the Badger State. From Door County to the state line, nearly 50 theaters are participating. 

This year, the festival will run from March 1 to June 30, 2023.

Plays or musicals created for the festival will “explore, illuminate and celebrate the vastness of Wisconsin’s story, culture, and the many people who make up” the state. 

And while producing these types of plays isn’t recent to Wisconsin, WPW is providing a platform for the work to be recognized.

“World Premiere Wisconsin was born out of my desire to celebrate the incredible theater makers in our state. I hoped that bringing us all together towards a common purpose could build recent relationships, attract attention (both statewide and around the country) for our work, and generate enthusiasm for the electrifying recent plays and musicals being created here,” said WPW Founder Jen Uphoff Gray. “We are already seeing these goals come to fruition, and I could not be prouder of what we have already accomplished together.”

Leaders of WPW said they conceived of the festival and platform to build relationships between Wisconsin theaters and raise awareness about theater in the state. The festival also aims to encourage people to make recent work and build up the industry in a time when many are still recovering from pandemic losses.

Throughout the festival, there will be 248 performances across 11 full productions. Here’s a list of the performances:

Milwaukee

• The Heart Sellers by Lloyd Suh at Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Feb. 7 – March 19, 2023 
• Hoops by Eliana Pipes with original music by B-Free adapted from the Hoops Portrait Project by Nicole Acosta at Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, March 10 – April 2, 2023
• Tidy by Kristin Idaszak at Renaissance Theaterworks, March 24 – April 16, 2023
• The Gracious Sisters by Alice Austen at First Stage, May 5 – 21, 2023
• God’s Spies by Bill Cain at Next Act Theatre, April 27 – May 21, 2023 
• TBA at Skylight Music Theatre, May 19 – June 11, 2023 

Madison

• Shining in Misery: A King-sized Parody book by Colleen DuVall, music by Andrew Abrams, and lyrics by Mark-Eugene Garcia at Capital City Theatre, Feb. 23 – March 5, 2023 
• Artemisia by Lauren Gunderson at Forward Theater Company, April 13 – 30, 2023 

Door County

• I Carry Your Heart With Me by Jennifer Blackmer at Third Avenue Playworks, May 10 – 29, 2023
• A Rock Sails By by Sean Grennan, at Peninsula Players, June 13 – July 2, 2023

Milwaukee Repertory Theater presents the 2020 World Premiere of Antonio’s Song/I Was Dreaming of a Son by Dael Orlandersmith & Antonio Edwards Suarez. (Seth Freeman)

In addition to these core performances, WPW will also host several other productions and events in other areas of the state.

Those interested in seeing shows near them can visit the WPW website, where you can search the website’s calendar, filter and explore via different categories.

Theater-goers can also claim a “digital passport.” This free mobile-exclusive item allows you to check-in at participating festival theaters, redeem promotional offers and earn points, which can be redeemed for rewards. Those who sign up will also be entered into giveaways.

The effort is all part of revitalizing the arts in the state.

“WPW is a huge, bold idea not just for Wisconsin but for all theaters. Theaters across the country are struggling,” said WPW Festival Producer Michael Cotey. “By taking such a huge swing with this festival, we hope to set an example of what’s possible in the spirit of collaboration and inspire others with the work we’ve done to rally theaters together in their state. But we’ll still be able to say we did it first, and as someone born and raised in Wisconsin, I’m very proud of that.”