Miss Door County
Photo Credit: Lorah Haskins
Sophie Marks makes the best latte in Fish Creek, and don’t you forget it. After the loss of her mother, Sophie helps her father run his café, steers her friends Ben and Margot out of trouble, and yearns to see more than Door County, which reminds her of her mother.
When local socialite and former “Miss Door County” Agatha Monroe boasts news of a countywide pageant and its $10K prize, Sophie shocks everyone by vowing to win the crown. Miss Door County follows Sophie’s ragtag team as they tackle grief, identity, AND cheese-coated villain Crystal Clear along the way.
Miss Door County is an Americana, folk-pop-musical theater love letter to the Midwest, and to anyone who had to move on by simply…moving through.
Miss Door County came about when writer Nathan Fosbinder spent a summer working at Northern Sky Theater, located in Peninsula Park—the heart of Door County, Wisconsin. During a 4th of July parade, Fosbinder saw a young woman in a beautiful gown and heels, and atop her head where a crown should be…sat a cheesehead. In that moment, Miss Door County was born.
Miss Door County was selected as a winner of the 2024 Rooftop Writers Initiative through the Broadway Revival of Merrily We Roll Along.
Videos
Press
Characters
Sophie Marks: 18. A big fish in a tiny pond, and desperately wants to see the world. Misses her mom and doesn’t want to break her dad’s heart. Dangerously smart, and witty to a fault. Miss Fish Creek.
Margot Lake: 17. Sophie’s best friend, although she lets Sophie take the lead. She loves Door County more than anything in this whole wide world that she’ll never see because she’ll never leave Door County which she loves. Miss Egg Harbor.
Ben Rostenberger: 18. Works in Frank’s café. Keeps getting distracted by a certain pretty coworker he doesn’t know how to talk to. Kind, nerdy, and sweet.
Crystal Clear: 17. A terror in heels. A perfect Shirley Temple to the adults, and a regular Regina George to the other girls. Miss Ephraim.
Agatha Monroe: 40-50. She won the Miss Door County Pageant twenty-five or ten years ago depending on her mood, but lost Miss Wisconsin and has never let it go. Now judges the pageant, and serves as spokeswoman, announcer, and walking advertisement. You’ll never find her breaking a rule, ever.
Frank Marks: 45. Sophie’s quiet but hardworking father. Since his wife’s death, Frank has kept his head down and his focus on his cafe, which is a full time job. Being Sophie’s dad is also a full-time job, which he loves, but more often than not, questions if he’s up for.
Taylor Tate: 17 and 11 months. Suffered an unfortunate incident at last year’s pageant. Miss Jacksonport.
Piper Pierce: 15. Youngest in the pageant. Easily manipulated, but only because she wants to be a part of a community. Miss Sister Bay.
Ashleigh DeLorenzo: 16. A mean girl. She thinks she’s a great singer. She isn’t. Miss Brussels.
Earl Hill: 45-60. Death warmed over, but only slightly.
Dessa Smith: 17. The Cool Girl. She has a wild side and is ready to take down the patriarchy. Miss Sturgeon Bay.
Come see us!
Upcoming Performances
Stay tuned for upcoming performances!
Past Performances
The Green Room 42 - November 9th, 7:00 pm. - Midtown West
About The Writer
Photo Credit: Jocelyn Bold
Nathan Fosbinder is a queer lyricist, librettist, and composer based out of New York who still keeps strong ties to his Wisconsin roots. He is a graduate of The Boston Conservatory (BFA Musical Theater Performance) and The Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program @ NYU Tisch, where his thesis musical heartbeat, co-written with Molly Reisman, received its 29-hour reading. His song “Anyone Can Cook (Linguini’s Reprise)” was selected for and featured in the 2021 Actor’s Fund’s concert of Ratatouille the TikTok musical, which raised 2-million dollars for struggling artists during the pandemic.
Other works include book, music, and lyrics for "Hephaestus" (World Premiere at Music Theatre of Madison 2019 - recipient of the Frank Young Fund for New Musicals Grant), "The Dancing Princesses" (World Premiere and TYA commission by Summer Theater of New Canaan), and Theatrely.com’s 2021-2022 Tony season wrap-up music video “So Much to See”.
Contact us.
We’d love to hear from you!
Please complete the form or feel free to email directly at:
Missdoorcountymusical@gmail.com
All emails will be answered in 24-72 business hours.