Tiny Spring Green Stage Snags Broadway's Big Regional Tony

Damon Caldwell, Hoodline

American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin, has been tapped for the 2026 Regional Theatre Tony Award and will receive a $25,000 grant. The honor was announced on May 19, 2026, and company representatives are set to pick up the trophy at the Tony Awards ceremony on June 7, 2026, at Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan. The recognition caps decades of repertory work on APT’s hilltop outdoor amphitheater and its more intimate indoor Touchstone stage.

Tony Awards Tap APT For Regional Theatre Prize

The Tony Awards Administration Committee, acting on a recommendation from the American Theatre Critics Association, selected APT for the 2026 Regional Theatre Award. The prize includes a $25,000 grant funded by City National Bank, according to the Tony Awards. In the announcement, Heather Hitchens and Jason Laks called the company “a one-of-a-kind institution, delivering world-class theater presentations to the Midwest for decades.”

Hilltop Stages, Repertory Roots And Scale

APT’s campus spreads across roughly 110 acres about 40 miles west of Madison, where the company mounts nine plays in rotating repertory from June through November and attracts nearly 100,000 visitors each year. The operation centers on a 1,075-seat outdoor amphitheater and the 201-seat indoor Touchstone Theatre. The company’s first Wisconsin production was Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 1980, according to American Players Theatre.

National Spotlight On A Rural Repertory Powerhouse

National arts outlets quickly picked up the announcement, noting that a rural repertory company had managed to grab Broadway’s attention. Broadway.com highlighted APT’s Shakespeare-centered programming and pointed out that the 2026 Tony telecast will be hosted by P!NK from Radio City Music Hall.

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