Nestled in the nooks and crannies of Door County’s Peninsula actors and musicians perform theatrical productions and concerts for the enjoyment of audiences of every age.  Beginning as early as the 1930s, performers began arriving in Door County as they “discovered” an environment that encouraged creativity.  Today, nearly a dozen performing arts organizations perform throughout the peninsula.  From Beethoven to Fabian, theatre in a garden or concerts in a barn, Door County sparkles with music and theatre all year long.

American Folklore Theatre

Money Magazine "...one of the top regional theatres in the country."

Original Musical Comedies to Delight the Whole Family! 

American Folklore Theatre (AFT), a critically acclaimed professional theatre company produces original musical shows in repertory under a canopy of stars at Peninsula State Park. 

Summer Season: Monday - Saturday, June 16 - August 28, 2010

Life on the Mississippi – Book & Lyrics by Douglas M. Parker, Music by Denver Casado. Young Samuel Clemens leaves home in Hannibal to be a cub pilot on a Mississippi steamboat in 1858 and unexpectedly finds himself learning about life…and death…and love…and writing! All while navigating his way from boy to man and from Samuel Clemens to Mark Twain. AFT Amphitheatre in Peninsula State Park, Fish Creek, WI. Special Opening Performance: Wednesday, 6/16 @ 8:30PM. Regular run: Mondays @ 8PM, Wednesdays @ 6PM & Fridays @ 8PM.

Cheeseheads, the Musical - Music by Paul Libman, Book & Lyrics by Dave Hudson. ! A modern day dairy-tale with a lotto heart! The most magical thing about the lottery is pondering what you'd do if you won...At Schnaybel's Famous Cheese, the lotto is just the ticket to help the workers take their minds off how things are in Sheboygan. Their beloved founder has passed away and there are rumors the factory may shut down. With typical Wisconsin good humor, the workers carry on while keeping their fingers crossed that something better will come their way...A touching and joyful Wisconsin musical gouda luck fable! AFT Amphitheatre in Peninsula State Park, Fish Creek, WI. Special Opening Performance: Thursday, 6/17 @ 8PM. Regular run: Tuesdays @ 8PM & Saturdays @ 6PM.

Bone Dance - Created by Jeffrey Herbst. A funny and frightening musical carnival of mystical ghost stories, gathered from campfires around the world. A magical brew of music, special visual effects, human sound effects, fantastical masks that bring sixteen ghostly and ghoulish tales (back!) to life. Scary, macabre, funny and even touching - sometimes all at once! Directed by Jeffrey Herbst. Ralph Lee, nationally renowned puppeteer and mask-maker extraordinaire has also created several astonishing pieces for the production - hand and stick puppets that vary in size, from the small to the gigantic. AFT Amphitheatre in Peninsula State Park, Fish Creek, WI. Opens 6/23. Wednesdays @8:30PM, Thursdays @ 8PM & Saturdays @ 8:30PM.

Fall Season: Monday - Saturday, September 3 - October 23, 2010

Guys & Does - Book & Lyrics by Frederick Heide and Lee Becker, Music by Paul Libman,. A wacky and wonderful excursion into the world of Wisconsin deerhunting. Join Fritz and Duane as they travel Up Nort' to get away from it all, and wind up crossing paths with a magical talking deer!

For more information about our season schedule, ticket information or group tours contact AFT at (920)-854-6117 or visit us at www.FolkloreTheatre.com. Advance tickets available via the Internet, phone, or at the 

AFT office in the Green Gables Shops.
Office Located at Green Gables, North Ephraim, Wisconsin
P.O. Box 273, Fish Creek, WI 54212
(920) 854-6117 • fax: (920) 854-9106

Birch Creek Music Performance Center

Door Community Auditorium

In the fall of 1985, the dream of creating a community performing arts center began to take on shape and form.  With a goal to provide a facility for hosting community events and programming, serving the needs of local children, and providing a stage for featured performers, members of the community gathered together to begin feasibility discussions.  Within five years the “idea” of a year ‘round performing arts center became a reality and ground was broken for the Door Community Auditorium in 1990. 

When DCA opened its doors nearly two years later, more than 1,200 individuals, businesses, organizations, and foundations had contributed $2.7 million during a two-year fundraising campaign. With a 750-seat capacity and state-of-the-art acoustics, DCA premiered in May 1991, becoming the first professional multi-purpose performance facility in the county.  Throughout the year, DCA features professional and community programming. Local students have access to the Door Community Auditorium stage, performing theatrical productions and concerts, hosting forensics competitions, and attending graduation ceremonies.  Local organizations utilize the auditorium, presenting musical productions, topical speakers, and films.  Annually, DCA hosts the Fireside Coffeehouse Concert series and the St. Norbert Distinguished Lecture Series. 

Each August, the Peninsula Music Festival renowned musicians in a three-week celebration of world class symphonic music.  Embracing the "community” by serving as an arts, cultural, and educational center for the entire region, DCA continues to enrich, entertain, and challenge through a balanced combination of the various arts.  Opportunities for social, educational, and cultural growth are at the heart of the DCA Mission.   

Door Shakespeare
Timeless Performances in a Resplendent Setting

Door Shakespeare brings Shakespeare alive in a most magical performance space.  Performing outdoors in repertory with other classical comedies, visitors to Door Shakespeare experience a rich blend of human folly and prosaic invention.  Performances are focused, smart and professionally tailored to audiences of all ages.

Located in the Björklunden estate, just south of Baileys Harbor on Highway 57, just south of County E.

A park-like setting provides a welcoming and beautiful experience with Shakespeare and playwrights like Oscar Wilde, Rostand, Sheridan and Moliere.  While the audience is seated comfortably on raised platforms, the actors perform all around you by using the natrual environment; entering through breaks in the trees, paths and from the audience.  Never worry about understanding the play here - Door Shakespeare's actors are highly skilled at performing Shakespeare, making the words and the story not only comprehendible, but also highly enjoyable.  Live music and rich costumes adorn productions making an evening at Door Shakespeare unforgettable.  Join us on a Wine Night for tastings and elegant nibbles from Door County restaurants.  Make it a real event by booking your party in the regal Queen's Box.

The Rivals - July 9 - August 22.  Sun, Tue, Fri.  A delightful comedy, by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, that follows the foibles of young love with the eloquence of the immortal Mrs. Malaprop.

Much Ado About Nothing - July 10 - August 21.  Mon, Thu, Sat.  A fan favorite of William Shakespeare's comedies, wit and wisdom keep little company as the passions of head-strong Beatrice meet the bombastic Benedick.

Performance are held Thrusday through Tuesday.  Performances outdoors at Björklunden Garden at 7:30pm.

For tickets, information, gift certificates 920-839-1500, www.doorshakespeare.com

P.O. Box 351
Baileys Harbor, WI  54202
(920) 839-1500
www.doorshakespeare.com


Island Players

Since 1984, Island Players has served Washington Island as a non-profit community theater. In fulfilling its mission – to bring quality theater experiences to the Washington Island community through performances and programs for adults and schoolchildren alike – the Players produce full-length plays and musical productions, sponsor workshops and informal play readings, and provide programs in the public school and a summer acting camp children.

Through its various productions and programs, Island Players gives performance opportunities to hundreds of participants while providing entertainment for audiences which now number in the thousands. We regularly reach a majority of the Island’s population, both year-round and summer residents, as well as visitors to the island.

Our 2010 season includes “CENTER STAGE,” an informal afternoon of play readings on the first Sunday of the month, January through May, at the Recreation Center; PAINTING CHURCHES, a comic drama by Tina Howe, performed at Trinity Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall, February 19, 20, 21; DRAMATIC ARTS in EDUCATION - offering creative dramatic activities in all grades K–12, with several public performances during the school year; SUMMER ACTING CAMP for children 7–14 years of age, July 12-16 at the Red Barn; and OF MICE AND MEN, a dramatization based on John Steinbeck’s classic novel, at the Red Barn on Labor Day weekend, September 4, 5, 6. 

Joyce Morehouse, Managing Director
P.O. Box 160 • Washington Island, WI 54246
(920) 847-2215 
islandplayers@washingtonisle.com
www.islandplayers.org and www.washingtonislandchamber.com

Midsummer's Music Festival

Now celebrating their 20th season, Midsummer’s Music Festival has enthralled the Door County community with the chamber music of composers such as Dvorak, Beethoven, and Mozart along with hundreds of historical and modern-day composers. Founder and Artistic Director, Jim Berkenstock, has a gift for selecting outstanding compositions and creating exceptional concert events. Featuring strings, winds, and piano, Midsummer’s world-class chamber ensembles – whose talents individually and collectively are of the highest caliber – immensely enjoy performing together. Performances are held in intimate settings such as galleries, retreats, private homes, churches, and restaurants.

Midsummer’s Music presents up to 30 concerts in June, July, and over Labor Day. In addition, the world-renowned Pro Arte Quartet, featuring two of Midsummer’s string musicians – violinist David Perry and violist Sally Chisholm – is a significant part of Midsummer’s Music’s special presentations. "A Renaissance Christmas" concerts by the Chicago Early Music Consort are a holiday tradition performing three events each December. Haydn’s "The Seven Last Words of Christ" is presented annually during Easter week by Midsummer’s premier string quartet and involves local poets, actors, or clergy.
In 2003 an endowment trust was established ensuring the vital future of Midsummer’s Music for years to come. In 2005, Midsummer’s Music Festival was presented with the Peninsula Arts Association Fred J. Alley Visionary Award, recognizing the important role Midsummer’s Music has assumed in the Door County cultural community.

10568 Country Walk Lane, Suite 109 
P.O. Box 1004 
Sister Bay, WI 54234 
920-854-7088

Peninsula Music Festival


Door County’s premier performing arts organization celebrates its 58th season of presenting nine symphonic concerts in three weeks each August. Professional orchestral musicians come from all over the world to be part of this annual Music Festival. For three weeks, concert-goers can immerse themselves in classical music at the intimate state-of-the art Door Community Auditorium in Fish Creek - built as a home for the Peninsula Music Festival. Repertoire spans the baroque, classical, romantic and modern repertoires with world class soloists for each concert. Conductor Victor Yampolsky leads this dynamic orchestra in concerts that will impress the seasoned symphony attendee and charm the novice. Concerts every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday at 8:00 p.m. Tickets start at just $30.00, children and students are just $10 for any concert, any seat, any time. Season highlights include pianist Stewart Goodyear, Grammy winning violinist James Ehnes, a concert staged version of Marriage of Figaro and much more. 300 miles of shoreline, intimate bed & breakfasts, quaint shops and a world class symphony orchestra! Accessible, casual, affordable world class symphonic music on the beautiful Door Peninsula. Just one more reason why Door County should be part of your vacation destination plans!

The most important thing to note is the remarkable quality of the music-making. I hear the term "world class" far too often to suit my taste and usually it is a meaningless phrase whereby an organization attempts to inflate its opinion of itself. It is an apt descriptor here. - Henry Fogel - Past President, League of American Orchestras.
P.O. Box 340 • 3045 Cedar Street. • Ephraim, WI 54211
920-854-4060
www.musicfestival.com

58th Season
August 3 - 21, 2010

Peninsula Players
Wisconsin Trails Magazine says it best: “Visiting Door County without attending a performance by the Players would be like... well, it’s just not done.”

Since 1935 visitors to Peninsula Players, America’s Oldest Professional Resident Summer Theatre, have enjoyed the artistic excellence of its professional acting company and its scenic location along the shoreline of Green Bay.  Peninsula Players is located between the villages of Egg Harbor and Fish Creek, west off Highway 42.  

The Players, who will be celebrating their 75th Anniversary Season in 2010, is nestled in a cedar forest providing a tranquil and serene location for visitors who are welcome to come early and enjoy a stroll along the shoreline or through its many colorful gardens.  Patrons may also enjoy a cocktail from the bar while taking in the setting sun before settling themselves into the Players’ all-weather pavilion for an evening of captivating live professional theater at its best.  The Players perform fives shows a season varying from recent comedies and dramas to classic musicals in a new stage house and audience pavilion which made its debut in 2006.  The pavilion is designed with walls that are raised in good weather making the audience, stage and surrounding gardens blend in a unique and harmonious open environment.  The walls are lowered in inclement weather and the new theatre also has 621-cushioned theater seats and radiant in-floor heat to take the chill off cool fall nights.  The  75th season runs June 15-October 17, 2010.  

Heroes - June 15 - July 4. A witty, heartwarming comedy by Gérald Sibleyras, adapted by Tom Stoppard.  Olivier Award for best new comedy. 

Over the Tavern - July 7 - 25. Tom Dudzick's hilarious comedy.  "With a heart as big as its belly laughs, is the nearest Catholic equivalent to date of Neil Simon." 

A Little Night Music - July 28 – August 15.  Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler.  Tony Award-winning masterpiece. 

Comic Potential - August 18 – September 5. Alan Ayckbourn's sci-fi comedy.  Top 10 of Time Magazine's best plays of the decade. 

Panic - Sept. 8 – October 17.  Joseph Goodrich's thrilling mystery.  2008 Winner of Mystery Writer's of America Edgar Award for Best Play.

Performances are held Tuesday through Sunday. 

The closing Sunday of a show is a 4 p.m. matinee.  For tickets, information and gift certificates 920-868-3287, www.peninsulaplayers.com

Photo credits: Len Villano.

 

 

Cool nights! Hot music! Birch Creek Music Performance Center, Inc., in Egg Harbor is Door County's unique summer music school and concert venue. By day, music professionals from across the country teach promising young musicians ages 14-19. By night, from late June through mid-August, these same professionals take the stage in Birch Creek's 500-seat concert barn, performing in series highlighting Symphony, Percussion & Steel Band, and Big Band Jazz. Among the 100 performing faculty are Lyric Opera Concertmaster Robert Hanford, Trinidad & Tobago steel pan virtuoso Liam Teague, and Reggie Thomas, professor of Jazz Studies at University of Illinois-Edwardsville and a faculty member for two of Jazz at Lincoln Center national programs. The season features 30 concerts beginning at 8 p.m. with student prelude performances at 7:30 p.m. in the campus' gazebo, weather permitting. A picnic grove is available for carry-in meals. Daytime visitors are welcome.