Shows Category: 2010s

Dr. Givings is obsessed with the marvels of medical technology. His wife, Catherine, is only a bystander in her husband’s world, listening at the door as he treats his female patients with a strange new electric device. The doctor is not sure exactly how vibrators cure the women he treats, but they do keep coming back. The only woman not helped by the doctor is his own wife, who longs to connect with him – without the aid of electricity. A tender tale that takes place in the twilight of the Victorian age, this elegant comedy is lit by unexpected sparks from the approaching era of electricity, equality, science, and sexuality.

May N’Kame, the mother of an African dictator, travels to England to see Dr. Cora Gage about medical treatment for her failing eyesight. During a pre-surgery consultation it becomes clear that both women have other agendas. The surgeon hopes to win the release of colleagues held captive in Africa, while the patient seeks the means to rid her country of her murderous son. May and Cora face difficult questions of personal ethics, global politics, and moral responsibility as they sip cups of tea and trade confidences across a wide cultural divide.

Legendary producer David O. Selznick has shut down production of his new epic, Gone With the Wind, dissatisfied with the adaptation of Margaret Mitchell’s 800-page book. In desperation he locks himself in his office with screenwriter Ben Hecht and director Victor Fleming, determined to fix the script. Subsisting only on peanuts and bananas, the three men struggle to fashion a screenplay for one of the most beloved stories of all time ‑ without losing their minds.

Forward Theater invited playwrights from across the country to contribute to this celebration of true love, in all its incarnations. The result is an engaging evening of monologues examining the relationships that affect us most profoundly, whether life-altering love comes in the form of a best friend, a Labrador retriever, a great slice of pizza, or a matinee-movie idol. It’s the perfect Valentine’s Day outing for you and the one you love.

Philo T. Farnsworth is a visionary. A farm boy from Idaho, he can look at the lines of a plowed field and imagine a device that can transmit pictures through the air. David Sarnoff is also a visionary. A Russian immigrant who rose from a telegraph operator to the head of RCA, Sarnoff can see the future of information and entertainment. These two men are at the center of a fascinating struggle over one of the greatest inventions of all time: the television.

Enjoy an electrifying evening from Aaron Sorkin, the Emmy and Academy Award-winning creator of The Social Network, The American President, A Few Good Men, and The West Wing. With 16 actors playing more than 70 roles, this epic story will forever change the way you look at media and the quest for “what’s next.”

The cast features American Players Theatre actor Michael Huftile as Sarnoff, Nicholas Harazin as Philo and members of the UW Madison MFA acting class.

Script developed through Wisconsin Wrights New Play Development Project

The art world is ecstatic when a box of stunning black and white photos from the ’30s is discovered amongst some long-lost possessions of Ernest Hemingway. A curator from the Metropolitan Museum of Art immediately lays claim to them, but so does a woman who might be the granddaughter of the photographer, Walker Evans. As the stories unfold, both in the 1930s and the present day, one question remains: What’s a picture worth?

The cast will feature American Players Theatre actress/Forward Theater advisory company member Sarah Day; UW Madison MFA alum Josh Aaron McCabe; and Milwaukee actors Molly Rhode, Stacy Hicks, Georgina McKee, and Libby Amato.

Raffle Quilt

In conjunction with the production, members of the Forward Theater family have created a raffle quilt. The Fons & Porter design, Granny’s Star, is a patchwork quilt reminiscent of 1930s patterns, in keeping with the time period and themes of the play. FTC’s first board president Jane Elder, former FTC board member Karen Saunders, the playwright Gwendolyn Rice, and FTC supporter Evelyn Link stitched the piece, which will be raffled off at the end of the performance run. All proceeds will support Forward Theater’s education and outreach activities.

The quilt will be on display at Stitcher’s Crossing from December 15 – January 18. Starting January 19, the quilt will be on display at all performances of A Thousand Words. Raffle tickets will be available at Stitcher’s Crossing and at the performances or by calling our office. They are $5 apiece, or five for $20. The winner will be drawn on Sunday, February 5.

Village Wooing by George Bernard Shaw
The Jewish Wife by Bertolt Brecht
Here We Are by Dorothy Parker

Forward Theater presents an evening dedicated to love and relationships – stories of courtship, marriage, and the inevitable evolution of relationships over time. Follow one pair of actors as they embark on an unforgettable journey, through giddy infatuation, nervous beginnings, passionate longing, and tumultuous endings. Penned by three of the most celebrated writers of all time, these plays were conceived in different eras, but their themes are universal. Join us as FTC takes a fresh look at these classic works.

The cast will feature American Players Theatre actors James Ridge and Colleen Madden. Love Stories is directed by Paula Suozzi, formerly of Milwaukee Shakespeare.

FTC is proud to give theater professionals throughout southern Wisconsin an artistic home.

From Chicago’s acclaimed Neo-Futurists comes a hilarious, and decidedly non-partisan jaunt through the lives of the 44 Commanders-in-Chief, from George Washington to Barack Obama. Using comedy, drama, dance, and music, five actors conjure a theatrical experience that recounts, in chronological order, the entire history of our country’s highest office. A timely primer on the context and significance of the impending vote, 44 Plays for 44 Presidents entertains as it educates, but don’t worry — there’s no final exam at the end. Unless you count the election, that is.

Ensconced in her Greenwich Village apartment, acclaimed writer and professor Ruth Steiner decides to take on Lisa, a 26-year-old graduate student as her assistant. Over the course of six years, Ruth and Lisa’s relationship evolves and a friendship blossoms as the prickly, temperamental author shepherds her star-struck student toward her first success in the publishing world. But when Lisa’s new book exposes intimate details of Ruth’s life, and her fame threatens to overshadow her teacher, the mentor-mentee relationship is turned on its head.

C. Michael Wright, Producing Artistic Director for Milwaukee Chamber Theatre and the director of this production, characterizes the story as an intimate study of a unique relationship. He explains that Ruth and Lisa “start as strangers, they get very, very close and then we see this delicate dance they do as they try to figure out how to grow together. It’s a very complicated relationship that develops. . . Really a juicy story about people and how we dance together, how we give and take, how we keep secrets from each other, how we help and hurt each other because we’re all just such vulnerable beings.”

Commenting on her character (Ruth Steiner), Sarah Day added, “I think it’s a good story about friendship, about mentorship, about coming to terms with how you deal with the people in your life. If we’ve been lucky we’ve had a mentor, somebody who really was asking the very best of us. That challenged us. That loved us in a way that was parental or avuncular and wants really to strengthen us. If we’re lucky, we’ve been either Lisa or Ruth, or maybe both.”

After an initial three-week run in the Broadway Theatre Center as part of Milwaukee Chamber Theatre’s season, the entire production of Collected Stories moved to Madison. This is the second half of a two-year collaboration between Forward Theater and Milwaukee Chamber Theatre.

“We’re thrilled to be continuing this partnership,” said Jennifer Uphoff Gray, Artistic Director of Forward Theater. “Our companies have brought two plays to life on two different stages, in two distinct communities – a feat in itself! And it’s such a win-win for all involved. By sharing expenses, designers, sets, and directing duties, we mounted the world premiere production of A Thousand Words in 2012 and this year we realized a brilliant production of Collected Stories, featuring tour-de-force performances by two of southern Wisconsin’s most amazing actresses. Ultimately our audiences may benefit the most.”