After reaching several key funding milestones this summer, The Milwaukee Repertory Theater has released the construction timeline of its $75 million Associated Bank Theater Center project, announcing that it will begin work in late May, following the conclusion of its 2023-24 season.
The Associated Bank Theater Center will replace, and be built in the same location as, The Rep’s Patty & Jay Baker Theater Complex at 122 E. Wells St. in downtown Milwaukee.
So far, the theater company has raised 90% of the funds needed for the project, with sizable donations from Ellen and Joe Checota, the Richard and Ethel Herzfeld Foundation, The Lubar Family, and sustaining trustee Anthony Petullo.
During the construction year, which coincides with its 2024-25 season, Milwaukee Rep will continue to fully produce 12 plays, including three plays that will be produced off site.
While the Ellen & Joe Checota Powerhouse Theater is under construction, the Powerhouse Theater series will start with a musical at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts in Brookfield and continue with two plays at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts’ Wilson Theater at Vogel Hall in downtown Milwaukee. Another two plays will be performed in Milwaukee Rep’s Stiemke Studio space, which will remain untouched until May 2025. The four Stackner Cabaret plays, and the two Studio plays will continue in their respective venues, according to The Rep.
Once completed, the new Associated Bank Theater Center complex will include three state-of-the-art performance spaces, a large, unified lobby providing opportunities for community events, a dedicated Herzfeld Foundation Education & Engagement Center to serve the theater’s more than 20,000 students, an expanded offsite production center employing hundreds of local artisans, and venues with modern audience amenities.
The play selection for The Rep’s 2024-25 season will be announced in February 2024 when more information will be released for current and new subscribers on seating and ticketing. Current subscribers and donors will have priority access to the best seats in the new Associated Bank Theater Center.
See below for a virtual walk through of the Associated Bank theater Center:
