The Milwaukee Repertory Theater announced Tuesday that the studio theater in the new Associated Bank Theater Center will be named the Herro-Franke Studio Theater following a $5 million gift from philanthropist David Herro and his partner, Milwaukee Rep trustee Jay Franke.
Although the bulk of the donation is being allocated to the Powering Milwaukee Campaign, the couple asked that $1 million be dedicated to the the John “Jack” D. Lewis New Play Development Fund. The fund supports the development of new plays and playwrights produced in the studio theater and beyond.
The Powering Milwaukee Campaign will fund construction of a new Associated Bank Theater Center – a new theater complex for The Rep that includes three state-of-the-art performance spaces, a large, unified lobby, a dedicated Herzfeld Foundation Education & Engagement Center to serve the theater’s 20,000+ students, and an expanded offsite production center employing hundreds of local artisans.
The campaign is now over 90% funded with construction expected to start in May 2024.
“David and I are honored to support Milwaukee Rep as they build their new home in the Associated Bank Theater Center,” said Jay Franke. “The theater is a special place where many artistic elements come together to create an experience completely unique to every audience. It’s a thrill to be a part of, and we look forward to audiences’ generations from now experiencing the innovative art that will be possible in the new theater center.”
Supporting playwrights
Mark Clements, the Milwaukee Rep’s artistic director, praised the men for their generosity as well as their support of the work that goes into making great plays.
“(They) are cognizant of the fact that beautiful new performance spaces are only truly relevant if the work produced in them is of a certain level of excellence too,” Clements said. “Therefore, their serious commitment to invest in new play development, in tandem with naming the new Herro-Franke Studio Theater, is incredibly exciting and meaningful to us.”
Designed to be a flexible, black-box space, The Herro-Franke Studio Theater, will be provide a venue for intimate and dramatic productions and boundary-pushing theatrical events. As an easily transformable performance space with new seating technology, it will allow The Rep to easily reconfigure the seating and performance spaces.
The theater will also include modernized restrooms, an acoustical barrier between performance space and a lobby with fully functioning bar and gathering spaces.
“We are extremely grateful for David and Jay, not only with this generous gift, but with their time and expertise on our Board,” said Chad Bauman, Milwaukee Rep’s executive director. “They understand that a theatre is not just a building, we are an institution that is here to serve the Milwaukee community and the only way we thrive is with buy in of our audiences and donors.”
