Caroline Fisher (later Rathbone when she married the son of actor Basil
Rathbone) fell in love with the theatre when she saw her brother, Richard,
performing in Romeo and Juliet as a student at Northwestern University.
The brother and sister team along with younger sibling, Margo, prevailed
upon Mama and Papa Fisher to start their own theatre. The family had stayed
at the Bonnie Brook Hotel in Fish Creek when Papa (C.R. Fisher, an inventor
and engineer) came to Sturgeon Bay on business. The backyard of the hotel
happened to be configured like an amphitheatre so Caroline and Richie
rented it from Mrs. Hedwiga Welcker Brigl, the owner of Bonnie Brook,
and it was there on July 25, 1935 that they produced their first season
of five plays, opening with Hay Fever, a Noel Coward comedy. With the
exception of a hiatus during World War II, the summer theatre has continued
to the present.
Today, it is a well-oiled machine run exquisitely by two men with impressive
Players’ credentials: Executive Producer Todd Schmidt, and Artistic
Director Greg Vinkler. They are backed by The Peninsula Players Theatre
Foundation, Inc. formed in 1968 as a not-for-profit corporation. Except
for capital improvements, the theatre survives on box office alone. That
fact is something to be proud of but it took dedication and that “show
must go on” mentality on the part of all who went before to get
to this point.
The tales are told of Caroline Fisher’s enthusiastic promotion of
the plays. She made friends with everyone in the community and the first
place Caroline would “hit” each summer for subscribers and
donations was the famous Cottage Row in Fish Creek where most of the residents
were millionaires. She often took one of the actors along with her to
help sell; Bob Thompson was one of them. Bob, age 88, and the source of
much of this information, now lives with his wife Margaret in Sister Bay
and has published his life story, An Actor’s Life: It’s Better
Than Selling Shoes written with Kerstin Connor. Bob began acting with
the Players in 1938 and remembers Caroline fondly: “Caroline Rathbone
was the most magnetic person I have ever met, she could charm a blade
of grass, she was incredible -- everyone was in love with her.”
(Later, Amy McKenzie would seem to be the reincarnation of Caroline, exhibiting
that same chutzpah when she founded “The Third Avenue Playhouse”
in Sturgeon Bay in 1999.)
That first 1935 season was not a money maker for the Fishers, but they
bought an old boy’s camp (now, the present location of Peninsula
Players) and worked the entire second summer of 1936 fixing it up so they
could open for a full season of plays in 1937. Papa Fisher had some money
but the story goes that Caroline, a John Robert Powers model in Chicago,
met someone at a party at the Drake Hotel and charmed him into donating
$24,000 to the cause!
Bob Thompson’s description of the Fishers is a delightful first
hand account of those early days:
“What brass those Fishers had—starting a theatre in an unknown
area of Wisconsin in the middle of a depression!... Mama Fisher, the mad
Prussian, was cook…she played German Lieder records as she cooked
and designed/cut/sewed costumes….Papa, the lanky, mad genius, we
secretly called him, fixed things, drank coffee from a saucer, smoked
cigars incessantly and when cajoled into service as an actor, did so as
C. Raeburn Fyfe….He was around but never took this whole theatre
venture too seriously….Caroline, a beauty in any condition, dynamic,
volatile, heart full of compassion, couldn’t act and knew it. Brother
Richard didn’t agree. He adapted plays to star his sister. He directed,
worked in his flower garden, wrote reviews, had a crew cut, and was adored
by the family. Richie was the genius, they all agreed. Margie was a voluptuous
beauty to whom the family never paid much attention. She acted on occasion
but being the youngest didn’t stand much of a chance with the competition.”
Margo, or Margie, later knocked the socks off Bob when he shared the
stage with her in a production of Salome and watched her “Dance
of the 7 Veils” every night which by all accounts was scandalous!
The Fisher/Rathbones endured, producing a ten-play season for years. There
are wonderful stories, of course, of how Caroline “deep sixed”
all the financial records, literally threw them in the bay to show the
board who was really in charge. The company finally was able to afford
a tarp over the stage to stop the rains but needed the help of the actors
and technicians and even the audience members to hold the tarp down when
it was windy. Caroline realized her final dream for the Players when the
present pavilion was built in 1957, but this came at the expense of bankruptcy.
She had to sell her beloved theatre to an attorney friend who, either
through his own connection or as a result of a strong suggestion from
Caroline, brought in Jim McKenzie to run the theatre. And run it he did
with the help of his family and a member of the Door County community,
Tom Birmingham (whose son Tom Jr. provided information for this article).
Jim was the brilliantly creative overseer and Tom was a genius in finance,
besides being an educator and theatre buff.
McKenzie had been part of the Players since he was an apprentice in 1947
and, in fact, met his actress wife Jeanne Bolan there. They had three
children: David, Kevin and Amy. Jeanne acted as general manager to Jim’s
executive producer until she died in 1976. It was then that Tom Birmingham,
who had been associated with the Players as actor and Public Relations
Director, was named General Manager by McKenzie. The early McKenzie years
were years of small audiences and little money. Amy remembers, “In
the early days we would be dropped off in Fish Creek with a huge stack
of fliers and wander the streets looking for tourists. Few people knew
about the Players back then so it was a crucial job; if we did not have
enough people, the show would have to be cancelled. Over time I became
fearless and would speak to anyone anywhere, driven by the knowledge that
the theatre’s survival depended on our success ‘out in the
field.’ The rule of thumb was simple. There had to be at least as
many people in the audience as there were on stage so each person that
came through the door was an important victory.”
These financial struggles were slowly eliminated. McKenzie, as a producer,
was based both in New York and San Francisco and had many professional
connections. In 1955 for example, there was an apprentice at the Players
who later became Neil Simon’s agent and consequently this little
provincial theatre in Fish Creek, Wisconsin could obtain the rights to
Simon’s latest hits ahead of anyone else.
In 1978 McKenzie was able to purchase the theatre from the attorney who
had bought it from Caroline in 1960. It continued to be operated by Jim,
Tom Birmingham and their board, but when capital funding was required
for much needed renovations Jim sold it to the Players Foundation and
remained as Executive Producer.
Today this gem of a theatre, so lovingly nurtured by these two families
is about to embark on another adventure. The Theatre Foundation has been
responsible for the financial operation of the theatre since the late
‘60s and improvements have been made such as new actors’ residences,
enlarged rehearsal space, updated box office etc. But there are severe
limitations to the stage itself which is the next area of improvement
Todd Schmidt and his board will concentrate on. All of those loyal subscribers
to the Players who sign up even before the season is announced have nothing
to fear. As Todd points out, “We plan to improve the facilities
but it’s going to be the same funky northwoods theatre. We don’t
want to clean it up and make it Disneyland.”
Perhaps the next time you visit the Players, you will imagine Caroline
welcoming you, taking you to your seat and chatting all the while about
what a wonderful evening is in store for you. Or as you watch the sunset,
after picnicking under the giant cedars, you will see Mama and Papa smiling
down remembering all that went before. As you stroll from the bay through
the exquisite gardens toward the stagehouse remember Richie Fisher, the
first gardener, followed by Jake Voicheck who then passed it into the
loving hands of today’s landscape artist, Bob Kayser. Finally, as
the curtain rises, you may see (in the flesh) the wonderful actress and
actor, both directors as well, who helped keep the shows going during
the rough times: Amy McKenzie and Bob Thompson. You are participating
in “America’s Oldest Professional Resident Summer Theatre,”
and when the curtain goes up and the magic begins, remember all those
who came before, who kept the tradition of theatre alive so the Peninsula
Players could begin its next 70 years.
My thanks to all the people cited as well as to the Gibraltar Historical
Association and finally to Tom McKenzie for the spark.
2005 Season
With the exception of the final play yet to be announced as of this writing,
Peninsula Players 2005 season follows. For tickets call (920) 868-3287.
The Uneasy Chair by Evan Smith; running June 21st through July 10th. A
modern comedy with a Victorian flair about love, lawsuits, and the sanctity
of marriage follows a comfort-seeking tenant and his discontented landlady
as they negotiate everything…starting with rent, ending with marriage.
Red Herring by Michael Hollinger; running July 13th through July 31st.
Red Herring is a romantic comedy jam-packed with intrigue. The FBI, a
Soviet Spy and Joe McCarthy’s daughter are intertwined in this spoof
of film noir movies slightly shaken with romance and exploding devices.
Tom, Dick and Harry by Ray and Michael Cooney; running August 3rd through
August 21st. A new wacky comedy full of slapstick and mayhem. Tom and
his wife want to adopt a baby. So how do his brothers Dick and Harry help
out? By getting Tom mixed up with illegal immigrants, dead bodies, the
Russian mafia and the local police!
Escanaba in da Moonlight by Jeff Daniels; running August 24th through
September 18th. Escanaba in da Moonlight is a super “yooper”
comedy about the Soady family, residents of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula,
on the opening day of hunting season. Rueben Soady, the “Buckless
Yooper,” goes to any and all lengths to remove himself from the
wrong end of the family record book in this hilarious comedy.
