Tampa’s professional theaters have released their show schedules for the 2026-2027 season, and as always, before us is a mixed bag of compelling dramas and more lighthearted far.
In case you missed it: St Pete theaters announce 2026-27 play seasons
Check the individual company websites for information on summer ’26 shows.
Several of these new season schedules are incomplete or abbreviated, as the dearth of funding from Tallahassee, for going on three years now, is being strongly felt. There is uncertainty as to just how to carry on. On both sides of Tampa Bay, theaters are adding “belt-tightening” to their list of professional skills.
Stageworks Theatre Artistic Director Karla Hartley will guest on Friday’s edition of our Arts Alive! podcast to discuss the issue.
In the meantime … the show must go on.
Tampa Repertory Theatre
Peter and the Starcatcher by Rick Elice. Nov. 6-22, Shimberg Playhouse at the Straz Center. A co-production with ThinkTank Theatre. Based on the book by Ridley Pierson and Dave Barry, it’s prequel of sorts to J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan.
Miracle on 34th Street: A Live Musical Radio Play, Dec. 4-23, Shimberg Playhouse at the Straz Center. Adapted by Lance Arthur Smith/Original Songs and arrangements by Jon Lorenz. Is the Kris Kringle at Macy’s Department Store the real Santa Claus? Depends who you ask.
Job by Max Wolf Friedlich. Dates (April) and venue TBD. A tense drama revolving around a troubled young woman and her therapist.
Burn This by Lanford Wilson. July 9-25, 2027, Shimberg Playhouse at the Straz Center. Anna is mourning the death of her collaborator and roommate Robbie when Pale, Robbie’s older brother, enters into her life and brings a menacing yet enticing presence to her grief-stricken world.
Jobsite Theater
Misery by William Goldman, adapted from the novel by Stephen King. Oct. 14-Nov. 8, Jaeb Theater at the Straz Center. Injured in a car accident, novelist Paul Sheldon is held captive by his “Number One” fan, deeply disturbed former nurse Annie Wilkes.
The 2023 production of Misery was one of the highest-grossing in Jobsite history. Every performance in its five-week run sold out. In this go-round, Summer Bohnenkamp and David M. Jenkins return as Annie and Paul.
Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, Jan. 13-Feb. 7, Jaeb Theatre in the Straz Center. Original score by Jeremy Douglass. Shakespeare’s well-loved comedy about star-crossed lovers, mistaken identities and town gossip.
John Proctor is the Villain by Kimberly Belflower, March 10-April 4, Shimberg Playhouse in the Straz Center. Set in 2018, it re-examines Arthur Miller’s The Crucible through the eyes of modern high school girls in rural Georgia.
Proof by David Auburn, May 12-June 6, 2027, Shimberg Playhouse in the Straz Center. Auburn’s Pulitzer Prize winning drama concern the mathematician daughter of a recently-deceased genius, and her grapples with mental instability, crippling insecurity and her own potential genius.
The Hobbit adapted by Greg Banks from the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien, July 14-Aug. 8, Jaeb Theater in the Straz Center. Choreographed by Alexander Jones. Yes, it’s the tale of Bilbo Baggins and his adventures with the wizard Gandalf, a bunch of dwarves, a dragon and others in Middle Earth.
TBD Aug. 18-Sept. 5, 2007, Shimberg Playhouse at the Straz Center.
Stageworks Theatre
Jane Austen in 89 Minutes by Syrie James. Sept. 25-Oct. 11. A fast-paced, comedic review of Austen’s novels in a “delightfully chaotic and condensed theatrical experience.”
Holiday Incorporated by (former bay area resident) Jonathan Van Dyke, Dec. 4-20. “We are especially excited to support and showcase new work from a local artist with strong ties to the community,” reads the official Stageworks announcement, which explains thusly: “The play explores the commercialization of modern holidays through satire, humor, and sharp social commentary, while examining how tradition, consumerism, and connection collide during the most emotionally charged times of the year.”
The Roommate by Jen Silverman. March 5-21. A dark comedy (performed by St. Pete’s American Stage back in 2019), it pairs uptight midwestern housewife Sharon with free-spirited New Yorker Robyn, who possibly has a shady past. Things happen, and it’s not the Odd Couple one might expect.
TBA. May 21-June 13.
Stageworks will also host Tampa Works, a weekend featuring original 20-minute plays written by local Tampa Bay playwrights. And the Act 2 Series continues.
Lab Theater Project
LAB, in Ybor City, only puts on previously-unproduced new plays. The company also operates on a calendar-year season, so no 2027 shows have yet been announced. Here’s what LAB has in store through the end of this year.
The Cross and the Saber by Wendy Graf, July 2-17. “In a near-future America where church and state have dangerously merged, a progressive pastor is imprisoned for refusing to politicize his pulpit.”
As We Like It by Oded Gross, Sept. 17-Oct. 4. “In the forests of Nazi-occupied Poland, a young Jewish woman shields herself from unbearable reality by staging As You Like It for her family in hiding. A haunting meditation on storytelling as refuge.”
Pushing Daisies by Ansel Taylor, Dec. 3-20. “On the busiest day of the year for a florist, Daisy Blackwell must hold together her crumbling flower shop, her fractured past, and an unexpected reunion — all while everything threatens to fall apart.”
All schedules are subject to change.
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