Praise for Encore!

​

"Perhaps most impressive is the way the ten chapters, each devoted to a specific opera house in a different town, segue seamlessly from evocative descriptions of the local topography and early settlers to the circumstances that brought about construction of these venues to loving descriptions of their special features, along with representative samplings of the kinds of fare that filled them, to the years of neglect and near-demolition, followed by the heroic efforts that preserved and restored them."

—Felicia Hardison Londré, Theatre Journal

​

"The book is extremely readable. Informed and scholarly without being overladen with facts and figures, it is written with the enthusiasm of one who has a feeling for the theatrical hurly-burly that these buildings once knew. Doyle not only gives us a thorough description and account of each theatre, but investigates the various diverse communities for whom these buildings were created. Equally impressive are Mark Fay's photographs. Capturing the interior of a theater is a challenge that not all photographers (and that certainly includes myself) manage to rise to. Fay's images are bright and impressive, beautifully lit, and atmospheric."

— Jeff Clarke, Theatres Magazine

​

"Encore! The Renaissance of Wisconsin Opera Houses is a must-have book for theater professionals and lay people interested in theater history and the cultures that nurtured it. Every state should have such a tribute to America's theater heritage. 'Encore!' also honors the communities and individuals who have restored these jewels for the pleasure and enrichment of audiences for decades to come."

—Richard L. Poole, chair, Briar Cliff University Theatre Department, and coauthor of The Opera Houses of Iowa

​

"Brian Leahy Doyle's straightforward, enthusiastic writing style and impeccable research reveal an earnest affection not just for the opera houses of Wisconsin but the economic and migratory history of the mid-American frontier. This meticulously researched study with many attractive, telling images is an entertaining, illuminating read."

— Rhona Justice-Malloy, editor of Theatre History Studies, and chair, University of Mississippi Department of Theatre Arts

​

"Both a popular history and academic study, Encore! is an institutional and cultural history of the first order. It combines economic history, architectural history, demographics, and the aesthetic movements of late-nineteenth-century American drama into a panoramic narrative of Wisconsin's vibrant, dramatic past and its vital contemporary restoration."

— Henry Veggian, Department of English and Comparative Literature, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

"Working as an actor in Wisconsin, I've had the privilege of performing in the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee and the Grand Opera House in Oshkosh. While on tour with American Players Theatre, one of my favorite things to do while playing the Pabst is to walk new actors in through the stage door off Wells Street, walk them out onto the stage, and wait to see the look on their faces. They usually do not speak for a few moments. Brian Leahy Doyle does the same for his readers. He walks us through the stage doors of opera houses throughout our state, takes us behind their curtains, onto their stages, into their houses, and down to their dressing rooms. He also takes us into the lives of the men and women who designed and built these beautiful theaters, and the communities that enjoyed them. Encore! is full of the wonder and respect these 'Grand Old Ladies' deserve, and a fascinating account of the theatrical history of our state."

— James DeVita, American Players Theatre

​

"Written by theater director Brian Leahy Doyle and profusely illustrated by photographer Mark Fay, Encore! is a reminder of a time when an opulent performing arts center was considered a greater community asset than a sports arena."

— David Luhrssen, Sheperd Express

​

"In Encore!, Brian Leahy Doyle and Mark Fay present dazzling reasons to pause, look and be awed by remarkable opera houses that have been or are being restored in 10 Wisconsin communities. From Menomonie to Milwaukee to Viroqua, these centers of entertainment, lecture, music and learning are elegant testimony to a civic investment in the human spirit."

— Gary Knowles, Dane County Lifestyles