Shows Category: 2020s

It’s the Swinging ‘60s in London, and American playwright Adrienne Kennedy finds herself among the rich and ultra-famous when she’s hired to write a stage version of John Lennon’s new book. Told in an interview-style conversation between Kennedy and her son, this autobiographical play shares her sense of awed wonder as she tries to hold her artistic ground in a patriarchal world of show business luminaries.

Hollis is a performer in an itinerant troupe of actors attempting to outrun the Black Plague in this 14th century-set comedy by the author of Marjorie Prime. The Renaissance is still in the future, and so is the concept of self-determination. So when Hollis stops a performance to wonder why Mrs. Noah would get on that ark, she throws her castmates into chaos.

A story set in the past that eloquently reflects our present. This centuries-spanning play delights in the imaginations of theater-makers and theater-goers everywhere. And in a tale as inventive and hilarious as its characters, The Amateurs considers the purpose of art in a dark world.

Latimer is a successful heart surgeon. When his much younger girlfriend, Nina, unexpectedly gets pregnant, Latimer must break the news to his grown daughter, who is struggling to start a family of her own. Written by poet, award-winning author, and Forward Theater Writer in Residence Quan Barry, The Mytilenean Debate raises questions about race, legacy, and the issues couples face as they navigate the world, both together and as individuals.

Content Advisory: The Mytilenean Debate deals with issues of fertility, abortion, and a woman’s right to choose.

At the infamous (real-life!) Internet Research Agency, professional internet trolls work for days at a time, creating tweets and posts to sow discord and doubt among Americans approaching the polls with high emotion and low information.

Russian Troll Farm imagines the daily lives of these workers as they invent characters, stage conflicts, and create conspiracies. What happens to your grasp on the truth when your whole job is lying? How does your identity shift when you impersonate Americans for a living?

Content Advisory: Russian Troll Farm contains adult themes and a significant amount of mature language.

The goal of Forward Theater Company and Wisconsin Wrights is to support and develop new theatrical work, via a biennial new play festival that features up to three works by Wisconsin playwrights. After a submission and selection process, selected playwrights communicate with professional directors, dramaturgs, and actors to develop their plays, culminating in public readings at the festival. Each night is dedicated to a single play.

This off-beat buddy comedy pairs two essential workers from two different worlds in the shared cab of a New York City garbage truck. Danny’s a white, blue-collar mansplainer hiding a heart of gold. Marlowe’s a Black, Ivy League-educated newbie learning the ropes from her old-school partner. When they’re thrown together to pick up what the world has discarded, they discover there’s more that binds them than taking out the trash.

Just outside of Reading, PA, a truck stop sandwich shop offers its formerly incarcerated kitchen staff a shot at redemption, as they find purpose and inspiration in their shared quest to create the perfect sandwich. Even as the shop’s callous owner tries to keep them under her thumb, the staff members are given purpose and permission to dream. This flavor-bomb of a comedy from Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage makes its Wisconsin premiere after its Tony-nominated run on Broadway.

Against the backdrop of the early 1900s, Bella and Marc Chagall witnessed revolutions in art and nations. Spanning continents, immortalized in paint, their love both sustained and challenged them. A sensual feast of music, dance, color, and light, ‘Flying Lovers’ invites us into the sumptuous imaginations of an artist and a writer, from their first meeting in Vitebsk to the melancholy sweetness of their last days together in New York.

As a teen, Heidi Schreck won scholarships for college by participating in Constitutional debate competitions. Now, she cannot help but weigh the earnest study, idealism and hopeful wisdom of her youth against the complexities of being a citizen and a woman in the United States in the 21st century. Join Wisconsin favorite Colleen Madden as she steps into Heidi’s shoes to ask us what this living document means to us— and what it means to be an American.

Kenneth has never needed much: a steady job, a quiet routine, and a mai tai (or two) with his best friend. But when life pulls the rug out from under him, Kenneth is forced to step beyond the familiar and into the unknown. What he discovers is a world richer and more expansive than he ever imagined. This 2024 Pulitzer Prize winner and whimsical new comedy reminds us that sometimes, the smallest steps lead to the most extraordinary transformations.