Wisconsin Playwright Marie Kohler Announces World Premiere of her Play MAYBE WE’LL FLY at Milwaukee Chamber Theatre this September
MAYBE WE'LL FLY is part of World Premiere Wisconsin, a statewide festival celebrating new plays and musicals running throughout 2026
Milwaukee, WI – August 28, 2026 – Award-winning Wisconsin playwright Marie Kohler is delighted to announce that her play with music MAYBE WE’LL FLY will have its world premiere production at Milwaukee Chamber Theatre. It will run September 18 – October 11, 2026 at the Studio Theatre in the Broadway Theatre Center located in the Historic Third Ward. This new work includes music by Tony-nominated Josh Schmidt and is inspired by the life of Wisconsin outsider artist Mary Nohl. The production will be directed by noted Chicago theater artist Elizabeth Margolius – stage and movement director. The production will also feature cellist Alicia Storin performing live music.
Discussing what drew her to write the play, Marie shared: “The inspiration of Mary Nohl and her creativity are at the emotional heart of the story. As is Nohl’s spirit of adventure, her outsider style of making art, her drive to live and work exactly as she chose – that was an especially strong inspiration for me. Also, both human beings and artists often wonder what we might leave behind as legacy at the end of our lives. How do we approach aging and the loss of control? Mary Nohl had great control in the second half of her life – but being human, did not have the ultimate control of avoiding mortality.”
She added: “For me, emotional honesty was closer to what I strove for in this piece than factual truth. I wanted to bring to life the emotions of an artist facing her end while considering what her life’s contributions had been . . . and exploring whether or not she can ‘let go’ of her emotional difficulties. That is the story I wanted to spin and share.”
To read the full blog post “Inspired By,” please go to: mariekohler.com/maries-take/inspired-by
Play description: Marie Kohler collaborates with composer Josh Schmidt in this theatrical, fictional reimagining of the life and work of Wisconsin outsider artist Mary Nohl (1914 – 2001). Nohl’s unique vision sparked her to transform cast-off materials she collected into one-of-a-kind creations in the yard of her lakeshore home. “I turn trash into treasure,” the play’s Artist proclaims joyously to her world. The play explores what drives this artist’s aspiration to create, to deal with her birth family, to delight and provoke her community . . . and to try and make her mark.
To learn more about the production or to purchase tickets, please go to: milwaukeechambertheatre.org/maybe-well-fly
______
In addition to the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre production of MAYBE WE’LL FLY this fall, Marie’s play MIDNIGHT AND MOLL FLANDERS will be produced by Theatre III in Acton, MA, April 2027. A free adaptation of Defoe’s classic novel, the play begins on the eve of Moll’s hanging at Newgate Prison and explores the influence of gender, class, free will and luck in an era as wildly entrepreneurial as our own. For more information, please visit: theatre3.org/upcoming/MollFlanders
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
Mentioned in This Press Release
Recent Press Releases by Press Release
“Portal to the Past” Historic Mural Goes Live in Milwaukee’s Third Ward
Aug 25th, 2026 by Press ReleaseRenowned Milwaukee Artist John Kowalczyk Begins Painting Large-Scale Facade Celebrating the Makers, Merchants, and Rhythms of Commission House
Milwaukee Artist and Educator Opens Creative Reuse Shop on the East Side
Aug 11th, 2026 by Press ReleaseAfter 18 months of pop-ups, donations, and community events, Magic Hands Creative Reuse finds a home inside Studio B & Co.
