The Community Partner for A Christmas Carol: A Live Radio Play at Third Avenue PlayWorks in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, is our very own Education Program. A portion of the proceeds from the Pay-What-You-Will performance on December 3rd will go towards our Community Partner. There will be a donation box in the lobby during the run of A Christmas Carol: A Live Radio Play, December 3rd through the 28th, 2025. Those interested in attending the preview to support this organization, may arrive as early as 6:30 p.m. on the evening of the performance for general admission seating. Space is available on a first come, first served basis. Donations may be made in cash or with checks made out to Third Avenue PlayWorks. Half of the proceeds will benefit this show’s Community Partner.
Destination Sturgeon Bay is hosting its annual Christmas by the Bay celebration beginning at 10 a.m., featuring a parade through the city, including along 3rd Avenue. The festivities continue after the parade with Third Avenue PlayWorks holding its first Indoor Winter Market.
A Christmas Carol has become a time-honored holiday tradition for many families marking the passage of another year while reminding us to celebrate what truly matters in our lives. First published December 19, 1843 as a novella, the first edition sold out by Christmas Eve. By the end of 1844, thirteen editions had been released. Charles Dickens, himself revisited A Christmas Carol beginning in 1853 when he began holding public readings of the story, which continued through 1870, the year of his passing.
For years now, Jacob has been wanting to get his long time friend and fantastic Milwaukee based percussionist Nick Lang to be involved on a project with Third Avenue Playworks. When envisioning the music world and genre of this play, I knew it wanted to live in a rock territory. We’ve got a dive bar jukebox slinging hits from the 80’s, 90’s & today. Heck, just being set in a midwest dive bar made me think of my local dive, which always had metal playing. Plus, the story involves a deal with the devil, I mean come on – it’s gotta be rock’n roll baby. I knew that drums would really come in clutch as a centerpiece to the music sound that transitioned us between scenes. Jacob wanted short, snappy transitions infused with energy, and drums are perfect for that. So we reached out to Nick and he was down! I went over to his home studio in Milwaukee for a day and we had so much fun jamming out together on drums and bass. I really love playing this style of music, getting filthy mc nasty on the jazz bass is such a blast. Really made me want to play this music we created live!
Door County audiences may already be familiar with one of our stars in Ryan’s Pub, Trivia Night from over two decades of performance history with Northern Sky Theater in Fish Creek where he was best known for playing Marvin in Guys on Ice (a role he performed over 2,000 times!). Although Doug has played many enjoyable roles throughout his long career, he says that he most identified with the role of Marvin. He also loved hearing the audience’s laughter as they recognized Marvin’s traits in their own family and friends.
At Third Avenue PlayWorks, we are hard at work on our next production, Ryan’s Pub, Trivia Night, by Alec Silberlblatt, and something that makes the show special is the fact that it is a world premiere.
You can attend a trivia night in Sturgeon Bay beginning on Wednesday without worrying about answering a single question. “Ryan’s Pub, Trivia Night” has its world premiere on Wednesday at Third Avenue PlayWorks, with Kelli Strickland playing the role of Marci and Doug Mancheski posing as Richie. The play by playwright Alec Silberblatt is about a Pittsburgh-area trivia team dealing with a pair of cheaters and their own personal demons. Artistic Director Jacob Janssen says the production speaks to those who have participated in trivia nights and believe it could draw a following similar to when area book clubs came to Third Avenue PlayWorks during a play’s run on that culture.
At last year’s Door Kinetic Arts Festival, David Maraniss and Eric Simonson came together for a fascinating discussion about turning Maraniss’s biography of Packers legend Vince Lombardi into a Broadway play. Moderated by Jacob Janssen of Third Avenue Playworks, the writers bring you a great discussion not only about Lombardi and the Packers, but also about the creative process and the choices they made to bring a sprawling biography of one of history’s most compelling sports figures to the stage.
Performances start September 24th for Third Avenue PlayWorks’ world premiere production of Ryan’s Pub, Trivia Night by Alec Silberblatt. The fourth show of the 2025 season at Third Avenue PlayWorks, this play runs from September 24 to October 12, 2025, featuring performances by Kelli Strickland and Doug Mancheski.
