Madison Shakespeare Company Joins Bartell Theatre as a Resident Company

Madison Shakespeare Company has joined the Bartell Theatre as a Resident Company, and will produce a full indoor season at the Bartell in 2024-2025 and beyond. The Bartell Theatre residency is the first permanent theatrical home for Madison Shakespeare Company in its 12-year history.

MSC's first Bartell Theatre season includes a science fiction comedy, classic love stories, and the long-awaited premiere of Shakespeare's most inspiring king.

The Blue Comet, Madison Shakespeare Company's first presentation as a Resident Company of Madison's Bartell Theatre, makes its American premiere November 1-9 on the Drury stage. In this British comedy the Bedales, an art-loving family living in outer London, face three dire emergencies. They're out of money, a giant rogue comet is on a collision course with Earth, and a long-lost Australian relative is coming to visit. Faith and scientific convictions are challenged by the impending end of the world, and the gravitational pull of cousin Christopher disrupts the natural order of things long before the comet splashes down. The comedy made its world premiere in 1926 but has never been fully staged on American soil until now. Featuring MSC veterans Kyla Vaughan, Christian Neuhaus, and John Jajewski, and the company debuts of Rebecca Raether, Brian R. Johnson, and Birdie La Barre.

A Valentine's Affair 2025, presented February 13-15, 2025 on the Evjue stage, marks the 10th anniversary of Madison's unique theatrical romantic tradition. Returning for her fourth season, director Annie Jay leads a tight ensemble of MSC veterans and newcomers through an ever-changing menu of scenes of love, lust, and heartbreak from Shakespeare and contemporaries to warm the winter dark.

Henry the Fifth, presented May 2-11, 2025 on the Evjue stage, is the long-awaited conclusion to Shakespeare's legendary Henriad play series. Featuring Joshua Woolfolk (Hamlet, Taming of the Shrew) as King Henry and directed by Sam D. White (Henry the Fourth, APT's Much Ado About Nothing), the production explores the necessary contrast of a military leader: admired by his allies but reviled by his foes. Madison Shakespeare Company presented the earlier installments of the Henriad in 2017-2019. "We've looked for opportunities to finish King Henry's story for years but didn't want to rush it. When Sam presented his concept, building both on what he helped define as our Falstaff and our original, contemporary setting for Richard the Second, the pieces finally fell into place," said MSC producer Jason Compton.

Madison Shakespeare Company has produced engaging and accessible classic theater in south-central Wisconsin since 2012. The Bartell Theatre hosts five resident organizations: Madison Theatre Guild, Mercury Players Theatre, StageQ, Madison Public Theatre, and Madison Shakespeare Company. For more information about MSC productions at the Bartell Theatre visit bartelltheatre.org.

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