A red herring is an idiom that is a “piece of information, clue, or subject that is deliberately or accidentally used to mislead, distract, or divert attention away from the central, most important issue.” This idiom derives from the practice of using a pungent, salted, and smoked fish (herring) to draw hunting hounds off a scent. The playwright uses a literary “red herring” to mislead the audience into believing one thing, when another may be true. How many red herrings can you find in the play? The nonpungent, idiomatic kind, of course.
It is not every production where the cast has the show’s playwright looking on, but that has been the case for Third Avenue Playworks’ world premiere of “The Call List.”
Performers rehearse for “The Call List” at Third Avenue PlayWorks. Submitted. Rehearsals are underway for The Call List by Brian James Polak at Third Avenue PlayWorks (TAP) in Sturgeon Bay.
Brian James Polak’s ‘The Call List’ at Third Avenue PlayWorks in Sturgeon Bay is starting rehearsals. This playwright is a part of a statewide festival, World Premiere Wisconsin, that celebrates new plays and musicals throughout 2026.
Third Avenue PlayWorks (TAP) will partner with local bars and restaurants for a series of happy hours to promote its upcoming production of The Call List by Brian James Polak. During this promotion, running Monday, Sept. 7 through Friday, Sept. 18, patrons at each participating location can enter to win a pair of tickets to The Call List at TAP.
Rehearsals begin on The Call List by Brian James Polak at Third Avenue PlayWorks (TAP). The Call List is presented as part of World Premiere Wisconsin, a statewide festival celebrating new plays and musicals running throughout 2026. The fourth show of the 2026 season at Third Avenue PlayWorks runs from September 23 through October 11, 2026, featuring Door County favorite Eva Nimmer.
In 1952, the second Red Scare is at its height. Televised Senate hearings fan the flames of suspicion, the hydrogen bomb is under development, and paranoia seeps into every aspect of American life. The fear that a communist might be around every corner—or even sharing your bed—turns neighbors into suspects and private lives into political battlegrounds. Holy Mackerel! Who couldn't use a break from such relentless pressure? Audiences came together at the cinema to see their anxiety and paranoia reflected in Film Noir or they watched screwball comedies to float for a time above those same anxieties while society’s rigid social norms were skewered with fast talking repartee and farcical situations.
A Sturgeon Bay theater group is partnering with local businesses for an upcoming promotion.
Third Avenue PlayWorks (TAP) and four Door County businesses are partnering for The Call List Happy Hour, which will run September 7th through the 18th.
Third Avenue PlayWorks (TAP) partners with local bars and restaurants for The Call List Happy Hour running Monday, September 7 through Friday, September 18, 2026. During this promotion, patrons at each location will have an opportunity to win a pair of tickets to the upcoming production of The Call List by Brian James Polak at Third Avenue PlayWorks.
Third Avenue PlayWorks (TAP) is excited to announce the upcoming world premiere of The Call List, by Brian James Polak as part of the World Premiere Wisconsin Festival, a statewide festival celebrating new plays and musicals. The production will run September 23 to October 11, 2026, featuring a performance by Eva Nimmer.
