Coming to a stage near you: Tampa and St. Petersburg's new theater seasons
August 3, 2025 at 5:00 AM EDT
Here's a look at the performances that theatres have planned this upcoming season.
The Tampa Bay area’s professional theater companies are enjoying their brief summer breaks before roaring back to life in the fall.
Here’s an advance look at what the 2025/26 season has in store in Tampa and St. Petersburg; tickets (subscription and, in most cases single-show) are available now.
Tampa
Stageworks Theatre, 1120 E. Kennedy Blvd. Artistic director: Karla Hartley.
Website.
Evil Dead The Musical (Oct. 24-Nov. 16). Yep, it’s mayhem, murder and music in this repeat performance from a few seasons back. Five college students go to an abandoned cabin in the woods, and accidentally unleash an evil force that turns them all into demons. Titles like “All the Men in My Life Keep Getting Killed by Kandarian Demons” and “What the F**k was That?”
Latin History for Morons (Dec. 5-21). Comic actor John Leguizamo wrote this one-man show, which originally ran on Broadway in 1917 and ’18 and was filmed for Netflix. To educate his son, a father embarks on a fast-paced and irreverent journey through 3,000 years of Latin history, from the Mayan civilization to modern-day heroes.
Touching the Void (Jan. 16-Feb. 1). David Grieg’s play is an adaptation of the book by Joe Simpson, in which he and climbing partner Simon Yates look death in the eye on a mountain called Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes.
My Name is Asher Lev (March 6-22). Based on the book by Chaim Potok. Follows the journey of a young Jewish painter torn between his Hassidic upbringing and his desperate need to fulfill his artistic promise. When his artistic genius threatens to destroy his relationship with his parents and community, young Asher realizes he must make a difficult choice between art and faith.
The Meeting (April 17-May 3). Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., differing in their philosophies, but alike in their mutual respect, debate their varying approaches to the same grave social problems. Written by Jeff Stetson.
I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change (June 5-28). This fast-paced 1997 musical comedy by Joe DiPietro and Jimmy Roberts is a full-speed-ahead ride on the rollercoaster of relationships. Songs include “Always a Bridesmaid,” “Why? ‘Cause I’m a Guy,” “Sex and the Married Couple” and “Tear Jerk.”
Jobsite Theater, David A. Straz Center, 1010 N. Macinnes Place. Artistic director: David M. Jenkins.
Website.
Ghost Brothers of Darkland County (Oct. 15-Nov. 9). A literal deep-woods ghost story, with book by Stephen King and songs by John Mellencamp and T-Bone Burnett. In Lake Belle Reve, Mississippi in 1967, tragedy struck – over the next four decades, the events of that dark night became the stuff of local legend.
The Comedy of Errors (Jan. 14-Feb. 8). Director David Jenkins sets Shakespeare’s comedy of mistaken identity in 1960s beat-era San Francisco.
The Shark is Broken (March 11-April 5). The Broadway hit by Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon follows the three principal actors – Robert Shaw (Ian’s father), Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss – as director Steven Spielberg films Jaws on Martha’s Vineyard in 1974. Ego, exacerbated by alcohol and by chronic mechanical delays – what could possibly go wrong?
Danny and the Deep Blue Sea (May 6-31). Pulitzer Prize winner John Patrick Shanley (Doubt: A Parable) follows two desperate people in the Bronx, Danny and Roberta, as they walk the line between destruction and transcendence. “The play,” said the New York Times, “is the equivalent of sitting at ringside watching a prize fight that concludes in a loving embrace.”
American Idiot (July 15-Aug. 9, 2026). Sung-through rock musical based around the songs of the post-punk trio Green Day. The plot, such as it is, follows Johnny, Will and Tunny on their search for meaning and purpose in their lower-middle-class American lives. Songs include “Jesus of Suburbia,” “Wake Me Up When September Ends” and “Extraordinary Girl.”
Penelope (Aug, 19-Sept. 6, 2026). Alex Betchel’s one-woman musical will star Jobsite perennial Colleen Cherry. It’s an adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey, from the point of view of a character often relegated to the margins of the story.
LAB Theatre Project, 812 E Henderson Ave. Artistic director: Owen Robertson.
Website.
LAB, which only puts on previously-unproduced plays, doesn’t do a fall-to summer season; their season goes from January through December. Therefore, the company is in the middle of its 2025 lineup of shows. Here’s what’s on the schedule for the fall:
Goddess of the Hunt (Sept. 18-Oct. 5). A comedy by Doug DeVita (Fable), described by artistic director Owen Robertson as “a gleefully silly homage to those romantic comedy thrillers of the 1960s, updated to the creepy, contemporary world of social media and information sharing.”
So Long Life (Nov. 20-Dec. 7). Robertson wrote this one himself, the story of an aging actor struggling with the onset of Alzheimer’s. “Secrets are revealed, loyalties are tested, and ultimately family is found, and all show us how to overcome the hardships that this mortal coil can impose upon us.”
Tampa Repertory Theatre, no fixed home. Artistic director: Emelia Sargent.
Website.
A Christmas Carol: A Live Radio Play (Dec. 5-25 in the Shimberg Playhouse, Straz Center, Tampa). Adapted and directed by Jim Sorensen, this lively adaptation of the Dickens classic stars Michael Gregory as Scrooge. This was Tampa Rep’s extremely successful holiday offering in 2024.
God of Carnage (Jan. 29-Feb. 15 at the Studio Theater at Hillsborough Community College, Ybor City). Yazmina Reza’s vicious drama pits two sets of parents against each other. Their 11-year-old sons got into a fight at a public park, and the parents’ meeting “to talk things out” escalates into name-calling and worse. Adaptation from the original French by Christopher Hampton. God of Carnage won the Tony Award for Best Play in 2009.
TBA (July 3-19 in the Shimberg Playhouse).
Powerstories Theatre, no fixed home.
Website.
Powerstories, too, has a calendar-based season. The company produces plays meant to amplify and support stories by and about women. Here’s what’s on the schedule for the fall:
Ada and the Engine Sept. 12-25 at Stageworks, 1120 E. Kennedy Blvd., Tampa). “Jane Austen meets Steve Jobs” is the capsule description of Lauren Gunderson’s story about 19th century British mathematician and inventor Ada Byron Lovelace, who collaborated with Charles Babbage on his proposed mechanical computer – and looked into the future to realize its infinite potential.
Cadillac Crew (Nov. 6-16 at The Studio@620, 620 1st Avenue S., St. Petersburg). On the day of a much-anticipated speech by Rosa Parks during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, four activists working in a Virginia civil rights office ponder whether the proclamation of equality amongst mankind includes women. By Tori Sampson.
"Hair" was American Stage's show in Demens Landing Park. The 2026 "park" play will be "Into the Woods." (1226x735, AR: 1.6680272108843537)
St. Petersburg
freeFall Theatre Company, 6099 Central Avenue. Artistic director: Eric Davis.
Website.
Tell Me On a Sunday (Sept. 5-Oct. 5). A 1977 musical comedy by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black, with St. Pete’s Julia Rifino in the role made famous by Bernadette Peters: A young English girl who has recently landed in New York brimming with optimism for the future. Songs include “Tell Me on a Sunday,” “Come Back with the Same Look in Your Eyes” and “Unexpected Song.”
Deathtrap (Oct. 24-Dec. 7). Ira Levin’s play holds the record for the longest-running comedy-thriller on Broadway. Failing playwright Sidney Bruhl believes a script from former student Clifford Anderson might be the best play he’s ever read. How can he get Anderson out of the way, and claim the surefire hit as his own work? “A series of boldly theatrical and frankly camp moments, sometimes very silly yet perfectly calculated to jolt audiences out of their seats.” – Evening Standard.
A Christmas Carol: In Concert (Dec. 11-24). The company’s holiday slot is filled with a re-mount of a successful previous production. The musical adaptation by Keith Ferguson and Bruce Greer features a cast of live singers, along with multimedia and narration from the original novella by Charles Dickens.
Himself and Nora (Jan. 30-March 8). The untold story of Irish writer James Joyce and his muse, Nora Barnacle, is a musical by Jonathan Brielle. The New York Times called it “a lively, lusty spin” through Joyce’s life and literary times.
And Then They Came for Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank (April 10-May 17). A multimedia play that combines videotaped interviews of Holocaust survivors Ed Silverberg and Eva Schloss with live actors recreating scenes from their lives during World War II. He was Anne’s first boyfriend; she was the same age as Anne and lived in the same apartment building in Amsterdam. Her family went into hiding the same day as the Frank family. And like the Frank family, they were betrayed
Bash of The Titans: An Unauthorized Parody Party (June 12-Aug. 2, 2026). A musical co-written by the triumvirate of freeFall creatives Eric Davis, Matthew McGee and Michael Raabe, it’s an ‘80s jukebox musical comedy about discord among the ancient Greek gods (McGee plays Zeus).
American Stage, 163 3rd Street N. Artistic director: Helen R. Murray.
Website.
The Good Peaches (Sept. 20 at the Mahaffey Theater). For one performance only, The Good Peaches is a three-way collaboration between American Stage, The Florida Orchestra and projectALCHEMY Dance Company.
Hundred Days (Oct. 22-Nov. 16). Written by Shaun and Abigail Bengson, with Sarah Gancher, it’s a “folk/punk musical” about living and loving as if your time on earth was limited: What if you met your soulmate, with only 100 days left to live? And it’s based on the Bengsons’ own story.
The Scarlet Letter (Jan. 21-Feb. 15). Kate Hamill’s adaptation of the classic 19th century novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, adulterous Hester Prynne navigates a society that frowns upon women who dare to think, love, or rebel.
Into The Woods (March 25-April 2). On the outdoor stage at Demens Landing Park, Stephen Sondheim’s beloved fairy tale musical will likely feel more whimsical than ever, as Little Red and the wolf, the Baker and his wife, Rapunzel, Cinderella, Jack (of Beanstock fame) deal with a duplicitous witch and the notion of happily ever after – what does it truly mean?
The Hot Wing King (June 3-28). Katori Hall (The Mountaintop) won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for this comedy about a gay Memphis couple – Cordell and Dwayne – and an upcoming cooking contest (the Hot Wang Festival). The New York Times reviewer said the play “is never better than when its all-male ensemble is functioning as an awkward but interdependent unit — riffing with, scoring off and rubbing up against one another. They have that palpable, physical ease with one another, both contented and irritable, that comes from being part of a family.”
The Off-Central, 2260 1st Avenue S. Artistic director: Alan Mohney Jr.
Website.
Bakersfield Mist (Sept 4-14). Roxanne Fay directs a comedy-drama by Stephen Sachs about a thrift-store purchase that might – just might – be an extremely valuable Jackson Pollack painting. On London’s West End, one acclaimed production starred Kathleen Turner and Ian McDermid.
White (Oct. 9-19). James Ijames (Fat Ham) penned this dark comedy about race, gender and sexuality. A white artist (Gus) wants to be presented in a major exhibition for artists of color, so he hires a Black actress (Vanessa) to appear as a brash and political artist that will fit the museum’s desire for “new voices.” Things, naturally, spin out of control.
Art (Nov. 13-23). French playwright Yasmina Reza’s comic drama asks one simple question: What constitutes art? As three friends square off over the “worth” of an all-white canvas, their relationships are sorely tested; they use the argument as an excuse to relentlessly batter one another over various failures. Directed by Alan Mohney Jr.
Who’s Holiday (Dec. 11-21). A re-mount of last season’s breakout hit, in which a now grown-up Cindy Lou Who recounts her adventures with the seedier side of life … and with her former Beau, the Grinch.
The remainder of the Off-Central 2025/26 season is TBA.
This content provided in partnership with StPeteCatalyst.com
Here’s an advance look at what the 2025/26 season has in store in Tampa and St. Petersburg; tickets (subscription and, in most cases single-show) are available now.
Tampa
Stageworks Theatre, 1120 E. Kennedy Blvd. Artistic director: Karla Hartley.
Website.
Evil Dead The Musical (Oct. 24-Nov. 16). Yep, it’s mayhem, murder and music in this repeat performance from a few seasons back. Five college students go to an abandoned cabin in the woods, and accidentally unleash an evil force that turns them all into demons. Titles like “All the Men in My Life Keep Getting Killed by Kandarian Demons” and “What the F**k was That?”
Latin History for Morons (Dec. 5-21). Comic actor John Leguizamo wrote this one-man show, which originally ran on Broadway in 1917 and ’18 and was filmed for Netflix. To educate his son, a father embarks on a fast-paced and irreverent journey through 3,000 years of Latin history, from the Mayan civilization to modern-day heroes.
Touching the Void (Jan. 16-Feb. 1). David Grieg’s play is an adaptation of the book by Joe Simpson, in which he and climbing partner Simon Yates look death in the eye on a mountain called Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes.
My Name is Asher Lev (March 6-22). Based on the book by Chaim Potok. Follows the journey of a young Jewish painter torn between his Hassidic upbringing and his desperate need to fulfill his artistic promise. When his artistic genius threatens to destroy his relationship with his parents and community, young Asher realizes he must make a difficult choice between art and faith.
The Meeting (April 17-May 3). Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., differing in their philosophies, but alike in their mutual respect, debate their varying approaches to the same grave social problems. Written by Jeff Stetson.
I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change (June 5-28). This fast-paced 1997 musical comedy by Joe DiPietro and Jimmy Roberts is a full-speed-ahead ride on the rollercoaster of relationships. Songs include “Always a Bridesmaid,” “Why? ‘Cause I’m a Guy,” “Sex and the Married Couple” and “Tear Jerk.”
Jobsite Theater, David A. Straz Center, 1010 N. Macinnes Place. Artistic director: David M. Jenkins.
Website.
Ghost Brothers of Darkland County (Oct. 15-Nov. 9). A literal deep-woods ghost story, with book by Stephen King and songs by John Mellencamp and T-Bone Burnett. In Lake Belle Reve, Mississippi in 1967, tragedy struck – over the next four decades, the events of that dark night became the stuff of local legend.
The Comedy of Errors (Jan. 14-Feb. 8). Director David Jenkins sets Shakespeare’s comedy of mistaken identity in 1960s beat-era San Francisco.
The Shark is Broken (March 11-April 5). The Broadway hit by Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon follows the three principal actors – Robert Shaw (Ian’s father), Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss – as director Steven Spielberg films Jaws on Martha’s Vineyard in 1974. Ego, exacerbated by alcohol and by chronic mechanical delays – what could possibly go wrong?
Danny and the Deep Blue Sea (May 6-31). Pulitzer Prize winner John Patrick Shanley (Doubt: A Parable) follows two desperate people in the Bronx, Danny and Roberta, as they walk the line between destruction and transcendence. “The play,” said the New York Times, “is the equivalent of sitting at ringside watching a prize fight that concludes in a loving embrace.”
American Idiot (July 15-Aug. 9, 2026). Sung-through rock musical based around the songs of the post-punk trio Green Day. The plot, such as it is, follows Johnny, Will and Tunny on their search for meaning and purpose in their lower-middle-class American lives. Songs include “Jesus of Suburbia,” “Wake Me Up When September Ends” and “Extraordinary Girl.”
Penelope (Aug, 19-Sept. 6, 2026). Alex Betchel’s one-woman musical will star Jobsite perennial Colleen Cherry. It’s an adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey, from the point of view of a character often relegated to the margins of the story.
LAB Theatre Project, 812 E Henderson Ave. Artistic director: Owen Robertson.
Website.
LAB, which only puts on previously-unproduced plays, doesn’t do a fall-to summer season; their season goes from January through December. Therefore, the company is in the middle of its 2025 lineup of shows. Here’s what’s on the schedule for the fall:
Goddess of the Hunt (Sept. 18-Oct. 5). A comedy by Doug DeVita (Fable), described by artistic director Owen Robertson as “a gleefully silly homage to those romantic comedy thrillers of the 1960s, updated to the creepy, contemporary world of social media and information sharing.”
So Long Life (Nov. 20-Dec. 7). Robertson wrote this one himself, the story of an aging actor struggling with the onset of Alzheimer’s. “Secrets are revealed, loyalties are tested, and ultimately family is found, and all show us how to overcome the hardships that this mortal coil can impose upon us.”
Tampa Repertory Theatre, no fixed home. Artistic director: Emelia Sargent.
Website.
A Christmas Carol: A Live Radio Play (Dec. 5-25 in the Shimberg Playhouse, Straz Center, Tampa). Adapted and directed by Jim Sorensen, this lively adaptation of the Dickens classic stars Michael Gregory as Scrooge. This was Tampa Rep’s extremely successful holiday offering in 2024.
God of Carnage (Jan. 29-Feb. 15 at the Studio Theater at Hillsborough Community College, Ybor City). Yazmina Reza’s vicious drama pits two sets of parents against each other. Their 11-year-old sons got into a fight at a public park, and the parents’ meeting “to talk things out” escalates into name-calling and worse. Adaptation from the original French by Christopher Hampton. God of Carnage won the Tony Award for Best Play in 2009.
TBA (July 3-19 in the Shimberg Playhouse).
Powerstories Theatre, no fixed home.
Website.
Powerstories, too, has a calendar-based season. The company produces plays meant to amplify and support stories by and about women. Here’s what’s on the schedule for the fall:
Ada and the Engine Sept. 12-25 at Stageworks, 1120 E. Kennedy Blvd., Tampa). “Jane Austen meets Steve Jobs” is the capsule description of Lauren Gunderson’s story about 19th century British mathematician and inventor Ada Byron Lovelace, who collaborated with Charles Babbage on his proposed mechanical computer – and looked into the future to realize its infinite potential.
Cadillac Crew (Nov. 6-16 at The Studio@620, 620 1st Avenue S., St. Petersburg). On the day of a much-anticipated speech by Rosa Parks during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, four activists working in a Virginia civil rights office ponder whether the proclamation of equality amongst mankind includes women. By Tori Sampson.
"Hair" was American Stage's show in Demens Landing Park. The 2026 "park" play will be "Into the Woods." (1226x735, AR: 1.6680272108843537)
St. Petersburg
freeFall Theatre Company, 6099 Central Avenue. Artistic director: Eric Davis.
Website.
Tell Me On a Sunday (Sept. 5-Oct. 5). A 1977 musical comedy by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black, with St. Pete’s Julia Rifino in the role made famous by Bernadette Peters: A young English girl who has recently landed in New York brimming with optimism for the future. Songs include “Tell Me on a Sunday,” “Come Back with the Same Look in Your Eyes” and “Unexpected Song.”
Deathtrap (Oct. 24-Dec. 7). Ira Levin’s play holds the record for the longest-running comedy-thriller on Broadway. Failing playwright Sidney Bruhl believes a script from former student Clifford Anderson might be the best play he’s ever read. How can he get Anderson out of the way, and claim the surefire hit as his own work? “A series of boldly theatrical and frankly camp moments, sometimes very silly yet perfectly calculated to jolt audiences out of their seats.” – Evening Standard.
A Christmas Carol: In Concert (Dec. 11-24). The company’s holiday slot is filled with a re-mount of a successful previous production. The musical adaptation by Keith Ferguson and Bruce Greer features a cast of live singers, along with multimedia and narration from the original novella by Charles Dickens.
Himself and Nora (Jan. 30-March 8). The untold story of Irish writer James Joyce and his muse, Nora Barnacle, is a musical by Jonathan Brielle. The New York Times called it “a lively, lusty spin” through Joyce’s life and literary times.
And Then They Came for Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank (April 10-May 17). A multimedia play that combines videotaped interviews of Holocaust survivors Ed Silverberg and Eva Schloss with live actors recreating scenes from their lives during World War II. He was Anne’s first boyfriend; she was the same age as Anne and lived in the same apartment building in Amsterdam. Her family went into hiding the same day as the Frank family. And like the Frank family, they were betrayed
Bash of The Titans: An Unauthorized Parody Party (June 12-Aug. 2, 2026). A musical co-written by the triumvirate of freeFall creatives Eric Davis, Matthew McGee and Michael Raabe, it’s an ‘80s jukebox musical comedy about discord among the ancient Greek gods (McGee plays Zeus).
American Stage, 163 3rd Street N. Artistic director: Helen R. Murray.
Website.
The Good Peaches (Sept. 20 at the Mahaffey Theater). For one performance only, The Good Peaches is a three-way collaboration between American Stage, The Florida Orchestra and projectALCHEMY Dance Company.
Hundred Days (Oct. 22-Nov. 16). Written by Shaun and Abigail Bengson, with Sarah Gancher, it’s a “folk/punk musical” about living and loving as if your time on earth was limited: What if you met your soulmate, with only 100 days left to live? And it’s based on the Bengsons’ own story.
The Scarlet Letter (Jan. 21-Feb. 15). Kate Hamill’s adaptation of the classic 19th century novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, adulterous Hester Prynne navigates a society that frowns upon women who dare to think, love, or rebel.
Into The Woods (March 25-April 2). On the outdoor stage at Demens Landing Park, Stephen Sondheim’s beloved fairy tale musical will likely feel more whimsical than ever, as Little Red and the wolf, the Baker and his wife, Rapunzel, Cinderella, Jack (of Beanstock fame) deal with a duplicitous witch and the notion of happily ever after – what does it truly mean?
The Hot Wing King (June 3-28). Katori Hall (The Mountaintop) won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for this comedy about a gay Memphis couple – Cordell and Dwayne – and an upcoming cooking contest (the Hot Wang Festival). The New York Times reviewer said the play “is never better than when its all-male ensemble is functioning as an awkward but interdependent unit — riffing with, scoring off and rubbing up against one another. They have that palpable, physical ease with one another, both contented and irritable, that comes from being part of a family.”
The Off-Central, 2260 1st Avenue S. Artistic director: Alan Mohney Jr.
Website.
Bakersfield Mist (Sept 4-14). Roxanne Fay directs a comedy-drama by Stephen Sachs about a thrift-store purchase that might – just might – be an extremely valuable Jackson Pollack painting. On London’s West End, one acclaimed production starred Kathleen Turner and Ian McDermid.
White (Oct. 9-19). James Ijames (Fat Ham) penned this dark comedy about race, gender and sexuality. A white artist (Gus) wants to be presented in a major exhibition for artists of color, so he hires a Black actress (Vanessa) to appear as a brash and political artist that will fit the museum’s desire for “new voices.” Things, naturally, spin out of control.
Art (Nov. 13-23). French playwright Yasmina Reza’s comic drama asks one simple question: What constitutes art? As three friends square off over the “worth” of an all-white canvas, their relationships are sorely tested; they use the argument as an excuse to relentlessly batter one another over various failures. Directed by Alan Mohney Jr.
Who’s Holiday (Dec. 11-21). A re-mount of last season’s breakout hit, in which a now grown-up Cindy Lou Who recounts her adventures with the seedier side of life … and with her former Beau, the Grinch.
The remainder of the Off-Central 2025/26 season is TBA.
This content provided in partnership with StPeteCatalyst.com