Into the Woods: A Week at American Players Theatre in Wisconsin

By Frank Rizzo, showriz.com | July 23, 2018

For audience members going to the American Players Theatre, a not-so-little gem in rural Wisconsin,  the theatrical journey begins when they leave their car (or bus) in the parking lot and set out for a 5-to-10-minute walk (or opt to take a seat in small vehicle  that the theater provides instead) and up a hill and into the woods to get to the amphitheater for an outdoor production.

I am a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and earlier this month we held our annual convention in Spring Green, Wisc. -- about 40 miles west of Madison -- and far from the Tony Award-winning theaters in  New York, Chicago, Connecticut or other urban centers across the country that regularly have national spotlights on them.

For me, journey up a hill to see theater in this bucolic setting was part of the experience, part of the ritual, if you will,  of this sui genesis place. It sounds odd but, in a way, it was a kind of theatrical pilgrimage.

In the woods, it's all about the joy of seeing classic works, many of these plays not often produced, despite some theater mission statements of other not-for-profit regional theaters across the country. (When did you last see a play by Farquhar, or even Ionesco is your favorite Tony Award-winning theater?) 

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