“Beehive-The 60’s Musical” was a show during a previous season at Florida Rep. FLORIDA REPERTORY THEATRE / COURTESY PHOTOS
Part of the mission at the Florida Repertory Theatre is to produce a wide variety of shows each season, and the 2025-2026 lineup promises something for everyone.
The theater company’s 28th season kicks off with previews this September and runs through May 10, 2026, with performances in the Historic Arcade and ArtStage Studio Theatres.
Among the nine shows featured are musicals, comedies, dramas and new works — all inspired by this season’s vision of “escape,” according to Producing Artistic Director Greg Longenhagen, who began working with Florida Rep as an ensemble member in 1998 before taking over the theatre’s artistic direction in 2018.
“I think most patrons in our community are looking for a break from the day-to-day, what’s happening in the news, etc. All of our productions in season 28 will provide an escape,” he said. “Great thought goes into the selection of a season, and several factors are considered. One: Is the piece something that our patrons will enjoy? Two: Are the rights available for the piece being considered? Three: Can we afford to produce it?
The Florida Repertory Theatre’s Historic Arcade Theatre. FLORIDA REPERTORY THEATRE / COURTESY PHOTO
“Florida Repertory Theatre is a producing organization, which means we design and build our own sets, costumes, lighting plots, etc. We are also a union theatre under Actors Equity, which means we pay our actors’ and performers’ salary, health and pension contributions. Four: Can a particular piece allow us to cast members of our Acting Ensemble? I think all of next season’s titles are timely in that the feelings, thoughts, memories they may evoke are timeless,” Longenhagen added.
In September, the story of legendary artists Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr. promises to delight audiences in the comedic musical revue, “The Rat Pack Lounge,” by James Hindman and Ray Roderick and arranged by John Glaudini. The production will feature over 30 of the artists’ hit songs.
The second production, the Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning play, “Doubt: A Parable,” written by John Patrick Shanley, opens at the end of October and explores the nature of truth and fiction as the principal of a Catholic high school in the Bronx grapples with how to handle allegations of improper conduct between a priest and student.
In a previous season, Florida Rep presented Ken Ludwig’s “A Comedy of Tenors.” FLORIDA REPERTORY THEATRE / COURTESY PHOTO
According to Longenhagen, the challenge to balancing the selections for each season is in creating variety across the entire season and scheduling that variety in a way that provides some contrast from production to production.
“If the first play is a lighthearted piece, the play scheduled to follow should take our audiences on a different journey. We try to make sure if we have a musical running in the historic Arcade Theatre, we have a drama or comedy running in the Artstage Studio Theatre. We are also committed to doing new works. For instance, we open ‘Advice’ — a rolling world premiere — in the Artstage in early December 2025,” said Longenhagen.
Laughter rules the holiday season with the production of “The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge” by Mark Brown in December. In this zany romp, Scrooge has returned to his former miserly grumpiness and decides to sue his former partner Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future for inflicting emotional distress and a litany of other offenses in a comedy sure to have audiences rolling in the aisles.
FLORIDA REPERTORY THEATRE / COURTESY PHOTO
Also in December, the new comedy “Advice,” written by Brent Askari, makes its rolling world premiere in the ArtStage Studio Theatre. The story follows the chaos that ensues when a couple agrees to take marital advice from a friend’s self-help book.
In January, “Tuesdays with Morrie” by Jeffrey Hatcher and Mitch Albom, takes the stage in the ArtStage Studio Theatre. Theatregoers will be moved by this heartfelt autobiographical adaptation of Albom’s acclaimed novel of the same name.
“I love the play ‘Tuesday’s with Morrie,’” said Longenhagen. “Years ago, I performed in the show at a few regional theatres around the country, including right here at Florida Rep. I think it’s a meaningful piece with a beautiful message. It’s also based on a true story.”
Opening in February is “The Play That Goes Wrong” by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields. This hilarious comedy centers around the disasters that befall a fictional theatre company on opening night.
In March, the theatre unveils the musical “Little Shop of Horrors,” written by Howard Ashman with music by Alan Menken. This cult-classic favorite is based on Roger Corman’s low-budget 1960s movie and has everything from thrills and laughter to a bloodthirsty, giant plant.
“Denise Fennell’s The Bride: Or, Does This Dress Make Me Look Married?” by Rick Pasqualone and Denise Fennell will close out the 28th season in April and May. Fennell returns to Florida Rep after performing in “Late Nite Catechism” and its sequel “’Til Death Do Us Part: Late Nite Catechism 3” in the two previous seasons.
“’The Bride: Or, Does This Dress Make Me Look Married?’ is very much an audience participatory experience like ‘Late Night.’” Longenhagen said. “Those who have never seen Denise perform will have their socks knocked off. She presents like a stand-up comedian who improvs with the audience through the performance. Seriously, she is so good on stage, so quick-witted like a great stand-up comic, she should have her own HBO special.”
As Florida Repertory Theatre looks to the future, they have plans to further expand their reach in the community.
“We will be reaching more students this year, having re-implemented our student matinee series,” Longenhagen said. “This is when we bring high school students into our theatres to see plays, musicals, etc. We have talkbacks for each production. They take place immediately after our second Saturday matinee performance. In fact, folks don’t need to attend that performance to take part in the talkbacks. We conduct talkbacks with students after our student matinees, as well. Also, Florida Rep has a very active education wing that brings theatre into elementary, middle and high schools throughout the five-county area. This coming season we will be touring ‘Miss Nelson Is Missing,’ ‘Refugee’ and Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
Longenhagen believes that the upcoming 28th season not only can offer audiences an escape from their daily lives but also can inspire them to appreciate the importance of the arts.
“I hope they (audiences) take away the notion that theater is powerful. That it is important to their lives. That when we laugh and cry together, we come together, we bond. We realize that we are all brothers and sisters in this sometimes very hard-to-navigate, crazy world. I am so blessed to be able to work with a great team to produce art. How fortunate I am to be able to work creatively and to work in an industry where I can be part of bringing joy, laughter, happiness and peace to others,” he concluded.
For more information, visit floridarep.org. ¦