Generations Gather Here for 2026's 65th Anniversary Season
The Utah Shakespeare Festival is thrilled to officially announce its 65th Anniversary Season, which will run June 18 through October 3, 2026. “We are excited to celebrate 65 years of world-class storytelling on our stages and invite you to gather with us,” says Executive Managing Director Michael Bahr. Following a very successful 2025 season which closed the beginning of October, plans are underway for the 2026 season.
With Generations Gather Here as the seasonal inspiration, Bahr explains how this invitation is for everyone. “Ever since our inaugural year in 1961, we have had countless generations of people come together to build, share, and experience the work at the Festival. That not only includes our patrons, donors, and guests, but also our staff, artists, and volunteers, among others. So many return year after year because they are excited by the experience they’ve had when they come here. And so many come for the first time because they are intrigued by the Festival and Cedar City. We welcome all to join the legacy!”
Coming soon is the Festival’s Cyber Sale on December 1 and 2, 2025. Save $10 on every regularly priced main stage ticket for the 2026 season. To get early access before the general public, make a donation of $5 or more to the Festival by November 23 at bard.org/about/give/individual.
The 65th Anniversary Season includes, of course, works by William Shakespeare, our cornerstone playwright, as well as a variety of other plays and musicals sure to delight viewers.
Troilus and Cressida
By William Shakespeare
Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre
Last seen at the Festival in 1999, Troilus and Cressida is a rarely-done tragedy set during the Trojan War. It is a tale of love, power, survival, and betrayal and focuses on two people whose passion is tested, as war rages and loyalties shift. This play is the penultimate production for the Festival’s Complete the Canon initiative which began in 2012, a commitment to produce every one of Shakespeare’s works.
Directing is Carolyn Howarth, a returning artist who helmed last season’s Antony and Cleopatra as well as The Winter’s Tale in 2024. Her amazing work has also been seen at Colorado Shakespeare Festival where she spent 14 seasons. She has also directed at Orlando Shakespeare Theatre, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, and Foothill Theatre Company where she served as artistic director. She earned her BA and MFA from UC-Davis and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
“I love the satiric tone of this rarely-performed play and how it takes aim at our Romantic and Heroic ideals, at political leadership, at the War Machine, and really takes those notions down a notch,” says Howarth. “In those terms it feels like a play that could have been written yesterday. It is at times very funny, sometimes tragic, with singing and swordplay––one gets a little of everything!”
Troilus and Cressida previews on June 18, 2026, and runs through September 3, 2026.
Hamlet
By William Shakespeare
Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre
As one of Shakespeare’s most haunting and well-known tragedies, Prince Hamlet wrestles with the death of his father as well as with his own inaction, while searching for truth and harnessing his desire for vengeance. He spirals into crisis and isolation, exemplifying the complexities of the human condition. Last seen on Festival stages in 2019, it is one of the most popular of Shakespeare’s plays produced here.
Returning director Beth Lopes will lead the 2026 production of Hamlet after having directed As You Like It this past season. She also assistant directed at the Festival in 2010 after which she spent ten seasons directing at New Swan Shakespeare Festival where she is an associate artistic director. Her work has also been featured at South Coast Repertory, San Antonio Shakespeare in the Park, and Theatre Horizon. She received her MFA from UC Irvine and is a member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC).
“There are many different stories to tell within Hamlet, but the element that I’m most excited to share in the 2026 season focuses on Hamlet’s haunting,” says Lopes. “Our beloved Dane’s past and present obligations of duty are personified in the ghost of his father, a painful reminder of what has transpired, but also a dreadful harbinger of what’s to come.”
Hamlet previews on June 19, 2026, and runs through September 4, 2026.
Twelfth Night
By William Shakespeare
Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre
Believed to have been written as a commissioned piece for Queen Elizabeth, Twelfth Night was performed during the holiday season festivities of 1601-02. It’s a beloved comedy, last featured at the Festival in 2019, that includes a complicated love triangle, mistaken identities, mischief, and witty banter that proves love often finds us when––and where––we least expect it.
The Festival’s Artistic Director John DiAntonio returns to direct Twelfth Night. He previously directed Macbeth in 2025 in addition to performing as Jack in Ken Ludwig’s Dear Jack, Dear Louise and Petruchio in 2024’s The Taming of the Shrew. Prior to coming to Cedar City, he was the producing artistic director at Creede Repertory Theatre. Additional acting and directing credits include the Denver Center Theatre Company, The Arvada Center, and Cleveland Shakespeare Festival. He received his MFA in acting from the National Theatre Conservatory and also attended the British American Drama Academy. He is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
“Twelfth Night was the first Shakespeare play I ever saw performed live, and I was instantly enchanted. I remember sitting in the park and falling in love with every character. It’s rare in Shakespeare to feel that affection for an entire ensemble, but this play invites it. Twelfth Night is truly an ensemble — joyful, generous, and full of heart.”
Twelfth Night previews on June 20, 2026 and runs through September 5, 2026.
Something Rotten!
Book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell
Music and Lyrics by Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick
Conceived by Karey Kirkpatrick and Wayne Kirkpatrick
Having premiered on Broadway in 2015, Something Rotten! is a hilarious, high-energy musical that reimagines Shakespeare’s world with modern twists. Set in the Renaissance, it follows struggling playwrights Nick and Nigel Bottom, who try to outshine wildly popular William Shakespeare by creating the world’s first musical. Packed with show-stopping numbers, outrageous comedy, and clever nods to Broadway and the Bard, this show celebrates creativity, ambition, and the absurdity of the theatre world.
Returning to the Festival is two-time Emmy Award-winning director, artist, and producer Alan Muraoka, who helmed a special Festival production of Gold Mountain in 2021. As an actor, he performed on Broadway seven times, including Disney’s Aladdin, The King and I, and Miss Saigon, as well as 27 years as Alan on Sesame Street. He was resident director of Off-Broadway’s Avenue Q, and his directing work has been featured at Olney Theatre, Dallas Theatre Center, and Pioneer Theatre Company. He earned his BFA from UCLA and has received numerous awards including a GLAAD Media Award and Carol Burnett Musical Comedy Award.
“Something Rotten feels like the perfect show for Festival audiences. At its core it is an old-fashioned musical, complete with catchy tunes, fast-paced comedy, and even tap dancing!” says Muraoka. “And with Shakespeare and his works as a central theme, theatre lovers will be tuned in to all the clever references that are sprinkled throughout this delightful romp. I’m so thrilled to be able to share it with audiences of all ages.”
Something Rotten! previews on June 22, 2026 and runs through October 3, 2026.
See How They Run
By Philip King
See How They Run is packed with mistaken identities, unexpected visitors, and nonstop chaos. Set in a quiet English vicarage during WWII, the play spirals into comedic mayhem as a soldier, a German POW, a Russian spy, and multiple clergymen, converge on the house. Written to boost morale during wartime, this fast-paced comedy delivers delightful confusion and wild fun for audiences of all ages.
Directed by Festival veteran Geoffrey Kent, See How They Run is a classic British farce never before seen on Festival stages. Patrons will recognize Kent from his acting roles this past season as Mark Antony in Antony and Cleopatra, Duke Frederick in As You Like It, and various roles in Macbeth. He also directed The Play That Goes Wrong in 2023, and has served as Fight Director and acted in numerous shows since 2009. His work has also been seen at DCPA Broadway, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, and Arvada Center, among others. He has taught at University of Northern Colorado and University of Denver, and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association (AEA) and Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDCS).
“Farce is my favorite style of theatre to create, it demands honesty, pace, and killer timing,” says Kent. “I hope audiences remember to bring tissues because we indend to make you cry from laughing.”
See How They Run previews on June 23, 2026 and runs through September 4, 2026.
She Loves Me
Book by Joe Masteroff
Music by Jerry Bock
Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick
Based on a play by Miklós László
In She Loves Me, the main characters Georg and Amalia are feuding co-workers in a 1930s perfume shop, and each is falling in love with their anonymous pen pal. Based on the same play that inspired the films The Shop Around the Corner and You’ve Got Mail, this charming, heartwarming musical sparkles with witty dialogue, endearing characters, and a beautiful score by Harnick and Bock (Fiddler on the Roof). It’s a delightful feel-good story of second chances and love discovered in surprising ways.
Michael Perlman returns to USF this year to direct She Loves Me after directing last season’s Ken Ludwig’s Dear Jack, Dear Louise. A New York-based writer and director, his work has been seen at Goodspeed Opera House, Cleveland Playhouse, Boise Contemporary Theatre, and Creede Repertory Theatre among others. He has been associate director for Noises Off on Broadway and at off-Broadway’s Roundabout Theatre, Barrow Street, and the Public Theatre. He has taught at Juilliard School of Drama as well as Brown University where he earned his BA and MFA. He is a member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC) and is a Drama League Directing Fellow.
“She Loves Me is one of those rare perfect musicals in which everything seamlessly comes together for an evening of true heartfelt storytelling.” says Perlman. “It’s a musical that people either know and love or don’t know at all, and so I’m thrilled to be able to bring it to life for those who love it and for those who have yet to see it. It’s filled with characters who amidst all the struggles in their lives are yearning for and seeking love, and ultimately remind us that we may find love where we least expect it.”
She Loves Me previews on June 24, 2026, and runs through October 3, 2026.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
By David Catlin
Based on the book by Mary Shelley
Eileen and Allen Anes Studio Theatre
David Catlin’s adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic novel Frankenstein weaves together the haunting tale of Victor Frankenstein and his creation with the real-life circumstances that inspired Mary Shelley to write it. Blending fiction and reality, the play delves into the depths of human ambition, the consequences of scientific pursuit, and the blurred line between creator and creation, offering a profoundly human and contemporary take on a timeless story.
Directing this bold retelling of the Gothic masterpiece is Risa Brainin, who is making her Utah Shakespeare Festival debut in 2026. She is a freelance director and Founder/Artistic Director of LAUNCH PAD, a new play development program at UC Santa Barbara. She served as Artistic Director of Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Associate Artistic Director at both Indiana Repertory Theatre and Kansas City Repertory Theatre, and Resident Director of the Guthrie Theater. Directing credits include The Acting Company, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and Denver Center Theatre, among others. A graduate of the Carnegie Mellon University Drama Program, Brainin is a member of the National Theatre Conference and the College of Fellows of the American Theatre.
“One of the things I love most is that as the play goes on the Creature becomes more human, and Victor Frankenstein, the creator who ruthlessly abandons his creation, becomes more monstrous,” says Brainin. “The question that continually intrigues me is what is one’s responsibility to one’s creation and its life thereafter? With the growing use of AI, that question cannot be any more pressing than it is right now. The innovations of today will affect everything about tomorrow. So, what is our responsibility to the future?”
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein previews on July 13, 2026, and runs through October 3, 2026.
The Book Club Play
By Karen Zacarías
Eileen and Allen Anes Studio Theatre
The Book Club Play is described like “Lord of the Flies with wine and dip,” and is a comedy about a tight-knit group of friends whose carefully curated lives unravel when their book club becomes the subject of a documentary. As tensions rise and secrets emerge, the laughs build in this witty satire about literature, the chaos of group dynamics, and the stories we tell ourselves, proving real life is often the most unpredictable plot of all.
Veteran Festival actor Matt Zambrano returns to direct The Book Club Play. Audiences may remember him in Scapin in 2012 and Peter and the Starcatcher in 2013, among others. His work has also been seen all over the country, including at Shakespeare Theater of D.C., Milwaukee Rep, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, and The Denver Center Theater. Other credits include the film The People vs. George Lucas, the web series Orcs of New York, the podcast Story Pirates, and teaching at Disney Theatrical Group, among many others. He received his MFA from National Theater Conservatory and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
“I love working on Karen’s plays,” says Zambrano. “She is so good at writing comedies with real, three-dimensional people and I can’t wait for audiences to experience The Book Club Play. It’s rare that a script makes me laugh out loud even after I’ve read it before, but every time I come back to this play, I find a new line or moment that manages to tickle my funny bone.”
The Book Club Play previews July 14, 2026, and runs through October 3, 2026.
The Greenshow
Prepare for delightful summer evenings of stories, music, and dance with three new shows on the green. Written by Festival veteran Britannia Howe and directed by returning artist Trey Plutnicki, both of whom have long histories with the Festival, these shows are the perfect way to get in a theatrical mood before the mainstage evening shows.
A Cedar City native, Howe grew up attending the Festival. She earned a MFA in directing from Illinois State University and has directed at Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center, and with the Utah Symphony. She was awarded a national directing fellowship from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. She has written and directed The Greenshow six times in the last eight years, and is currently a Theatre Arts faculty member at Southern Utah University.
Plutnicki returns to direct and choreograph The Greenshow after serving as choreographer for The Greenshow and various mainstage shows in 2024 and 2025, and as a member of the acting company in 2019 and 2021. He has also worked with Drury Lane Productions, Hunterdon Hills Playhouse, Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre, and Otterbein Summer Theatre.
“The Greenshow was my introduction to the Festival in 2019. Like many patrons of USF, it was the gateway to my love of Shakespeare, the Festival, and the Cedar City community,” says Plutnicki. “This year, I hope to share the love I’ve felt over the past seven years.”
The themes for the three 2026 Greenshows will be Stratford Night, Americana Night, and Celtic Night. The Greenshow previews on June 18, 2026, and runs through September 5, 2026.
