Herzfeld Foundation donates $5 million to Milwaukee Repertory Theater's new complex

The Richard and Ethel Herzfeld Foundation has announced a $5 million gift to the Milwaukee Repertory Theater's building campaign, the largest single grant the foundation has ever made.

Milwaukee Rep plans to build a new theater complex at its current site downtown on East Wells Street, completely redoing two of its three theaters as well as expanding its facilities into some little-used loading dock space.

This gift will support the new facility's Herzfeld Foundation Education & Engagement Center, a dedicated space for student and community programming that will include a performance venue for up to 125 audience members, multiple classrooms, accessible restrooms, a prep kitchen and an entrance directly off the Riverwalk.

“We are proud to make this historic grant to Milwaukee Rep’s Powering Milwaukee Campaign to ensure that future generations continue to reap the benefits of the theater and its programming, to create a dedicated space to grow Milwaukee Rep’s education and engagement programs, and to power a more creative and connected Milwaukee,” foundation president Carmen Haberman said in a statement announcing the gift.

"This visionary investment in Milwaukee’s future generations will ensure that we can grow our award-winning education and engagement programs and better serve the more than 20,000 students and countless community members who participate currently,” said Milwaukee Rep executive director Chad Bauman in the same statement.

Milwaukee Rep moved into its present home in 1987. The Baker Theater Complex includes main stage Quadracci Powerhouse (720 seats); the Stiemke Studio (205 seats); and the Stackner Cabaret (186 seats). Due to the age and condition of its facility, the Rep is paying more than $1 million annually in maintenance and upkeep, campaign co-chair Tammy Belton-Davis said in November. 

The Rep has reached a point where "our ability to create some of the best art is really hampered by the facility … in numerous different ways," Bauman said in a November interview.

In September, Associated Bank announced a $10 million sponsorship agreement with the Rep for the theater's new home, which will be named Associated Bank Theater Center through 2042.

Construction will start when the Rep has raised enough money to begin, Bauman said in November. He said the Rep will act prudently, but noted that "given the inflationary environment," they want to start as soon as possible.