WAM Theatre Unveils 2026 Season Lineup

Artistic Director Genée Coreno, Managing Director Molly Merrihew, and the WAM Theatre Team announced their 2026 Season. WAM Theatre's 17th Anniversary Season continues its steadfast commitment to amplifying women's voices and producing theatre that invites audiences to imagine beyond limitation. Through intimate storytelling, sharp comedy, and urgent historical reflection, this ambitious season asks: What do we inherit? What do we believe? And what future are we brave enough to build?

“This season, WAM steps into a bold inquiry about influence, power, and the responsibility that comes with both, especially in moments when communities are searching for meaning,”  says Artistic Director Genée Coreno. “WAM Theatre offers art as an antidote, moving us from the idealized to the real, complex humanity of these characters and their relationships with one another and the world around them. Imaginative, daring, expansive, and caring, this season invites deeper reflection and courageous conversation. Now more than ever, we are reminded that theatre is a space to gather, to question, and to practice the kind of world we wish to inhabit.”

The 2026 performance season includes the full production of ROOTED by award-winning playwright Deborah Zoe Laufer (Be Here Now, The Last Yiddish Speaker), the Fresh Takes reading of AMANI by critically acclaimed playwright a.k. payne (Furlough's Paradise, Some of the Boys), the Summer Soirée Benefit, the Fresh Takes reading of GORGEOUS by the celebrated playwright Keiko Green (Exotic Deadly: Or the MSG Play, Sharon), and the fall mainstage production of CAMP SIEGFRIED by Tony-Award-Nominee Bess Wohl (Liberation, Grand Horizons). Passes are on sale now, and single tickets go on sale mid-March.

Beyond the stage, WAM's 2026 Season deepens its investment in community engagement across Berkshire County. In April, WAM partners with Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and MOSAIC to host a Women in Leadership Panel spotlighting bold changemakers shaping our region. In May, WAM collaborates with the Elizabeth Freeman Center to honor 50-years of life-saving support for survivors of domestic violence in the Berkshires. June marks the launch of WAM's Ballot Ballad program, a civic engagement initiative held at The Lenox Library, that uses the arts as a tool for democratic learning and creative expression among students. The beloved Elder Ensemble offers dedicated affinity space for women 65+ to gather, create, and share their stories. The season culminates in a dynamic partnership with Berkshire Community College in the development of a new work inspired by the imagination of Louisa May Alcott, to be shared publicly in December 2026, continuing WAM's commitment to intergenerational dialogue, artistic empowerment, and collective belonging.

"At WAM, we believe in the transformative power of community,” said Managing Director Molly Merrihew. “Artists and educators are the changemakers who nurture communities into vibrant sustainable ecosystems fueled by collective, creative, and collaborative action. This season, WAM's commitment to amplifying women's voices, empowering young girls, and supporting the daring creatives whose work reflects the richness, diversity, and boldness of our world continues, and we hope you will join us.”

WAM's performance season unfolds across spring, summer, and fall with two full Mainstage productions, two Fresh Takes play readings, and WAM's signature Summer Soirée benefit. Through box office revenue and community partnerships, WAM continues to celebrate and reinvest in organizations serving women and girls across Berkshire County while employing local and regional artists under professional union contracts. 

WAM THEATRE'S 2026 PERFORMANCE SEASON

ROOTED

By Deborah Zoe Laufer
Directed by Maggie Mancinelli-Cahill
Featuring Jennie M. Jadow
May 1 – May 16, 2026
Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre, Shakespeare & Company, Lenox, MA

What could possibly go wrong when a plant lover becomes an internet messiah?

Emery is perfectly content living in her treehouse, tending to her plants and sharing her research online. Her sister Hazel is less enchanted— stuck working long hours at the only diner in town to support them both. Meanwhile, Luanne is searching for something -anything, to give her life meaning.

When Emery's YouTube videos unexpectedly spark a devoted following — and then, somehow, a full-blown cult — all three women are thrown into a new kind of chaos. As strangers gather beneath the treehouse, chanting and singing, Emery must confront what it means to be seen, believed in, and responsible for others.

Quirky, warm-hearted, and unexpectedly profound, ROOTED is a comedy about connection, belief, and the messy human longing for purpose. Back by popular demand after a sold-out reading, ROOTED invites audiences into a whimsical world where plants heal, community curdles, and each woman must decide how — and what — she chooses to believe.

“For me, ROOTED is an irresistible story of three women – complicated, fun and irascible– who want to make life better and actually succeed,” said Director Maggie Mancinelli- Cahill. “I was hooked from the moment I discovered the play is very funny and blends a timely message about life on our planet and humans' deep desire for connection: all carried out in a treehouse that has magical charm.”

“I'm delighted that WAM will be producing ROOTED I so appreciate the organization's work promoting gender equity in theater…Theaters like WAM are more vital than ever before,” Shared Deborah Zoe Laufer, Playwright 

AMANI

By a.k. payne 
Directed by Vernice Miller
Featuring Sabine Denise Jacques
Sunday, June 14, 2026 at 2PM & 7PM
Ventfort Hall, Lenox MA

What does it mean to reach boldly toward the moon in a world trying to confine you to the ground?    

When Amani's mother dies, the world shifts. In the wake of that loss, her father makes an extraordinary promise: he will build a rocket ship and take them to outer space — a place beyond violence, beyond prisons, beyond the systems that steal Black lives and futures. Together, they begin building toward the impossible. As Amani grows into adulthood, her dreams change.Her father's vision becomes her own as she searches for her voice, her desires, and a future shaped by love, autonomy, and possibility. Moving between memory and aspiration, AMANI traces a tender, bittersweet journey of growing up, letting go, and choosing what to carry forward.

Written with depth and poetic intimacy by a.k. payne, AMANI is a deeply moving exploration of love between parents and children, the inheritance of dreams, and the courage it takes to imagine a life beyond what the world says is possible.  

“Some organizations offer space to work, others provide the resources to create, and still others gather collaborators to dream collectively of a future where all bodies experience freedom. Returning to the hills of the Berkshires to find all three at WAM always feels like coming home,” shared Director Vernice Miller.

“This will be my third year working with WAM, and each season I have brought more of myself and my belief in co-creating non-traditional spaces that have the capacity to hold our collective grief, humanity and joy with compassion and integrity as a part of the process, not separate,” shared actor Sabine Denise Jacques. “My collaboration with WAM Theater continues to show me what can happen when we choose to center humanity and care within these institutions. I am grateful to work alongside women who live out the spirit of their values.” 

WAM Theatre's Summer Soirée

Sunday, July 26, 2026 at 12PM
Doctor Sax House, Lenox MA

For the Dreamers & Magic Makers

Slip into your shamelessly gorgeous garden-party best and join WAM for a chic brunch-style gathering in the heart of the Berkshires. Guests will enjoy seasonal bites, signature cocktails, and a dazzling musical showcase featuring fresh, women-driven work making waves nationally. In true WAM fashion, the afternoon will celebrate two extraordinary female changemakers — an inspiring artist and a fearless activist — whose work empowers women and girls.

Tickets are limited. Sponsorship opportunities available. Contact Development@wamtheatre.com to reserve your spot today. 

GORGEOUS

By Keiko Green
Directed by Cat Ramirez
Featuring Zoë Laiz & Brenny Campbell
Sunday, August 17, 2026
Ventfort Hall,  Lenox, MA 

What does it mean to be seen — and who gets to decide what's beautiful?

In Gorgeous, playwright Keiko Green delivers a sharp, funny, and deeply tender coming-of-age play about a young Asian American woman navigating friendship, desire, and self-worth. Set in an open garage in suburban Georgia, GORGEOUS takes an unexpected turn when Jenny finds herself in a no-holds-barred showdown with Bernie — a force of nature masquerading as a woman — following the death of Bill, an old, miserable man suddenly remembered as a saint. The object of their battle? Bill's English bulldog, Gorgeous.

By turns heartfelt and ferocious, this bold comedy asks big questions with humor and bite: Who gets to change their story? Who gets grace? And what does it take to finally see yourself clearly?

"This play asks a question I find urgent and deeply personal: what does it truly mean for women — especially Asian American women and AFAB folks — to center themselves in a world that tells them not to? Gorgeous is about disrupting cycles of learned social violence, and daring to believe you are worthy of your own care and attention," shared Cat Ramirez, Director.

CAMP SIEGFRIED

By Bess Wohl
Directed by Genée Coreno
October 15 – November 1, 2026
Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre, Shakespeare & Company, Lenox, MA

What happens when love blooms in the shadow of hate?

It's 1938 on Long Island, and summer at Camp Siegfried is full of dances, sports, campfires, and camaraderie. Two teenagers meet, fall in love, and experience all the excitement of youth. But the camp is reserved for American youth of German descent, and behind the cheerful activities lurks the dangerous allure of Nazi ideology. As their attraction deepens, so does their indoctrination, revealing how easily charm and ritual can mask the spread of hatred. Inspired by the real Camp Siegfried, award-winning playwright Bess Wohl (Liberation, Grand Horizons) delivers a chilling, timely exploration of the seductive power of fascism, the fragility of morality, and the frightening ways ideology can twist even the most ordinary moments.

The play encourages us to reflect on the allure of belief, the fragility of moral judgment, and how we confront the spaces where innocence and danger collide.

Bess Wohl describes her play Camp Siegfried, as a "seduction—by bodies, by beliefs, by stories."