Milwaukee Chamber Theatre Announces 2022-23 Season

Milwaukee Chamber Theatre has announced their full 2022-23 season consisting of five full productions, the return of the celebrated Young Playwrights' Festival Showcase, and readings of two new plays by Wisconsin playwrights in its Montgomery Davis Play Development series.

"On the heels of our hugely successful return to in-person programming in 21/22, we're looking forward to welcoming even more of our community to our work in 22/23," said Salat. "Our 20/21 and 21/22 seasons were the most proportionally representative ever staged by a Wisconsin Equity company and we're thrilled to continue that broad conversation in 22/23 as we work to create an artistic home where all of Milwaukee can feel not just welcome but essential to a conversation about how our city can be its best self to everyone who calls it home."

The five subscription productions represent the eclectic mix of entertaining classic and contemporary work grounded in great writing from a wide variety of unique voices that has quickly become MCT's hallmark under Hazelton and Salat's leadership. The five-play subscription season includes:

WHERE DID WE SIT ON THE BUS? A contemporary celebration of what it means to be an American by Brian Quijada and with original music by 2021 Milwaukee Arts Board Artist of the Year Klassik.

the Wisconsin Premiere of William Goldman's Broadway hit adaptation of Stephen King's MISERY.

Edward's Albee's masterpiece WHO'S AFRAID OF Virginia Woolf? Featuring Laura Gordon and James Ridge.

the world premiere of HOOPS, the stage adaptation of Milwaukee photographer Nicole Acosta's Hoops Portrait Project.

and the local revival of Katori Hall's THE MOUNTAINTOP, featuring local rising star DiMonte Henning as Martin Luther King, Jr.

"For 22/23, we've focused particularly hard on creating a season of thoughtful yet entertaining plays that each feel like significant stand-alone events by themselves, but when looked at as a whole reflect a huge breadth of storytelling in style, genre, and perspective that celebrates the astonishing depth and range of our local artist community as well as a handful of the multitude of cultural perspectives that make Milwaukee," said Hazelton. "We hope that everyone in Milwaukee can find something to celebrate in this collection of plays and artists."

In 22/23, MCT will also roll out a game-changing new way for patrons to experience theatre. The Cream City Pass offers a new subscription model unique to Milwaukee's performing arts organizations. For one flat fee patrons will get unlimited access to every individual performance and event in the season, as well as unlimited discounted companion tickets and other unique benefits.

"The Cream City Pass is an unlimited all-access pass to all things MCT, and we are really proud to roll this out to the community as there is nothing currently like it," said Nicole Acosta, MCT's Marketing Director. "This pass is a refreshing and exciting way to engage with the full MCT season, and we hope the flexibility this pass offers will speak to new audiences."

Subscriptions for the 22/23 season-both traditional and the new Cream City Pass-will be available to the public on April 14, 2022. Further purchase information and season details can be found below.

MILWAUKEE CHAMBER THEATRE

2022-23 SEASON

SUBSCRIPTION SEASON

WHERE DID WE SIT ON THE BUS?

Wisconsin Premiere

by Brian Quijada with original music by Klassik
directed by Artistic Director Brent Hazelton
Studio Theatre | September 30th - October 23rd, 2022
Featuring Kellen "Klassik" Abston and more to be announced
A heartfelt, stand-up-and-cheer celebration of what it means to be an American fusing spoken word, Hip Hop, musical theater, and solo performance tradition.

An elementary school history lesson on Rosa Parks ignites in a young man living at the crossroads of cultures a search for his place in American history as a Latino-and his place in his own family as an aspiring musician. Part play, part concert, and all heartfelt journey of self-discovery, this one-of-a-kind theater experience blends Hip-Hop, spoken word poetry, and solo performance traditions with a live original score from 2021 Milwaukee Arts Board Artist of the Year, Klassik.

MISERY

adapted by William Goldman from the novel by Stephen King

Wisconsin Premiere
directed by Artistic Director Brent Hazelton
Studio Theatre | November 18th - December 18th, 2022
Featuring Kelly Doherty, Jonathan Wainwright, and more to be announced
A white-knuckle staging of one of the most well-read best-sellers of all time, guaranteed to delight long-time fans of the story and newcomers alike

Rescued from a car crash that leaves him unable to walk, novelist Paul Sheldon wakes in the secluded home of Annie Wilkes, his self-proclaimed number one fan. But doting convalescent care quickly turns into unhinged rage when Annie learns that Paul's latest novel includes the death of her favorite character, and Paul is left to fight for his life if he has any hopes of escape. Whether a newcomer to the story or a devoted fan, this spine-tingling, tense cat-and-mouse stage adaptation will grip you until the very end.

Edward Albee's WHO'S AFRAID OF Virginia Woolf?

directed by Keira Fromm

American Classic
Studio Theatre | January 20th - February 12th, 2023
Featuring Laura Gordon, James Ridge, and more to be announced
A must-see masterpiece of the American theater in its first professional Milwaukee production in over two decades.

On the campus of a small New England college, long-married George and Martha invite an opportunistic new professor and his stunningly naïve wife home for a nightcap following a faculty mixer. As the cocktails flow, the young couple find themselves caught in the crossfire of a savage marital war between one of the most legendarily dysfunctional couples ever created. As the combatants attack the self-deceptions they've forged for their own survival, the enormous secrets at the foundation of their relationship slowly emerge in this hilarious and harrowing classic that forever changed the face of the American theater.

HOOPS

World Premiere Event

adapted from the Hoops Project by Nicole Acosta with original music by B~Free
Studio Theatre | March 10th - April 2nd, 2023
Local art begets local art as the internationally acclaimed Hoops Portrait Project comes to the stage, exploring the personal and cultural resonance of hoop earrings across communities and generations.

Hoop earrings express complex, layered, and beautiful individual and community identities across cultures and generations. Through in-depth interviews crafted into an evening of monologues in the tradition of theater documentarians like Anna Deveare Smith, Eve Ensler, and KJ Sanchez, HOOPS centers stories of visibility and individuality, community and collectivism, and survival and transcendence in a space to celebrate culture as it explores the potent resonance of these symbols to those who identify most strongly with them.

Find the Hoops Portrait Project at https://www.atsocanicole.com/milwaukee
MCT is proud to be a Festival Theater in World Premiere Wisconsin, a state-wide festival celebrating new plays and musicals from March 1 - June 30, 2023. To learn more visit www.worldpremierewisconsin.com.

THE MOUNTAINTOP

Modern Classic

by Katori Hall
directed by Mikael Burke
Cabot Theatre | April 21st - May 7th, 2023

Featuring Cereyna Bougouneau and DiMonte Henning

An inspiring and theatrically daring reimagining of a moment that changed America forever, written by one of our most acclaimed contemporary playwrights.

On the evening of April 3rd, 1968, after delivering one of his most memorable speeches, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., retires to his room in Memphis' Lorraine Motel. When a knock on the door reveals a hotel maid bearing a cup of coffee, King soon finds himself confronting his past and present, future and legacy-and reconciling the prospect of a life's work completed without closure. This surrealist retelling of a seminal moment in American history first brought the winner of the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, author of Broadway hit TINA: THE Tina Turner MUSICAL, and executive producer of Starz' P-Valley, to international prominence.

ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING

Young Playwrights' Festival Showcase
Studio Theatre and in the community | Week of March 20th, 2023
Milwaukee's newest theatrical voices take the stage in our celebrated biennial festival centering the words of high school aged writers from across our community.

Montogomery Davis Play Development Series

Broadway Theatre Center | October 16th, 2022, and April 30th, 2023
Be among the first to see the next hit plays from Wisconsin writers in our new-plays-in-progress reading series.

TICKET INFORMATION

Subscriptions are now available for renewing subscribers. Subscription prices for the 2022/23 Season range from $128-$198. Packages available are:

the 5-Play package, which includes the entire Subscription Season.

the 5-Play Preview package, which allows members to be the first to see each of the five Subscription Season productions.

the 3-Play Create-Your-Own-Season Package.

Single Tickets will go on sale in June 2022. For additional information on Subscription offerings, please contact Milwaukee Chamber's Ticket Office at 414-291-7800 or visit milwaukeechambertheatre.org.

NEW FOR 2022/23! Cream City Pass. Offering flexibility like never before seen in the Milwaukee theater community, the Cream City Pass allows patrons to experience the entire MCT season-subscription productions, additional programming, special events, and more--for only $198 per person!

BENEFITS OF THE CREAM CITY PASS:

Unlimited attendance: any performance, on any date, as many times as you'd like if a seat is available

Young Playwrights' Festival Showcase entry included

Montogomery Davis New Play Development series entry included

Unlimited 20% off companion tickets

Exclusive perks and offers

ZERO handling fees

Easy Exchanges

ABOUT MILWAUKEE CHAMBER THEATREa??

Founded in 1975 by Montgomery Davis and Ruth Schudson, guided until 2020 by Michael Wright and Kirsten Finn, and now led by Brent Hazelton and Amy A. Salat, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre (MCT) partners with other arts organizations, community-based organizations, and universities to produce thought-provoking productions and innovative outreach programs on an intimate, human scale. As a leader in developing Milwaukee and Wisconsin's theater community, MCT provides regular employment and a stable artistic home to local theatre professionals through a five-play subscription season, the Young Playwrights Festival (YPF), and the Montgomery Davis Play Development Series (MDPDS). MCT performs at the Broadway Theatre Center in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward and is a proud Member Group of the United Performing Arts Fund. For more information, to purchase tickets, or to make a donation please visit milwaukeechambertheatre.org.

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