2021/22 SEASON IMPACT REPORT
IMPACT SNAPSHOT 2 Milwaukee Rep 4,463 DONATED HOURS SERVICEOF SERVED THROUGH 6,000PROGRAMMINGEDUCATIONSTUDENTS3EMPLOYED& 14 MILWAUKEE REP STAFF 250 CREATIVE PERSONNEL 550 PERFORMANCES OF PRODUCTIONS 655 18,315VOLUNTEERS 14,463 INDIVIDUALSUBSCRIBERSDONORS14
2021/22 Impact Report 3
Dear Friends, Our 2021/22 Season marked the first full season produced during the pandemic. Rather than scaling back, we produced our largest season ever employing hundreds of performers and local artisans, producing 700 performances of 14 full productions, and welcoming back hundreds of thousands of patrons safely – all with a balanced budget. But it took the herculean efforts of our staff and the generous support of our donors. Unfortunately, COVID-19 took its toll, as we had to cancel 68 performances causing $750,000 in refunds despite strict pandemic protocols. Complicating matters, we also faced 40-year high inflation, supply chain disruptions, and record-setting labor shortages. However, ticket sales exceeded expectations for several productions, minimizing our losses. In 2024, Milwaukee Rep will celebrate 70 years. Over the decades, we have grown to become one of the largest theaters in the nation and the largest performing arts organization in Wisconsin. However, our aging and inefficient theater complex now limits the productions we stage, the plays we develop, and the kind of educational impact we create. Therefore, we have embarked on a $75 million capital campaign to remain in our current location and build an entirely new, expanded complex with state-of-the-art theaters, abundant community gathering spaces, an urban education center, and modern audience amenities. Our future is bright thanks to you! Your continued and generous support has nourished our theater and community for generations and we look forward to continuing to play a leading role in making Milwaukee a vibrant city for decades to come.
Mark Clements Artistic Director Chad Bauman Executive Director
SEASON PRODUCTIONS 4 Milwaukee Rep Ghost Bike • Dad’s Season Tickets • Steel Magnolias • A Christmas Carol Toni Stone • Piano Men • Antonio’s Song/I Was Dreaming of a Son As You Like It • New Age • My Way: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra Titanic The Musical • Get Happy: Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express • Rep Lab 2022 The cast of Toni Stone. All photos by Michael Brosilow. The cast of Dad’s Season Tickets The cast of Titanic The Musical. The cast of Murder on the Orient Express. Antonio Edwards Suarez in Antonio’s Song.
our originally
ground-breaking
• Three Divas at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center featuring Nova Y Payton (Effie in Dreamgirls), Alexis J Roston (First Lady of Song: Alexis J Roston Sings Ella Fitzgerald, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill) and Bethany Thomas (Hedwig, The Color Purple, Ragtime, Songs for Nobodies) A reunion of the cast from Hedwig and the Angry Inch at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts a Free Day of Theater on October 2 featuring 10 Welcome Back Concerts, a showcase of New Play workshops, behind-the-scenes theater country season moving scheduled Season into the 2021/22 Season beginning in November welcomed back Lee E. Ernst as Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol As You Like It in collaboration with Canadian director Daryl Cloran & the Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival; Titanic The Musical with projection technology; Murder on the Orient Express turntable and
ARTISTIC HIGHLIGHTS 2021/22 Impact Report 5 We hosted three Summer Concerts during the summer of 2021:
Development projects in process,
in person,
• Three Divos at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts featuring Jeffrey Kringer (West Side Story), Gavin Gregory (Ragtime) and Nicholas Rodriguez (Guys & Dolls)
We provided
After2021.more than a decade away, we
•
demonstrations and discussions. We were the first
public events including
. We mounted three of our most ambitious productions to date:
to attempt to produce a full 12-production
in the
and
with a double
our most complex set to date.
2020/21
NEW PLAY DEVELOPMENT “Through collaborations with arts organizations like Milwaukee Rep, I can extend the impact of my work beyond the stages on which it is performed.” – Jon Rua 6 Milwaukee Rep The National Endowment for the Arts provided $35,000 to support Dael Orlandersmith’s world premiere productions of Antonio’s Song (which will be featured in The Goodman Theatre’s 2022/23 Season) and New Age. Within the John (Jack) D. Lewis New Play Development program, we hosted workshops for The Nativity Variations by Catherine Trieschmann, appearing in our 2022/23 Season; American Dervish by Mark Clements, adapted from the novel by Ayad Akhtar; and the rock musical Run Bambi Run by Eric Simonson and The Violent Femmes’ Gordon WeGano.currently have several works in various stages of development, including works commissioned from Eleanor Burgess, Lloyd Suh, Idris Goodwin and Jon Rua, with several more in the process of being commissioned.
Antonio Edwards Suarez in Antonio’s Song. Photo by Michael Brosilow.
“The amount of contacts I made have opened doors for me to continue performing and supporting my life as a fulltime actor into the next year.”
Sixteen students participated in monthly masterclasses to learn from Milwaukee Rep’s artists as part of the Professional Training Institute. The program culminated in a production of Ghost Bike in Kadish Park, where students experienced what it was like to be professional actors.
“PTI showed me that with an open mind and discipline, it really is possible to make a career out of what I love to do.”
Twenty emerging artists from across the country joined us for the season as part of our Emerging Professional Residency to train as professional actors, directors, stage managers, theater technicians, and educators alongside our professional staff. They received housing, bus passes, and a weekly stipend so they could focus on their craft full time.
– Magdalyn Rowley-Lange, Ronald Reagan HS
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– Jared Hoover, Acting EPR Professional Training Institute Emerging Professional Residency
PROFESSIONAL
TRAINING
“ThisEDUCATIONisthefirsttimeI’ve had anyone talk to me about Stonewall and the cultural revolution! It has totally opened up my eyes and for the first time I’m learning something that I feel connects to me! As a LGBTQIA+ person, it means so much to me.” – Reading Residency student 8 Milwaukee Rep In the spring of 2022, we returned to in-person programming for our core Rep Education programs, including: • In-school Reading Residencies, which transitioned from 20 one-hour sessions to 14 one-hour sessions and served 31 classrooms throughout the Milwaukee Public School system. Students studied the scripts of either As You Like It or Titanic The Musical. • School Subscriptions, which brought seven classrooms to attend four Rep productions across our performance spaces. • Rep Immersion Days during As You Like It and Titanic The Musical, where nearly 1,500 students experienced technical demonstrations before a matinee performance and actor talkback.
The August Wilson Monologue Competition transitioned to the Next Narrative Monologue Competition™ to highlight the voices of contemporary Black playwrights. Milwaukee Rep hosted the regional competition in-person on our Quadracci Powerhouse stage. Two winners competed at the national competition in New York City, with Alexandria Woods placing third in the nation.
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EDUCATION
ENGAGEMENT During Steel Magnolias, we provided Team Truvy awards to salons across Milwaukee. Nominated by community members, these salons embody the love, joy and friendship of the play. Salons were chosen based on their dedication to their clients and community, as well as a commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion and Fiveaccessibility.Neighborhood Nights were provided for our partners in the Amani, Metcalfe Park, and Muskego Way neighborhoods before select productions. 10 Milwaukee Rep
During Antonio’s Song, we hosted Act II featuring facilitator-led discussions following select performances. Additionally, we hosted Dinner Dialogues, free dance workshops and two panel discussions that explored toxic masculinity, child abuse, and identity. A Christmas Carol Families supported the work of the United Community Center through donations by audience members. Additionally, 1,150 tickets were provided free to A Christmas Carol for our community through our ACC Community Tickets program.
ENGAGEMENT 2021/22 Impact Report 11
EQUITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION 12 Milwaukee Rep
To continue making progress on our REP Forward Plan, we revamped all of our job descriptions to make them more inclusive, developed new metrics to track diversity throughout the hiring process, and conducted analysis on effective practices in recruiting and onboarding.
Our staff work group, Champions Uniting Experiences, focused on increasing cultural competence across the company by hosting celebrations throughout the year to highlight Milwaukee’s rich diversity and holding trainings to build skills and knowledge in areas such as having crucial conversations and understanding gender identity.
IN MEMORIAM 2021/22 Impact Report 13
This season, we lost the founder of Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Mary John Sullivan. Born in Green Bay, WI, Mary John dedicated her life to the arts and education. After obtaining a Bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University and a Master’s degree from the University of WisconsinMadison, she married her first husband, Richard C. John, Sr. and settled in Milwaukee, WI.
Mary John Sullivan
John moved to New York in 1959 and received her Ph.D. from New York University in theatre and speech and went on to produce several Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals. “Drama Inc. was established by three thousand Milwaukeeans joined together, not for the glory of any individual or for the exploitation of the public, but for the purpose of bringing a permanent professional theater to Milwaukee. We hope that each performance will provide enjoyable participation for you, make lasting impressions and give your life a little more pleasure and meaning. If that happens, then the effort will have been amply rewarded.”
Mary forged a plan to create a professional theater for the city of Milwaukee and established Drama Inc, now Milwaukee Repertory Theater, in 1954. She knew a city needed a theater to allow the arts to thrive and impact the community. As managing director, Mary John brought A-list talent including Geraldine Page, Betty White, Ethel Waters, Eva Le Gallienne and Edward Everett Horton to Milwaukee audiences. She also founded the School of Professional Arts which operated in conjunction with the theater and provided the accredited speech and theatre program for University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
– Mary John Sullivan, Sabrina Fair opening night
The Board of Trustees unanimously approved a $75 million capital campaign to remain in our current location, expand our footprint on adjacent land we own, and build an entirely new complex. As part of the project, we will: Create additional public space to accommodate Milwaukee Rep’s growth Enhance our performance spaces with state-of-the-art technology and audience amenities to stay at the forefront of the industry Create dedicated educational and engagement space for community programming or replace major mechanical systems and upgrade accessibility of the facilities
CAPITAL CAMPAIGN TO RENOVATE BUILDING When opened in the 1980s, our complex was a marvel of creation but four decades later, it has long out lived its lifespan. In 2019, we engaged Auerbach Pollock Friedlander (APF) to conduct a building assessment, which determined that we have outgrown our current facilities and, even with dedicated maintenance, every major system is overdue for a major overhaul. They also discovered considerable operational challenges, such as a lack of dedicated space for Education & Engagement programming, industry standard technical capabilities and accessibility in many our spaces.
14 Milwaukee Rep
more
•
• Overhaul
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We were one of only four LORT theaters to receive American Rescue Plan funding through the National Endowment for the Arts. We received the maximum award of $150,000. For the 9th year in a row, we received Charity Navigator’s four-star ranking for fiscal sustainability. We received UPAF’s Good Steward award for the sixth time over the last eight years. FINANCIALS REVENUESContributions:$6, 112,935 (45%) Total: $13,728,977 Ticket Sales: $5,691,587 (41%) Endowment: $820,000 (6%) Food & Beverage: $709,225 (5%) Other: $395,230 (3%) EXPENSESProgramming:$8,04 1,670 (58%) Total: $13,916,205 Marketing: $2,263,609 (16%) Administrative: $1,441,156 (10%) Fundraising: $775,363 (6%) Food & Beverage: $710,047 (5%) Occupancy: $684,361 (5%) 2021/22 Impact Report 15
*ex-officio 2021/22 BOARD OF TRUSTEES TRUSTEESOFFICERSPresident Judy Hansen Broadway Producer Immediate Past President Gregory C. Oberland Northwestern Mutual Retired President Vice President, Development Amy Croen Geneva Capital Co-Founder/Co-President Vice President, Trustees James Phelps JCP Construction President Secretary Bladen Burns Fiduciary Management SVP and Partner Treasurer Jim Phillips Godfrey Kahn At Large Andres Gonzalez Froedtert Medical College VP, Chief Diversity Officer At Large Joan Lubar Community Volunteer At Large Robert H. Manegold Community Volunteer At Large Adam J. Peck Riverwater Partners Principal and CIO Ayad Akhtar Pulitzer Prize-winning Playwright Tammy Belton-Davis Athena Communications, LLC Founder and Principal Ivor Benjamin, MD Medical College of Wisconsin Wendy W. Blumenthal Blumenthal & Associates Melanie Booth Community Volunteer Mike Carter Northwestern Mutual Chief Financial Officer Jane Chernof Community Volunteer Marybeth Cottrill BMO Wealth Management Private Wealth Advisor Robert H. Duffy Quarles & Brady Partner John Halechko Associated Bank Exec VP, Director of Branch Banking Chris Hermann PNC Bank Regional President Bryan B. House Foley & Lardner LLP Partner Tom Irgens Irgens Executive VP Lynda Johnson Harley-Davidson, Inc. Assistant Treasurer Michelle Kolp WE Energies Director AMI Operations & Strategy David Kundert JPMorgan Fleming Asset Management Retired Chairman Phoebe Lewis Community Volunteer Kristine Lueders Foley & Lardner LLP Linda Marcus Linda Marcus Design Principal Emily McKeown* Friends of Milwaukee Rep President Joseph Pickart Husch Blackwell Partner Karen Plunkett Plunkett Family Foundation Catherine Robinson Community Volunteer Christopher Rowland ManpowerGroup Global Diversity Officer Craig Swan Community Volunteer Deborah Tomczyk Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren Partner and Chair of Real Estate Practice Group Nicholas P. Wahl Godfrey Kahn President and Managing Partner Cover photos (clockwise from top left): Rep Immersion day; the cast of Toni Stone; Rebecca Hirota in Steel Magnolias; the cast of As You Like It; a New Play Development workshop for The Nativity Variations; Kelley Faulkner in Dad’s Season Tickets; Steve Watts and Nygel D. Robinson in Piano Men; Kelli Lopina, Jenny Toutant and N’Jameh Camara participating in an ACC Families gift delivery. Performance photos by Michael Brosilow.