Door County theater season is about to raise its curtain for 2025. Here's your guide

The curtain is raising on Door County's vibrant summer theater season for 2025.
A couple of the Peninsula's companies have held offseason shows, others have held play readings and other outreach programs over the winter. But now that the middle of June is approaching, the county's four professional theater companies and a community theater company are heading into the starts of their seasons. Here's what these five companies are putting on stage this summer and fall.
America's oldest professional resident summer theater – 2025 marks its 90th season – offers five shows in a season running from June 17 through Oct. 19 in the company's all-weather, 600-plus-seat pavilion near the shore of the bay of Green Bay. Patrons can relax and picnic on the grounds while watching the setting sun over the waters of the bay and enjoy the ambiance of the beer garden and other gardens before performances.
The lineup includes a popular comedy about relationships by one of the best-known and most popular playwrights in American theater, a stage adaptation of a haunting Stephen King thriller, a stage musical version of a classic novel, a warmhearted romantic comedy by a writer known to Players patrons mostly for his madcap comedies, and a hugely popular comedy-drama about female friendships.
The season is:
'Barefoot in the Park,' June 17 to July 6
It's the second year in a row a comedy by Neil Simon, who's responsible for writing some of America's most popular stage and movie comedies ("The Odd Couple," "The Sunshine Boys"), finds its way onto the Players stage, after last year's "I Ought to Be in Pictures."
'Barefoot in the Park' also is one of Simon's best-known works, running on Broadway for more than 3½ years and 1,530 shows in its first run, and also was adapted into a hit movie starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda. The story features carefree Corie and pragmatic Paul, newlyweds who are trying to navigate life in their first quirky apartment while also dealing with an anxious mother-in-law and an eccentric neighbor.
'Misery,' July 9 to July 27
William Goldman, a two-time Academy Award-winning screenwriter (both original and adapted) and novelist whose credits include 'Marathon Man,' 'The Princess Bride,' 'All the President's Men' and 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,' adapted mystery writer Stephen King's chilling tale for both stage and screen, the latter becoming a hit movie starring James Caan and Kathy Bates.
The plot of "Misery" features a famous novelist who wakes up in the home of his 'No. 1 fan' after a car accident, but the fan learns the novelist has killed off her favorite character and tries to coax him into writing a new novel to bring her back, with continuously increasing mental and physical coercion and tension.
'Little Women: The Broadway Musical,' July 30 to Aug. 17
This year's musical at Pen Players features Louisa May Alcott's beloved (and probably autobiographical) novel about the four plucky March sisters during the Civil War, which was adapted into a stage musical by Allan Knee (book), Mindi Dickstein (lyrics) and Jason Howland (music).
The story is told through the eyes of Jo, the aspiring writer among the sisters, and shows how she, Meg, Beth and Amy care for one another despite their differing personalities while finding their own voices and charting their own paths among their loves, losses, discoveries and hope.
'Ken Ludwig's Dear Jack, Dear Louise,' Aug. 20 to 31
Ludwig is a prolific playwright whose fast-paced, madcap comedies such as 'Lend Me a Tenor' (a two-time Tony Award winner), 'The Fox on the Fairway' and most recently 2023's "Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery" have graced the Players stage.
Here. though, Ludwig goes for something closer to the heart, penning an amusing and heartwarming story based on the real-life, long-distance courtship of his parents during World War II. The plot has shy and steady Jack, a military doctor stationed far from home, striking up a correspondence with outgoing Louise, an aspiring singer and dancer, and follows how their connection blossoms through their deeply personal letters despite the miles between them and the ongoing war.
'Steel Magnolias,' Sept. 3 to Oct. 19
Pen Players' fall show for 2025 is Robert Harling's moving comedy, based on his family experiences, about the lives and friendships of six women who support each other through their triumphs and tragedies, gathering at a beauty shop in Louisiana to ponder life and death, husbands, men and children.
Harling adapted his play into a hit film with an all-star cast that included Julia Roberts, Dolly Parton and Sally Field, and a made-for-TV movie with an all-Black cast including Queen Latifah, Jill Scott and Phylicia Rashad was produced in 2012 for the Lifetime cable network.
Peninsula Players Theatre is at 4351 Peninsula Players Road, Fish Creek. Curtain times are at 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 7:30 p.m. Sundays except for a 2 p.m. Sunday matinee to close each show, except for "Steel Magnolias," which takes the stage at 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Individual tickets are $51 to $56 except for the "Little Women" musical, which is $54 to $59; discounts are available for ages 18 and younger or groups of 15 or more, and season subscriptions and gift certificates are available.
For tickets and more information, call 920-868-3287 or visit peninsulaplayers.com.
Northern Sky Theater's 35th season of original musical comedies in 2025 features a world premiere and two recent favorites running in repertory for its outdoor summer shows from June 11 to Aug. 23 in the amphitheater in Peninsula State Park and the 25th anniversary run of one of the company's classics for its indoor fall show from Aug. 29 to Oct. 25 in the Gould Theater on the Northern Sky creative campus in Fish Creek. Shows will be held every day except Sundays.
It also features a transition for the company as Jeff Herbst, a company member since 1991 and artistic director for the past 32 years, steps aside and turns the Northern Sky reins over to Molly Rhode, herself a company member for 17 years, the last 11 as associate artistic director to Herbst.
The season on the outdoor stage is:
The world premiere of "Something in the Water," the fourth Northern Sky musical written by Matt Zembrowski ("Dad's Season Tickets," "Doctor! Doctor!" and "Whatever Happened to Karl Janko"), is a madcap, vaudevillian musical farce in which the Grand Waukesha Springs Resort has seen better days, but its dedicated staff and a few zany guests try to save the hotel from closing amid mayhem and mistaken identities. It runs at 7:30 p.m. June 11 and June 14, then 6 p.m. Mondays, 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and 8:30 p.m. Thursdays from June 16 to Aug. 21.
"Dairy Heirs," by Joel Kopischke and veteran Northern Sky members Eva Nimmer and Alissa Rhode, centers on a passionate farmer trying to continue her family's longstanding tradition of farming but, after her father dies unexpectedly, having to deal with her estranged older brother and his ideas about what to do with the family business. The show premiered at Northern Sky in 2018 and ran again in 2019. It's on stage at 6 p.m. June 12 and 13, then 7:30 p.m. Saturdays and Tuesdays and 6 p.m. Thursdays from June 17 to Aug. 23.
"No Bones About It" by Paul Libman (music) and Dave Hudson (book and lyrics), one of the most prolific writing teams in Northern Sky's history ("Muskie Love," "Main-Travelled Roads" among others) and two-time Richard Rodgers Award winners for new musical theater, sets the story of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" – loosely – at the Verona National Ribfest, where the families of lovers Ronny and Julie are competing for the top prize in the barbecue contest. It previously played at Northern Sky in 2015 and 2016 and this season runs at 8:30 p.m. Mondays and 7:30 p.m. Fridays from June 16 to Aug. 22.
The indoor fall season at the Gould has "The Bachelors" making its return to Northern Sky after an 11-year absence.
The Fred Alley/James Kaplan follow-up to their smash hit "Guys On Ice" looks at bachelorhood through the lenses of Stew and John, a pair of 30-something bumblers living together in a state of extended adolescence when they innocently order out for pizza, never expecting the delivery girl to be the reincarnation of a woman they both wronged in a previous lifetime. The show has had four runs at Northern Sky since its 2001 premiere but none since 2014. Its schedule is 7 p.m. Aug. 29, 2 and 7 p.m. Aug. 30, than 2 p.m. Mondays, 7 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and 4 p.m. Fridays from Sept. 1 to Oct. 25.
Northern Sky Theater is a nonprofit professional organization that produces original musical shows in repertory. Tickets for outdoor shows are $29 for adults, $19 college and teenage students, $14 ages 3 to 12 for standard seating; $37, $27 and $22 for premium seating. Shows at the Gould at $40 for adults, $27 college and teenage students, $22 ages 12 and younger. For tickets or more information, call 920-854-6117 or visit northernskytheater.com.
The downtown Sturgeon Bay playhouse traditionally gets an early start on the season, with "Three Viewings" running from late April through mid-May this year, and offers four more shows throughout the rest of 2025, including a world premiere and a staged radio-style program of a classic Christmas story for the holiday season.
The season is:
"Buyer & Cellar," through June 22
On stage since June 4, this one-person comedy by Jonathan Tolins about the price of fame and the price of things follows a struggling, just-fired actor who lands a job curating Barbra Streisand's legendary basement "shopping mall" beneath her Malibu home, then strikes up an unlikely relationship with the singer/actor when she comes down to peruse her collections of costumes, dolls and other trinkets. The production is a collaboration with Renaissance Theaterworks in Milwaukee.
"The 39 Steps," July 16 to Aug. 10
Patrick Barlow adapted Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 movie thriller of the same name into this fast-paced and popular stage comedy that won an Olivier Award for best comedy in British theater and earned a Tony nomination for best new play. The play, which appeared previously at TAP in 2013 and on other stages on the Peninsula, has four actors play a total of 100 or more roles. It has a stiff-upper-lipped hero get tangled up in a spy ring and accused of murder as he deals with double-crosses and beautiful women.
"Ryan's Pub, Trivia Night," Sept. 24 to Oct. 12
TAP produces the world premiere of Alec Silberblatt's new play after presenting a staged reading during its annual play reading event in February 2024. The play focuses on Marci and Richie, the best team at the regular trivia nights at Ryan's Pub in Pittsburgh, and how their rivalry with another team takes an unexpected turn.
"A Christmas Carol: A Live Radio Play," Dec. 3 to 28
TAP's WBFR Radio Players are back with this adaptation by Joe Landry of Charles Dickens' classic holiday story into a 1940s radio-style show for a live audience, complete with live sound effects and musical underscoring as five actors bring to life scores of characters. The company presented this show during the holiday season in 2022 and another radio-style adaptation by Landry, of the holiday movie "It's a Wonderful Life," in 2023.
Third Avenue PlayWorks and its 124-seat Kane Theatre are at 239 N. Third Ave., Sturgeon Bay. The curtain rises for all shows at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays, with 2 p.m. Friday matinees during the second week of each run. The first show for all productions is a Wednesday night pay-what-you-can preview, followed by a final preview the next night and the official opening night on the first Friday of the run. Subscribers receive free exchanges all season long and up to a 15% discount on regular ticket prices.
Tickets are $44 for adults, $25 college students, $15 ages 19 and younger; ages 65 and older and veterans receive a 10% discount. For season subscriptions or more information, call the box office at 920-743-1760 or visit thirdavenueplayworks.org.
A classic story by one of the world's best-known authors joins a popular comedy by the world's best-known playwright in Door Shakespeare's 30th summer season in 2025.
The plays are William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" and Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations" adapted for the stage by Gale Childs Daly. Both will be presented in repertory from July 2 to Aug. 16 on the outdoor stage in the garden at Bjorklunden.
This is the fifth time Door Shakespeare has produced "Twelfth Night" but the first since 2017, along with productions in 1996, 2001 and 2011. Shakespeare's romantic comedy has the lead character, Viola, shipwrecked on a foreign shore, where she disguises herself as a young man to become a page in a count's court. That begins a secret new life and sets off a romantic triangle as Viola discovers she is not the only one hiding something. Following a preview performance July 2, it runs at 7:30 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from July 4 to Aug. 15.
In "Great Expectations," a young orphan boy, Pip, has a life-changing encounter with an escaped convict that launches Pip's journey from a small town to London and from boyhood to adulthood. Along the way, Pip encounters a number of unique characters and goes through some painful experiences as he, and others in the story, learns what it means to be true to one's self. The Dickens tales, published as a novel in 1861 after running as a serial in magazines, has been adapted numerous times for stage, cinema and TV. Following a preview performance July 3, it runs at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and 5 p.m. Saturdays from July 5 to Aug. 16.
Tickets are $30 to $45 for adults, $25 to $40 for students, $20 to $35 ages 12 and younger. For tickets or more information, call 920-854-7111 or visit doorshakespeare.com.
Door County-based community theater company Rogue Theater lists seven shows through the rest of 2025 on its website, with six playing in its opened-in-2023 DC Arts Center in Sturgeon Bay.
The season is:
"Hallelujah Girls," June 13 to 15
A comedy by Jamie Wooten, Jessie Jones and Nicholas Hope that sees a feisty group of Southern women decide that life is too short after the death of a friend, thus vowing to change their lives and achieve their dreams.
"Hate Mail," July 11 to 20
A parody of the popular rom-com 'Love Letters' that has the correspondence between its two characters bounce between love and hate for each other.
"The Odd Couple: the Female Version," Aug. 14 to 31
Women take on the roles of the vastly mismatched roommates, one fastidious and particular, the other sloppy and irresponsible, in Neil Simon's classic comedy.
"An Audition for Murder," Sept. 12 to 21
A dinner theater murder mystery show that has audience members help solve the case of an actor's murder. This show will be held at several restaurants and locations to be announced.
"The Tin Woman," Oct. 16 to Nov. 2
A Sean Grennan comedy-drama that premiered at Peninsula Players in 2014 about a woman who is drawn to contact the family of the donor of the heart transplanted into her, with emotional results.
"The Unexpected Man," Nov. 14 to 23
This Yasmina Reza play has a famous male novelist and a female admirer of him (although he doesn't know she knows who he is) share a train compartment and separately muse about their lives.
"Dashing Through the Snow," Dec. 19 to Jan. 3
A holiday comedy set in a tiny town in Texas where a parade of colorful guests arrive at the Snowflake Inn and deck the halls with their eccentricities, issues, thoughts and dreams.
Rogue Theater shows play in the DC Arts Center, 917 N. 14th Ave. Sturgeon Bay, except where noted. For specific show dates and times, ticket prices, advance tickets or more information, call 920-818-0816, visit roguetheater.org or email 1roguetheater@gmail.com.
Contact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or cclough@gannett.com.
MORE: Door County has weekend festivals throughout June. Here's your guide
MORE: Police identify body found in water off Door County in the bay of Green Bay
FOR MORE DOOR COUNTY NEWS: Check out our website
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Here's your guide to the shows in the 2025 Door County theater season

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