Bernadette Peters Inaugurates Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s New $80M+ Associated Bank Theater Center

Milwaukee Repertory Theater opened its new Associated Bank Theater Center on Saturday, October 11, 2025 with a grand opening ribbon cutting and a sold-out gala performance by Tony Award Winner Bernadette Peters.
 
Milwaukee Rep Board President Adam Peck, Executive Director Chad Bauman and Artistic Director Mark Clements joined civic, corporate and philanthropic leaders from across Wisconsin including Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, Milwaukee Common Council President Jose Perez, and Commissioner of City Development Lafayette Crump to cut the ribbon officially opening the Associated Bank Theater Center.
 
The day of celebrations continued in the evening beginning with an elegant dinner in the Center’s new Herzfeld Education & Engagement Center and was followed by Peters, who performed a Broadway repertoire that has made her one of the most heralded musical actresses of all time, including “Old Friends,” “Fever,” “Johanna,” “Send in the Clowns,” “Being Alive,” and “Anyone Can Whistle.” As one of the largest theatrical complexes to open post-pandemic, the $80 million Associated Bank Theater Center is notable for opening on time, on budget, and fully funded, despite overwhelming odds, including a global pandemic, labor shortages, supply chain disruptions, the highest inflation in decades coupled with tariffs impacting the cost of building materials, and a 1,000-year flood that decimated the organization’s production center.
 
The audience for the Grand Opening was comprised of many of the more than 600 individual donors who supported the capital campaign for the modernized and expanded 152,500-square-foot complex. Guests included notable Wisconsin leaders including Northwestern Mutual’s CEO Tim Gerend, Greater Milwaukee Committee CEO Joel Brennan, Manpower Executive Chairman (ret) Jeffrey Joerres, Chairman & CEO Landmark Healthcare Joe Checota, EUA CEO Rich Tennessen, Zywave retired CEO William Haack, and philanthropists Joan Lubar and Donna Baumgartner.
 
The Associated Bank Theater Center provides state-of-the-art performance spaces for world-class, cutting-Edge Theater experiences, a dedicated facility to expand the theater’s community-focused arts education programming, and new, accessible amenities that meet the needs of diverse audiences. The theater will kick off the season with Come from Away, opening November 4 and running through December 14.
  
“Seventy-one years ago, Mary John Widrig believed Milwaukee deserved a world-class theater. With the support of this community, Milwaukee Repertory Theater was born. From those early dreams, it has grown into one of the largest nonprofit theaters in the nation, serving 300,000 people annually. Her vision lives on in us today,” said Chad Bauman, Ellen & Joe Checota Executive Director. “When our former theater complex was failing, we faced a choice. Leaving our historic home behind and starting fresh elsewhere would have been easy. Instead, we chose the harder, braver path: to stay downtown, honor the legacy of the Oneida Street Power Station, and transform it into something extraordinary.  This investment in our future strengthens the entire region as a vibrant creative hub and a thriving national destination for extraordinary theater.”

“The Associated Bank Theater Center redefines the standard for theater across the region, allowing Milwaukee Rep to expand the boundaries of storytelling and advance the art of theater,” said Mark Clements, Artistic Director. “The Associated Bank Theater Center opens up a new world of artistic possibilities to innovatively stage a surprising variety of works that explore our shared humanity, inspire meaningful dialogue, and offer audiences hope. With our inaugural season in the new space, we rededicate ourselves to producing and commissioning work from both emerging and established voices that reflects our region’s rich diversity and addresses issues that are both important to the local community and nationally resonant.”