American Players Theatre to receive 2026 Regional Theatre Tony Award
May 19 — The Tony Awards Administration Committee announced today that, based on the recommendation of the American Theatre Critics/Journalists Association, American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin will be the recipient of the 2025 Regional Theatre Tony Award. The honor — recognizing a regional theater company that has displayed a continuous level of artistic achievement contributing to the growth of theater nationally — is accompanied by a grant of $25,000, made possible by City National Bank.
“American Players Theatre is a one-of-a-kind institution, delivering world-class theatre presentations to the Midwest for decades, and we are thrilled to recognize the team there with this award,” said Heather Hitchens, President and CEO of the American Theatre Wing and Jason Laks, President of The Broadway League. “By illuminating the shared human experience through timeless classics, they have broadened the theatre-going audience in their community and beyond.”
American Players Theatre (APT) is a professional theater located just outside rural Spring Green 40 miles west of Madison, Wisconsin. Now in its 47th season, APT has two theaters: the flagship, 1075-seat outdoor amphitheater and the 201-seat indoor Touchstone Theatre. From June through November, APT produces nine plays in rotating repertory (focusing on Shakespeare), and welcomes nearly 100,000 guests seeking a world-class performance under the sky and stars.
APT was founded by Randall Duk Kim, Anne Occhiogrosso, and Charles Bright on the belief that the great plays of the Western Canon, Shakespeare in particular, were best performed in the manner intended by the playwright. The first productions in 1980 were A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Titus Andronicus. The founders searched throughout Wisconsin to find a location for their theater that was in proximity to potential audiences but outside an urban center. The site on which APT settled was a farmstead located four miles outside the rural village of Spring Green and less than two miles from the Wisconsin River and Taliesin, Frank Lloyd Wright’s home and school.
The Regional Theatre Tony Award, initially called the Special Tony Award for Regional Theatre, began when a committee of senior ATCA members pitched the idea to then-Tony-producer Alex Cohen. The first award was in 1976 to Arena Stage (Washington, DC). Each year since ATCA has involved its nationwide membership in a confidential process which leads to a recommendation to the Tony Committee. For an updated list of all winners, click here.
Additional coverage:
May 19, 2026 Tony Awards website
May 19, 2026 Playbill (Logan Culwell-Block)
May 19, 2026 APT website
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