Ayad Akhtar’s Newest Play McNeal to Launch Milwaukee Rep’s New Herro Franke Studio Theater
January 8, 2026 [Milwaukee, WI] — Milwaukee Repertory Theater proudly announces the completion of the Associated Bank Theater Center Phase II construction with the grand opening of the reimagined Herro‑Franke Studio Theater featuring the Midwest premiere of Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright Ayad Akhtar’s newest work, McNeal, running February 10 – March 22, 2026.
The newly transformed Herro‑Franke Studio Theater—Milwaukee Rep’s home for intimate, innovative storytelling—now features modular platforms, flexible seating for 182 to 224 patrons, and expanded production capabilities, allowing for larger casts and bold new staging possibilities.
The first production in the Herro-Franke Studio Theater is the Midwest premiere of McNeal by Ayad Akhtar, making this his 5th play produced by Milwaukee Rep in the past 10 years. McNeal is a darkly comic, razor‑sharp exploration of art and ambition in the age of artificial intelligence. Hailed by The Atlantic as “a brilliant and transfixing new play… Akhtar goes to a place that few writers have visited so effectively,” Milwaukee Rep’s production is directed by Artistic Director Mark Clements, and follows Jacob McNeal, a brilliant and dangerously charismatic novelist consumed by his own genius. As McNeal pushes the boundaries of creativity, the play probes urgent questions about authorship, truth, and originality in a rapidly shifting technological landscape. With jaw-dropping projections and special effects never before seen in the studio, McNeal breaks new ground of theatrical storytelling possibilities.
The cast of McNeal includes Peter Bradbury as Jacob McNeal, who has performed in nearly 30 Broadway productions and understudied Robert Downey Jr. in the sold-out World Premiere run at Lincoln Center, Jessica Ko (Much Ado About Nothing, American Players Theater) as Sahra, Tony Nominee Jeanne Paulsen (One House Over, Milwaukee Rep) as Stephie Banic, Ty Fanning (Othello with Denzel Washington, Broadway) as Harlan, N’Jameh Carama (Junk, Milwaukee Rep) as Natasha Braitwaite, Bridget Ann White (Will Roger’s Follies, Broadway) as Francine Blake, and Milwaukee Rep EPR Sara Sadjadi as Dipti.
McNeal is directed by Mark Clements with set design by Emily Lotz (Princess & the Pauper – A Bollywood Tale at Imagination Stage), costume design by Mieka van der Ploeg (Romeo and Juliet, Milwaukee Rep), lighting design by Jason Fassl (Come From Away, Milwaukee Rep), sound design and original music by Dan Kazemi (Romeo and Juliet, Milwaukee Rep), projection design by Timothy Kelly, stage manager Terence Orleans Alexander.
Ayad Akhtar, a Brookfield native, is a novelist, playwright, and Milwaukee Rep Board of Trustee. He is the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Edith Wharton Citation of Merit for Fiction, and an Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His acclaimed novel Homeland Elegies was hailed by The Washington Post as “a tour de force” and by The New York Times as “a beautiful novel…that circles, with pointed intellect, the possibilities and limitations of American life.” His debut novel American Dervish has been translated into over 20 languages. As a playwright, his works include McNeal (Lincoln Center, Broadway), Junk (Lincoln Center, Broadway; Kennedy Prize for American Drama, Tony nomination), Disgraced (Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Tony nomination), The Who & The What (Lincoln Center), and The Invisible Hand (NYTW; Obie Award, Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Award, Olivier and Evening Standard nominations). His honors also include the Steinberg Playwriting Award, the Nestroy Award, the Erwin Piscator Award, and fellowships from the American Academy in Rome, MacDowell, Sundance, and Yaddo, where he serves as a Board Director. In 2021, he was named New York State Author by the New York State Writers Institute.
McNeal is presented by Christine Symchych and James McNulty with Executive Producers Abbie and David Nash and Mara and Craig Swan, Associate Producers Dr. Eric A. Durant and Scott A. Swickard, Marybeth and Harry Van Groll, and Greg and Rhonda Oberland. McNeal is a John (Jack) D. Lewis New Play Development Program production and part of the Four-Four Foundation Herro-Franke Studio Season.
To purchase tickets to McNeal go to www.MilwaukeeRep.com, call the Ticket Office at 414-224-9490 or visit in-person at 108 E Wells Street in downtown Milwaukee.
For more information, please visit www.MilwaukeeRep.com
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.
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