Returning favorites, familiar pop and disco hits, musical comedies and a mix of local, regional and national touring acts are coming to Southern Door Community Auditorium for its just-announced 2025-26 performing arts season, which runs from July to May.
The season offers 17 shows taking the stage, along with four theatrical and musical educational shows. A news release from the auditorium said the venue welcomed visitors from 134 cities in Wisconsin and 22 other states during its 2024-25 season.
Acts returning to Southern Door after playing there this past season are the venerable Kids from Wisconsin song-and-dance troupe and band, whose members this year include Southern Door graduate Noah Rass of Forestville; The MadHatters male a cappella group from the University of Wisconsin-Madison; and local classic bluegrass and western swing group The Fiddler’s Farm Band.
The Miss Door County Scholarship Program, which includes the Miss Door County, Miss Door County’s Teen and Miss Cherryland pageants, and the SING, Door County! high school vocal competition also will be back on stage at Southern Door.
Returning acts with new shows are the Looney Lutherans, a three-woman comedy troupe offering comedic advice on living a Lutheran life, and Green Bay-based musical-comedy company Let Me Be Frank Productions with a show about a toilet paper commercial shot in Green Bay. Another popular Green Bay company, Daddy D Productions, brings a show featuring music of the 1950s.
Those who want to hear the music of big names performed live in concert can check out five different tribute acts featuring the songs of ABBA, Elton John, Neil Diamond, Hall and Oates, and Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
And Southern Door High School’s and Middle School’s renowned musicals also will be on stage as part of the season.
Along with those shows, the Arts in Education series fields four programs that offer educational shows for students in grades 4K through eight to have fun and be entertained while they learn in areas including STEAM, life skills, and plants and animals. Schools in Door and Kewaunee counties are being given the chance to schedule field trips to come to those shows, and a limited number of tickets for the public will be available.
Southern Door Community Auditorium is on the campus of the Southern Door County School District, 2073 County DK, Brussels. For tickets or more information, call 920-676-1920 or visit southerndoorauditorium.org.
FYI
The Southern Door Community Auditorium 2025-26 season (all shows start at 7 p.m. unless noted):
July 19: Kids from Wisconsin
The state’s musical ambassadors make their annual appearance at Southern Door with their summer show, “The Heat is On!” featuring the song-and-dance troupe and band performing numbers to remind audiences of lazy beach days, family road trips, backyard barbecues and late-night sing-along bonfires. Among this year’s troupe, the Kids’ 57th, is Southern Door graduate Noah Rass of Forestville.
July 23: ABBAFAB: The Premier ABBA Experience
Tribute act for the music of 1970s-’80s pop/disco legend ABBA is a multimedia production that includes megahits such as “Waterloo,” “Fernando,” “Honey Honey” and, of course, “Dancing Queen.”
Sept. 13: Daddy D Productions’ “Fabulous Fifties”
The popular Green Bay-based troupe brings a high-energy musical and comedy revue featuring the biggest hits of the 1950s, along with song parodies and Daddy D’s trademark comedy bits.
Sept. 20: Fantastic: A Tribute to Elton John
Even Stephen, who’s said to be one of the top Elton John impersonators in the world, gives a concert featuring live recreations of some of John’s biggest hits, including “Rocket Man,” “Bennie and the Jets” and “I’m Still Standing.”
Sept. 28 (3 p.m.): “Don’t Squeeze the Charmin – This Show is Rated P&G” by Let Me Be Frank Productions
The popular Green Bay musical comedy theater company brings its new show looking behind the scenes of a TV commercial for toilet paper at the Proctor & Gamble mill in Green Bay, spiced by music from the ’70s and ’80s.
Oct. 4: The MadHatters
The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s longest-running (founded in 1997) and premier men’s a cappella group returns to Southern Door for a second straight year to croon the hits ranging from decades past to the present.
Nov. 13-16 (2 p.m. Nov. 16): “All Shook Up” School Edition
The songs of Elvis Presley meet, loosely, the William Shakespeare comedy “Twelfth Night” in this year’s Southern Door High School musical. It’s set in a square little town in 1955 where a guitar-playing young man rides in and changes everything and everyone he meets.
Dec. 7 (4 p.m.): Celtic Angels Christmas
The old and new worlds meet for the holidays as the Trinity Ensemble brings its vocal harmonies, world-class Irish dancing and a live band to perform traditional and contemporary Irish and holiday favorites.
Dec. 21 (3 p.m.): Steem: For Kids from 1 to 92!
Holiday show by Steem, the soft cover rock Fox Valley band led by musicians Steve March-Tormé, Michael Murphy and Michael Bailey (the latter from the Vic Ferrari Band), featuring lush traditional fare, pop songs and joyful rock.
Jan. 27: The Fiddler’s Farm Band
Local classic bluegrass and western swing band plays the music of legends such as Merle Haggard, Patsy Cline, Flatt and Scruggs, and Bill Monroe.
Feb. 7 (4 p.m.): Miss Door County Scholarship Program
Pageants to crown the new Miss Door County, Miss Door County’s Teen and Miss Cherryland winners, with scholarship awards for contestants and the winners going on the represent the region at the Miss Wisconsin pageants.
March 6-8 (2 p.m. March 8): “Disney’s Finding Nemo, Jr.”
This year’s Southern Door Middle School musical is an adaptation of the beloved 2003 Pixar movie that brings an underwater world to life on stage in a story about family, friendship, adventure, overcoming challenges and finding oneself.
March 15 (3 p.m.): The Looney Lutherans: “Livin’ La Vida Lutheran”
A new show by the three-woman comedy troupe who played Southern Door this past season with their country-themed show on living life the Lutheran way, “Hotdish on the Range: All Hat, No Cattle.” “Livin’ La Vida Lutheran” has the women use the principles of the 6HHP (the 6 Happy Heart Petals), along with music, comedy and some help from the audience, to share their lifestyle tips for Lutheran living, with bits from the show including “Menopause Medley” and “Lutheran Yoga.”
April 12 (4 p.m.): I Am, I Said: Celebrating Neil Diamond
Matt, Jeff and Tommy Vee, nephew and sons of 1960s pop star Bobby Vee, and an all-star band perform Neil Diamond hits like “Cracklin Rosie,” “Song Sung Blue” and “Sweet Caroline.”
April 17: No Can Do: A Tribute to the Music of Hall and Oates
Tribute act to the hitmaking 1970s-’80s blue-eyed soul/pop duo plays favorites such as “Out of Touch,” “Maneater,” “I Can’t Go for That” and “Private Eyes.”
April 26 (3 p.m.): The Four C Notes: Music of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons
This tribute act was created by John Michael Coppola, best-known for his appearances with the Chicago and Las Vegas companies of of the Broadway smash hit about the Four Seasons, “Jersey Boys.” The show features the group’s biggest hits, including “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Can’t Take My Eyes off of You” and “Oh, What A Night (December 1963).”
May 30: SING, Door County!
The auditorium hosts its third annual singing competition returns featuring vocalists from Door County high schools with a team of judges, along with audience votes, determining the winner.
The Arts in Education Series (all at 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.; limited seats available to the public; call 920-676-1920 to check availability):
Oct. 5: Mister C Live, Vol. 2 – The World in Motion – Newton’s Laws!
With a focus on finding exciting and engaging ways to explore STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) learning, this show uses humor, media and the engineering design process to make the ordinary extraordinary.
Nov. 19: “How To Survive Middle School”
Comedian Robert Post, a performer known for his one-man variety show, brings a new multimedia performance for middle-school kids and their deeply felt concerns.
Feb. 19: The Singing Zoologist
Children’s author, musician and YouTube performer Lucas Miller uses music, multimedia and storytelling to show young scientists in attendance how to learn about the life cycles of plants and animals.
April 20: “Pete the Cat – The Musical”
Based on the “Pete the Cat” series of books by Kimberly Dean and James Dean, students will join an adventure of friendship all the way to Paris and back in a VW bus.
Contact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or cclough@gannett.com.
MORE: Here’s your guide to Door County’s eight concerts in the park series
MORE: Here’s your guide to the shows in the 2025 Door County theater season
FOR MORE DOOR COUNTY NEWS: Check out our website
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Southern Door Community Auditorium announces its 2025-26 season. Here’s your schedule
Reporting by Christopher Clough, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
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