Fish Creek, Wisconsin — Peninsula Players Theatre, America's oldest professional resident summer theatre, is thrilled to announce the artistic company for its 90th season, performing June 17 through October 19, 2025. Nestled along Door County's scenic shore, Peninsula Players Theatre has enthralled generations of audiences in its 600-plus seat, all-weather pavilion since 1935. The organization has presented hundreds of classic dramas, comedies, musicals, pre-Broadway tryouts and world premières. The upcoming five-show season includes a delightful comedy, a suspenseful thriller, a soul-stirring musical, a tender and witty love story, and a beautiful homage to friendship.
Making their Peninsula Players Theatre debut are nine actors, six designers, three directors and one stage manager. The artists will collaborate with the other 50-plus members of the 2025 company.
The 2025 season is sponsored in part by Alibi Marina, Richard & Barbara Board, the Cordon Family Foundation, Tim & Jackie Danis, Door County Medical Center, Harbor Guest House, Tony & Judy Licata, Allen & Maribeth Watson and Margaret & Dale West.
“Barefoot in the Park” by Neil Simon (June 17– July 6) opens the 90th season. Simon’s trademark wit and humor shine in this warm-hearted comedy, directed by Peninsula Players Theatre’s Artistic Director Linda Fortunato. Carefree Corie and pragmatic Paul are newlyweds who are hilariously navigating life in their quirky first apartment. Toss in an anxious mother-in-law and an eccentric neighbor, and comedy abounds! Making their Peninsula Players Theatre debuts are Tyler Meredith as Corie and Glenn Obrero as Paul. Rounding out the cast are Theatre alumni Sean Fortunato (“The Angel Next Door,” “I Ought To Be In Pictures,” “Sunday in the Park with George,“) Ryan Hallahan (“Write Me A Murder,” “The Rainmaker,”) and Karen Janes Woditsch (“Almost, Maine,” “Always…Patsy Cline,” “Murder on the Nile.”) The creative team includes Brian Grimm, sound design; Rachel Lambert, costume design (“I Ought To Be In Pictures,” “Miss Holmes”); Lindsay Mummert, scenic design and Stephen Roy White, lighting design (“The Angel Next Door,” “Trying.”)
The actors in Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park under the direction of Linda Fortunato are Sean Fortunato, Ryan Hallahan, Glenn Obrero, Tyler Meredith and Karen Janes Woditsch.
Learn more about our 2025 artistic company by reading our digital playbill.
Peninsula Players Theatre began rehearsals of Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park, which opens the organization's 90th season on June 17, 2025. The five-show season that runs through October 19th also includes Misery, Little Women the Broadway Musical, Dear Jack, Dear Louise and Steel Magnolias. Visit www.peninsulaplayers.com for more information or to book individual tickets. For season tickets, call the Box Office at (920) 868-3287.
Stephen Schellhardt, Georgette Verdin and Scott Weinstein make their directorial debuts at Peninsula Players Theatre this season. Verdin will helm the Theatre’s second offering, “Misery” by William Goldman, based on the novel by Stephen King (July 9 – July 27). Cast in this taut thriller are Hallahan, Obrero and making her Peninsula Players Theatre debut is Lucy Carapetyan. “Misery” centers around famous novelist Paul Sheldon, who, after a car accident, wakes up in the home of his “number one fan,” Annie Wilkes. Discovering that Paul has killed her favorite character (Misery Chastain), Annie tries to coax him into writing a new novel to bring her back. Concerned he may be more prisoner than patient, Paul writes as if his life depends on it - and perhaps it does. The creative team includes Christopher Kriz, composition and sound design (“Mary’s Wedding,” “I and You”); Bob Kuhn, costume design (“Million Dollar Quartet”); Jack Magaw, scenic design (“Mary’s Wedding,” “Trying,”); Amie Root, fight and intimacy director; and Eric Watkins, lighting design.
Actors in "Misery" under the direction of Georgette Verdin are Lucy Carapetyan, Ryan Hallahan and Glenn Obrero.
“Little Women The Broadway Musical” (July 30 – August 17), adapted from Louisa May Alcott’s beloved novel, is filled with soaring melodies and rich emotions and features music by Jason Howland, lyrics by Mindi Dickstein and book by Allan Knee. This delightful musical is under the direction of Schellhardt and the musical direction of Valerie Maze (“The Bridges of Madison County,” “A Little Night Music.”) The cast portraying the beloved March sisters and other Alcott characters includes Theatre alumni Janet Ulrich Brooks (“A Rock Sails By,” “Blithe Spirit”), Emma Rosenthal (“Peter and the Starcatcher,” “The Actuary”), Cassie Slater (“Nunsense,” “Sunday in the Park with George”), and Greg Vinkler (“The Drowsy Chaperone,” “Heroes”).
Making their Peninsula Players Theatre debut are Luke Nowakowski, Ryan Reilly, Emily Scinto, Elizabeth Stenholt, Patrick Michael Tierney and Amanda Walker. Door County musicians under Maze’s direction include Char Bogda, Pamela Kraase, Bruce Newbern, Kent Moraga and Madison-based Brian Grimm. The creative team includes Joe Court, sound design, (“Million Dollar Quartet,” “The Rainmaker”); Kärin Simonson Kopischke, costume design (“Silent Sky,” “Write Me A Murder”); Michelle Lilly, scenic design (“The Angel Next Door”); Kyle Pingel-Hickey, wig design (“Nunsense,” “Almost, Maine); and Guy Rhodes, lighting design (“Million Dollar Quartet,” “Dames at Sea.”)
Actors in "Little Women The Broadway Musical" under the direction of Stephen Schellhardt and musical direction of Valerie Maze are Janet Ulrich Brooks, Luke Nowakowski, Ryan Reilly, Emma Rosenthal, Emily Scinto, Elizabeth Stenholt, Cassie Slater, Patrick Michael Tierney, Greg Vinkler and Amanda Walker.
“Ken Ludwig’s Dear Jack, Dear Louise” (August 20 – August 31) is an amusing and heartwarming love story of the real-life courtship of Ludwig’s parents. Weinstein directs Nowakowski and Rosenthal as wartime pen pals. Shy and steady, Jack is a military doctor stationed far from home. Nudged by his matchmaking parents, Jack strikes up a correspondence with outgoing Louise, an aspiring singer and dancer living in Manhattan. The unlikely pair quickly take to each other, and through their witty and deeply personal letters, their connection blossoms, transcending the distance between them. The creative team includes Lee Fiskness, lighting design; Georgia Fried, costume design; Magaw, scenic design; and Josh Schmidt, sound design (“The Angel Next Door.”)
Actors in "Ken Ludwig's Dear Jack, Dear Louise" under the direction of Scott Weinstein are Luke Nowakowski and Emma Rosenthal.
“Steel Magnolias” by Robert Harling (September 3 – October 19) brings heartwarming laughs to the autumn and is under the direction of Peninsula Players Theatre alumni Melanie Keller (“I Ought To Be In Pictures,” “Murder for Two,” “Trying.”) This much-loved and moving comedy is drawn from Harling’s family experiences and inspired the all-star film. “Steel Magnolias” chronicles the lives and friendships of six marvelously different women who support each other through triumphs and tragedies. Portraying the close friends who congregate every Saturday at Truvy’s beauty shop are Ora Jones, (“The Angel Next Door,” “George Washington’s Teeth”); Scinto; Slater; Meg Thalken (“Ripcord”); Walker and Woditsch. The ladies ponder the mysteries of life and death, husbands and children - and hair and nails! Through their witty banter and plenty of ribbing, the women form bonds as strong as steel while maintaining their grace, poise, humor and dignity. The creative team includes Kopischke, costume design; Michaela Lochen, scenic design (“Million Dollar Quartet”); Martilia Marechal, sound design; Pingel-Hickey, wig design; and Noele Stollmack, lighting design (“Mary’s Wedding.”)
Stage Manager Kaitlin Kitzmiller (“The Angel Next Door,” "Blithe Spirit," "Romance in D") returns for her seventh season. Joining the Theatre for his first season is Duncan McMillan while Casie Morell (“Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery”), who also participated in the Theatre’s internship program, returns for her third season.
Actors in "Steel Magnolias" under the direction of Melanie Keller are Ora Jones, Emily Scinto, Cassie Slater, Meg Thalken, Amanda Walker and Karen Janes Woditsch.
Company members work professionally across the United States and internationally as well as in film, television, podcasts and audio narration. Many of the directors, designers, and performers are recipients of, or have been nominated for, various regional theatre awards, as well as Chicago's prestigious Joseph Jefferson Award and After Dark Award.
Peninsula Players Theatre is a professional, not-for-profit theatre that employs members of Actors' Equity Association (AEA), the union of professional actors and stage managers; United Scenic Artists (USA), a labor union and professional association of designers, artists and craftspeople; and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), a theatrical union of stage directors and choreographers.
The audience pavilion’s side panels, doors, and vents will remain open throughout the summer season. Patrons should dress for the weather and be prepared for shifting temperatures and breezes off the bay. Peninsula Players Theatre is a smoke-free campus. Smoking is prohibited on the grounds at all times. Audience members are invited to come early for a pre-show beverage or snack at the Luna Bar and Canteen. The grounds open 90 minutes before the show.
Peninsula Players Theatre performs Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 7:30 p.m. except for Sundays, July 6, 27, August 17 and 31 at 2:00 p.m. With the opening of the autumn season on September 3, curtain times change to Tuesday through Sundays at 7:00 p.m., except for September 14, 28 and October 5 and 19 at 2:00 p.m. Ticket prices for the 2025 season range from $51 to $59, with student and group tickets for parties of 15 or more available. Groups should phone the Box Office at (920) 868-3287 to make arrangements. For more information, visit www.peninsulaplayers.com.