蘑菇传媒

Tragedy Sound by Karen Saari

A Wisconsin Premiere

Directed by Dave Pausch

Becky, Billie, and Mariel are three lifelong friends in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. When the three young women accept a dare and embark on a canoe trek in frigid waters, they find themselves stranded in the middle of Lake Superior. Dangerous conditions prevail forcing them to face the choices they’ve made and the trappings of life in their hometown. A story about female friendship, motherhood, and the secrets we keep.

September 24th-28th, 2025

Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

November 14th-22nd, 2025

Directed by Dr. Jeanne Leep

鈥淚f music be the food of love, play on,鈥� with this festive, mischievous, and witty Shakespearean comedy! Twelfth Night, or What You Will follows the adventures of the fabulous countess Olivia, her love-smitten suitors–including Duke Orsino–and the shipwrecked twins Viola and Sebastian. Viola, thinking her brother had drowned, disguises herself as a male page to work for the Duke, only to have Olivia fall in love with her new persona! The play complicates, then wonderfully untangles, all these relationships and more in our Wisconsin twist on this timeless tale!

The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie

Feb 27th-March 7th, 2026

Directed by Jan Levine Thal

Brimming with intrigue, sophisticated humor and surprising twists, Agatha Christie’s iconic murder mystery 鈥� about a group of strangers trapped during a snowstorm 鈥� is the world鈥檚 most successful and longest-running play.

The Spitfire Grill

May 1st – 9th, 2026

Music & Book by James Valcq

Lyrics & Book by Fred Alley

Based on the film by Lee David Zlotoff

Directed by Stephen Tabor

Musical Director Dr. Adam Shelton

A troubled young parolee yearning for a fresh start follows her dreams to Wisconsin, based on a page from an old travel book, only to find a small town with a gritty heart aching with longing and regret. Unexpectedly discovering the healing power of community while working at the Spitfire Grill, Percy reawakens the entire town鈥檚 capacity for rebirth, forgiveness and hope. Set to a melodic folk-inspired score, The Spitfire Grill is a joyous celebration of human kindness.

These Shining Lives by Melanie Marnich

September 25鈥�29, 2024

Directed by Jan Levine Thal

Based on the true story of four women who worked for the Radium Dial Company鈥攁 watch factory based in Ottawa, Illinois, These Shining Lives chronicles the strength and determination of women considered expendable in their day, and this story鈥檚 continued resonance. Catherine and her friends are dying, it鈥檚 true; but theirs is a story of survival in its most transcendent sense, as they refuse to allow the company that stole their health to kill their spirits鈥攐r endanger the lives of those who come after them.

Young Frankenstein by Mel Brooks

November 15鈥�23, 2024

Directed by Stephen Tabor

From the creators of the record-breaking Broadway sensation,鈥疶he Producers, comes this monster new musical comedy. The comedy genius, Mel Brooks, adapts his legendarily funny film into a brilliant stage creation 鈥撯�痀oung Frankenstein! Grandson of the infamous Victor Frankenstein, Frederick Frankenstein (pronounced 鈥淔ronk-en-steen鈥�) finds himself in the mad scientist shoes of his ancestors. 鈥淚t鈥檚 alive!鈥� he exclaims as he brings to life a creature to rival his grandfather. Eventually, of course, the monster escapes and hilarity continuously abounds. Every bit as relevant to audience members who will remember the original as it will be to newcomers,鈥痀oung Frankenstein鈥痟as all the panache of the screen sensation with a little extra theatrical flair in this action-packed musical comedy.

John Proctor is the Villain by Kimberly Belflower

Feb 28鈥揗arch 8, 2025

Directed by Jeanne Leep

At a rural high school in Georgia, a group of lively teens are studying听The Crucible while navigating young love, sex ed, and a few school scandals. Holding a contemporary lens to the American classic, they begin to question who is really the hero and what is the truth, discovering their own power in the process. Alternately touching and bitingly funny, this new comedy captures a generation in mid-transformation, running on pop music, optimism, and fury, writing their own coming of age story.

Student Directed One Acts

May 1鈥�4, 2025

Directed by 蘑菇传媒 Theatre Students

Contemporary one-act plays directed by 蘑菇传媒 Theatre Arts Students:鈥� fresh, funny, thought-provoking and smart, this variety pack of plays showcases the talents of our students on stage and behind the scenes.

True West by Sam Shepard

Sept. 13th-17th, 2023

Directed by Stephen Tabor

Performed in: Atrium at the Stream, Outdoors

True West is a character study that examines the relationship between Austin, a screenwriter, and his older brother Lee. It is set in the kitchen of their mother’s home 40 miles east of Los Angeles. Austin is house-sitting while their mother is in Alaska, and there he is confronted by his brother, who proceeds to bully his way into staying at the house and using Austin’s car. In addition, the screenplay which Austin is pitching to his connection in Hollywood听 somehow gets taken over by the pushy con-man tactics of Lee, and the brothers find themselves forced to cooperate in the creation of a story that will make or break both their lives. In the process, the conflict between the brothers creates a heated situation in which their roles as successful family man and nomadic drifter are somehow reversed, and each man finds himself admitting that he had somehow always wished he were in the other’s shoes.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Simon Stephens

November 10th-18th, 2023

Directed by Jeanne Leep

Christopher stands beside his neighbor鈥檚 dead dog, Wellington, who has been speared with a garden fork. Finding himself under suspicion, Christopher is determined to solve the mystery of who murdered Wellington, and he carefully records each fact of the crime. But his detective work, forbidden by his father, takes him on a thrilling journey that upturns his world

The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!)

February 23rd-March 3rd

Music by Eric Rockwell

Lyrics by Joanne Bogart

Directed by Susan Nanning-Sorenson

June is an ingenue struggling to pay rent, plagued by her evil landlord, encouraged by her wise neighbor, and potentially saved by the leading man. This one story becomes a variation of five delightful musicals, each written in the distinctive style of a different composer, from Rodgers and Hammerstein to Stephen Sondheim. This musical is a hilarious satire of, you guessed it, musical theatre!

26 Pebbles by Eric Ulloa

April 19th-27th, 2024

Directed by Audrey Lauren Standish

On December 14, 2012, Adam Lanza walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School and killed twenty-six innocent souls before taking his own life. These twenty-six innocent deaths, like pebbles thrown into a pond, created ripples and vibrations that were felt far beyond the initial rings. This is the story of those vibrations.

Similar in style to The Laramie Project, playwright Eric Ulloa conducted interviews with members of the community in Newtown and crafted them into an exploration of gun violence and a small town shaken by a horrific event.

Five Women Wearing the Same Dress by Alan Ball

September 21st-25th, 2022

Directed by Audrey Lauren Standish

During an ostentatious wedding reception at a Knoxville, Tennessee, estate, five reluctant, identically clad bridesmaids hide out in an upstairs bedroom, each with her own reason to avoid the proceedings below. They are Frances, a painfully sweet but sheltered fundamentalist; Mindy, the cheerful, wise-cracking lesbian sister of the groom; Georgeanne, whose heartbreak over her own failed marriage triggers outrageous behavior; Meredith, the bride鈥檚 younger sister, whose precocious rebelliousness masks a dark secret; and Trisha, a jaded beauty whose die-hard cynicism about men is called into question when she meets Tripp, a charming bad-boy usher to whom there is more than meets the eye. As the afternoon wears on, these five very different women joyously discover a common bond in this wickedly funny, irreverent, and touching celebration of the women鈥檚 spirit.

25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

November 11th-19th, 2022

Music and Lyrics by William Finn

Directed by Dr. Jeanne Leep

An eclectic group of six mid-pubescents vie for the spelling championship of a lifetime. While candidly disclosing hilarious and touching stories from their home lives, the tweens spell their way through a series of (potentially made-up) words, hoping never to hear the soul-crushing, pout-inducing, life un-affirming “ding” of the bell that signals a spelling mistake. Six spellers enter; one speller leaves a champion! At least the losers get a juice box.

She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen

Febraury 24th-March 4th

Directed by Susan Nanning-Sorenson

She Kills Monsters tells the story of Agnes Evans as she leaves her childhood home in Ohio following the death of her teenage sister, Tilly. When Agnes finds Tilly鈥檚 Dungeons & Dragons notebook, however, she finds herself catapulted into a journey of discovery and action-packed adventure in the imaginary world that was her sister鈥檚 refuge. In this high-octane dramatic comedy laden with homicidal fairies, nasty ogres, and 90s pop culture, acclaimed playwright Qui Nguyen offers a heart-pounding homage to the geek and warrior within us all.

Student Directed One Acts

April 27th-30th, 2023

Directed by Various 蘑菇传媒 College Students

Contemporary one-act plays directed by 蘑菇传媒 Theatre Arts Students:鈥� fresh, funny, thought-provoking and smart, this variety pack of plays showcases the talents of our students on stage and behind the scenes.

The Triumph of Love by Pierre Miravaux

September 22nd-26th, 2021

Directed by Susan Nanning-Sorenson

First presented in 1732, this timeless comedy clearly demonstrates the ageless affinity of laughter and love. A princess driven by honest and noble goals uses a series of dishonest, but raucously funny deceptions and disguises to achieve them. Employing a variety of alter egos, and all her considerable charms, the princess quickly turns the heads and hearts of a stuffy philosopher, and his spinster sister, before restoring an unsuspecting prince to his rightful throne.

Vintage Hitchcock: A Live Radio Play by Joe Landry

November 12th-20th, 2021

Directed by Jeanne Leap

Spies, murder, love, and other trademarks of Alfred Hitchcock come to life in the style of a 1940s radio broadcast of the master of suspense’s earlier films. With The Lodger, Sabotage and The 39 Steps, Vintage Hitchcock: A Live Radio Play is a triple feature, complete with vintage commercials, that recreates a daring train chase, a serial killer’s ominous presence, and a devastating explosion through the magic of live sound effects and musical underscoring.

Sister Act

February 25th鈥揗arch 5th, 2022

When disco diva, Deloris Van Cartier, witnesses a murder, she is put in protective custody in the one place the cops are sure she won’t be a found: a convent! Disguised as a nun, she finds herself at odds with both the rigid lifestyle and uptight Mother Superior. Using her unique disco moves and singing talent to inspire the choir, Deloris breathes new life into the church and community but, in doing so, blows her cover. Soon, the gang is giving chase, only to find them up against Deloris and the power of her newly found sisterhood.

The Tempest by William Shakespeare

April 27th鈥揗ay 1st, 2022