Previous Seasons

Festival Playhouse creates a unique theme for every season that we do. We have a proud 50+ year legacy of thought-provoking theatre at K. A sample of previous seasons are listed below.

To see gallery photos of these productions, go to our Past Productions page on the Department of Theatre Arts website.

For even more information and photos of our long history, visit the Archives Page that the College’s Archives Department has graciously developed for us!


2023-2024: Systems As Old As Time

Fall:

Playhouse Creatures by April De Angelis

Winter:

Dutchman by LeRoi Jones/Amiri Baraka

Spring:

Be More Chill with music and lyrics by Joe Iconis and book by Joe Tracz (K 0’4)

2022-2023: Mental Health Matters

Fall:

Othello by William Shakespeare

Winter:

The Mountaintop by Katori Hall

Spring:

Next to Normal by Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt

2021-2022: Black is Beautiful: An Ode to Black Life, Love, and Strength

Fall:

Unzipped by Rebecca Chan’22

Well-Intentioned White People by Rachel Lynett

Winter:

Acting Shakespeare by Ian McKlellan, with Matthew Swarthout’22

Blacks + Phats by Kevin Renn

Spring:

Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet by Tarell Alvin McCraney (Sadly, this show had to be cancelled.)

2020-2021: Our Time is Now: #ourstories

Fall:

Kokoro: True Heart by Velina Hasu Houston

“K” devised by Kalamazoo College students

Winter:

The Compass by Michael Rohd

Spring:

Water by the Spoonful by Quiara Alegría Hudes

2019-2020: HERstories: Forgotten Female Figures

Fall:

The Spitfire Grill by James Valcq and Fred Alley

Winter:

Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson

Spring:

Water By the Spoonful by Quiara Alegría Hughes **Postponed until Spring ’21**

2018-2019: Theatre of Assumption and Confusion

Fall:

It Can’t Happen Here by Tony Taccone and Bennet Cohen

Senior Performance Series: Beauty’s Daughter by Dael Orlandersmith and spells, signed by the heart by Robert Davis ’19

Winter:

Student Body by Frank Winters

Senior Performance Series: The Exception and The Rule by Bertolt Brecht and The Realm of the Dead by Hunter Himelhoch ’19

Spring:

Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

2017-2018: Theatre and Making New Families

Fall:

Fun Home, music by Jeanine Tesori and book and lyrics by Lisa Kron ’83

Winter: Fun Home Benefit Performance for American College Theatre Festival fundraiser. At ACTF, our production of Fun Home won the Golden Handtruck Award for stage management, and was given top billing at the festival!

Senior Performance Series: Too Close to The Tracks by Sam Meyers ’18, The Search For Signs For Intelligent Life In the Universe by Jane Wagner, performed by Tricia LaCaze ’18, and Mal Ojo by Johanna Keller Flores ’18.

Spring:

Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage

2016-2017: “Broadway Firsts”: Stories of “Outsider” Cultural Landmarks in American Theatre

Fall:

The Rocky Horror Show by Richard O’Brien

Emergency, written and performed by Daniel Lee Beaty

Winter:

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

Senior Performance Series: Stuck in Neutral by Kyle Lampar ’17; Piss & Vinegar by Camille Wood ’17; Gruesome Playground Injuries by Rajiv Joseph; and 101 Humiliating Stories, written by Lisa Kron ’83, co-produced by Madison Donoho ’17 and Emma Franzel ’17.

Spring:

In the Heights by Lin Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes