It’s that wonderful time of year again—when we start planning our next season of programming. We look forward to hearing from our patrons every year to gauge what you are craving. Last year, your top picks included many of the productions in our current season: Waitress, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Jersey Boys, and Dial M for Murder. What will be seen onstage next season? Make your voice heard by clicking through to our electronic survey, then voting for 3 plays and 3 musicals—or write in your own suggestions!
— Karen Azenberg, Artistic Director
2 Pianos 4 Hands
Two pianos and dozens of characters portrayed by only two actor/musicians fill the stage in this warm and funny musical story. Richard and Ted, two “piano nerds,” pursue the life-long dream of becoming concert pianist superstars. We are introduced to their naïve childhood selves, the eccentric piano teachers who guide them, and the demanding parents who push them, all while getting to experience their piano wizardry from Beethoven and Bach to Billy Joel. I’ve seen this play and it is exactly the kind of intimate theatre that I have been reluctant to produce because of the size of our mainstage, but with the opening of the Meldrum Theatre, we now have the perfect venue!
Appropriate
One of the most buzzed-about plays in recent years, Appropriate is about a family reunion gone terribly wrong. The Lafayette family returns to their Arkansas estate to sort through the affairs of their recently-deceased father. When mysterious objects start to pop up among the remnants of their father’s life, old resentments bubble to the surface and the family must confront the ghosts of their past.
Deceived (Gaslight)
This brand-new adaptation of the classic thriller Gaslight delves into the horrors of psychological abuse, where the truth is fickle for the characters as well as the audience. Strange things start to happen to the newlyweds Bella and Jack in this turn of the century Victorian thriller as their seemingly perfect marriage devolves into something sinister. Why is the attic door locked? Whose footsteps wander the halls at night? And is that gaslight flickering… or not? Bella’s reality is twisted, forcing her to question both the truth and her husband’s intentions. Find out where the eponymous expression so often used nowadays came from.
Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
This heartwarming tale of a Harlem hotspot took Broadway by storm when it premiered last year. Enter the world of Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, where West African immigrants work their magic on the locals’ locks. Amidst the lively buzz of a scorching summer, love ignites, dreams soar, and secrets unravel. But beneath the surface lies a current of uncertainty, pushing this close-knit community to confront the challenges of being outsiders in their own neighborhood. Nominated for 5 Tony Awards, including Best Play, this was the surprise hit of last season.
Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill
The time is 1959. The place is a seedy bar in Philadelphia. Unbeknownst to the audience, they are about to witness one of the last performances in Billie Holiday’s lifetime. Featuring classics like “God Bless the Child” and “Strange Fruit,” this play with music traces the life, loves, and losses of one of the greatest jazz singers of all time.
The Legend of Georgia McBride
This big-hearted, fierce, music-filled comedy has been hailed as “stitch-in-your-side funny” by The New York Times. Casey, an Elvis impersonator with everything going for him, including a flashy sequin jumpsuit, suddenly loses his gig, his rent is overdue, and his wife announces a baby on the way. So, when Elvis leaves the building and a drag show moves in, “The King” transforms into an all-out queen. With some snappy zingers and dance-worthy numbers, this wildly entertaining story challenges assumptions with extraordinary humor and depth.
Macbitches
What a full circle moment we’d have with a full staging of Macbitches, which had a reading in PTC’s Play-by-Play series in 2022 before an Off-Broadway world premiere. When a freshman is unexpectedly given the coveted role of Lady Macbeth, a few upperclassmen actresses invite her over to “celebrate” her casting and reassert their positions at the top of the theatre department’s hierarchy. As the Fireball and Svedka flow, the girls interrogate their own sense of ambition as well as the power structures that have shaped their theatrical education.
Master Class
Terrence McNally’s Tony Award-winning play is based on the legendary series of master classes given by opera diva Maria Callas at Juilliard. In the play, Callas berates her students as much as she encourages them and confronts the disappointments in her own life and in her relationship with the shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis.
Noises Off
In this play-within-a-play farce, we get a backstage (and onstage) look at a touring theatre troupe’s production of Nothing On. It progresses from flubbed lines and missed cues in the dress rehearsal to mounting friction between cast members, slamming doors, falling trousers, and flying sardines in their final performances. Last seen on the PTC stage in the 2008-2009 season, this hilarious behind-the-scenes play has become a comedic classic that truly challenges the age-old saying “The show must go on.”
Shakespeare’s R + J
A bold reimagining of Romeo and Juliet, set within the confines of a strict, all-boys Catholic school. Four students secretly gather after hours to explore the forbidden text, uncovering the timeless tale of love, conflict, and identity. As they delve into the play, the boundaries between Shakespeare’s characters and their own lives blur, revealing their suppressed desires and struggles for self-expression. The result is an intense and intimate exploration of adolescence, repression, and the transformative power of storytelling.
Chicago
An ever-relevant musical about celebrity culture, Chicago is the tale of aspiring chorus girl Roxie Hart and fading vaudeville star Velma Kelly, both on trial for murder in the Roaring Twenties, who plan to get away with murder by pursuing the American Dream of fame, fortune, and acquittal. This sharp satire features a killer score by John Kander and Fred Ebb with hits like “All That Jazz,” “Cell Block Tango,” and “Razzle Dazzle.” Last seen at PTC in 2006, it is not only one of Broadway’s longest-running American musicals, but also one of its best.
The Color Purple
If you have read Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel or seen the Academy Award–nominated feature film of the same name, then you know this unforgettable story. Now infused with the music of jazz, gospel, ragtime, and blues, this inspirational musical spans 35 years in the life of Celie, an African American woman living in Georgia, who is given by her abusive stepfather to an even more abusive husband. But through a string of events, she journeys through joy and despair, anguish and hope to a personal awakening. The show is a moving story of hope, and a testament to the healing power of love.
Come From Away
This Tony Award-winning hit shares the incredible real-life story of the time when the isolated community of Gander, Newfoundland played host to the world. What started as an average day in a small town turned into an international sleepover when 7,000 air passengers from all over the world were grounded in Canada during the wake of 9/11, and the small Newfoundland community invited these ‘come from aways’ into their lives with open hearts. The show is truly a celebration of hope, humanity, and unity.
Jagged Little Pill
Released in 1995, the album Jagged Little Pill earned Alanis Morissette the title of the best-selling international debut artist in history. That same album became the inspiration for this new musical about the Healy family – Mary Jane, her husband Steve, their star pupil son Nick (who has just been accepted to Harvard), and their adopted daughter Frankie. The Healy’s appear to be a picture-perfect suburban family but looks can be deceiving. When the cracks beneath the surface begin to show, they must choose between maintaining the status quo or facing harsh truths about themselves, their community, and the world around them. This Tony and Grammy Award-winning new musical about a perfectly imperfect American family overflows with strength, love, courage, and life.
Jesus Christ Superstar
Loosely based on the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, this rock opera was the second collaboration between Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. Superstar follows the last week of Jesus Christ’s life. The story, told entirely through song, explores the personal relationships and struggles between Jesus, Judas, Mary Magdalene, his disciples, his followers, and the Roman Empire. The show features hits like “Superstar,” “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” and “Gethsemane” that all mix 1970’s rock with gospel, folk, and funk. It’s a global phenomenon that has wowed audiences for decades.
Legally Blonde
Based on the novel and the hit-movie of the same name, this upbeat musical follows Elle Woods, a fashion-savvy UCLA sorority girl who finds her life turned upside down when she is dumped by her boyfriend, Warner. In an effort to prove to Warner that she is more than just some blonde sorority girl, she follows him to Harvard Law, where she struggles to fit in and do well. Ultimately, both the show and Elle manage to stay true to their delightfully pink personalities all while defying expectations. It’s a modern feel-good show about realizing your true potential while pursuing your dreams.
Mean Girls
Mean Girls is the hilarious musical from an award-winning creative team, most notably book writer Tina Fey (30 Rock). It is the story of Cady Heron, the new girl at North Shore High School, desperate to fit in and find friends. She soon falls prey to the school’s three “frenemies,” led by the ruthless Regina George. But when Cady tries to end Regina’s reign of popularity, she learns the hard way that you can’t cross a Queen Bee without getting stung. Not only was this show originally adapted from Fey’s hit 2004 film, but this musical version was also just recently turned into its own musical feature film.
Merrily We Roll Along
One of my favorite musicals of all time! Based on George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart’s 1934 play of the same name, Merrily We Roll Along follows the successful career of Broadway composer turned Hollywood producer Franklin Shepard – backward in time. Throughout the course of the show, during which time regresses from 1976 to 1957, we follow the turbulent relationship between composer Franklin and his two lifelong friends — writer Mary and lyricist & playwright Charley. With Stephen Sondheim’s most celebrated and personal songs, this inventive show was a cult-classic ahead of its time. More recently, a successful remounting of this musical was just awarded the Tony Award for Best Revival of a musical!
Suffs
It’s 1913, and the women’s movement is heating up in America, anchored by the suffragists (“Suffs,” as they call themselves) and their relentless pursuit of the right to vote. This Tony Award-winning musical, still currently playing on Broadway, takes an unflinching look at these unsung trailblazers and explores the victories and failures of a fight for equality. It also showcases the work of Shaina Taub, who is now the first woman to ever win Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score independently in the same season—in recognition of her work on Suffs.
White Christmas
The heartwarming holiday musical that’s based on the beloved, timeless 1954 film of the same name with 17 iconic Irving Berlin standards like “I Love a Piano,” “Snow,” and the unforgettable title song “White Christmas.” The story revolves around two army buddies, Bob Wallace and Phil Davis, who become a popular song-and-dance duo and they decide to help their former commanding general by putting on a show at his struggling Vermont inn. Along the way, they meet two talented sisters, Betty and Judy Haynes, and love blossoms. Last seen at PTC in 2010, this show is a festive celebration of music, love, and the magic of the holiday season.
Cast Your Vote
Share with us your TOP THREE MUSICALS and TOP THREE PLAYS of the titles being considered for next season. Then, stay tuned for PTC’s 2025-2026 Season announcement next spring!
