[Milwaukee, Wis. August 20, 2024]. Renaissance Theaterworks (RTW) is thrilled to announce casting of their 2024-2025 season offerings: The Moors by Jen Silverman, The Nether by Jennifer Haley and Buyer & Cellar by Jonathan Tolins.
The season kicks off in the Fall in the bleak English moors with The Moors, by Jen Silverman. RTW produced Silverman’s The Roommate in 2019 and Witch just last season to audience and critical acclaim. The Moors will be directed by RTW Artistic Director Suzan Fete and will feature a cast of Milwaukee favorites including Sarah Sokolovic, who was last seen in RTW’s 2004 production of Neil LaBute’s The Shape of Things.
Sarah is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama, a Jerome L. Greene Scholarship recipient, and a two time Leonore Annenberg Fellowship Award winner. Sarah is a Milwaukee native, has worked in theater locally and abroad since the 1990’s and has launched a very successful stage and screen career. Broadway/Off-Broadway:Relatively Speaking (dir. John Turturro); Wyoming (dir. Danya Taymor), Detroit (dir. Anne Kaufman), The Shaggs (Best Featured Actress nomination, Drama Desk Awards). TV: Big Little Lies (HBO) Homeland (Showtime), Timeless (NBC), Macgyver (CBS) Film: Every Secret Thing, True Story.
Sokolovic joins an all-star cast featuring Marti Gobel, Reese Madigan, Emily Vitrano, Allie Babich and Kaylene Howard.
Winter takes us to a virtual world with The Nether by Jennifer Haley. The Nether will be directed by RTW veteran actor and director Elyse Edelman, who most recently directed RTW’s The Wolves in 2024. This thrilling and rarely produced play features a powerhouse cast that includes C. Michael Wright, Dimonte Henning, Laura Gray and Steve Koehler, Josie Van Slyke and Zoah Hirano.
RTW will close the main season in Spring, in the basement “mall” of Barbra Streisand’s Malibu mansion. Buyer & Cellar by Jonathan Tolins will be directed by Milwaukee theater favorite Ray Jivoff and feature yet another Milwaukee favorite, Doug Clemons. Buyer & Cellar will be co-produced with Third Avenue Playworks in Sturgeon Bay.
Lastly, RTW will kick off the Summer with the Br!NK New Play Festival. Br!NK will be returning to the Baumgartner Center for Dance May 17 -18 2025. The festival will include readings of two full-length plays and a program of short plays known as the Br!NK Br!EFS. The lineup of the Br!NK Plays will be shared at a later date.
Renaissance Theaterworks
2024-2025 Season Line Up
For 32 years, Renaissance Theaterworks has promoted the work of women in theater, on stage and off with their mission of “theater by women, for everyone”. Their 2024-2025 season features intriguing stories that will have audiences questioning if things are actually what they seem. Subscriptions and Flex Passes are currently on sale at rtwmke.org or by calling the Box Office at 414-278-0765. Singles tickets for all performances go on sale September 15, 2024.
The Moors
By Jen Silverman
Directed By Suzan Fete
October 20 – November 10, 2024
(Previews October 18 & 19)
A spooky comedy from the playwright of the smash hit WITCH. A young governess arrives at a remote manor after exchanging semi-romantic correspondence with one mysterious Mr. Branwell. But when the door opens, the only residents of the house seem to be Branwell’s two sisters, a maid (or maybe two maids?) and a lovelorn mastiff. And no man to be found, or child to be cared for. An inspired, whimsical satire that both embraces and sends up the gothic musings of the Brontë sisters; perfect for the Halloween season.
“Truly clever and intelligent. You really ought to see this.” – The New York Times
“The script shines with delicious dark comedy and beautiful lines but never really loses its sense of pastiche even when it enters deeper ground…” – The Guardian
Cast of The Moors
Agatha…………..……..Sarah Sokolovic*
Huldey…………………..Allie Babich*
Emilie………………….Kaylene Howard
Marjory…………………Emily Vitrano*
The Mastiff…………….Reese Madigan*
A Moor-Hen……………Marti Gobel*
The Nether
By Jennifer Haley
Directed By Elyse Edelman
January 12 – February 2, 2025
(Previews January 10 & 11)
Enter the Nether: where anything is possible and there are no consequences.
In the near future, the Nether is a virtual fantasyland that provides the user with a total sensory experience. Just log-in, choose an identity and indulge your desires. Whatever they are.
When a young detective demands real-world justice for horrible crimes committed deep in cyberspace, she triggers an investigation into the darkest corners of the imagination.
A Sci-fi thriller that dives deep into the complex moral implications of AI technology.
“As a parable for where we’re headed on that big old highway in the digital sky, The Nether exerts a viselike grip, while taking you down avenues of thought you probably haven’t traveled yet.” – The New York Times
“The Nether is a gripping and deeply disconcerting look at the Internet and its role in one of the most disturbing issues of our times.” – The Telegraph
Cast of The Nether
Sims /Papa, a successful businessman…………………Steve Koehler
Morris, a young female detective…………………………Laura Gray*
Doyle, a middle-aged science teacher…………………..C. Michael Wright*
Iris, a shining little girl………………………………………Josie Van Slyke/Zoah Hirano
Woodnut, a fresh-faced guest…………………………….Dimonte Henning*
Buyer & Cellar
By Jonathan Tolins
Directed By Ray Jivoff
Featuring Doug Clemons
March 23 – April 13, 2025
(Previews March 21 & 22)
Alex, an out-of-work actor, lands a bizarre gig -working in the make-believe shopping arcade located in the cellar of Barbra Streisand’s Malibu estate. He spends his days alone dusting the inventory, until one day the Lady Herself comes downstairs ready to play pretend. What follows feels like bonding in the basement but Alex longs to be invited upstairs. BUYER & CELLAR is an irresistible comedy about the price of fame, the cost of living, and the oddest of odd jobs.
This winner of the 2014-2015 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Solo Show will be done in collaboration with Third Ave PlayWorks in Sturgeon Bay!
“A fantasy so delightful you wish it were true.” —The New Yorker
“Hilarious! Beyond brilliant.” —Entertainment Weekly.
The 11th Annual Br!NK New Play Festival
May 17th & 18th 2025
Baumgartner Center for Dance
Each year Renaissance Theaterworks puts out a call to midwestern women playwrights to submit their work. Two are selected for the Br!NK Playwright Residency, an opportunity to develop their scripts in a week-long workshop with professional actors, director and stage manager. Following the workshop, the plays are presented to the public at Br!NK New Play Festival.
About Renaissance Theaterworks
Renaissance Theaterworks is Milwaukee’s professional theater company founded and run by women. Since 1993, it has been dedicated to promoting the work of women, onstage and off, becoming a leader in the global movement toward gender equity in the arts. Renaissance Theaterworks creates provocative, courageous theater, connecting audiences with their shared sense of being human, making them feel more, think harder, and laugh louder.
