Celebrating the 62nd Season of Festival Playhouse:
For Your Entertainment
A season for joy, laughter, and appreciation of the lighter side.
Up First: Love’s Labour’s Lost
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Dr. Quincy Thomas
Performances will be held November 6-9, 2025 in the Nelda K. Balch Festival Playhouse.
Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, November 6-8, with a 2:00 p.m. matinee on Sunday, November 9.
Reimagined in the kaleidoscopic swirl of the 1970s, this show is a groovy, glitter-drenched romp through the far-out follies of love and intellect. In this adaptation, the King of Navarre and his pals—bell-bottomed and bantering—vow to renounce pleasure and devote themselves to cosmic enlightenment and study. But their plans are hilariously upended when a quartet of fierce and feminist ladies arrive, igniting a tug-of-war between head and heart. Amid disco beats, lava lamps, and love sonnets scribbled on vinyl sleeves, Shakespeare’s sharp wit meets flower power in a counter-cultural comedy of mistaken identities, poetic showdowns, and the grooviest declarations of love this side of Woodstock.
We are setting this shortened version of the show on a college campus, circa the psychedelic 1970s, so bust out your bell bottoms and lava lamps for this countercultural comedy! Filled with feminist flair, dancing, and all the classic hallmarks of a Shakespearean comedy, this show is going to be A LOT of fun!
Fall 2026
Love’s Labour’s Lost
(Shortened)
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Dr. Quincy Thomas
Thursday, November 6, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, November 7, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 8, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 9, 2:00 p.m.
Reimagined in the kaleidoscopic swirl of the 1970s, this show is a groovy, glitter-drenched romp through the far-out follies of love and intellect. In this adaptation, the King of Navarre and his pals—bell-bottomed and bantering—vow to renounce pleasure and devote themselves to cosmic enlightenment and study. But their plans are hilariously upended when a quartet of fierce and feminist ladies arrive, igniting a tug-of-war between head and heart. Amid disco beats, lava lamps, and love sonnets scribbled on vinyl sleeves, Shakespeare’s sharp wit meets flower power in a counter-cultural comedy of mistaken identities, poetic showdowns, and the grooviest declarations of love this side of Woodstock.
Winter 2026
The Most Massive Woman Wins
Written by Madeleine George
Directed by Milan Levy
Thursday, February 26, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, February 27, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, February 28, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 1, 2:00 p.m.
Challenging, brutal and hilarious, four women of various shapes and sizes sitting in the waiting room of a liposuction clinic explore their perceptions of body image. The women reveal their experiences dealing with their weight issues through monologues, short scenes, and even schoolyard rhymes. From painful childhood memories to frustrations with the opposite sex, these experiences both haunt and empower these women as they imagine their way to a new vision of themselves as beautiful and whole.
Produced by special arrangement with Playscripts, Inc.
(www.playscripts.com)
Spring 2026
The Country Wife
Written by William Wycherley
Directed by Ren Pruis
Thursday, May 14, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, May 15, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 16, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 17, 2:00 p.m.
“The Country Wife” is a comedy play written by William Wycherley, first performed in 1675, which explores themes of deception, gender roles, and marital fidelity within the context of Restoration England. The plot centers around Mr. Horner, a notorious seducer who pretends to be impotent to gain access to the wives of men who fear his charms. This ruse allows him to interact freely with women, including the naïve and sheltered Mrs. Pinchwife, whose husband, Jack Pinchwife, is obsessively protective and unaware of the burgeoning desires of his wife.
As the story unfolds, the comedy intensifies with misunderstandings, disguises, and the clash between societal norms and individual desires. The play critiques the rigid expectations placed on women and men, illustrating the complexity of relationships and the often absurd lengths to which individuals will go to maintain their social standing and personal desires.
Theatre that is always provocative. Theatre that is always thoughtful.
Note: Masks are now optional for admittance. Thank you for your understanding and support in advance.
Festival Playhouse is a proud member of Theatre Kalamazoo (TK), a consortium of theatres of Kalamazoo County. TK demonstrates that collectively we can achieve much more than we can as individual theatres–and together, we promote the very things that define what is truly special about being alive in the world, interacting with one another to celebrate humanity at large.
Festival Playhouse gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Dorothy U. Dalton Foundation.
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