Cadence Theatre Reveals 2025–2026 Season With World Premieres And Classics

Cadence Theatre will launch its 2025–2026 season this fall, celebrating 16 years of presenting bold and thought-provoking work in Richmond. The new season features a mix of world premieres, timeless classics, and site-specific performances, spotlighting resilience, imagination, and the power of live storytelling.

The season begins with Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night, running September 26–October 11, 2025, at The Carol Piersol Stage at Firehouse Theatre. O’Neill’s Pulitzer Prize–winning masterpiece captures a single day in the turbulent life of the Tyrone family, exploring addiction, unfulfilled dreams, and the complexity of forgiveness. In partnership with CultureWorks’ artoberVA program, Cadence will host a pay-what-you-will performance on October 2. This production is dedicated to the memory of Carol Piersol, Founding Artistic Director of Firehouse Theatre.

For the holiday season, Cadence will present Annie, the Tony Award–winning musical by Thomas Meehan, Charles Strouse, and Martin Charnin, from December 12–21, 2025, at Libby S. Gottwald Playhouse. Presented in association with ATLAS Partnership, the family favorite will feature timeless songs such as “Tomorrow,” spreading a message of hope and resilience. Individual tickets will go on sale Friday, October 3 at Dominion Energy Center.

In February, Cadence will present Bob Bartlett’s Love and Vinyl, a witty and tender new play staged site-specifically at Plan 9 Music from February 6–22, 2026. The story follows Bogie and Zane, who make a weekly pilgrimage to their favorite record store, where an unexpected encounter with Sage, the shop’s new owner, sparks a surprising journey of late-in-life romance, vinyl treasures, and connection in a digital age.

The season concludes with the world premiere of Eva Devirgilis’s WitchDuck, running May 6–24, 2026, at The Carol Piersol Stage at Firehouse Theatre. Inspired by the true story of Grace Sherwood, Virginia’s last convicted witch, this darkly comic new work mixes humor, defiance, and feminist perspective in a fresh retelling of history.