By Mary Boyle

This is my fourth year of making a three-day sojourn to American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin to see as many shows as I can fit in one weekend, and it has become a cherished summer tradition from the very first year.  This season, APT offers eight plays on two stages: their outdoor theater known as The Hill and the intimate indoor Touchstone Theatre.  Each season, I leave APT a different person, both because of the stories that have broken me open and because of the time spent in such a beautiful natural space, but this trip was the most transformative one yet.
 
Each season, APT produces at least two of Shakespeare’s works and, being a bit of a Shakespeare nerd, myself, these are usually the highlights of my trip.  This year is the classic A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, directed by David Daniel, and THE WINTER’S TALE, directed by Shana Cooper, and I can say with certainty that both productions are the best versions of those plays I’ve yet to see.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM is so fitting at APT because it is set in the summer in the woods, just as in the play, and the woods of APT are truly a magical place, where the world of the faeries feels as close by as it is in the story. In fact, Midsummer was the first play produced at APT, with the late, great Jonathan Smoots as Oberon, King of the Faeries.  I saw Smoots as the Duke of Athens in APT’s 2017 production of Midsummer, which was a lovely show, but this season’s reimagining brings an entirely new layer of magic that raises the story to new heights with the addition of two Pucks, played by Joshua M. Castille and Casey Hoekstra. 

Castille, a Deaf performance artist who played Romeo in his adaptation of Romeo & Juliet in the 2023 season, brings a similar depth to Midsummer, but what’s fascinating is that they do it without changing any of the language, yet it works perfectly – as if there was always meant to be two Pucks. Hoekstra is his perfect speaking counterpart, with the duo able to make far more convincing mischief than one Puck, alone.  Another fascinating casting change is making P. Quince (Sun Mee Chomet), the director of the play within the play, a woman, creating sparks between Quince and Bottom (played perfectly by Sam Luis Massaro) that also felt as if it could have been intended by the Bard, himself.  The iconic James Devita is so impressive and well-cast as Oberon in this production, but what really impressed me was the embodied premise of “there are no small parts, only small actors”: Nate Burger as Snout and James Ridge as Flute were nothing short of legendary!  In all honesty, the play within the play, alone, is worth the price of admission, though the mismatched lovers side of the play (Samantha Newcomb as Hermia, Xavier Edward King as Lysander, Josh Krause as Demetrius, and Maggie Cramer as Helena) couldn’t possibly get much better.  For those looking to laugh and forget the world for a while, this show is your ticket.

THE WINTER’S TALE is one of Shakespeare’s rarely produced plays, due to its complexity: part intense drama, part comedy, part romance, it explores the very extremes of human emotions.  The story centers on the relationship between Leontes, King of Sicilia and his Queen, Hermione, played by real-life husband and wife Nate Burger and Laura Rook.  A visit from Leontes’ closest friend, Polixenes (La Shawn Banks), King of Bohemia, goes horribly wrong when Leontes suddenly suspects there is something more between Polixenes and his pregnant wife than is seemly. 

Jealousy quickly turns a loving husband and trusted king into an unhinged tyrant who becomes judge, jury, and executioner to his best friend, who he orders his cup-bearer Camillo (Gavin Lawrence) to kill, and his own family, banishing his young son, Mamillius (Elijah Quigley/Lillian Quigley), from his mother and casting out his newborn daughter.  So convinced is Leontes of his wife’s guilt that he calls on the Oracle at Delphos to pronounce Hermione’s sentence and drags her from her childbed to have it read in front of the court; instead, Hermione is vindicated, but the damage is done: when Hermoine learns that her son has died from grief and her daughter has been left for dead in the wilderness, she collapses.  As Leontes realizes the full horror of his error, Paulina (Dee Dee Batteast), a close servant of Hermoine, pronounces the Queen dead.  Don’t worry – it gets better.

Out of this tragic beginning, the story jumps forward 16 years to Bohemia, where Camillo has fled with Polixenes to escape the wrath of his King, and where Perdita (Molly Martinez-Collins), the infant daughter who was cast out by Leontes, was raised by an old shepherd and is now being wooed by Polixenes’ son, Florizel (Xavier Edward King).  When Polixenes learns his son has pledged his love to a mere shepherdess, he flies into a rage that, like Leontes before him, threatens to destroy his relationships with those he loves.

This play is an excellent example of Shakespeare’s complete grasp on human nature and how little people have changed in the nearly 400 years since this story was written.  Timely and profound, hysterical and heartbreaking, The Winter’s Tale delivers a warning on the horrors that may ensue when jealousy and anger run rampant and, more importantly, how to heal from it when they inevitably do.  Keep an eye out for Marcus Truschinski as the clever rogue, Autolycus, who threatens to steal the show, and allow The Winter’s Tale to move you.
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I started the weekend in the Touchstone with Gavin Dillon Lawrence’s World Premiere play, THE BARBER  AND THE UNNAMED PRINCE, which Lawrence, who has been a member of APT’s acting company for a decade, both wrote and directed.  On rare occasions, you find a play that absolutely cracks your soul open, and this is one of them.  The play is somewhat autobiographical in that it takes place in a Washington, DC neighborhood in the “Chocolate City” Lawrence grew up in.  Set during Obama’s presidency in the summer of 2012, Kofi (David Alan Anderson) is holding onto his barbershop by a thread.  Once a vibrant black neighborhood, crime has recently spiked even higher, targeting the new businesses moving in on a wave of gentrification.  Kofi’s one employee, Sweep (Nathan Barlow), is wary of all the police activity – his criminal record already keeps him from finding good employment – but the city is being rocked by something bigger than gentrification: the death of Chuck Brown. 

“Go-Go Music”, a blend of Latin, Blues, Jazz, and R&B unique to DC, was the playlist of the city, and Chuck Brown was the leader of the band; it was the end of an era, and Kofi was beginning to feel that his era in the city was also coming to a close – especially when he finds out that his son, Prince (Jonathan Gardner), is in danger of losing his academic scholarship to the elite private high school he attends due to recent bad grades.  Thinking it’s Prince’s girlfriend who is distracting him from his studies, Kofi intends to get his son back on track by putting him to work at the shop for the summer when he is visited by the girlfriend’s mother, Sparkle (Shariba Rivers), who arrives with the same problem and mission to keep their kids apart.  Sparkle happens to be a realtor who is gaining ground in the neighborhood and she encourages Kofi to wait it out in his shop awhile longer to reach the neighborhood revitalization she is certain will come.  Though Kofi isn’t convinced, he agrees to show her around the neighborhood later that day, after Sparkle returns with her daughter.  While waiting for Prince to return to the shop from an errand, Kofi is visited by longtime regular Smitty, the “Twelfth Street Profit” (Cedric G. Young), and Ricky (Josh Krause), a white person who is brand new to the neighborhood: the past and the future of a city hanging in the balance.
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Lawrence is the August Wilson of this generation, making the Black experience in modern America accessible to audiences of all colors.  To say that experience isn’t a pretty picture is an understatement, which is exactly why everyone needs to see this production: our country is desperately in need of the forced empathy live theatre can give, right now.  Inspired by watching his teenage son get a haircut in one of the last Black-owned barbershops in the Adams Morgan neighborhood in DC,  the play feels incredibly real – as if you’re a fly on the barbershop wall instead of an audience member.  The Barber and the Unnamed Prince is as funny and heartwarming as it is shocking and brutal, but its ability to humanize the experience of all too many people in our country is truly where this play shines.  Please be brave enough to see this production (and don’t forget the tissues).

Winner of the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, ANNA IN THE TROPICS, written by Cuban American playwright Nilo Cruz and directed by Robert Ramirez, tells a tale of the power of the spoken word.  Set in 1929 in Ybor City, an area of Tampa where many Cuban immigrants established cigar factories, an old family business is being torn between tradition and the modern industrial world. 

Santiago (Triney Sandoval) is the owner of a cigar factory that is largely run by his family: his wife Ofelia (Elizabeth Ledo); his older daughter, Conchita (Melisa Pereyra), and her husband, Palomo (Yona Moises Olivares); and, his youngest daughter, Marela (Phoebe González).  The family is excited for the arrival of the new lector, Juan Julian (Ronald Román-Meléndez).  A Latin word meaning “one who reads,” a lector was a treasured tradition in tobacco factories: a refined and well-dressed person who read books aloud to the workers as they worked.  Santiago’s half-brother, Cheché (Sam Luis Massaro), however, wants nothing to do with tradition; a bitter, unhappy man determined to drag the company into the modern world, he has his own reasons for resenting the lector.  When Juan Julian begins to read Anna Karenina by Russian author Leo Tolstoy, the story inspires life-altering emotions, ideas, and extreme reactions in each listener.
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A perfect production for an outdoor summer stage, Anna in the Tropics is perhaps the first play I’ve seen at APT where the actors are ideally dressed for hot summer weather, with beautifully designed and period correct linen clothing by Raquel Adorno.  The cast is strong, well chosen, and perfectly balanced for this thought-provoking, intimate, and sensual play that so thoroughly transports the audience to this particular time and place in our country when modern living began its assault on the traditions of a slow life, made by hand, and so eloquently demonstrates the impact of a well-told story.

An American playwright from Kansas, William Inge had a string of successful plays in the early 1950s that were firmly based in the Midwestern world he grew up in, but it was the most autobiographical one that won him a Pulitzer Prize.  In PICNIC, directed by Brenda DeVita, the story is inspired by the boarding house run by Inge’s mother, along with the small community of women who struggled under a quiet, desperate life of unrealized dreams. 

Flo Owens (Tracy Michelle Arnold) has two daughters: 18-year-old Madge (Alina Taber), the “pretty one,” and 16-year-old Millie (Kelly Simmons), the rebellious tomboy, who she has managed to raise on her own by renting the other half of her duplex to a spinster schoolteacher, Rosemary Sydney (Colleen Madden).   The routine of their lives is disrupted by the arrival of Hal Carter (Rasell Holt), an extremely handsome but ragged young vagabond who has been hired by Flo’s neighbor, Helen Potts (Dee Dee Batteast), to do some odd jobs around the house.  They soon learn it wasn’t an accident that Hal arrived in their small Kansas town: he came looking for help from his wealthy college friend, Alan Seymour (Colin Covert), who happens to be dating Madge.  Hal’s arrived just in time for the end of summer community picnic and, though he’s a little rough around the edges, he’s invited along; but, things begin to unravel when Rosemary’s beau, Howard Bevans (Triney Sandoval), brings a bottle of alcohol to kick off the festivities, revealing the darkness hiding just under the surface.
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There’s something about Picnic that brings to mind the classic television show, Happy Days, in the episodes when The Fonz, with his cool bad-boy image, became the focus of the show.  There was at least one episode where they revealed what was hiding under that image, giving The Fonz a greater depth and understanding.  There is a similar story unfolding with Hal in Picnic, but the play appeals even more to Hal’s physical appearance.  In the beginning of the play, Hal removes his shirt so Ms. Potts can wash it, and the entirety of the female body of the audience collectively gasped; in fact, one woman sitting near me actually breathed aloud what we were all thinking: “Wow.”  Visiting APT with a group of women?  This show is your ticket.

FALLEN ANGELS by Noël Coward is an Art Deco marvel of a farce that feels shockingly modern for a play that is exactly a century old.  Set in the luxuriously posh London flat belonging to Fred and Julia Sterrol (Nate Burger and Phoebe González), we arrive just in time to meet the Sterrol’s intriguing new housekeeper, Saunders (Colleen Madden), before Fred is leaving for a weekend of golf with his good friend, Willy Banbury (Sam Luis Massaro), who is the husband of Julia’s best friend, Jane Banbury (Laura Rook).  Suddenly, Jane arrives with shocking news: their former love interest, Maurice Duclos (Ronald Román-Meléndez), will be arriving in London that very day!  How will they possibly resist Maurice’s irresistible charms and, more importantly, do they even want to?

What’s fascinating about this play is that it has all the physical comedy one would expect in a farce, but it is largely performed by the women.  Laura Rook and Phoebe González are brilliant to behold, both because of their impeccable wardrobes and because of their comedic timing.  Directed by Shannon Cochran, Fallen Angels is a tribute to friendship between women and a remarkably insightful commentary on marriage and the disparity between the societal expectations of husbands and wives.  Reminiscent of last season’s farce, Ring Round the Moon, this play features many of the same actors /and is also clever, witty, and hysterically funny.  A flawless cast, accompanied by stunning costume design by Fabio Toblini and scenic design by Scott Penner, makes this production the most fun and lighthearted of the collection I saw at APT this season.
 
Find two more plays at The Touchstone this season: ART by Yasmina Reza and TRIBES by Nina Raine.  For more information and to purchase tickets, go to: americanplayers.org/ or call the Box Office at 608-588-2361.

Know Before You Go

• American Players Theatre is not the place to wear your heels. The climb to The Hill and the Touchstone is through the woods along a gravel path; it is best to wear sturdy shoes and dress for the weather.  There is a shuttle available for those who cannot make the walk. 
• When it's incredibly hot, there is a free water station by the gift shop where you can drink from the water fountain or refill your own water bottle.  The seats can get hot and may be in direct sunlight; consider wearing a hat and clothes that will cover areas where your body will be touching the seats.  A small towel to wipe up sweat is advised.
• Unless it really starts to rain, the show will go on or may only be delayed for a while; it is best to bring a raincoat and umbrella if there is any rain expected, though they do sell ponchos at the gift shop. 
• In the evening, it can get cold; consider bringing a blanket and/or jacket.  Bug spray is available at stations on the way up the hill, if needed.
• There are picnic areas available, should you care to bring a luncheon, or order a picnic before you go.  The Hill and Touchstone have concession stands with a good variety of drinks and snacks, as well as some pre-made sandwiches, and the downhill concession stand has made-to-order sandwiches and wine for your group.  

What to do in Spring Green
Spring Green is the home of Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin, as well as the iconic Wisconsin attraction, House on the Rock.  Spring Green, itself, is an adorable little main street community with some lovely shops and restaurants; I highly recommend making a stop at Arcadia Books and Reunion Family Barbecue.  There are also two State Parks nearby: Tower Hill and Governor Dodge.  

For the history buffs, you can see two State Historical Sites just a bit further south down 151: in historic Mineral Point there’s Pendarvis and you will find the First Capitol in Belmont.  There's also historic Mount Horeb, Wisconsin, where you can check out the trollway and visit the nearby Cave of the Mounds.

By Mary Boyle

One of my favorite places in the state of Wisconsin is Door County. The "thumb" of Wisconsin's mitten, the Door is a narrow peninsula almost completely surrounded by water, with Lake Michigan on the east and Green Bay on the west.  Some would argue that the Door is just like Ozaukee County but with even more tourists, and although both counties have a similar climate and a good stretch of Lake Michigan shoreline, the Door's unparalleled commitment to local food, nature, and the arts, along with a decided lack of billboards, LED lighting,  and industry, gives it a wonderfully relaxed feeling that Oz can't quite achieve. Beyond all of that, the one aspect that really keeps me coming back every season is Door Shakespeare.  For thirty years, this outdoor theatre under a majestic maple tree in the garden of Björklunden, located in Baileys Harbor, has produced both Shakespeare and other classic plays for audiences from all over the country.  This summer, Door Shakespeare has created another summer of outdoor theatre magic with the Bard's TWELFTH NIGHT and an adapatation of Charles Dicken's GREAT EXPECTATIONS.

Directed by Scott Mckenna Campbell, a Door Shakespeare veteran, Twelfth Night is one of Shakespeare's funniest plays, featuring mistaken identities, misdirected love, and drunken revelry.  Twins Viola and Sebastian (Janyce Caraballo and Gabriel Rodriguez) have washed up on the shore of Illyria after a shipwreck, both certain the other had drowned.  For her safety, Viola disguises herself as Cesario and gains employment in the household of Duke Orsino (Shaughn Aderhold), who immediately puts his new boy in charge of gaining the attention and favor of the Countess Olivia (Rachel J. Jones.  Still mourning the deaths of her father and brother, Olivia already has her hands full with her drunken uncle, Sir Toby Belch (Ryan Schabach), Sir Toby's frequently drunk friend Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Jamey Feshold), and her fool, Feste (Becky Keeshin), who constantly fluster her steward, the pompous Malvolio (Mark Corkins) and are frequently encouraged by Maria (Sierra Miguela Tune), the serving woman.  While Olivia isn't the slightest bit interested in the Duke, she falls like a rock for the Duke's new "boy".  Then, Sebastian, rescued by the sea captain Antonia, shows up in the same town and everyone thinks he's some guy named Cesario. Cue the hijinks.

I would say that Mark Corkins, a Door Shakespeare legend, stole the show with his protrayal of the "notoriously abused" Malvolio, but Ryan Schabach, who also has a long and glorious history at Door Shakespeare, was positively brilliant as the drunken Sir Toby Belch, so I must give the credit to both of them, because they kept me laughing from start to finish.  Jamey Feshold, who is well on his way to becoming a Door Shakespeare regular, was well cast as Sir Andrew Aguecheek, and did his part to further the laughter.  Feste is a key role in Twelfth Night, and Becky Keeshin did it justice with her beautiful voice and ability to play stringed instruments.  In fact, most of the cast participated in creating music throughout the production, which certainly added to the merriment.  Laughter is always appreciated, and this show has it in abundance.

Adapted by Gale Childs Daly and Directed by Samantha Martinson, this version of Charles Dicken's Great Expectations is full of narrative and cleverly streamlined without losing the heart of the story, which centers on Pip (Rachel J. Jones), an orphaned boy whose fortune changes through a series of unusual events.  Raised "by hand" by his sister, Mrs. Joe (Sierra Miguela Tune), Pip is constantly reminded to be grateful for his lot.  Pip never minded that he was destined to become a blacksmith like his sister's husband, Joe Gargery (Ryan Schabach), because although Joe was rather simple-minded, he was always the most kind and loving person in Pip's life.  Then, two events happened that changed Pip's trajectory: he met an escaped convict (Mark Corkins) from a prison ship and brought him food to eat and a file to get out of his chains; then, he was invited to play at the home of Miss Havisham (Sierra Miguela Tune), a wealthy old woman who wished Pip to get acquainted with her adopted daughter, Estella (Janyce Caraballo).  Suddenly, becoming a blacksmith is no longer appealing to Pip; instead, he aspires to be a gentleman.

Aside from Scott McKenna Campbell, who accompanies the play as the musician, each of the six remaining cast members play a multitude of roles to fill out Pip's Victorian Era world, switching quickly between characters with the help of slight costume changes.  Again, Corkins and Schabach shine as veteran actors, but the cast as a whole is strong and they demonstrate feelingly why this story continues to be told: to remind us all that we are here to love each other and that, when all is said and done, it is the love that we give that remains. 

There is one final weekend left of the 2025 Door Shakespeare season and no better way to spend a summer weekend than in the beauty of Door County.  Just two to three hours from Oz, it's perfectly doable to day trip!  My itinerary: depart Oz at 9 a.m. and arrive for lunch at Blue Horse Beach Cafe in Fish Creek, followed by visting nearby shops, with a mandatory stop at the Fish Creek Market.  Head to Sister Bay and give yourself an hour and a half for amazing wood-fired pizza at Wild Tomato, followed by an affagato (or just ice cream) at nearby Analog Ice Cream & Coffee.  Give yourself at least 45 minutes to get over to Björklunden so you have time to see the garden and The Boynton Chapel, a beautiful stave church on the shore of Lake Michigan.  Will you be getting home late?  Yes, you will.  Will it be worth it?  Yes. Yes, it will.

Door Shakespeare's season runs through Saturday, August 16, 2025 at Björklunden, located at 7590 Boynton Ln. in Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin.  Shows are Monday through Saturday: weekdays at 7:30 and Saturdays at 5:00.  Tickets may be purchased online at https://doorshakespeare.com/​, by calling the Daytime Box Office at (920) 854-7111, or at the Björklunden Box Office up to one hour prior to the performance.

About Door Shakespeare
Door Shakespeare was created in 1995 under the umbrella of then-named American Folklore Theater in collaboration with Blue Circle Theatre. The first season, produced in the Garden at Björklunden, included “A Midsommer Night’s Dream” and “The Comedie of Errors,” which played in conjunction with the same acting company performing across the peninsula at American Folklore Theater (now, Northern Sky Theater).  In 1999, and with AFT’s blessing, company member Suzanne Graff and her husband, Jerry Gomes, established Door Shakespeare as its own nonprofit theater company. Since 1999 Door Shakespeare has produced 44 striking productions of classical theater in the Garden of Björklunden’s 425-acre estate on Lake Michigan in Baileys Harbor.  Door Shakespeare’s presence continues to grow and is enriched by educational programming including Door Shakespeare’s Camp Will, Will in the Woods, Shake it up Saturday, and Shakespeare in the Schools.