Photo courtesy of Milwaukee Rep
The seats at the Quadracci Powerhouse, Stiemke Theater and Stackner Cabaret will remain empty a little longer. This week, the Milwaukee Rep announced the cancellation of live performances until the end of April.
Optimistically scheduled for February, Ella Fitzgerald: First Lady of Song will now open on April 27 and run through May 23 at the Quadracci. Nina Simone: Four Women has been cancelled, McGuire indefinitely postponed and Antonio’s Song/I Was Dreaming of a Son has been shifted to the 2021-2022 season. Ticket purchases will be refunded.
As the Rep’s Executive Director Chad Bauman explains, “To ensure artistic and production quality, we must make decisions weeks in advance and conditions were not conducive to allow a reopening as planned in February. We have collaborated with the City of Milwaukee’s Health Department and our partner unions to develop a robust safety plan that we hope will allow us to reopen very soon. Thank you to our patrons and donors for their continued support and understanding.”
Since the pandemic began, the Milwaukee Rep has lost more than $7 million in lost earned revenue. The new cancellations will increase anticipated losses in earned revenue by more than $300,000. The Rep has responded by reducing its expense budget by 50% while maximizing employment by using operating reserves, applying for federal relief programs and through the generosity of donors. The theater also started the emergency relief Rep Rising Fundraising Campaign to help sustain artists, staff and facilities, which has raised over $1 million thanks to the Rep’s Board of Trustees $500,000 match.
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Although stages remain dark, the Rep’s Education and Community Engagement departments have been busy continuing their efforts to keep the arts in schools, if only virtually. The Rep recently also announced We Rise: MKE's Black History Month Celebration with special programming every Monday night in February on Facebook and YouTube Live. Original virtual content continues in the From Our Home To Your Home series with original commissions by the country’s leading playwrights; Play On featuring Shakespeare monologues, sonnets and scenes; and REPair Divides, a virtual dialogue series that includes an online performance that sparks a facilitated discussion in partnership with the Zeidler Group. For more details, visit Milwaukee Rep at Home.
For more information, please visit www.MilwaukeeRep.com.
