Northern Sky Theater Announces 2023 Season

Northern Sky Theater has announced its 2023 season in Peninsula State Park and at their Gould Theater. The Door County theater plans four shows in two summer venues, as well as a September outdoor concert show and a fall indoor show. Exact dates will be announced later.

Northern Sky will present two shows outdoors in Peninsula State Park during the summer: The Fish Whisperer (a world premiere musical comedy set in small-town Shewauga, Wisconsin) and Cheeseheads! The Musical (a Wisconsin musical 'gouda' luck fable).

Indoors for the summer at the Gould Theater, the company will present Guys on Ice (the hit ice-fishing musical comedy celebrating its 25th anniversary) and Guys & Does (a deer hunting musical comedy). This September, the company will bring back its fall concerts in the Park with Lipstick Optional (celebrating the women of Northern Sky in concert). Indoors at the Gould for the fall will be When Pigs Fly (the heartwarming story of Bob and Dottie Dumkee, filled with humor and harmony).

The two summer shows at the Park will run in repertory six nights a week, including a two show night on Mondays. The two summer shows at the Gould will also run in repertory six nights a week. The fall concerts in the Park will run the first three weekends in September. The fall indoor show will run six nights a week in September and October. A ticket sale date will be announced in early 2023.

"Our upcoming season will offer a great variety of Northern Sky flavor," said artistic director Jeff Herbst. "With another world premiere this coming summer, we will be at 80 original shows. Everything at Northern Sky, since the company began In 1990, has been developed entirely by us with our Door County audience in mind."

The Fish Whisperer is a world premiere by Scott Guy, Robin Share, Dan Wessels, and Ron Barnett, developed in association with New Musicals, Inc. When the fish aren't biting in small-town Shewauga, a stranger shows up promising a fix. Is it a hoax, or a miracle? The Fish Whisperer is part of World Premiere Wisconsin, a statewide new works festival taking place from March 1 - June 30, 2023. Northern Sky Theater is proud to be a lead producer within a coalition of Wisconsin theaters celebrating new plays and musicals to raise awareness nation-wide that Wisconsin has a thriving and diverse theater ecosystem. Northern Sky will be hosting the festival's finale party in June during the run of The Fish Whisperer.

Cheeseheads! The Musical, by Paul Libman and Dave Hudson, tells a modern-day dairy-tale with a lotto heart. The show was inspired by the true story of how 100 Wisconsin cheese factory workers won over $200 million in the Powerball jackpot.

Guys on Ice, by Fred Alley and James Kaplan, has played to sold-out houses coast to coast and been made into a PBS TV special. Buddies Marvin and Lloyd spend a winter's day in a shanty out on the ice, talking about life, love, and Leinie's. Guys & Does, by Frederick Heide, Lee Becker, and Paul Libman, is a whimsical excursion into the world of Wisconsin deer hunting. The two summer shows at the Gould will feature an identical cast of Northern Sky favorites.

When Pigs Fly, by Frederick Heide and Lee Becker, weaves together hilarious tall tales, toe-tapping folk songs, and the burning question of who will win a Door County custard pie contest.

Tickets are currently on sale for Home for the Holidays. It will take place the last week of December in the Gould Theater, featuring Katie Dahl, Jeff Herbst, Claudia Russell, and Colin Welford.