LEOPOLDSTADT And More Set for Main Street Theater 50th Anniversary Season

Main Street Theater (MST) is celebrating 50 years of engaging theater for curious and thoughtful audiences of all ages. Says Founder and current Executive Artistic Director Rebecca Greene Udden, “When a small group of us got together in June of 1975 to make some theater, we never could have known that 50 years later we would have grown to the size we are now, had the reach we have now, and are able to do the kinds of productions we do now. We are very grateful to Houston for embracing us from the beginning.”

2025-2026 marks the 50th Season for Main Street Theater and will include seven productions, four on MST’s MainStage for adults and 3 at its Theater for Youth for families and school groups plus a statewide tour for elementary school aged children. Particularly notable titles include the regional premiere and the third-ever US production of Tom Stoppard’s most recent play, Leopoldstadt; Ossie Davis’ 1961 play Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp through the Cotton Patch; and the rolling world premiere The Pigeon Gets A Big Time Holiday Extravaganza! Main Street Theater is currently part of a small group of theaters who have commissioned a new musical from the much-adored author Mo Willems. MST, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Dallas Children’s Theatre, The Coterie Theatre, First Stage, The Rose Theater, and Children’s Theater of Madison are working directly with Mr. Willems on this new work.

All MainStage performances (professional productions for adults) are performed at MST – Rice Village, 2540 Times Blvd., Houston, TX 77005. All Theater for Youth performances (professional productions for families and school groups) are held at the theater’s MATCH location, 3400 Main St., Houston, TX 77002.

Season Tickets are available for both stages at MainStreetTheater.com or 713-524-6706. Captioned performances are also available on the MainStage. Sensory Friendly/Relaxed performances along with ASL interpreted and audio-described shows are available at the Theater for Youth.

MainStage Season

Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp through the Cotton Patch

By Ossie Davis

Directed by Errol Anthony Wilks

Sept. 13 – Oct. 12, 2025

Dynamic traveling preacher Purlie Victorious Judson returns to his small Georgia town hoping to save Big Bethel, the community’s church, and emancipate the cotton pickers who work on oppressive Ol’ Cap’n Cotchipee’s plantation. With the help of Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins, Purlie plans to wrench from Ol’ Cotchipee the inheritance due his long-lost cousin and use the money to save his town! “We still need togetherness; we still need each otherness – with faith in the futureness of our cause. Let us, therefore, stifle the rifle of conflict, shatter the scatter of discord, smuggle the struggle, tickle the pickle, and grapple the apple of peace!” A truly hilarious and joyful comedy by the incomparable Ossie Davis.

Purlie Victorious premiered on Broadway at the Cort Theatre on September 28, 1961. Directed by Howard Da Silva, the production starred Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee. A Broadway revival of Purlie Victorious opened at the Music Box Theatre on September 27, 2023. Directed by Kenny Leon, the show starred Leslie Odom, Jr.

Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley

By Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon

Directed by Jessica Jaye

November 22 – December 21, 2025

Back by popular demand! The final installment of the Christmas at Pemberley series follows two close friends: Mr. Darcy’s younger sister, Georgiana, and the youngest Bennet sister, Kitty. It is Christmastime at Pemberley and the pair impatiently await the imminent arrival of Henry Grey, Georgiana’s shy, secret correspondent and love interest. When Henry enters a family holiday in full force and is met by the unwelcoming presence of Mr. Darcy, Georgiana fears her chance at love will be lost forever. But somehow, love always finds a way!

Main Street has previously produced all 3 plays in the trilogy, including Miss Bennet and The Wickhams, all of which became hits and holiday favorites for many families across Houston and beyond.

The Coast Starlight

Regional Premiere

By Keith Bunin

Directed by Robin Robinson

February 7 – March 1, 2026

Armed with a secret that could land him in terrible trouble, a young man boards the Coast Starlight, the long-distance train that runs from Los Angeles to Seattle. With the help of his fellow travelers, all of whom are reckoning with their own life circumstances, T.J. has roughly one thousand miles to figure out how he wants to live the rest of his life. The Coast Starlight is a smart, funny, and compassionate story about our capacity for invention and re-invention when life goes off the rails.

Leopoldstadt

Regional Premiere

By Tom Stoppard

Directed by Rebecca Greene Udden, MST Executive Artistic Director

March 28 – April 26, 2026

Vienna in 1900 was the most vibrant city in Europe, humming with artistic and intellectual excitement and a genius for enjoying life. A tenth of the population were Jews. A generation earlier they had been granted full civil rights by the Emperor, Franz Josef. Consequently, hundreds of thousands had fled from the East and many found sanctuary in the crowded tenements of the old Jewish quarter, Leopoldstadt.

Spanning fifty years and multiple generations, Leopoldstadt follows a family’s reckoning with a past – and a heritage - it cannot escape and a future it cannot control. An intense drama the first half of the 20th century, Stoppard’s customary wit and beauty shine through the enduring spirit of a family tested by the most dire situations. “This is a momentous new play. Tom Stoppard has reached back into his own family history to craft a work that is both epic and intimate; that is profoundly personal, but which concerns us all." - The Financial Times

Winner of the 2023 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Foreign Play, Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play, Drama League Award for Outstanding Production of a Play, Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Broadway Play.

Theater for Youth

The Pigeon Gets a Bigtime Holiday Extravaganza!

Rolling World Premiere

Based on Books and Characters by Mo Willems 

Script and Lyrics by Mo Willems and Adam Tobin 

Music by Deborah Wicks La Puma 

Dramaturgy by Megan Alrutz 

Produced by special arrangement with Hidden Pigeon, LLC. 

Directed by Robin Robinson

November 13 - December 21, 2025

When Mo Willems’ characters get together for the holidays, it’s bound to be the biggest extravaganza ever! The Unlimited Squirrels deck the halls and Elephant and Piggie come ready to celebrate! But will The Pigeon join in the festivities, or will he run all the way to the North Pole in the search of the greatest gift ever? Catchy tunes, silly stories, goofy gifts, audience antics: it’s all in this brand-new musical party that sleighs!

On the national scene, Main Street Theater is currently part of a small group of theaters who have commissioned a new musical from the much-adored author Mo Willems. MST, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Dallas Children’s Theatre, The Coterie Theatre, First Stage, The Rose Theater, and Children’s Theater of Madison are working directly with Mr. Willems on this new work. Willems has previously adapted his hugely popular and award-winning book Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus into a musical of the same name with Willems writing book and lyrics. He also created Elephant & Piggie’s “We Are in a Play!”, based on his beloved Elephant and Piggie series (book and lyrics by Willems).  His regular composer collaborator Deborah Wicks La Puma will be on this new project with Willems again writing book and lyrics. There will be a rolling world premiere of the musical in 2025, and Main Street Theater will be one of the theaters producing The Pigeon Gets A Big Time Holiday Extravaganza!

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs!

Book and Lyrics by Robert Kauzlaric

Music by Paul Gilvary and William Rush

Based on the book by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith

Directed by Chad Fontenot

ON TOUR: January 14 - May 22, 2026

AT THE MATCH: Spring Break: March 10 - 21, 2026

Summer: June 13 - July 12, 2026

When the Big, Bad Wolf takes the stand in Piggsylvania's Trial of the Century, he finally gets to tell HIS side of the story! But will Big 'n' Bad get a fair trial in a Piggy Court? Will the Pigs' splashy puppet show sway the jurors? Is the Wolf's razzle-dazzle song and dance about a sneeze-gone-wrong only just a weak excuse? Enter the jury box, and help decide the fate of Big 'n' Bad in this musical adaptation of the hit children's book!

The Best School Year Ever

By Jahnna Beecham & Malcolm Hillgartner

Based on the book The Best School Year Ever by Barbara Robinson

Directed by Vivienne M. St. John, MST Theater for Youth Artistic Director

April 9 - May 15, 2026

The Herdmans are back so buckle up for a wild ride involving a missing gerbil, a crazy cat, and more that will have audiences of all ages laughing!