What’s New?
A Season of Premieres at Next Act Theatre
By A.J. Magoon, Marketing Director
Next Act Theatre’s 2025-26 season is everything you could want in a Next Act season: it’s both entertaining and thought-provoking, full of social, cultural and political issues while also bringing excitement and adventure onto our stage. And this season, it’s all new! All four of our 25-26 plays are premieres – three of them are Wisconsin Premieres, and one is a U.S. Premiere. So, what makes these plays special?
SANCTUARY CITY (September 10 – October 5, 2025) feels like it could be ripped from the headlines: a story for our time, it follows two DREAMers in post-9/11 Newark seeking community in each other. Playwright Martyna Majok won the Pulitzer Prize for her play COST OF LIVING, which was seen recently at Renaissance Theaterworks. While SANCTUARY CITY was recently produced at Marquette University, this will be the professional Wisconsin Premiere of this timely play.
In Marie Kohler’s BOSWELL, 20th-century academic Joan finds herself unintentionally caught up in the journals of James Boswell, as the chatty 18th-century Scot’s writing shows her the power of authenticity and the need to make her own place in the world. Marie Kohler is an accomplished local playwright and familiar face at Next Act, having just directed THE CHILDREN. An earlier version of this play, BOSWELL’S DREAMS, was seen years ago at Renaissance Theaterworks, and BOSWELL has appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Off-Broadway at 59E59. We are excited to bring Marie’s work home for its Wisconsin Premiere!
Artistic Director Cody Estle will direct Rebecca Gilman’s SWING STATE, another highly-relevant, modern play. This Wisconsin Premiere is set in-state in the Driftless region, where recently-widowed Peg faces a mysterious theft that forces her to question who her friends are in a world that’s more divided than ever.
Our season closes with the return of Laura Gordon to the Next Act stage in DINNER WITH THE DUCHESS by Nick Green. Next Act is thrilled to present the U.S. Premiere of this accomplished Canadian play about artistic legacy. Green’s violin virtuoso Margaret has to contend with how she will be remembered during the last interview of her momentous career.
This is a fantastic season of theatre Against The Odds! Don’t miss a second. Fixed subscriptions, Flex Passes and single tickets are on sale now. Get yours online or (414) 278-0765.