Wisconsin Classic Stage · Milwaukee

2026/27
Season

Four masterworks spanning twenty-five centuries. One company committed to the living pulse of classical theater.

The Season
· · ·

From the ruins of ancient Persia to a house haunted by its own inheritance, to a devil's bargain lit by electric light, to the quiet devastation of a Russian estate — this season Wisconsin Classic Stage presents works that refuse to stay in the past. The Persians and Ghosts have closed; two productions remain. These are plays that haunt, provoke, and illuminate what it means to be human.

Still to Come · 2026–2027

Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights by Gertrude Stein, directed by Cole Castine
I

Gertrude Stein · An Operetta

Doctor Faustus
Lights the Lights

Oct 30 at 8pm · Oct 31 at 8pm & 10pm · Nov 1 at 8pm · Nov 6 at 8pm · Nov 7 at 8pm & 10pm · Nov 8 at 8pm

Stein takes the oldest bargain in literature and rewrites it as pure incantation.

Faustus wants to escape the burden of being alive, but when the Devil offers him eternal youth in exchange for the soul of a mysterious woman, the bargain becomes a seductive battle over who gets to choose life, death, and what comes after. Radical, playful, and deliciously unsettling — unlike anything audiences have ever experienced. Directed by Cole Castine. Enter the current this Halloween.

Accessibility & Age GuidanceApprox. 1 hour, performed without intermission. Recommended for ages 13 and older; children under 13 will not be admitted. Reserved seating is recommended for patrons who require accessible seating because the standing-room section is not accessible. The production uses continuous “perpetual light” staging with no blackout. For accessibility assistance, call 414.375.5127.
Buy Doctor Faustus Tickets→ Study Guide
Uncle Vanya
II

Anton Chekhov · A Tragicomedy

Uncle Vanya

March 2027

Chekhov's most devastating portrait of wasted lives — and somehow, his funniest.

On a crumbling Russian estate, Vanya and those around him circle in the slow agony of lives that did not become what they should have been. Love unreturned. Time running out. Chekhov gives us no resolution — only people, achingly real, reaching toward something just out of grasp.

Tickets On Sale Soon

Past Productions · Programs & Study Guides

Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen, directed by Josh Pohja
III

Henrik Ibsen · Translated by Rick Davis & Brian Johnston

Ghosts

Closed · July 10–19, 2026 · Ibsen in the Parking Lot

A fever dream of inherited guilt, buried desire, and the quiet violences families inflict on themselves.

Staged in a church parking lot under the glare of fluorescent light, WCS reopened Ibsen's scandalous modern classic through the prism of assisted suicide and America's fentanyl epidemic. Directed by Josh Pohja. The stage program and patron study guide remain available below.

Stage Program Study Guide
The Persians at Wisconsin Classic Stage. Photo: Paul Ruffolo Photography
IV

Aeschylus · Adapted by Robert Auletta

The Persians

Closed · April 24–26, 2026 · Calvary Presbyterian Church

The first anti-war play in recorded history — written by a soldier who fought in the very war he depicted.

Aeschylus gives voice not to the victors, but to the vanquished. Set in the Persian court as news of Xerxes' catastrophic defeat arrives, this was theater at its most elemental — grief, hubris, and the terrible cost of empire. Directed by Josh Pohja.

Stage Program Study Guide

Now On Sale

Enter the current
this Halloween

Tickets for Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights are on sale now. Reserve your seats for October 30 through November 8.

Buy Faustus Tickets Support WCS