Spring Green
Performing Arts Weekly: Aug. 1-7, 2019
Molière’s classic theatrical comedy Tartuffe comes to Village Playhouse’s Inspiration Studios while American Players Theatre opens three new plays. Read more
Summer Theater Around Wisconsin
This week, we preview the summer theatre seasons of four different production companies: American Players Theatre, The Peninsula Players, Northern Sky Theatre and SummerStage of Delafield. Read more
The Frightening Intensity of APT's 'A View from the Bridge'
Dark undercurrents become the driving force for the 11characters in A View from the Bridge, playwright Arthur Miller’s “Greek tragedy" and American Players Theatre’s last production of the 2017 summer season. Read more
Photo by Carissa Dixon
American Players Theatre’s Magical Outdoor Performance Experience
Home to American Players Theatre (APT) is a magical natural outdoor amphitheater on a hill in the middle of the woods that lies two hours from Milwaukee in Spring Green. APT is a repertory theater company of 37 years that pays tribute to Sh... Read more
‘Hamlet’ in Spring Green
As programming choices go, Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is either one of the easiest or most difficult to make. On the one hand, Hamlet has instant recognition. Everyone read it in high school Read more
‘Building Taliesin’ Shares New Insights
"Taliesin is a house in three acts," declares the preface of Building Taliesin: Frank Lloyd Wright's Home of Love and Loss, a new book by Madison journalist Ron McCrea that tells the fascinating story of this famous residence Read more
APT's Arnold Elevates 'Shakespeare's Will'
It's widely assumed that legendary author William Shakespeare must have led a remarkable life. Given what we know about him, you'd think that being married to the man must have been remarkable as well. As it turns out, that may not be the c... Read more
Heart and Humor in APT's 'Admirable' Production
Fans of Peter Pan well know author James M. Barrie's ability to look at life's challenges through the lens of the heart, arriving at solutions both childlike in their simplicity and complex in their effect. Barrie takes the same lens to th... Read more
'Building Taliesin' Examines Home Before the Fire
The 1914 fire that consumed portions of Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin compound along with seven lives may have been sparked by racism. The servant who set the blaze and attacked the houseguests with a hatchet, Julian Carlton... Read more
A Seventh Helping of the Milwaukee Comedy Festival
The seventh annual Milwaukee Comedy Festival unleashes itself upon the city this week with a popular mixture of stand-up, improv and sketch comedy. This year, hosts Matt Kemple and Patrick Schmitz are bringing the fest to Next Act Theatre..... Read more
Understanding Ourselves Through APT's 'Heroes
We all carry wounds, real or imagined, that shape our lives and determine our destinies. The three characters in Heroes, currently running in the Touchstone Theatre on the American Players Theatre's Spring Green campus, have some very real ... Read more
American Players Theatre Impresses With 'Richard III'
Is there any literary character more malevolent than Shakespeare's Richard III? Deformed of body, malignant of mind, Richard murders his way to the throne of England. The “poisonous bunch-backed toad” is eventually undone, but not before Read more
APT's 'Twelfth Night' Stays True to Form
Early reports painted American Players Theatre's production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night in dark and distinctly unfunny colors, an approach that director David Frank also implied in his program notes... Read more
Cast Has Fun With APT's 'Royal Family'
Despite promotion to the contrary, American Players Theatre's The Royal Family has more heart than humor, but the production's greatest asset is its excellent cast of APT veterans and the fun they have with their roles... Read more
Southeastern Wisconsin's Summer Art Fairs
Summer in Milwaukee means lakeshore festivals filled with food and music. It also means many chances to experience prestigious fine art fairs within 100 miles of Downtown. The following list is but a small sample of the wide variety... Read more
'Royal Family' Bows at American Players Theatre
Whether it takes place on the stage or the screen, acting can be an all-consuming occupation. If it is true that only an actor can truly understand another actor, perhaps this is why actors so often become romantically involved. Acting coup... Read more
Gift Of the Magi in Spring Green
The small town of Spring Green, Wisconsin is one that many of us are only familiar with during the summer months. Once more this winter, The American Players Theatre gives out-of-towners another reason to visit as it re-stages its production of .. Read more
Helena in Spring Green: All's Well With the APT
It goes without saying that love is hopelessly complicated. Things are always more complicated onstage, however. A woman offstage in the “real world,” may find it difficult to get the attention of a certain guy she’s attracted to. If only it wer.. Read more
The Me-First, Screw-Everyone-Else Crowd
Finally. Finally, there's no pretense. Finally, the Me-First, Screw-Everyone-Else Crowd's ugliest traits are there for all to behold. The group's core gripe is summarized in a letter I received that denounces a proposed surtax on the ,New... Read more
Persepolis
One of the most imaginatively animated graphic-novel film adaptations in recent memory, an Persepolis ,Today in Milwaukee Read more
