Plays all through the summer: Here's what's happening in the Door County theater season

Christopher Clough, Green Bay Press-Gazette
·9 min read

DOOR COUNTY - To paraphrase William Shakespeare, it sure seems like all the Peninsula's a stage when summer rolls around. (Yes, Shakespeare will come up again later on.)

The month of June sees three Door County theater companies open their seasons, following Third Avenue Playworks, which opened its season in May. It's a chance for theater fans, or even those just seeking an evening of entertainment, to take in professional theater in a casual setting, outdoors or in an open-sided pavilion in most cases.

Here's what these four companies are producing this summer and fall.

Peninsula Players Theatre

The season for America's oldest professional resident summer theater (founded in 1935) runs from June 13 through Oct. 15, with five shows in the company's all-weather, 600-plus-seat stagehouse where the side walls will be open if the weather allows. Patrons can relax and picnic on the grounds, on the shore of the bay of Green Bay, while watching the setting sun over the water and enjoying the ambiance of the beer garden and other gardens before performances.

The 600-plus-seat, all-weather pavilion at Peninsula Players Theatre will play host to five shows, including a season-opening world premiere, in its 2023 season.
The 600-plus-seat, all-weather pavilion at Peninsula Players Theatre will play host to five shows, including a season-opening world premiere, in its 2023 season.

Pen Players has a world première, a classic comedy, a tap dance-driven musical, an insightful memoir and a madcap whodunit on the playbill for its second season under artistic director Linda Fortunato, who was with the company in a variety of roles for 18 years before taking the helm.

The season is:

  • June 13 to July 2, "A Rock Sails By," the fourth play by Sean Grennan to make its world premiere at Players. It has an astrophysicist grappling with personal issues when an unidentified object is discovered heading toward Earth, causing her to reexamine what might actually be “out there.” The play is being produced in conjunction with World Premiere Wisconsin, a three-month festival from March through June celebrating new plays and musicals made in the state.

  • July 5 to 23, "Blithe Spirit," the classic Noel Coward comedy that has the spirit of the late wife of a novelist appear in a séance at his home with his new wife and their guests, turning the household upside down.

  • July 26 to Aug. 13, "Dames at Sea," the season's musical, a carefree takeoff of the 1930s "Golddiggers" movie musicals that features fresh-faced Ruby arriving in New York in the early 1930s with nothing but a pair of tap shoes, a dream to be on the stage and the escapades that follow.

  • Aug. 16 to Sept. 3, "Trying," a Jefferson Award-winning drama about a 20-something woman attempting to serve as as personal secretary to an elderly, demanding judge, both from very different backgrounds.

  • Sept. 6 to Oct. 15, "Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery," a madcap comedy that has famed literary detective Sherlock Holmes and sidekick Dr. Watson try to solve the case of "The Hound of the Baskervilles" before a family curse dooms its newest heir, with five actors portraying more than 40 characters.

Peninsula Players Theatre is at 4351 Peninsula Players Road, Fish Creek. Curtain times are at 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 7:30 p.m. Sundays for the four summer shows, 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays for "Baskerville," except for a 2 p.m. Sunday matinee to close each show. Tickets are $42 to $52 depending on the show and seat location, with a 50% discount for ages 18 and younger. Gift certificates are available online. For tickets, showtimes and more information, call 920-868-3287 or visit peninsulaplayers.com.

Northern Sky Theater

For the Northern Sky season of original musicals running from June 14 to Oct. 21, artistic director Jeff Herbst is bringing five shows and one concert series to its two stages: the longstanding outdoor amphitheater stage in Peninsula State Park and the indoor stage in the company's 3-year-old Gould Theater.

The summer shows in the park amphitheater are the world premiere of "The Fish Whisperer" and the return of "Cheeseheads! The Musical." They will run in repertory Mondays through Saturdays from June 14 to Aug. 26; both shows run Mondays, "The Fish Whisperer" also runs Wednesdays and Fridays, and "Cheeseheads!" also plays Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Steve Koehler, Lee Becker and Doug Mancheski, from left, perform in the 2014 production of Northern Sky Theater's "Guys on Ice." The hit original musical comedy, which has played not only at Northern Sky but across the country, is among the shows in the company's 2023 season.
Steve Koehler, Lee Becker and Doug Mancheski, from left, perform in the 2014 production of Northern Sky Theater's "Guys on Ice." The hit original musical comedy, which has played not only at Northern Sky but across the country, is among the shows in the company's 2023 season.

Summer shows in the Gould run from July 5 to Sept. 2, with a 25th anniversary production of the company's hugely popular "Guys on Ice" on stage Wednesdays through Fridays and "Guys & Does" playing Mondays, Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Wrapping up the outdoor season "Lipstick Optional," with the women of the company in concert Wednesdays through Saturdays from Aug. 30 to Sept. 16.

The indoor fall season at the Gould has "When Pigs Fly" on stage Mondays through Saturdays from Sept. 15 to Oct. 21, with two shows on the final five Saturdays of the run.

  • "The Fish Whisperer" by Scott Guy, Robin Share, Dan Wessels and Ron Barnett is a musical comedy that looks at what happens in a small Wisconsin community when the fish aren’t biting and a stranger shows up promising a fix. It also is part of the World Premiere Wisconsin statewide new works festival, and Northern Sky will host a festival finale party in June during the run.

  • "Cheeseheads!" is by Paul Libman and Dave Hudson, who have penned five original shows together for Northern Sky. The show, which premiered at Northern Sky in 2009 and last played there in 2012, is inspired by the true story of how 100 Wisconsin cheese factory workers won more than $200 million in the lottery.

  • "Guys on Ice" has been one of Northern Sky's most popular shows since its premiere in 1998, playing not just on its stage but also to sold-out houses coast to coast and for a PBS-TV special. The Fred Alley-James Kaplan musical comedy has ice fishing buddies Marvin and Lloyd spending a winter’s day in their shanty talking about life, love and Leinie’s. It hasn't been on the Northern Sky stage since 2014.

  • "Guys & Does," by Frederick Heide, Lee Becker and Libman, is a whimsical musical excursion into the world of Wisconsin deer hunting that premiered in 2009. It also has been a touring production for the company and has played at Northern Sky four times, most recently in 2016.

  • "When Pigs Fly," also by Heide and Becker, weaves together tall tales, folk songs, and the question of who will win a Door County custard pie contest.

Northern Sky Theater is a nonprofit professional organization that produces original musical shows in repertory. For tickets or more information, call 920-854-6117 or visit northernskytheater.com.

Third Avenue Playworks

The downtown Sturgeon Bay playhouse recently closed its May run of the world premiere of "I Carry Your Heart With Me" and has four shows to go under artistic director Jacob Janssen. There's a musical based on a classic story, a fast-paced farce and fast-paced satire, and another radio show production of a Christmas classic.

The season is:

  • June 23 to July 9, "Daddy Long Legs," a musical adaptation by John Caird (book) and Paul Gordon (music and lyrics) of Jean Webster's 1912 novel that stays closer to the novel than other adaptations, including the well-known 1955 movie musical starring Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron. In this show, an orphaned teen girl gets a chance to go to college thanks to a benefactor she doesn't know and has never seen, except for a glimpse of his lanky shadow that leads her to call him "Daddy Long Legs."

  • Aug. 4 to 27, "Boeing-Boeing," a farcical comedy that has an American bachelor in Paris juggling romantic relationships with three female flight attendants who aren't ever in Paris at the same time ‒ until the airlines begin using a new, faster jet plane and all three “fiancées” arrive simultaneously. It won 2008 Tony and Drama Desk awards for Best Revival of a Play.

  • Oct. 6 to 23, "The Mystery of Irma Vep: A Penny Dreadful," a madcap satire with two actresses switching back and forth between several roles of both sexes to poke fun at several genres as a newly married Egyptologist tries to solve the mysterious death of his eerie first wife, as well as an apparent vampire attack on his new wife, as werewolves, vampires and mummies get involved. The play has been produced often and around the world, including a run in 2014 at Peninsula Players.

  • Dec. 15 to 31, "It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play," an adaptation by Joe Landry of the classic Frank Capra Christmas movie as a radio-style play, complete with live music and a foley artist for sound effects. TAP produced Landry's radio-show adaptation of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" last December.

Third Avenue PlayWorks is at 239 N. Third Ave., Sturgeon Bay. All shows except "It's a Wonderful Life" have an nonticketed pay-what-you-will preview performance two days before the official opening night with proceeds benefiting a local charity, followed by a ticketed final preview the night before opening. For tickets or more information, call 920-743-1760 or visit thirdavenueplayworks.org.

Door Shakespeare

The outdoor Garden at Bjorklunden that plays home to the Door Shakespeare stage will see a unique play join a favorite of Shakespeare fans in the company's 27th season, which runs from June 29 through Aug. 26 under producing artistic director and Door County theater veteran Amy Ensign.

The Bard's popular comedy "As You Like It" makes its fourth run at Door Shakespeare but its first since 2012. Taking the stage Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, it follows Rosalind to the Forest of Arden as she searches for family and place after being banished from a duke's court. Directed by Leda Hoffman, who directed four productions for the company in past seasons, the show traditionally has appealed not just to Shakespeare buffs but also newcomers with its poetry, romance, intrigue and gender-switching humor.

Joining that this season is "The Old Man and The Old Moon," an adventurous fairy tale by PigPen Theatre Company told not just with acting but also with shadow play and alt-folk music. It tells of a man who serves as the sole caretaker of the moon, filling it with liquid light each night, until his wife is drawn away by a mysterious melody, which takes the man on an adventure encompassing storms, battles, leviathans of the deep and cantankerous ghosts while the light drains out of the moon. Directing this unique musical is Scott MacKenna Campbell, who's taken on roles such as performer, composer and designer for the company since 2017.

Door Shakespeare shows will take place at 7:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 5 p.m. Saturdays in the outdoor Garden at Bjorklunden in Baileys Harbor. For tickets or more information, call 920-854-7111 or visit doorshakespeare.com.

Contact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or cclough@doorcountyadvocate.com.

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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Door County theater season: Here's the where, what and when