SEASON AUDITIONS!

BARTELL THEATRE
August 13, 2026
6:30-9:30 PM

Madison Public Theatre will be holding auditions for our 2026-27 season in the Evjue at the Bartell Theatre.

The shows included in our season are Taking Sides, The Rivals, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, and Switzerland. Switzerland is already cast.

What to Prepare: Come prepared with 2 one minute monologues of your choosing. We
will provide sides if needed.

Taking Sides
Written by Ronald Harwood and directed by Stephanie Monday, this show will be presented in the Evjue at the Bartell Theatre, running October 9-24, 2026.
Rehearsals will take place at Dale Heights Presbyterian Church, 5501 University Avenue, beginning in late August.

Characters:
Major Steve Arnold, an anti-elitist American army investigator, vulgar, and prejudiced
against the arts.
Wilhelm Furtwangler, the famous dignified conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic who
argues that he stayed in Nazi Germany to protect German culture.
Lieutenant David Wills, a young Jewish-American assistant to Major Arnold who acts as
a moral compass.
Emmi Straube, a young German secretary who assists the interrogation team. Her
father was a German officer executed for his involvement in the plot to assassinate
Hitler.
Helmuth Rode, a violinist in Berlin Philharmonic who testifies about the conditions under
which musicians were forced to operate during the Nazi regime.
Tamara Sachs, an anti-Nazi refugee and widow of a Jewish musician.

CAPS TITLE

The Rivals
Written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan and adapted by Murray Fane, directed by Julia Houck, this show will be presented in the Drury at the Bartell Theatre,running February 12-27, 2027. Rehearsals will take place at Dale Heights Presbyterian Church, 5501 University Avenue, beginning in mid-December with a holiday two week break.

Characters:

Sir Anthony Absolute, The Master, 50’s-60’s
Captain Absolute, The Young Master, in disguise as Ensign Beverly and in love with Lydia. 20’s-30’s.
Lydia Languish, a wealthy young lady in love with Ensign Beverly. She doesn’t know he is Captain Absolute. 20’s.
Julia Melville, Lydia’s cousin and lover of Faulkland. 20’s.
Faulkland, lover of Julia. 20’s-30’s.
Mrs. Malaprop, Lydia’s aunt, trying to ensure that she marries for wealth. 50’s-60’s.
Sir Lucious O’Trigger, in a lover’s correspondence with Mrs. Malaprop believing her to be Lydia. 50’s-60’s.
Acres, a suitor for Lydia. Mrs. Malaprop replaces him for the Captain. 20’s-30’s.
Fag, Captain Absolute’s man servant. Any age.
David, Sir Anthony’s footman. Becomes Acre’s manservant. Any age.
Lucy/Narrator, Lydia’s maid. Presents as a fool, but sharp as a tack.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
Written by Tom Stoppard, and directed by Karl Stoll, this show will be presented in the Evjue at the Bartell Theatre, running from March 12-27, 2027. Rehearsals will take place at Dale Heights Presbyterian Church, 5501 University Avenue, beginning in mid-January.

Characters:
Rosencrantz, a gentleman and childhood friend of Hamlet.
Guildenstern, a gentleman and childhood friend of Hamlet.
The Player, the leader of traveling actors known as the Tragedians. His cunning wit and confident air suggest he knows more than he is letting on.
Tragedians, a group of traveling male actors.
Hamlet, the prince of Denmark. In crisis when his father dies and his uncle takes the throne and marries his mother.
Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle and the new king of Denmark. A sinister character who tries to exploit the friendship between Rosencrantz, Guildenstern and Hamlet.
Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother and queen of Denmark. In disgrace from marrying so soon after her husband’s death but sincerely cares about Hamlet’s well being.

Polonius, a member of the Danish court and adviser to Claudius. Shifty.
Ophelia, the daughter of Polonius and Hamlet’s former beloved.
Laertes, the son of Polonius and brother of Ophelia. He appears as a corpse in the final scene.

2025-2026 Season

Dracula, A Feminist Revenge Fantasy by Kate Hamill

October 16- November 1, 2025
Directed by Hannah Nies, this is an adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel. Bouncing
between horror and humor, this show is fierce, feminist, frightening.

C’est La Vie by Gretchen Suarez-Pena

February 5 – 22, 2026
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, vignettes, monologues and stories about
romance, love and loss. Stephanie Monday directs this poignant look at love and
the human condition.

Noises Off by Michael Frayn

May 15 - 30, 2026
Julia Houck directs this British sex farce with a play within a play, absurd
backstage mishaps, hilarious onstage chaos, and unraveling romance. You’re
welcome.

2026-2027 Season

Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury

Directed by Stephanie Monday

Evjue Stage, October 9-24, 2026

Dark Fantasy

Something Wicked This Way Comes is a dark fantasy play by science fiction author

Ray Bradbury. Join us for our annual Halloween production, about best friends, Jim

Nightshade and William Halloway, and their nightmarish experience with a traveling

carnival that comes to Green Town, Illinois in the early 1960’s. The carnival's leader is

the mysterious "Mr. Dark", who seemingly wields the power to grant the townspeople's

secret desires. In reality, Dark is a malevolent being who, like the carnival, lives off the

life force of those it enslaves.

The Rivals, by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, adapted by Murray Fane

Directed by Julia Houck

Drury Stage, February 12-27, 2027

Comedy

The Rivals is a comedy of manners just in time for Valentine’s Day. Jack Absolute and

Lydia Languish, have a complicated courtship. They are finally united despite the

unhelpful interventions of Jack's father, Sir Anthony, and Lydia's aunt, Mrs Malaprop, as

well as two further suitors of Lydia's – a bellicose Irishman and an English country

bumpkin. A sub-plot depicts another young couple – Julia Melville and her fiancé, Jack's

friend, Faulkland – whose romance is disrupted by Faulkland's obsessive jealousy, but

has a similarly happy ending.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, by Tom Stoppard

Directed by Karl Stoll

Evjue Stage, March 12-27, 2027

Tragicomedy

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is an existential tragicomedy by Tom

Stoppard, produced in memory of the playwright and our friend, Jeffrey Knupp, both of

whom we lost in 2026. The play expands upon the exploits of two minor characters from

Hamlet, the courtiers Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and the main setting is Denmark.

The action of the play takes place mainly "in the wings" of Hamlet, with brief

appearances of major characters from Hamlet who enact fragments of the scenes.

Between these episodes, the two protagonists voice their confusion at the progress of

events occurring onstage without them in Hamlet, of which they have no direct

Knowledge.

Switzerland, by Joanna Murray-Smith

Directed by Julia Houck

Evjue Stage, May 14-29, 2027

Drama

Somewhere in the Swiss Alps, grande dame of crime literature Patricia Highsmith, the

creator of Ripley, lives with an impressive collection of books, and a somewhat sinister

collection of guns and knives. She finds solace in her solitude, her cats and cigarettes.

But when a mysterious international visitor arrives at her perfectly secluded home, her

love of fictional murders becomes a dangerous reality.

MISSION STATEMENT

The Madison Public Theatre is a theatre of and for our community. We act upon the conviction that artistic expression is civic engagement and access to a creative forum is essential to the wellness and health of our community. We intentionally and rigorously work to break down barriers to attending and creating theatre. MPT inspires, entertains and stimulates audiences with theatrical productions that range from the classics to new works and original works; we train and support the next generation of theatre artists; we enrich our community through bold theatrical experiences that inspire empathy and encourage conversation; and we celebrate the essential power of the theatre to illuminate our common humanity.