Door County: Peninsula Players

I first met Robert Thompson while walking with my dad and sister through the apple orchard in the campground at which we had just become seasonal campers. He was talking to the trees. My dad quickly led us in the other direction.

Later on, we came to learn that Bob, as we came to call him, was an actor at the Peninsula Players Theatre, an outdoor theater a few miles north. Bob was a sweet man, one of many surrogate grandparents we acquired around the campground. He took my sister and I under his wing and got us involved with the theater. You see, if you ushered or helped to direct cars in the parking lot (something we were much too young to do at first), you got to see the play for free. Thus began my love of the theater, of the butterflies in my stomach and the electricity in the air when the lights dimmed and the curtain pulled back. (He always inquired what nights we would be attending, and he if he was in that particular play, he wouldn’t let the any of the cast leave until they had all signed our playbills.)

The very first Peninsula Players show opened on July 25, 1935, though they didn’t open on their current location until the summer of 1937. Those early performances were presented under the stars, with a canvas top added in 1946, a permanent roof in 1957, and with continued improvements to present day. These days, the shows can go on, rain or shine. There are a number of videos (with auto-generated captions) on their website where you can learn even more about their history.

Each season, the Players puts on five shows. This season, the shows are I Ought to be in Pictures (June 18 – July 7), The Angel Next Door (July 10 – 28), Million Dollar Quartet (July 31 – August 18), Mary’s Wedding (August 21 – September 1), and The Stranger (September 4 – October 20).

If you are interested in purchasing a ticket for an upcoming show, you can do so on their website, by calling (920) 868-3287*, or stopping by the box office during regular hours. (There are handling fees for online or by phone but not in person.) The theater is located at 4351 Peninsula Players Road, Fish Creek, WI. (Note: There are discounts for students eighteen and under, as well as for groups of fifteen or more.) Get there early – walk the beautiful grounds, have a beverage, depending on the time of year, you can also catch a breathtaking sunset before the show starts (it’s like the grounds are magic – it’s always beautiful).

If you are interested in signing up for ushering, you will want to call early before the season begins. Spots fill up quickly.

*One summer, Pen Players accidentally printed their posters and various advertisements with the last two numbers of their phone number inverted – which happened to be our phone number when we first moved up there. We fielded a lot of calls for them that season. 🙂