MILWAUKEE REP 2024/25
SEASON IMPACT REPORT
MILWAUKEE REP: NOTABLE HIGHLIGHTS
MILWAUKEE REP: NOTABLE HIGHLIGHTS
551
STAFF EMPLOYED
138,425
PERFORMANCE ATTENDEES
3,654
INDIVIDUAL DONORS
636
PERFORMANCES of 12 productions across five stages
1,232 ZIP CODES
served across the country
2
MILWAUKEE REP
17,618 PARTICIPANTS
in education & engagement programs
14,802 SUBSCRIBERS
245
CREATIVE PERSONNEL EMPLOYED
2024/25 IMPACT REPORT
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A MESSAGE FROM
Mark & Chad Dear Friends, As we reflect on the remarkable 2024/25 Season, we are filled with deep gratitude for your unwavering support. Thanks to you—our donors, subscribers, and community partners—Milwaukee Rep not only met the challenges of this unique year, but thrived. With our home under construction, we produced a full 12-show season across alternate venues throughout the city. It was no small feat, but your belief in our mission allowed us to reimagine what theater can be: nimble, bold, and deeply rooted in community. Whether it was a World Premiere in a new space or a classic in an unexpected setting, every production was made possible by your generosity. Beyond the stage, we proudly continued our Education & Engagement programming, reaching thousands of students and community members. From in-classroom residencies to public dialogues, the power of theater to inspire and connect remained strong. This season reminded us that Milwaukee Rep is more than a building. It’s a shared commitment to storytelling, to each other, and to the future of the arts in our city. Thank you for being part of this journey. We can’t wait to welcome you back to our new home in the season ahead. With heartfelt appreciation,
Mark Clements Artistic Director
Chad Bauman Ellen & Joe Checota Executive Director
Left: Asher Muldoon and Grace Bobber in The Last Five Years. Photo by Michael Brosilow. 4
MILWAUKEE REP
2024/25 IMPACT REPORT
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SEASON
Productions
Nina Giselle and Dimonte Henning in Romeo and Juliet. Photo by Michael Brosilow.
Bridget Barkan and Kayla Saunders in Women of Rock. Photo by Mark Frohna.
Alexander Sovronsky in The Craic. Photo by Michael Brosilow.
Mark Hawkins and David Acton in The Woman in Black. Photo by Mark Douet.
MILWAUKEE REP
Artistic Highlights Several productions throughout the season broke sales records: Alexis J. Roston and Bethany Thomas in Marie and Rosetta. Photo by Michael Brosilow.
Chris McCarrell, James Moye, Caitlin Houlahan, and Karen Ziemba in Prelude to a Kiss a musical. Photo by Michael Brosilow.
Regina Carregha and Dylan Brown in Espejos: Clean. Photo by Michael Brosilow.
The Craic shattered records becoming the best-selling show in Stackner Cabaret history, with dynamic ticket prices reaching as high as $152 per seat. The Woman in Black became the best-selling production performed in the Stiemke Studio. A Christmas Carol earned its second-highest ever revenue, following the 2016 premiere production.
Emily S. Chang, Jonathan Wainwright, Justin Huen, Jack Ball, and Kelley Faulkner in The Coast Starlight. Photo by Michael Brosilow.
The cast of Lumberjacks in Love. Photo by Mark Frohna.
The cast of Million Dollar Quartet. Photo by Michael Brosilow.
Asher Muldoon and Grace Bobber in The Last Five Years. Photo by Michael Brosilow.
The cast of A Christmas Carol. Photo by Michael Brosilow.
2024/25 IMPACT REPORT
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MILWAUKEE REP’S NEW
Play Development Through the John (Jack) D. Lewis New Play Development Program, we staged three World Premiere productions: Women of Rock created by Mark Clements, Prelude to a Kiss a musical by Craig Lucas, Daniel Messé and Sean Hartley, and The Craic by Mark Clements and Deanie Vallone.
“A gem in contemporary musicals.” – An Intuitive Perspective review of Prelude to a Kiss a musical Milwaukee Repertory Theater presents Prelude to a Kiss a musical at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for The Arts, September 10 – October 19, 2024 Pictured: The Cast of Prelude to a Kiss a musical | Photography by Michael Brosilow
“Powerful... an appealing tribute [featuring] strong, versatile singers with big personalities.” – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel review of Women of Rock Milwaukee Repertory Theater presents Women of Rock in the Stackner Cabaret, September 6 – November 3, 2024 Pictured: Bridget Barkan and Paris Bennett | Photography by Mark Frohna
“Warm voices, outstanding instrumentalists, easy laughter, toe-tapping trad tunes, and heart-tugging ballad.” – BroadwayWorld review of The Craic Milwaukee Repertory Theater presents The Craic in the Stackner Cabaret, January 17 – March 16, 2025 Pictured left to right: Trevor Lindley Craft, Megan Loomis, Claire-Frances Sullivan, Alexander Sovronsky, Luke Darnell | Photography by Michael Brosilow
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MILWAUKEE REP
2024/25 IMPACT REPORT
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OUR COMMITMENT TO
MILWAUKEE REP’S STUDENT MATINEES AND
Education
Rep Immersion Days
Our youth education programs served 13,370 students from 215 schools in the Milwaukee area. These programs included:
Due to popular demand, we hosted a record number of student matinees during our production of Romeo and Juliet. Hundreds of students joined us for five student matinees and two Rep Immersion Days. We also hosted student matinees and Rep Immersion Days for our productions of Marie and Rosetta, The Woman in Black, and A Christmas Carol. During Rep Immersion Days, students attend a special matinee performance along with technical demonstrations from Milwaukee Rep’s team of artists. These demonstrations have included stage combat, fake blood and special effects, and lighting and sound.
• Reading Residencies • School Subscriptions • Rep Immersion Days • Next Narrative™ Monologue
Competition • Saturday Youth Programs • Teen Council • Workshops and Residencies
“The reading residency is the only reason I came to school on Mondays.” – Reading Residency Student
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MILWAUKEE REP
Milwaukee Rep hosted the regional competition of the Next Narrative™ Monologue Competition, which highlights the voices of contemporary Black playwrights. The two winners competed in the national competition in New York City. Milwaukee’s own Silver Anderson (Golda Meir High School) took home first place and $3,000 in scholarship money. This was the second consecutive year that a Milwaukee student took home this prestigious prize.
Members of our Teen Council attended Create Wisconsin Day, where they learned about arts advocacy and how to talk with elected officials.
2024/25 IMPACT REPORT
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POWERING MILWAUKEE
Capital Campaign Since our official Groundbreaking in May 2024, our first phase of construction is nearing an on-time and on-budget completion. The first phase includes the Ellen & Joe Checota Powerhouse Theater, the new Sandra & William Haack Galleria, and the Herzfeld Foundation Education & Engagement Center. We will continue construction on the Herro-Franke Studio Theater through early 2026.
MILWAUKEE REP’S
Engagement A Christmas Carol: We provided over 1,200 free tickets to A Christmas Carol and collected donations from audience members to support the work of Community Advocates through our A Christmas Carol Families and ACC Community Tickets programs. Love Stories: Throughout the summer of 2024, we interviewed couples within the Milwaukee Rep community and recorded their love stories. Those stories were then turned into monologues and performed by members of our Teen Council prior to performances of Prelude to a Kiss a musical, Romeo and Juliet, and The Last Five Years. Reflections Series: We hosted three facilitated art creation events at community partners around the city for our Reflections Series. Each event was free and invited patrons and community members to work with a mental health expert to create a piece of art that reflected their inner emotions and thoughts. The art was then displayed outside of the Stiemke Studio during performances of Espejos: Clean. Dinner Dialogues: We continued our exciting Dinner Dialogue Series, giving patrons the opportunity to have conversations around the themes of select productions over a shared meal. Dinner Dialogues took place during The Coast Starlight, Marie and Rosetta, The Woman in Black, Romeo and Juliet and Espejos: Clean at diverse restaurants across Milwaukee.
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MILWAUKEE REP
Thank you to our 60+ board and campaign cabinet members who helped make this vision for the future a reality. We could not have accomplished such a feat without your hard work and expertise. $50 million in gifts from individual donors 62% $14.5 million from corporate donors 18% $10 million from foundations 12% $5 million from deferred gifts and historic tax credits 6% $1.9 million from the Wisconsin 2% State Building Commission
THANKS TO THE GENEROSITY of 568 households, Milwaukee Rep has raised over $80 million to support the creation of the new Associated Bank Theater Center.
2024/25 IMPACT REPORT
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FINANCIALS
5%
Food and Beverage
5%
3%
Endowment
Other
46%
Contributions
41
%
Ticket Sales
Elevate the Art Initiative As we approach the grand opening of our new facility, we have shifted focus to the transformative artistic experiences that will unfold within its walls. The new Associated Bank Theater Center offers expanded capacity, cutting-edge technology, and enhanced accessibility for our audiences. To fully realize the potential of our new spaces, we successfully raised $1.5 million in new and increased gifts as part of the Elevate the Art Initiative to support ambitious artistic works in the first three seasons in the Associated Bank Theater Center.
Income $15,503,423
Milwaukee Rep and UPAF Milwaukee Rep is grateful to the United Performing Arts Fund (UPAF) for the vital role they play in our community. The support that UPAF provides to its Member Groups is essential, and allows us to expand our impact and transform lives in our community.
5%
Food and Beverage
6%
Fundraising
13%
Administrative
15%
4%
Occupancy
57%
Programming
Financials For the 11th year in a row, we received Charity Navigator’s four-star ranking for our sound fiscal management practices, commitment to accountability, and dedication to stewarding each donor’s investment to realize maximum community impact. Income Contributions $ 7,158,433 Ticket Sales 6,330,836 Endowment 760,000 Food and Beverage 763,000 Other 491,154 Total
$ 15,503,423
Expense Programming $ 8,671,430 Marketing 2,279,268 Administrative 1,954,531 Fundraising 930,719 Food and Beverage 736,668 Occupancy 646,026 Total
$ 15,218,641
Marketing
Expense $15,218,641
Photography, above: Mark Frohna 14
MILWAUKEE REP
2024/25 IMPACT REPORT
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2024/25
Board of Trustees OFFICERS Judy Hansen, President; Broadway Producer Adam J. Peck, President Elect; Riverwater Partners, Principal and CIO
Andrés Gonzalez, At Large; Froedtert Health VP, Community Engagement and Chief Diversity Officer Joan Lubar, At Large; Community Volunteer
Kerryann Haase Minton, Vice President, Trustees; Michael Best, Managing Partner
Robert H. Manegold, At Large; Community Volunteer
James Phillips, Treasurer; Godfrey & Kahn, Partner
Raymond J. Manista, At Large; Northwestern Mutual, Executive VP – Chief Legal Officer
Bryan House, Secretary; Foley & Lardner LLP, Partner
James Phelps, At Large; JCP Construction, President
TRUSTEES
Ayad Akhtar, Pulitzer Prize-winning Playwright
Robert H. Duffy, Quarles; Partner
Tammy Belton-Davis, Athena Communications, LLC; Founder and Principal
Dr. Eric A. Durant, Milwaukee School of Engineering; Professor, Program Director
Ivor Benjamin, MD, Medical College of Wisconsin; Director, Cardiovascular Center Wendy W. Blumenthal, Blumenthal & Associates Julia Burns, Pathways High School; President of the Board Bryan Carson, Associated Bank; Executive Vice President, Chief Product and Marketing Officer Joe Checota, Landmark Healthcare Facilities; Chairman and CEO Jane Chernof, Community Volunteer Marybeth Cottrill, BMO Wealth Management; Private Wealth Advisor Amy Croen, Geneva Capital; Co-Founder (retired)
Jay Franke, HF Hospitality Group; Creative Director Jason Graham, Rationality Capital LLC; Investor Peter Hammond, Baird; Managing Director, Client Services Chris Hermann, PNC Bank; Regional President Tom Irgens, Irgens; Executive VP Debra Johnson, Community Volunteer Lynda Johnson, Harley-Davidson, Inc.; Assistant Treasurer Deborah Kaerek, Kaerek Homes; Co-Owner Michelle Kolp, We Energies; Director AMI Operations & Strategy
David Kundert, JPMorgan Fleming Asset Management; Retired Chairman Dawn Lindsey, Northwestern Mutual Assistant General Counsel Kristine Lueders, Foley & Lardner LLP Anne L. Noyes, Community Volunteer Joseph Pickart, Husch Blackwell; Partner Karen Plunkett, Milwaukee Venture Partners; Managing Director Beth Ridley, Ridley Consulting Group; Owner Allison Scrivner, Beauty by Allison Jane; Owner Clark Slipher, Milliman, Inc.; Retired Consulting Actuary and Principal Craig Swan, Community Volunteer Benjamin Wagner, Habush, Habush, and Rottier; Attorney
Front cover: Piper Jean Bailey, Davis Wood, Gabriel Armstrong and Matt Daniels in Romeo and Juliet. Photo by Michael Brosilow.