Milwaukee Repertory Theater

Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Milwaukee, Wis., founded in 1954 as the Fred Miller Theater, was originally a community theatre using local actors supplemented by stars. Gradually a fine company evolved which officially became the Milwaukee Repertory Theater in 1964 and in 1969 moved into a new civic centre home, the Wehr Theater. In 1974 a second, experimental theatre, the Court Street, was established, and in 1983 a research and development department known as the Lab. In 1987 the MRT moved into an all-inclusive downtown facility consisting of the 720-seat mainstage theatre, the 216-seat Stiemke Theater, and the 100-seat Stackner Cabaret. The MRT is a non-profit-making company supporting new playwrights, presenting neglected classics, and commissioning new translations of classic and contemporary foreign theatre. It undertakes state, regional, and international tours. In 1976 it began to stage occasional large-scale productions at the 1,393-seat century-old Pabst Theater.