Feature: American Players Theatre 2025

Cherry and Soon

"This world is complicated, sometimes difficult. We hope that your visit to APT is a bit of a refuge for you. We hope it brings you joy, maybe lets you breathe easier. For a few hours, you can lean into a story, together in community with the rest of the audience. The people sitting around you may have different perspectives, beliefs or even politics (yeah, we said it). But we can share this common experience and maybe understand ourselves, and each other, a little bit better. That's the beauty of Theater, and of this place in the woods." This program note from American Players Theatre Artistic Director Brenda DeVita and Managing Director Sara Young so beautifully expresses why I love theater, and why I write about it to share it with others. At this moment, the world feels very complicated, difficult, and scary, so my weekend in Spring Green with my friends from Minnesota Theater Love and Ernest Goes to the Theatre was a welcome retreat. I like to refer to APT as a theater oasis in the middle of the woods of Wisconsin. And it is that, it is a place to take a break from the scary world and enjoy storytelling at its finest. But APT, and theater, is more than that. Some of the plays this season are a fun escape, but some are a brutal reflection of our harsh reality. And all of them are experienced in community with friends, strangers, and this beautiful acting company and creative team.

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