Peninsula Players Theatre announces the 2026 season of The Play’s the Thing, a winter play reading series presented to Door County audiences. Readings of the three plays will be performed at Björklunden at 7590 Boynton Lane, Baileys Harbor, on Mondays, February 2, March 2, and April 6 at 7:00 p.m. There is no admission fee, and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Donations are welcome.
“Peninsula Players Theatre is eager to share another season of play readings,” said Artistic Director Linda Fortunato. “For 17 years, the Door County community has embraced this winter programing with such enthusiasm and we look forward to greeting the many patrons who will join us in person to share these thoughtful new works with them.”
Rosenberg by David Meyers will kick off the series on Monday, February 2. After prosecuting Julius and Ethel Rosenberg in the trial of the century, Sam Goodstein and his wife, Judith, rise to success and notoriety, until new questions force them to confront the moral cost of their ambition. Set in Washington, D.C., Rosenberg explores power, compromise, and political courage, asking what has changed, and what hasn’t, since 1953.This reading is presented in coordination with Door County Reads and its exploration of The Briar Club by Kate Quinn.
The Play’s The Thing continues with two World Premieres presented in conjunction with World Premiere Wisconsin. The first is on Monday, March 2, with In The Doorway by Sean Grennan. After a sudden heart attack, Jonathan finds himself stuck between this world and the next, visited by dead relatives with urgent messages and zero boundaries. In the Doorway is a sharp, funny, heart-tugging, and uplifting new play about how we all have to choose: cash it in, or truly start living.
the after wife by Sophie McIntosh closes the winter play reading series on Monday, April 6, 2025. Set in 1963, Nora is the perfect housewife, because she was engineered to be one. As the most advanced humanoid robot ever created, she’s placed in the home of inventor Martin and his teenage children. But when Martin’s daughter Ruth realizes Nora looks exactly like her missing mother, she begins to suspect a darker truth.
The Play’s the Thing is funded in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as generous support from Friends of Door County Libraries, Patrick O’Hearn & Anita Zipperer, The Shubert Foundation and operating funds of Peninsula Players Theatre.
Peninsula Players Theatre is America’s Oldest Professional Resident Summer Theatre. The Play’s the Thing is part of the theater’s winter outreach programming, presenting professional play readings for the public. Learn more about Peninsula Players Theatre and its 2026 season at www.peninsulaplayers.com.