Celebrating the 63rd Season of Festival Playhouse:
Love is Love: Stories of Power, Pursuit, and Passion
Up Next:
Harlem Duet
by Djanet Sears
Produced in Collaboration with Face Off Theatre Company
Directed by Dr. Quincy Thomas
Performances will be held September 10-20, 2026 in the Nelda K. Balch Festival Playhouse.
Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, September 10-12 and 17-19, with 2:00 p.m. matinees on Sunday, September 13 and 20.
A rhapsodic blues tragedy. Harlem Duet could be the prelude to Shakespeare’s Othello, and recounts the tale of Othello and his first wife Billie (yes, before Desdemona). Set in contemporary Harlem at the corner of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X boulevards, the play explores the space where race and sex intersect. Harlem Duet is Billie’s story.
Fall 2026
Perfect Arrangement
by Topher Payne
Directed by Dr. Miriam Thomas
Thursday, November 5, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, November 6, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 7, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 8, 2:00 p.m.
Inspired by the true story of the earliest stirrings of the gay rights movement, Perfect Arrangement merges madcap sitcom-style laughs with provocative drama as two closeted U.S. State Department employees struggle to maintain their cover – and their sanity – in 1950s America.
PERFECT ARRANGEMENT is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc.
www.concordtheatricals.com
Winter 2027
Exit, Pursued by a Bear
by Lauren Gunderson
Directed by Ren Pruis
Thursday, February 25, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, February 26, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, February 27, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, February 28, 2:00 p.m.
Nan has decided to teach her abusive husband Kyle a lesson. With the help of her friend Simon (acting as her emotional—and actual—cheerleader), a stripper named Sweetheart, and the words of William Shakespeare, she tapes Kyle to a chair and forces him to watch as they reenact scenes from their painful past. In the piece de resistance, they plan to cover the room in meat and honey so Kyle will be mauled by a bear. Through this night of emotional trials and ridiculous theatrics, Nan and Kyle are both freed from their past in this smart, wonderfully dark yet hopeful revenge comedy.
EXIT, PURSUED BY A BEAR is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Playscripts.
www.concordtheatricals.com
Spring 2026
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
by Rachel Atkins
Directed by Ren Pruis
Thursday, May 13, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, May 14, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 15, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 16, 2:00 p.m.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream follows four Athenian lovers—Hermia, Lysander, Helena, and Demetrius—who flee into a magical forest, leading to comical chaos as fairy king Oberon and mischievous Puck use love potions to meddle with their affections, causing confusion, jealousy, and unexpected pairings, all while a troupe of amateur actors rehearse a play in the same woods, culminating in resolved relationships and double weddings for the humans, and Puck reversing the magic, all set against the backdrop of Theseus and Hippolyta’s impending nuptials.
Come back soon to learn about the 2026-2027 Senior Performance Series!
Theatre that is always provocative. Theatre that is always thoughtful.
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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