Franklin Stage Company Reveals 30th Anniversary Season - THE CIVILITIES World Premiere and More
The season will feature Dual Rivet Dance Company and more, including a fundraising event this spring.
The Franklin Stage Company has revealed their 30th anniversary season from May 31 through August 23rd, featuring Much Ado About Nothing, HOME? A Palestinian Woman’s Search for Life, Liberty and Happiness and more.
30th Anniversary Fundraising Event – May 31
The first event of 2026 is a celebration of a generation of daring performance at Franklin Stage Company’s 30th Anniversary Fundraising Event on May 31. The evening features music group Duo Extempore debuting a newly commissioned piece created exclusively for the milestone, and giving donors and audiences an opportunity to support the Franklin Stage Company in sustaining innovative theater for generations to come. Tickets to this event can be purchased on the company’s website.
Much Ado About Nothing (July 3–July 19)
On July 3, FSC opens its regular performance season with the classic play, Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare’s beloved romantic comedy of sparkling wit, deception, and desire. As gossip and misunderstandings swirl, two couples navigate pride, rumor, and the messy road to happiness. Much Ado About Nothing runs July 3–July 19 with 5 shows per week.
HOME? A Palestinian Woman’s Search for Life, Liberty and Happiness (July 24–26)
Next, July 24–26, FSC presents Hend Ayoub’s solo show, HOME? A Palestinian Woman’s Search for Life, Liberty and Happiness. The piece blends masterful storytelling, humor, and movement to explore the search for home amid borders, history, and memory.
Dual Rivet Dance Company (July 31–August 2)
The following weekend, July 31–August 2, brings Dual Rivet Dance Company whose performances balance power and fragility, speed and stillness, inviting audiences into immersive worlds.
The Civilities
FSC’s final production of the season is the theater’s second world premiere—a new play from Kyle Bass, author of Possessing Harriet and Toliver & Wakeman, plays previously produced by FSC. His new play, The Civilities, is set in Upstate NY in 1936, the 75th anniversary of the end of the Civil War, and explores the relationship of a young black graduate student at Cornell University and a Confederate veteran and poet, living in the North.
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Mean Girls Clear Space Theatre Company (6/26-8/29) |
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Pretty Woman Clear Space Theatre Company (7/01-8/25) |
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The Cher Show Clear Space Theatre Company (6/23-7/27) |
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FrUiTCaKeS Second Street Players (11/27-12/06) |
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Clear Space Theatre Company presents Mean Girls: The Musical (Children 12 and under are free to attend and do not need a ticket when sitting in the La Freeman Arts Pavilion (8/19-8/19) |
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Holidays a cappella at Chicago a cappella Chicago A Cappella (10/25-8/25) |
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Grease Milton Theatre (7/09-8/02) |
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Angels in America: Millennium Approaches Possum Point Players (9/11-9/20) |
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SLOW FOOD Resident Ensemble Players (2/07-3/07) |
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Ken Ludwig's Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery Second Street Players (8/21-8/30) |