Ayad Akhtar’s MCNEAL to Launch Milwaukee Rep’s New Herro‑Franke Studio Theater

Milwaukee Repertory Theater has completed the Associated Bank Theater Center Phase II construction with the grand opening of the reimagined Herro-Franke Studio Theater featuring the Midwest premiere of Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright Ayad Akhtar's newest work, McNeal, running February 10 – March 22, 2026.

The newly transformed Herro-Franke Studio Theater—Milwaukee Rep's home for intimate, innovative storytelling—now features modular platforms, flexible seating for 182 to 224 patrons, and expanded production capabilities, allowing for larger casts and bold new staging possibilities.

The first production in the Herro-Franke Studio Theater is the Midwest premiere of McNeal by Ayad Akhtar, making this his fifth play produced by Milwaukee Rep in the past 10 years. McNeal is a darkly comic, razor-sharp exploration of art and ambition in the age of artificial intelligence.

Milwaukee Rep's production is directed by Artistic Director Mark Clements and follows Jacob McNeal, a brilliant and dangerously charismatic novelist consumed by his own genius. As McNeal pushes the boundaries of creativity, the play probes urgent questions about authorship, truth, and originality in a rapidly shifting technological landscape. With jaw-dropping projections and special effects never before seen in the studio, McNeal breaks new ground in theatrical storytelling possibilities.

The cast of McNeal includes Peter Bradbury as Jacob McNeal, who has performed in nearly 30 Broadway productions and understudied Robert Downey Jr. in the sold-out World Premiere run at Lincoln Center; Jessica Ko (Much Ado About Nothing, American Players Theater) as Sahra; Tony Nominee Jeanne Paulsen (One House Over, Milwaukee Rep) as Stephie Banic; Ty Fanning (Othello with Denzel Washington, Broadway) as Harlan; N'Jameh Carama (Junk, Milwaukee Rep) as Natasha Braitwaite; Bridget Ann White (Will Rogers' Follies, Broadway) as Francine Blake; and Milwaukee Rep EPR Sara Sadjadi as Dipti.