MILWAUKEE – With an on stage visit from Ebenezer Scrooge (local actor Matt Daniels) and performances from other longtime favorite local actors, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre announced its 2025-26 lineup before a capacity audience at the Pabst Theater Monday night.
Full house tonight at Pabst Theater for @MilwRep 2025/26 Season Reveal… first in new theater space. So much energy about @AssociatedBank Theater Center. Preferred seating will feature wider, leather-like finish, double armrests. Show announcements tomorrow on @620wtmj pic.twitter.com/jmkHGGDZec
— Vince Vitrano (@vincevitrano) January 28, 2025
There was excitement not only for the new lineup, but also for the anticipated opening of the Rep’s $80 million renovation in fall. “Thirteen hundred of our closest friends. It’s amazing. It shows the energy behind what we knew would be the Associated Bank Theater Center,” the Rep’s Executive Director Chad Bauman.Â
As all of the Rep’s spaces from rehearsal rooms to performance studios undergo renovations, the 2024-25 season marches on. “It’s been an interesting time with drilling in every wall,” the Rep’s Artistic Director Mark Clements told WTMJ’s Wis. Morning News. “Suddenly it’s like, the room is shaking, and it’s like, is that something we need to be worried about or are we good?”
When the Powerhouse theater reopens it will feature new seats for patrons, including an opportunity to buy in several rows of preferred seating. “
The upgraded seats have double armrests. They have a leather type finish on the chair,” the Rep’s Melissa Vartanian demonstrated, showing off a pair of sample seats at the event. Exciting as the physical upgrades are, Buaman still believes the lineup of performance is what will fill the new, fancy seats. “At the end of the day, the art is going to draw the people and Mark’s got an incredible season planned. “
The new season will open on October 31st, with a live radio play adaptation of “It’s a Wonderful Life” in the Cabaret. The Ellen & Joe Checota Powerhouse Theater will open for the first time with the hit Musical “Come From Away” in November. Other highlights of the upcoming season include Daniels returning as Scrooge for the Rep’s 50th Anniversary Performance of “A Christmas Carol.” Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None” as well as “The Lehman Triology” promise to be popular shows as well.
Clements told the audience the performance space renovations will make Rep productions compatible with any stage in the nation. He insists that, and the level of work, continue to draw great people to Milwaukee. “It’s gotten a lot easier over the years to get really good talent here,” Clements said. “People want to work here. They know the standard. They know what they’re going to get. They know they’re going to be looked after well. I think for visiting artists from out of town as well as artists in town, it’s incredibly meaningful.”
Click here for the full 2025-26 lineup.
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