Peninsula Players Theatre, America’s oldest professional resident summer theatre, is thrilled to announce the artistic company for its 91st season, performing June 16 through October 18, 2026. Nestled along Door County’s scenic shore, Peninsula Players Theatre has enthralled generations of audiences in its 600-plus seat, all-weather pavilion since 1935. The organization has presented hundreds of classic dramas, comedies, musicals, pre-Broadway tryouts, and world premières. The 2026 lineup invites audiences to return to this extraordinary setting for five distinct productions that celebrate laughter, mystery, and music. With shows by theatre legends Agatha Christie and Ken Ludwig, the music of Johnny Cash, a Wisconsin supper club mystery, and love from serendipitous meetings, there’s a story just for you.
Making their Peninsula Players Theatre debut are ten actors, four designers, five directors and one stage manager. The artists will collaborate with the other 50-plus members of the 2026 company.
Baggage by Sam Bobrick (June 16– July 5) opens the 91st season. Bobrick has written/co-written 40 plays and is also known for TV writing credits including Get Smart, The Andy Griffith Show, Bewitched, and Saved By The Bell. This quirky, mismatched romantic comedy is directed by Peninsula Players Theatre’s Artistic Director Linda Fortunato.
Two single people, disillusioned and trying to heal from disappointing relationships, are brought together when their luggage is mixed up at the airport. They decide to forge a friendship, encouraged by a free-spirited best friend and discouraged by a self-proclaimed expert counselor. This unique comedy will have audiences rooting for this couple to leave their baggage behind and make a real connection.
Peninsula Players Theatre alumni Aja Alcazar (I Ought To Be in Pictures, The Angel Next Door, Million Dollar Quartet) and Sean Blake (The Rainmaker) return as Christopher Sheard and Bri Sudia make their Peninsula Players Theatre debuts. The creative team includes Brian Grimm, sound design (Barefoot in the Park); Rachel Lambert, costume design (Barefoot in the Park, I Ought To Be In Pictures, Miss Holmes); Michaela Lochen, scenic design (Million Dollar Quartet, Steel Magnolias); and Jason Lynch, lighting design (Blithe Spirit, I and You).
Jessica Fisch, Dan Kazemi, Kelley Faulkner, Landree Fleming, and Mallory Metoxen make their directorial debuts at Peninsula Players Theatre this season. Fisch will helm the Theatre’s second offering, Agatha Christie’s masterpiece, The Mousetrap (July 8 – July 26). Cast in this whodunit thriller are Alcazar, Blake, Sheard, and Sudia. Also joining the cast are Theatre alumni Janet Ulrich Brooks (Little Women The Broadway Musical, A Rock Sails By, Blithe Spirit), Jonathan Weir (Spider’s Web, Rain, Escanaba in da Moonlight), Garrett Lutz (The Angel Next Door, Million Dollar Quartet, The Stranger), and making his Peninsula Players Theatre debut, Brandon Acosta.
The Mousetrap begins with seven strangers snowed in at a secluded guesthouse. When a police sergeant arrives with news that a killer is among them, secrets unravel and pasts are exposed. Everyone is a suspect in Agatha Christie’s highly acclaimed murder mystery and the world’s longest running play. The creative team, all making their Peninsula Players Theatre debuts, include Maximo Grano De Oro, lighting design; Ethan Korvne, composition and sound design; Lauren M. Nichols, scenic design; Loren Shaw, costume design.
Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash (July 29 – August 16), created by Richard Maltby, Jr. and conceived by William Meade tells the remarkable life story of Johnny Cash through his iconic songbook. From country to rock ’n’ roll to searing ballads of love and faith, this theatrical and musical experience showcases the journey of the beloved legend. An incredible group of actor-musicians celebrate the man and the music with such hits as “I Walk the Line,” “I’ve Been Everywhere,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” and, of course, “Ring of Fire.” This delightful musical is under the direction and musical direction of Kazemi with Kelley Faulkner as the Associate Director & Choreographer. The cast performing the hit songs include Alcazar along with Joe Casey, Trevor Lindley Craft, James David Larson, and Paul Wyatt, all making their Peninsula Players Theatre debuts. The creative team includes Joe Court, sound design, (Little Women The Broadway Musical, Million Dollar Quartet, The Rainmaker); Evelyn Danner, costume design (Trying, The Rainmaker); Lochen, scenic design; and Guy Rhodes, lighting design (Little Women The Broadway Musical, Million Dollar Quartet, Dames at Sea.)
Ken Ludwig’s Moon Over Buffalo (August 19 – September 6) is the hilarious screwball comedy that fills Peninsula Players Theatre’s fourth slot in the season. George and Charlotte Hay were once celebrated stage actors, but their careers are waning and their relationship is falling apart. When they receive word that a Hollywood director is coming to their matinee, they realize they might have one more shot at success. However, in classic farce-style, everything that could go wrong, does. Fleming directs an ensemble that includes Alcazar, Casey, Larson, Lutz, and Theatre alum Karl Hamilton (Living On Love, The Drowsy Chaperone, The Bridges of Madison County). Making their Peninsula Players Theatre debuts are Laura T. Fisher, Rae Gray, and Susie McMonagle. The creative team includes Lynch, lighting design, Kärin Simonson Kopischke, costume design (Steel Magnolias, Little Women The Broadway Musical, Silent Sky); Michelle Lilly, scenic design (Little Women The Broadway Musical, The Angel Next Door); Kyle Pingel-Hickey, wig design (Steel Magnolias, Little Women The Broadway Musical, Nunsense); and Dee Etti-Williams (I Ought To Be In Pictures).
Murder Girl by Heidi Armbruster (September 9 – October 18) brings the Wisconsin supper club to Peninsula Players Theatre’s stage. Twins Eric and LeeAnn are trying to keep the family business alive when a shocking revelation from one of their employees sparks new questions about a missing girl and a past that refuses to stay buried. Full of suspense, small-town gossip, and Midwestern heart, this sharply funny mystery will have everyone guessing until the final moments. Metoxen directs this clever whodunnit featuring Lutz, Fisher, Gray, Theatre alum Charlotte Booker (Ripcord, Write Me a Murder) and newcomer Joe Picchetti. The creative team includes Kopischke, costume design; Christopher Kriz, composition and sound design (Misery, Mary’s Wedding, Trying); Jack Magaw, scenic design (Misery, Dear Jack, Dear Louise, Mary’s Wedding); and Noele Stollmack, lighting design (Steel Magnolias, Mary’s Wedding).
Stage Manager Kaitlin Kitzmiller (Barefoot in the Park, Misery, Little Women The Broadway Musical) returns for her eighth season with Assistant Stage Manager Duncan McMillan for his second season (Barefoot in the Park, Misery, Little Women The Broadway Musical). Joining the Peninsula Players Theatre for his first season is Merit Glover who will stage manage Murder Girl.
Company members work professionally across the United States and internationally as well as in film, television, podcasts, and audio narration. Many of the directors, designers, and performers are recipients of, or have been nominated for, various regional theatre awards, as well as Chicago’s prestigious Joseph Jefferson Award and After Dark Award.
Peninsula Players Theatre is a professional, not-for-profit theatre that employs members of Actors’ Equity Association (AEA), the union of professional actors and stage managers; United Scenic Artists (USA), the labor union and professional association of designers, artists and craftspeople; and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), the theatrical union of stage directors and choreographers.
The audience pavilion’s side panels, doors, and vents will remain open throughout the summer season. Patrons should dress for the weather and be prepared for shifting temperatures and breezes off the bay. Peninsula Players Theatre is a smoke-free campus. Smoking is prohibited on the grounds at all times. Audience members are invited to come early for a pre-show beverage or snack at the Luna Bar and Canteen. The grounds open 90 minutes before the show.
Peninsula Players Theatre performs Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 7:30 p.m. except for Sundays, July 5, 26, August 16 and September 6 at 2:00 p.m. With the opening of the autumn season on September 9, curtain times change to Tuesday through Sundays at 7:00 p.m., except for October 4 and 18 at 2:00 p.m. Ticket prices for the 2026 season range from $54 to $62, with student and group tickets for parties of 15 or more available. Groups should phone the Box Office at (920) 868-3287 to make arrangements. For more information, visit www.peninsulaplayers.com.
Peninsula Players Theatre would like to thank The Shubert Foundation, the Wisconsin Arts Board, with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts, for their ongoing support.
Peninsula Players Theatre is America’s Oldest Professional Resident Summer Theatre. It is unique for its diverse productions, continued loyalty to a resident company, and beautiful setting on 16 wooded acres along the cedar-lined shores of Green Bay. In the past 91 years, the Theater has become a Door County landmark and cornerstone arts institution, attracting audience members nationwide.