Alabama Shakespeare Festival announces lineup for 2026-2027 season
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WAKA) – The Alabama Shakespeare Festival has announced its lineup for the 2026-2027 season.
This is the 55th season and Quin Gresham’s second as artistic director.
Here is the list of productions:
The Play That Goes Wrong
By Jonathan Sayer, Henry Lewis, & Henry Shields
October 1 – 25, 2026 | Festival Stage | Recommended for ages 8+
A hilarious, fast-paced farce that’s part Agatha Christie and part Monty Python
It’s opening night of the mystery The Murder at Haversham Manor, and everything is going wrong. The leading lady can’t stay awake, the corpse can’t stay dead, and the set is barely staying upright. The show must go on, but will the actors and crew survive? This uproarious, smash-hit comedy that Entertainment Weekly calls “nonstop pandemonium” is sure to bring the house down (literally)!
August Wilson’s Fences
By August Wilson
October 29–November 15, 2026 | Octagon Stage | Recommended for ages 14+
Produced in association with Theatrical Outfit and Dominion Entertainment
A powerful Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning modern classic from “Theatre’s Poet of Black America”
Troy Maxon was a gifted Negro League baseball player with dreams of joining the Majors, but now he barely makes ends meet as a sanitation worker in 1950s Pittsburgh. While he builds a fence around his home to keep his family together, his anguish over his own shattered dreams threatens to tear them apart. Variety hails this acclaimed family drama as “a masterpiece.”
Elf The Musical
Book by Thomas Meehan & Bob Martin. Music by Matthew Sklar. Lyrics by Chad Beguelin
November 25 – December 27, 2026 | Festival Stage | Recommended for all ages (infants not permitted)
Embrace your inner elf with this magical, musical tale for all ages!
Buddy the Elf journeys to the city to discover his true identity –- and bring Christmas joy to everyone he meets. Unfortunately, his father may be at the top of Santa’s naughty list. Can Buddy help his new family rediscover the true meaning of Christmas? Inspired by the beloved hit film, this hilarious and heartwarming holiday musical is a gift for the whole family.
Marian: An Original Musical (World Premiere)
Story by Caleen Sinnette Jennings, Elkin Antoniou G, & Chelsea Marie Davis. Music by Chelsea Marie Davis & Victoria Theodore. Lyrics by Chelsea Marie Davis & Emily Ruth Hazel. Book by Caleen Sinnette Jennings & Elkin Antoniou G
February 25 – March 14, 2027 | Festival Stage | Recommended for ages 14+
Before Lady Day. Before Tina. There was Marian.
By 1939, the world-famous, Black contralto Marian Anderson had toured Europe to rave reviews, but she was denied a stage in Washington, D.C. When she was offered a chance to sing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Marian gave the first-ever integrated concert in our nation’s capital, demonstrating that one voice can make history. This inspirational new musical explores the struggles and triumphs of a legendary opera singer and civil rights leader.
William Shakespeare’s As You Like It
By William Shakespeare
April 15 – May 2, 2027 | Festival Stage | Recommended for ages 12+
Shakespeare’s sweetest romantic comedy
Exiled from Duke Frederick’s court, Rosalind flees for her life to the Forest of Arden, disguised in men’s clothes to stay safe. The forest is an idyllic –- but peculiar -– haven, filled with quirky characters, mistaken identities, and romantic entanglements, and Rosalind soon finds herself engaged in a chaotic courtship while masquerading as a man. Shakespeare’s theatrical love letter to romance, wit, and nature proves that “all the world’s a stage.”
The Rocket Men
By Crystal Skillman
May 13 – 30, 2027 | Octagon Stage | Recommended for ages 14+
A new twist on the true story of the immigrant scientists who took us to the Moon and established Huntsville, AL, as “Rocket City”
Six women play the roles of the former Nazi scientists who switched allegiances, moved to Huntsville, and became the backbone of NASA’s space program. As Wernher von Braun and his team develop rockets that defy gravity, a young, Jewish engineer forces them to grapple with the gravity of their pasts. This inventive new work unravels buried truths behind the origin of the space race.
A Disney Musical of Mythical Proportions – TITLE TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON
July 7 – August 8, 2027 | Festival Stage | Recommended for all ages (infants not permitted)
ASF will reveal this electrifying summer musical soon, along with details on a special concert for Valentine’s Day weekend and a springtime theatrical event for the youngest theatregoers and their families.
For more information on the upcoming season and the current productions, click here.
