Next Act Closes Season With U.S. Premiere of ‘Dinner With the Duchess’

Milwaukee, WI – Next Act Theatre closes its 2025-26 season with the U.S. Premiere of DINNER WITH THE DUCHESS by Nick Green, directed by Samantha Martinson. This urgent, searing drama will run April 22 – May 17, 2026, at Next Act’s artistic home at 255 S. Water Street in Milwaukee. Tickets for single patrons may be purchased by calling 414-278-0765 or visiting nextact.org.

At the end of a storied career, violin virtuoso Margaret gives her final interview to a young reporter. As the evening wears on, Margaret must confront secrets and ghosts of the past to face an impossible question: how will she be remembered? Boundaries are drawn, lines are crossed, and tensions reach a crescendo as a simple dinner becomes a battleground in the fight for the truth. Nick Green’s tense, personal drama explores whether the artist or her art defines a legacy. DINNER WITH THE DUCHESS was developed and first produced by Here For Now Theatre Company in Toronto in 2024. This will be the first production of the play in the United States.

Actor Laura Gordon will appear as Margaret; Gordon has been working with Next Act Theatre since the company’s inaugural production in 1990. In that time, she has appeared in ten productions and directed another four, most recently BOSWELL earlier in the current season. This is Gordon’s first acting appearance at Next Act in 17 years, her previous most-recent role being in 2009’s GOING TO ST. IVES. Gordon, a Ten Chimneys Lunt-Fontanne Fellow, is also known for regional work with American Players Theatre, the Cleveland Playhouse, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Indiana Rep, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Renaissance Theaterworks, Forward Theater, Nevada Conservatory Theatre, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Santa Cruz Shakespeare, and the Milwaukee Rep, where she was a long-time member of the resident acting company.

Gordon’s return to the Next Act stage is accompanied by two debuts. Mai Abe will make her Next Act debut as Helen the reporter – Abe has previously appeared with Santa Cruz Shakespeare, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, and The Pear Theatre. Andrew May will make his Next Act debut as David, Margaret’s husband. May has more than 40 years of experience on stage, film, and TV – his onstage work includes the Broadway national tour of WAR HORSE and roles at Williamstown Theatre Festival, Milwaukee Rep, Great Lakes Theater, Cleveland Playhouse, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Goodman Theatre, and others. Director Samantha Martinson is making her Next Act directorial debut: Martinson is a Marquette University graduate and the current Festival Producer of World Premiere Wisconsin.

Creative Team

The creative team also includes:

• Scenic Designer: Lisa Schlenker (ALMOST, MAINE; THE MOUSETRAP; THERE IS A HAPPINESS THAT MORNING IS)
• Lighting Designer: Maaz Ahmed (CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION; THE ELABORATE ENTRANCE OF CHAD DEITY; KILL MOVE PARADISE)
• Costume Designer: Kathy Logelin
• Sound Designer: Andre Pluess
• Properties Designer: Abbey Pitchford (GOD’S SPIES; THE TIN WOMAN; RED HERRING)
• Assistant Director: Laura Kloser
• Stage Manager: Nat Goeller

DINNER WITH THE DUCHESS is generously sponsored in part by Co-Sponsors Margaret Dethloff and Terri Zeh, Mary Jo and Guy McDonald, and Susan and Howard Schoenfeld. Next Act Theatre is a proud member group of the United Performing Arts Fund (UPAF). Next Act Theatre’s 2025-26 season is supported in part by a grant from CAMPAC, the Shubert Foundation, the Herzfeld Foundation, Bader Philanthropies, the Milwaukee Arts Board, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, and the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Fact Sheet

• Who: Next Act Theatre
• What: Dinner with the Duchess by Nick Green
• Where: Next Act Theatre, 255 S Water St, Milwaukee, WI 53204
• When: April 22 – May 17, 2026 (see calendar below for show times)
• Description: At the end of a storied career, violin virtuoso Margaret gives her final interview to a young reporter. As the evening wears on, Margaret must confront secrets and ghosts of the past to face an impossible question: how will she be remembered? Boundaries are drawn, lines are crossed, and tensions reach a crescendo as a simple dinner becomes a battleground in the fight for the truth. Nick Green’s tense, personal drama explores whether the artist or her art defines a legacy.
• Ticket Price: $29 previews | $34 weekday matinees | $44 weekend matinees | $39 evenings (Fees not included)
• Ticket Office: 414-278-0765 or online at nextact.org. Visit the Ticket Office during business hours.

Show Calendar

April 22 – May 17, 2026

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
	APR 22 PREVIEW 7:30	23 PREVIEW 7:30	24 OPENING 7:30	25 4:00	26 2:00 P/T
29 1:30 7:30	30 7:30 T	MAY 1 7:30	2 4:00	3 2:00 P/T	6 1:30 7:30 T	8 7:30
9 4:00	10 2:00 P/T	11 PWYC 7:30	13 1:30	14 7:30 T	15 7:30	16 4:00
17 CLOSING 2:00

P = Personal Preview | T = Talkback | PWYC = Pay What You Can

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.