BTE Unveils 25-26 Season With Works Directed By Connie Canaday Howard, Kurt Naebig & Steve Scott

Buffalo Theatre Ensemble has revealed its 2025-2026 three-play season. The season opens with BTE Managing Artistic Director Emerita and Ensemble Member Connie Canaday Howard's staging of “Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley” (Nov. 20-Dec. 21), the third and final play in the trilogy of plays by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon, based on the beloved characters from Jane Austen's “Pride and Prejudice.” It will be followed by Paul Slade Smith's wild and wacky “Unnecessary Farce,” directed by BTE Ensemble Member Kurt Naebig (Jan. 29-March 1). Guest director Steve Scott returns to direct BTE's final play of the season, Noah Haidle's warm and thought-provoking “Birthday Candles” (May 7-June 7).

BTE's 2025-2026 three-play season is as follows.

“Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley”  

By Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon
Directed by Connie Canaday Howard
Nov. 20-Dec. 21
Preview: Thursday, Nov. 20, Press Opening Friday, Nov. 21
Performances: 7:30 p.m. Thursday - Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday  
(No show on Thanksgiving, Thursday Nov. 27; Added 3 p.m. matinee Saturday, Nov. 29)
Tickets: $45

BTE's Connie Canaday Howard, who directed last year's “The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley,” returns to direct the final play in the “Christmas at Pemberley” trilogy. Georgiana and Kitty, two best friends who have been overshadowed by older siblings, find their own adventure and new relationships. In true Austen form, there are letters that reveal secrets, arranged engagements and meddlesome siblings. Nothing, however, will stop these determined friends from forging their own way in a holiday tale filled with music, ambition and sisterhood. Talkin' Broadway calls “Georgiana and Kitty” “…a lesson in staying true to oneself and a testament to the powerful things that women can accomplish;” and the San Mateo Journal calls it, "A joyful, uplifting way to celebrate the holidays." Whether an Austen fan or a first timer to the series, this play will be a charming holiday treat.
 

“Unnecessary Farce”  

By Paul Slade Smith
Directed by Kurt Naebig
Jan. 29-March 1
Preview: Thursday, Jan. 29, Press Opening Friday, Jan. 30
Performances: 7:30 p.m. Thursday - Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday
Tickets: $45

A pair of inept police officers set up a sting operation to trap an embezzling mayor meeting his female accountant…in a pair of matching hotel rooms. What could go wrong? Confusion fills the stage with doors slamming, clothes flying and bagpipes bleating…all adding up to an over-the-top tale of mix-ups. “Unnecessary Farce” is penned by Paul Slade Smith, playwright of BTE's 2024-2025 smash-hit season opener, “The Outsider,” both of which are directed by Kurt Naebig. Broadway World calls “Unnecessary Farce” “the comedy we all need." “Absolutely recommended for a great night of laughter and fun,” says DC Theater Arts.
 

“Birthday Candles”  

By Noah Haidle
Directed by Steve Scott
May 7-June 7
Preview: Thursday, May 7, Press Opening Friday, May 8
Performances: 7:30 p.m. Thursday - Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday
Tickets: $45

This tender, touching story follows Ernestine Ashworth as she celebrates her birthday from age 17 to 101—all while baking her birthday cake. Through a seamless montage of moments, Ernestine grapples with love, loss, family and the passage of time, continually asking the timeless question: “What's it all about?” The Chicago Sun-Times calls it “emotionally rich;” and the Chicago Tribune says, “‘Birthday Candles' is precisely why people go to the theater…It's a personal piece but you'd swear it was about you.” BTE Managing Artistic Director Emeriti and Ensemble Member Connie Canaday Howard, who starred in Steve Scott's staging of BTE's 2020 production “The Cake,” reteams with Scott as she takes on the lead role of Ernestine.

For each play, there will be a pre-show discussion before the preview Thursday performance, and a post-show discussion following the second Friday performance. There will be an ASL Performance on the fourth Thursday of each run. Each production may contain adult language and themes.

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