Renaissance Theaterworks Announces 30th Season

With "Resilient" as the theme for their 30th season, Renaissance Theaterworks (RTW), "Theater by Women, for Everyone," recently announced the plays and schedule for 2022-23. Performances take place in their new artistic home at 255 South Water St., and tickets, as well as season subscriptions, will be available to purchase on April 20, 2022, at R-T-W.com, or by calling the box office at 414-278-0765.

Milwaukee's first professional theater company founded and led by women, and the nation's second oldest theater company promoting gender parity in theater, begins the season September 10-11, 2022, with their 9th Annual BRINK New Play Festival featuring staged readings of two scripts submitted by women in the Midwest.

The first full production is "The How and the Why," written by Sarah Treem (Showtime "The Affair," Netflix "House of Cards," HBO "In Treatment") and directed by Suzan Fete, RTW's artistic director and co-founder, and runs October 21 - November 13, 2022.

Winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, "Cost of Living," written by Martyna Majok, will be staged January 20 - February 12, 2023. The Midwest premiere is produced in collaboration with Phamaly Theatre Company (PTC), Denver's creative home for theatre artists with disabilities. The production will be directed by Ben Raanan, the artistic director of PTC, who is a disabled director, educator, and advocate originally from Chicago, IL. RTW is also partnering with Milwaukee's Pink Umbrella Theater Company who promote and provide theater that is accessible and inclusive with people who identify with a physical, intellectual or emotional disability.

The season closes with the world premiere of "Tidy," written by Kristin Idaszak, and directed by Elizabeth Margolius on stage March 24 - April 16, 2023, as part of the World Premiere Wisconsin Festival.

Founded in 1993 by Fete, Marie Kohler, Raeleen McMillion, Jennifer Rupp and Michele Traband, RTW creates theater that connects with all people - and what it means to be human - through vibrant, visceral storytelling. In the 2020-21 Season, RTW became a resident theater company and permanently moved productions to 255 S. Water St., to expand seating capacity and increase accessibility.

Season subscriptions with the same seats and performance time for each show offer options such as Preview, Opening Night, Wine Wednesday, Talkback and more. Flex pass subscriptions reserve tickets for each show and the performance may be chosen at a later date. Groups of ten or more receive a reduced rate, as do seniors, military, under 40 and artists. Each production includes a Pay What You Choose night.

Renaissance Theaterworks is a member of the National New Play Network, Theater Wisconsin, Samuel French's Playwrights Welcome, Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee, Visit Milwaukee, and the Historic Third Ward Association. They receive support from the United Performing Arts Fund, Brico Fund, CAMPAC, the Evinrude Foundation, The Greater Milwaukee Foundation, the Richard & Ethel Herzfeld Foundation, Jane Bradley Pettit Foundation, Milwaukee Arts Board, Sempercor Foundation, the Shubert Foundation, the Bert L. and Patricia S. Steigleder Charitable Trust, Wisconsin Arts Board, and private donors and foundations.

"The How and the Why"

Written by Sarah Treem
Directed by Suzan Fete
October 21 - November 13, 2022
*Opening Night and Reception:
Saturday, October 22, 2022, 8:00 p.m.

Two biologists meet on the eve of a prestigious conference. But the two women aren't quite strangers. They share a complex and mysterious bond.

Evolution and emotions collide in this smart and compelling play about science, family and destiny.

Sarah Treem, an American TV writer-producer and playwright, is the co-creator and showrunner of the Showtime drama "The Affair," which won the Golden Globe Award for Outstanding Drama Series. She was a writer and co-executive producer on the inaugural season of "House of Cards," nominated for nine Golden Globes, including Outstanding Drama Series. She also wrote on all three seasons of the HBO series "In Treatment."

"Cost of Living"

Written by Martyna Majok
Directed by Ben Raanan
January 20 - February 12, 2023
*Opening Night and Reception: Saturday, January 21, 2023, 8:00 p.m.
Mid-West Premiere
In collaboration with Phamaly Theatre Company, Denver, and Pink Umbrella Theater Company, Milwaukee

Winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama this achingly human and surprisingly funny play is about the forces that bring people together, the realities of facing the world with disabilities and how deeply we all need each other.

Unemployed truck driver Eddie is struggling to rebuild a relationship with his estranged wife, Ani, and Jess is trying to navigate the day to day with John, her new boss in a job she really needs. People are hard.

"Cost of Living" will be produced in collaboration with Phamaly Theatre Company, Denver's award-winning creative home for theater artists with disabilities.

We are fortunate to partner with Pink Umbrella Theater Company, a new Milwaukee theater company whose mission is to promote and provide accessible and inclusive theater to people with a physical, intellectual or emotional disability.

"Tidy"

Written by Kristin Idaszak
Directed by Elizabeth Margolius
March 24 - April 16, 2023
*Opening Night and Reception: Saturday, March 25, 2023, 8:00 p.m.
World Premiere
Produced as part of the World Premiere Wisconsin Festival

A woman stands in the middle of a room. She is an island in a sea of stuff - her stuff. It's a disaster. Fortunately, she's a detective and she has just read Marie Kondo's self-help book: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. As she excavates her mountain of possessions, she uncovers a terrifying mystery. Can she follow the series of clues and solve the puzzle in time to save the planet? TIDY examines the holes in our lives we try to fill with consumption, how we decide what to keep and what to leave behind, and who and what will survive mass extinction? And will it spark joy?

Audiences will remember Idaszak's fascinating play about New York City, flappers and prohibition, "The Surest Poison," from our BRINK Festival 2018.

The World Premiere Wisconsin Festival (WPW) is the first ever statewide festival celebrating new plays and musicals. WPW will feature new plays and musicals produced throughout the state, March 1 - June 30, 2023.

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