Throughout April 2026 I’m sharing the 2026-2027 seasons announced by each of Cincinnati’s professional theater companies. This week I’m sharing information about offerings by the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, winner of the Regional Theatre Tony Award in 2007.
The Playhouse’s theater complex — Moe & Jack’s Place – The Rouse Theatre, a 537-seat mainstage, and the intimate Rosenthal Shelterhouse Theatre, with 225 seats — will host a 2026-27 season that includes Talk, a world premiere by renowned playwright Theresa Rebeck, a Cincinnati native. Other highlights include two new thrillers for the stage, Heist by Arun Lakra and Rope by Jeffrey Hatcher, a stage adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1948 film.
Other 2026-27 season titles are Arun Lakra’s high-tech thriller Heist; Branden Jacob-Jenkins’s Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning play Purpose; the return of the hit musical about King Records, Cincinnati King by KJ Sanchez; Jeffrey Hatcher’s new theatrical adaptation of the psychological thriller ROPE; and the regional premiere of Douglas Lyons witty rom-com, Table 17.
“From Pulitzer Prize winners and edge-of-your-seat suspense to romantic comedy and musical celebrations, our new season offers the variety that Playhouse audiences have come to know and love,” said Robison. “We’ve put together an exciting and bold mix of storytelling, including some fun genres you might usually associate with film – thrillers, crime capers and rom-com – that will have uniquely theatrical stagings to entertain live audiences.”
Here’s a chronological run-down of the productions to be offered on the Playhouse’s stages:
Sept. 12 – Oct. 11, 2026 (Rouse Theatre) HEIST by Arun Lakra, directed by Blake Robison Inspired by movies such as Ocean’s Eleven and The Sting, this caper is a high-tech mystery for the stage. When a team of professional thieves assembles to pull off one last job, the heist goes sideways into a web of danger, betrayal and double crosses with a lot of quick-witted banter and heart-pounding suspense. This show is a co-production with Milwaukee Repertory Theater and Gulfshore Playhouse.
Sept. 26 – Oct. 25, 2026 (Shelterhouse) Talk by Theresa Rebeck, directed by Melisa Annis This razor-sharp world premiere offers a biting satire of America’s current media environment. When an unplanned guest is added to the mix of standard talking heads during a live news talk show, the conversation goes off the rails, and the show descends into chaos. All political points of view are represented, and every one of them is skewered. The Playhouse commissioned award-winning Broadway and Hollywood writer (and Cincinnati native) Theresa Rebeck for this timely script. Rebeck is an award-winning and widely produced playwright, television and film writer and novelist. Her work can be seen and read throughout the United States and abroad. She is the most Broadway-produced female playwright of our time. Her Broadway plays include Dead Accounts, which had its world premiere at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park in 2012.
Oct. 17 – Nov. 7, 2026 (Rouse Theatre) Get Happy: Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland. Ingersoll’s vibrant, Emmy-nominated performance (seen on PBS) personifies an American icon Judy in this special concert event. With an onstage band, she delivers classic Garland numbers including “Get Happy,” “The Trolley Song,” “The Man That Got Away,” “That’s Entertainment!” and, of course, “Over the Rainbow.”
Nov. 7 – Dec. 27, 2026 (Shelterhouse) The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Ginna Hoben, directed by Laura Kepley. After seeing her fiancé kissing another woman on the televised Thanksgiving Day Parade, Mary’s life falls apart – just in time for the holidays. Newly single, she stumbles through the emotional and comically absurd minefield of dating over the next year. This heartfelt one-woman comedy brings humor and a fresh, modern spirit to the holiday season. Nov. 20 – Dec. 27, 2026 (The Rouse Theatre) A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, adapted and originally directed by Blake Robison, now directed by Bridget Leak The Playhouse’s stage adaptation of Dickens’ classic tale of curmudgeonly Ebenezer Scrooge is an annual go-to holiday tradition. The production combines with heartwarming acting, a dazzling set, period costume, innovative lighting designs and special effects.
Nov. 20 – Dec. 27, 2026 (Rouse Theatre) A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, adapted and originally directed by Blake Robison, now staged by Bridget Leak. The Playhouse’s adaptation of Dickens’ classic tale of curmudgeonly Ebenezer Scrooge is an annual go-to holiday tradition. The production combines with heartwarming acting, a dazzling set, period costume, innovative lighting designs and special effects.
Jan. 26 – Feb. 7, 2027 (Shelterhouse) Mind Reader, created and performed by Vinny DePonto. An acclaimed theater-maker and mentalist offers an evening of mindreading, psychic experiments and unexplained phenomena. This is a limited two-week engagement.
Jan. 30 – Feb. 28, 2027 (Rouse Theatre) Cincinnati King, written and directed by KJ Sanchez. A hit from the 2018 season, this musical traces the groundbreaking rise of music pioneer Syd Nathan and the artists he produced at Cincinnati’s King Records. Based on interviews by KJ Sanchez, the show chronicles behind-the-scenes tales of hit recordings including “The Twist,” “Blues Stay Away From Me,” “Fever” and “Need Your Love So Bad.”
Feb. 20 – March 21, 2027 (Shelterhouse) I Am My Own Wife by Doug Wright, directed by Joanie Schultz. Based on a true story and inspired by interviews conducted by the playwright, I Am My Own Wife is the fascinating tale of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, an elegant and eccentric German trans woman who, against all odds survived the Nazis during World War II and the repressive Communist regime that followed. Winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize, for drama one actor plays more than 30 roles in this profound story of survival.
March 13 – April 4, 2027 (Rouse Theatre) Purpose by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, directed by Tyrone Phillips. Winner of the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2025, this riveting and hilarious new drama lays bare the influential Jasper family, led by a renowned Civil Rights leader and his formidable wife. When their adult sons return home for a celebration, the evening unravels and ignites long-simmering tensions. Accusations fly and secrets are laid bare as the Jaspers must reckon with their faith, their legacy and their purpose.
April 3 – May 16, 2027 (Shelterhouse) Table 17 by Douglas Lyons. Once engaged, Jada and Dallas meet for dinner to untangle their complicated past. Despite the intrusion of a cheeky waiter and their best efforts to keep it casual, an undeniable spark still lingers. A 2024 hit off-Broadway and in Los Angeles, Table 17 is a witty new rom-com about love found, lost and possibly reignited.
April 24 – May 23, 2027 (Rouse Theatre) Rope, adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher, based on the play Rope’s End by Patrick Hamilton, directed by Blake Robison. Hamilton’s gripping psychological stage play inspired Alfred Hitchcock’s 1948 film starring Jimmy Stewart. In this tantalizing new adaptation, two young men commit “the perfect murder,” then host a dinner party in the very room where the body is hidden. As the evening progresses, tension builds as one killer grows bolder and the other gets increasingly nervous. This one is for fans of suspense-filled thrillers.
The upcoming season also includes the Playhouse’s new offering, Made in Cincy: New Works Festival, a “platform where local and national artists can be seen, supported and celebrated,” according to Robison. In the Playhouse’s season announcement, he said, “The festival will develop and premiere plays and musicals that become part of the American canon — works by some of the country’s most compelling artists —while simultaneously highlighting the artistic excellence of our local community for audiences across the nation. Who is better to help us launch this annual endeavor than Theresa Rebeck? Not only is she a prolific, nationally-recognized playwright, but she grew up right here in Cincinnati.”
Made in Cincy will actually be piloted pilot this spring during the week of May 4, with public readings and events on May 8 and 9, 2026. These will feature local writers, Resident Artists Isaiah Reaves and Maggie Lou Rader, as well as nationally recognized playwright Nathan Alan Davis, who will workshop a brand-new commissioned play, title TBA. His play Origin Story was produced by the Playhouse in 2023. The official launch of Made in Cincy: New Works Festival will take place later this year. Development work with artists will occur during the week of Sept. 28, culminating in a schedule of events on Oct. 3-4, 2026.
For more information: www.CincyPlay.com or call the box office: 513-421-3888.
All 2026-27 season illustrations, except Mind Reader, by Kenton Brett.