When a mysterious theft alerts the authorities and a string of events unfold that forever change recently widowed Peg and friend Ryan.

Written by Rebecca Gilman and directed by Cody Estle, Artistic Director of Next Act Theatre, the play is set in Cardiff Township, a fictional community in Wisconsin’s Driftless Region, where Gilman herself resides. Part mystery and part drama, Swing State follows Peg, a recent widow who spends her days tending native plants on her 40-acre property; Ryan, a family friend with a questionable past; and a theft that unsettles the community. The play explores how neighbors can support one another even amid distrust and isolation.

Swing State played off-Broadway in 2023. The Chicago Tribune called it “perhaps the first of the great American post-COVID plays,” and this production marks its Wisconsin debut.

Swing State features actors Tami Workentin as Peg Smith, Jack Lancaster as Ryan Severson, Kelli Strickland as Sheriff Kris Callahan Wisnefski and Elyse Edelman as Deputy Dani Wisnefski. 

March 2 is a Pay What You Can performance.

For more information, visit nextact.org.