Harlem Duet

Written by Djanet Sears

September 10-20. 2026

Nelda K. Balch Festival Playhouse, 129 Thompson St., Kalamazoo, MI 49007

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 where race and sex intersect. Harlem Duet is Billie’s story.

Perfect Arrangement

Written by Topher Payne

November 5-8, 2026

Nelda K. Balch Playhouse, 129 Thompson St. on Kalamazoo College’s campus.

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.

Exit, Pursued by a Bear

Written by Lauren Gunderson

February 25-28, 2027

Nelda K. Balch Playhouse, 129 Thompson St. on Kalamazoo College’s campus.

Nan has decided to teach her abusive husband Kyle a lesson. With the help of her friend Simon (acting as here emotional- and actual -cheerleader), a stripper named Sweetheart, and the words of William Shakespeare, she tape Kyle to a chair and forces him to watch as they reenact scenes from thier painful past. In the piece de resistance, they plan to cover the room in meat and honey so that 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.

A Midsummer’s Night Dream

by William Shakespeare

May 20-23, 2027

Nelda K. Balch Playhouse, 129 Thompson St. on Kalamazoo College’s campus.

Four young lovers- Hermia, Lysander, Helena, and Demetrius -flee into a magical forest, leading to comical chaos as fairy king Oberon (who has his own relationship problems) and mischievous Puck use love potions to meddle with their affections, causing confusion, jealousy, and unexpected parings, all while a troupe of amateur actors rehearse a play in the same woods… the course of true love never did run smooth!