Always a double feature

For those of us old enough to remember drive in movie theatres, we’re also old enough to remember when they began to disappear. Having grown up near Chicago, a double screen drive in theatre was one of our favorite family destinations. Sadly, the majority of the drive in theatres that once existed no longer do. In Wisconsin, the number of drive ins has dropped from sixty-five to just ten. One such gem is the Skyway Drive In located between Fish Creek and Ephraim.

Founded by Orville and Elton Voeks, the Skyway was their second theatre business, having founded the Lake Cinema in Baileys Harbor. Unfortunately, after just over fifty years of business, Lake Cinema, one of the last Quonset Hut-style theatres left in the country, was sold in 2000 and torn down in 2001 after changing hands for sixth time.

New theater built in 2006

As Cole Porter once sang , “Another opening, another show.” When it comes to Peninsula Players, Theatre in a Garden, it is more like three days. Three days to tear down one show, and put up another. A simple task? Far from it.

One of the greatest things about Peninsula Players is the family feel you can’t help but notice upon stepping onto the grounds – from the interns to the crew to the recurring actors – Peninsula Players is a place of family. Everyone pitches in – to pull out carpet staples from the floor, to tag costumes for the next show, gathering props and hanging lights. It takes everyone to make this miraculous change in just seventy-two hours. And when the new show starts, it is hard to believe another stage, another cast, another show existed in this very space.

But that is just part of the magic that is Peninsula Players.