Milwaukee Repertory Theater unveils the first official photos of the newly opened Herro‑Franke Studio Theater, the reimagined black box performance space within the Associated Bank Theater Center. The opening of the Herro‑Franke Studio Theater marks a major milestone in the completion of the Associated Bank Theater Center’s final phase of construction. The space now supports flexible seating, larger casts, immersive design, and expanded technical capabilities—positioning Milwaukee Rep as a national leader in flexible, future‑forward theater.
Also released today: first‑look production photos from McNeal, the Midwest premiere of Pulitzer Prize winner Ayad Akhtar’s newest play and the first show to inaugurate the transformed venue. McNeal runs now through March 22 and is Ayad Akhtar’s 5th play produced by Milwaukee Rep in the past 10 years. These new images offer an early glimpse into the next chapter of Milwaukee Rep’s artistic home and the innovative storytelling now possible inside the Herro‑Franke Studio Theater.
About McNeal:
Direct from a sold-out Broadway run, Pulitzer Prize-winner Ayad Akhtar’s thrilling and darkly comic new work follows Jacob McNeal — a brilliant yet dangerously charming novelist obsessed with his own genius. On the eve of his greatest achievement, his thirst for whiskey, fractured relationships, and curious fascination with artificial intelligence threatens to unravel everything. McNeal explores the price of greatness and raises vital questions about art, truth and originality in the not-too-distant future.
The cast of McNeal includes: Peter Bradbury as Jacob McNeal, who has performed in nearly 30 Broadway productions and understudied Robert Downey Jr in the sold-out World Premiere run at Lincoln Center, Jessica Ko (Much Ado About Nothing, American Players Theater) as Sahra, Tony Nominee Jeanne Paulsen (One House Over, Milwaukee Rep) as Stephie Banic, Ty Fanning (Othello with Denzel Washington, Broadway) as Harlan, N’Jameh Camara (Junk, Milwaukee Rep) as Natasha Braitwaite, Bridget Ann White (Will Roger’s Follies, Broadway) as Francine Blake, and Milwaukee Rep EPR Sara Sadjadi as Dipti.
McNeal is directed by Artistic Director Mark Clements with set design by Emily Lotz (Princess & the Pauper - A Bollywood Tale at Imagination Stage), costume design by Mieka van der Ploeg (Romeo and Juliet, Milwaukee Rep), lighting design by Jason Fassl (Come From Away, Milwaukee Rep), sound design and original music by Dan Kazemi (Romeo and Juliet, Milwaukee Rep), video design by Timothy Kelly, fight direction by Nick Sandys, and stage managed by Terence Orleans Alexander.
Ayad Akhtar, a Brookfield native, is a novelist, playwright, and Milwaukee Rep Board of Trustee. He is the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Edith Wharton Citation of Merit for Fiction, and an Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His acclaimed novel Homeland Elegies was hailed by The Washington Post as “a tour de force” and by The New York Times as “a beautiful novel…that circles, with pointed intellect, the possibilities and limitations of American life.” His debut novel American Dervish has been translated into over 20 languages. As a playwright, his works include McNeal (Lincoln Center, Broadway), Junk (Lincoln Center, Broadway; Kennedy Prize for American Drama, Tony nomination), Disgraced (Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Tony nomination), The Who & The What (Lincoln Center), and The Invisible Hand (NYTW; Obie Award, Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Award, Olivier and Evening Standard nominations). His honors also include the Steinberg Playwriting Award, the Nestroy Award, the Erwin Piscator Award, and fellowships from the American Academy in Rome, MacDowell, Sundance, and Yaddo, where he serves as a Board Director. In 2021, he was named New York State Author by the New York State Writers Institute.
To purchase tickets to McNeal, go to www.MilwaukeeRep.com, call the Ticket Office at 414-224-9490 or visit in-person at 108 E Wells Street in downtown Milwaukee. McNeal runs in the Herro-Franke Studio Theater now through March 22, 20226.
About The Associated Bank Theater Center
Designed by EUA and theater consultants Fisher Dachs Associates (FDA), the $80.1 million complex connects Milwaukee Rep’s historic, completely renovated building with a newly built 30,000-square-foot glass structure that creates a welcoming main entrance to the Center. The transformed space allows Milwaukee Rep to push artistic boundaries with three flexible performance spaces; a 220-seat flexible black box, a 186-seat cabaret space, and a 671-seat theater with a transformable stage configuration and cutting-edge technology to create productions that can easily transfer to any stage in the country, including Broadway. The updated Center also includes the new Herzfeld Foundation Education & Engagement Center; 100-person donor lounge and event space, three revamped rehearsal halls, prop and costume shops, and administrative spaces; and the cascading Sandra & William Haack Galleria, unifying and creating streamlined circulation across the building’s theaters and public spaces.
Milwaukee Rep’s enlarged downtown footprint encompasses the completely gutted and reimagined 1898 Oneida Street Station, a national historic landmark former powerplant that has been home to the theater since 1987, and a newly constructed glass building situated between the former powerplant and the historic Pabst Theater, another historic building constructed in 1895. The elegant glass volume, which sits above a newly enhanced main entrance on Wells Street, connects—for the first time—all public spaces in the complex to the shared multi-level lobby. Engaging and activating the street, the transparent façade offers passersby a glimpse into the activity taking place inside the Center as patrons make their way to performances in the three theaters.
Milwaukee Rep’s capital project provides critical infrastructure updates to the theater’s more than a century old space, as well as updates to back-of-house and production technology to support increased performance capacity. The mainstage performance space, the Ellen & Joe Checota Powerhouse Theater, is reconfigured for improved sightlines with a new flexible stage that converts from a thrust to a proscenium, seating 568-671 patrons depending on the production’s configuration. The facility also accommodates increased accessibility within the space, including bariatric seating, quiet rooms, audio description, wheelchair accessibility in all seating zones, and hearing loop technology in order to welcome and inspire the many diverse populations of the region. Finally, the mainstage theater also includes updated, cutting-edge technology with an advanced digital sound system, a laser projection system, scenic automation systems for the newly created fly loft, programmable intelligent lighting, and livestreaming capabilities.
The Herro-Franke Studio Theater, Milwaukee Rep’s black box space for intimate productions, is reimagined with new modular platforms and seating that allows for audiences of 182 to 224 patrons, staging plays with larger casts, and greater production flexibility. The Stackner Cabaret, which was renovated in 2018 by Uihlein-Wilson Architects in advance of the larger transformation project, also has state-of-the-art production capabilities, updated front- and back-of-house amenities including a full bar and kitchen for a pre-show dining experience, and increased seating capacity for audiences of up to 186 patrons.
The theaters can be accessed via the skylit three-floor Sandra & William Haack Galleria that occupies the space in the glass building. The open lobby includes inviting pre- and post-show gathering spaces, The Lubar Lounge, which can hold up to 100 people, restrooms, a gift shop, coat check, and bars with food and beverage offerings. It also offers access to the new 2,700-square-foot Herzfeld Foundation Education & Engagement Center, which includes classroom, rehearsal, and performance spaces, as well as an outdoor patio lounge. The dedicated education facility allows Milwaukee Rep to grow programming that deepens audience engagement; increases accessibility; and improves literacy, supports social-emotional growth, and creates school-to-career pipelines for more than 30,000 students each year. New programming enabled by the Center includes Connections, an audience engagement series with post-show TalkBacks and community nights, and the launch of a School of Theater that offers classes, workshops, seminars, and camps. Milwaukee Rep will also continue its successful student programs such as in-school workshops, the national Next Narrative Monologue Competition, and apprenticeships for the next generation of artists.
As part of the capital project, the theater’s production shop was relocated off-site and expanded to a 35,000-square-foot facility that employs nearly 100 local artisans, advancing Milwaukee Rep’s role in supporting the region’s arts economy. Following the flooding earlier this year, the shop has to be completely rebuilt. The new Herzfeld Foundation Education & Engagement Center is housed in the space previously occupied by the shop.
The expansion of Milwaukee Rep reflects the theater’s tremendous growth over the past five years, at a time when the industry at large has been impacted by financial challenges due to declining audience attendance and increased production costs. Since 2020, Milwaukee Rep’s operating budget has increased more than 85% from roughly $9 million to $17 million, driven in part by a 40% increase in ticket sales and 41% Subscription revenue increase, with operating surpluses annually. In addition, over the last decade, Milwaukee Rep’s net assets have increased from $16 million to $108 million including multi-million dollar funds for new play development, education, engagement and artistic enhancement, making Milwaukee Rep one of the best capitalized theaters in the United States presenting exciting work including recent world and American premieres by Lloyd Suh, Dael Orlandersmith, Idris Goodwin, Andrew Bovell, Craig Lucas, Rick Cleveland, and Joanna Murray-Smith.
The fundraising campaign to expand and renovate Milwaukee Rep’s Associated Bank Theater Center has raised $80.1 million to date. Lead campaign funders include the Associated Bank, an anonymous donor, Ellen and Joe Checota, David & Julia Uihlein, The Richard and Ethel Herzfeld Foundation, and David Herro and Jay Franke.