A Marital Working Relationship
Marie Kohler and Brian Mani on Collaboration, Partnership and Returning To Next Act
Marie Kohler and Brian Mani are returning to Next Act Theatre for the first time in a while with THE CHILDREN. Brian hasn’t appeared at the theatre in 21 years, Marie in 28. We caught up with one of Wisconsin’s best-known arts couples to relive memories of Next Act’s early days and see what excites them about the return.
What are your memories of the Milwaukee theatre scene in the 1990s?
Brian Mani: We actually met doing a show with Next Generation, which formed into Next Act with [Theatre] Tesseract.
Marie Kohler: So, Next Generation did GREAT EXPECTATIONS?
BM: Yeah.
MK: Okay, well, that’s where we met, and fell in love, and have not been apart since then. And that was…
BM: ’89. So, the year before Next Act.
MK: There was a lot of flux going on at that point. A lot of stuff coming in and out of focus. Chamber Theatre was kind of the most established of the “second tier.” Renaissance did not exist quite yet. Next Generation was in flux into Next Act, and it was not clear whether that would work or not. I was still very interested in acting at that point. I was working to get my [Actor’s Equity Association] card at that point and would sort of work anywhere to accumulate my hours. I was working at a number of places.
BM: I worked four or five times with Next Act in some of those early years, and I remember pretty much the way it is now, that sometimes you’d get a gig at Chamber, and then sometimes you’d get a gig at Next Act, sometimes you’d get out of town. I would work at Next Act a couple shows almost in a row, and then Chamber would be two or three shows in a row. But for me, once I started at [American Players Theatre], I’ve worked less and less in Milwaukee proper. It’s nice to get back.
Is it correct that you both acted in different productions of THE VOICE OF THE PRAIRIE with Next Act?
MK: Yes, yes. I did one with Jim DeVita, I think David [Cecsarini] directed.
BM: And Jonathan [Smoots].
MK: He was in it, yeah. That was in Centennial Hall at the library.
BM: And when I did it, it was in the Third Ward at the Off-Broadway.
Brian, you did that production with Mary MacDonald Kerr, who is also in THE CHILDREN. Have you worked with her since?
BM: This is the first time we’ve worked together since THE VOICE OF THE PRAIRIE, I think. We did quite a few shows together [before that].
MK: At Renaissance, we hired Mary a lot, so we became good friends too. We all really have good friendships. And then Renaissance gave Mary her first directing opportunity in a reading. And then she got hired by Next Act as a director. So, all those worlds were interconnected at that point, as they still are.
Marie, what was your journey like from wanting to act to being a playwright and director?
MK: The woman who was the Producing Director of Next Generation, Jane Mandel, gave me my first professional writing experience by commissioning me to write an adaptation of A GIRL OF THE LIMBERLOST. And then Next Generation merged right at the time we’re talking about, and it got picked up and got produced at Children’s Theatre of Madison. Jane was my mentor in that way, in terms of giving me professional opportunities.
When I started working at Renaissance in ’95, I really wanted to do more playwrighting and asked Renaissance whether they would support that, whether they would be interested in that, and they said yes. So, Renaissance then became my petri dish for becoming more of a playwright.
I shied away from directing for the longest time, but I always had a director’s eye to change things, to shape a play. I always had that urge, but I didn’t trust myself as having the authority. I directed readings and then dipped my toe in the water with A PHOENIX TOO FREQUENT at Renaissance. I honestly did not enjoy it the first time around, I thought, “I am not comfortable. I don’t feel secure enough.” Renaissance encouraged me. They are a wonderful, collaborative group of women. So, I just kind of very slowly expanded into that, and underneath it, the playwrighting kept on going.
What are you looking forward to about returning to Next Act for THE CHILDREN?
MK: First of all, I met Cody and we’d had a couple of conversations in Chicago about getting my plays done down there. I liked him quite a lot. [And after he came up here], he said, “are there plays you’re interested in?” This was the first one. I had seen it in Berkeley, California, with a company called the Aurora Theatre Company. I came home and got the script and I’ve been wanting to do it somewhere. Cody read it and said, “I’d love to get behind this,” which was super. It was a super way to make a reentrance as a director in Milwaukee.
BM: It feels great to come back, to come home from rehearsal and the show and get back to my own house. We have a place in Spring Green, but it’s like temporary housing for me. This is home. And even though it’s still Next Act, it’s a brand new theatre [for me]: I’ve never set foot on this stage before. I can’t wait to work with Mary again, it’s been 21 years. And Shariba is immensely talented, and we have a lot of friends in common, and I can’t wait to work with her. And Marie is the director, and I can’t wait to work with her.
MK: And we have done that before. Well, I’ve written roles for him as a playwright, but the only thing I’ve directed him in was the BOSWELL in Scotland [at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival].
BK: And HONOUR [at Renaissance].
MK: Oh! Yes! And HONOUR.
BK: The BOSWELL in Scotland was sort of co-directed between Laura Gordon and Marie. But we’ve worked together, with her as a playwright and me as an actor, and I think found pretty early on in our relationship that when we go to see plays, 95 percent of the time, we agree on things.
MK: We’re collaborative souls.
Marie’s play, BOSWELL, will be produced as part of Next Act Theatre’s 2025-26 season, and Brian will appear in it as Samuel Johnson. (For the full season, click here!) How are you feeling about that?
MK: I’m so psyched. And I’m so grateful. Not just that they’re doing it, but that Cody thinks it’s good. It’s nice to be recognized in your hometown for something you’ve done elsewhere and to have it come back full-circle. It started at Renaissance, but in a quite different format.
BM: Having taken it to Scotland and New York, there were so many people who knew that it was happening. “Oh my God, are you going to do it here? When is it going to come here?” Hopefully, that desire to see this thing is going to carry over, and to see this hometown show come back home.
MK: And I wrote the role of Samuel Johnson for him. I mean, Johnson is Johnson, he’s an incredibly theatrical character. Larger than life. I don’t know many actors who could pull that off besides Brian Mani. I mean, he’s got the size, he’s got the dialect skills – when I say size, not only physical, but also as an actor. Johnson is a monumental character. Oh my God, he’s delightful. I couldn’t have gotten a better one.
BM: Very excited about Josh [Krause as James Boswell]. He nailed it in New York.
What excites you most about the story of THE CHILDREN?
BM: I love the writing in this piece. It’s gritty. It’s human. There’s not a person in it that doesn’t have a flaw and not a person in it that’s entirely right. It’s lovely. The network of relationships is complex and not easy and recognizable. You can go, “I’ve been through that or I know someone who’s gone through that.” Of course, set against a nuclear accident like that raises the stakes.
MK: I find that there’s hope in it. I know a lot of people, their first reaction when they hear the subject is, “my God, I don’t want to sit through that.” But it’s about human dynamics and taking responsibility. And I feel that it’s strongly suggestive that we can. And if we can, we must. And some do. It’s more about learning from our mistakes, taking responsibility and moving forward. Learning and relearning the truth. Being accountable. There’s hope in that. There’s a lesson for all of us, not only in social issues, but in personal issues. Honesty. Accountability to the stakes. Communication. The basic, humanistic values, I feel, are at work in this play. I just think it’s a gem.
Tickets are now on sale for THE CHILDREN by Lucy Kirkwood. Call (414) 278-0765 or buy online now!