Review: American Players unveils returning season of live theater

As many of you are aware, American Players Theatre is one of the most popular open-air repertories in the United States. Located in Spring Green, Wisconsin, APT is dedicated to presenting both classics and modern plays (and I am a big fan of their Shakespeare productions).

That’s why I was so excited to learn that APT has announced a 2021 summer season – naturally with all the safety precautions in place for both of its theaters. From required masks to 25% seating capacity – that’s 250 seats for the outdoor Hill and 30 seats for the indoor Touchstone, which means tickets that go on sale for the general public on April 26 are going to be even harder to get.

And here’s to their mandatory social distancing, which hopefully results in fewer mosquitoes on that beautiful, wooded 110-acre site. (But don’t worry – there’s free bug spray available for patrons’ use.)

Artistic Director Brenda DeVita has announced a six-production schedule, reduced from the traditional eight. Opening the season on May 14 is Katori Hill’s “The Mountaintop,” running through June 19 at the Touchstone, which focuses on the evening before Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination and a mysterious maid.

A world premiere of James DeVita’s “An Improbable Fiction” follows from May 27 to June 26 for the Hill; told mostly in Shakespeare’s own words, it’s plague time and some of his most notable characters have gathered at the Boar’s Head Inn to commiserate and ruminate on the state of affairs.

Also for the Hill comes Tom Stoppard’s wonderful “Rough Crossing” from July 1 through Aug. 7. Stoppard’s play features two established playwrights who take their careers and stars on the high seas. Running concurrently at the Touchstone will be “An Iliad” by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare, a reprise of Homer’s epic tale of the Trojan War, from June 25 through Aug. 15.

The Hill Theatre’s season ends with Shakespeare’s “Cymbeline” from Aug. 12 to Sept. 11, a somewhat overlooked play about Posthumus, a good Roman who secretly marries King Cymbeline’s daughter and consequently gets in a lot of trouble. It is Shakespeare after all.

The final production closes on Oct. 3 at the Touchstone with Christopher Fry’s “A Phoenix Too Frequent,” opening Aug. 26 and set in ancient Greece; Dynamene is prepared to die from grief over the death of her husband. She’s made arrangements for her servant to die with her, and that’s one servant none too happy with the prospect.

So welcome back, American Players, and congratulations as you go forward. The situation may be a little different, but what a glorious season!

• Regina Belt-Daniels has been involved with theater since the first grade. She continues to serve on several theater boards, and longs to return to being onstage, attending plays and, best of all, being with a live audience.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: American Players Theatre’s in-person season

WHERE: 5950 Golf Course Road, Spring Green, Wis.

WHEN: May 14 to Oct. 3

BOX OFFICE: 608-588-2361, 608-588-9207

INFORMATION: americanplayers.org