Season Announcement at Eli and Edythe Broad Stage

Musical Theatre Guild’s 2025-2026 season celebrates the musical legacies of Leonard Bernstein and Charles Strouse

Musical Theatre Guild’s first performance event took place in 1996. Now, as the company ramps up to its 30th Anniversary Year celebration, the Guild announces a season of productions that salute the contributions of two musical giants. Leonard Bernstein’s genius as a composer is the focus of a new concert, AN EVENING WITH THE MAESTRO: MTG SINGS BERNSTEIN, created specifically by Musical Theatre Guild. A fundraiser for Musical Theatre Guild’s Outreach programming, the concert will perform on Sunday, September 21st, 2025. Then, in the spring of 2026, the Guild will acknowledge the recent passing of composer Charles Strouse by presenting APPLAUSE, the Tony-winning 1970s musical that celebrates Theatre itself. Fasten your seatbelts for APPLAUSE, which will perform on Sunday, February 15, 2026, and will launch Musical Theatre Guild’s 30th Anniversary year of celebration. Both productions will take place at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center, Eli and Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica, CA. Information regarding tickets for both shows are available online at musicaltheatreguild.com.

Leonard Bernstein’s wide and varied contributions to music, theatre, and culture are at the heart of AN EVENING WITH THE MAESTRO: MTG SINGS BERNSTEIN. This concert will celebrate Bernstein’s musical theatre contributions, as well as songs and arias from his many jazz and classical compositions. Created by Director Jason Graae, Musical Director Darryl Archibald, Writer Michael Kostroff, and Production Coordinators Melissa Lyons Caldretti, and Paul Wong, AN EVENING WITH THE MAESTRO showcases unforgettable moments from Bernstein’s most popular theatre works, including ON THE TOWN, WONDERFUL TOWN, CANDIDE, and WEST SIDE STORY. Of course, as befitting Musical Theatre Guild’s emphasis on lesser-known material, the concert will also feature performances of Bernstein’s many other creations, from rarely produced musicals to jazz and classical vocal pieces. Additionally, given Bernstein’s lifelong commitment to youth education through his Young People’s Concerts, AN EVENING WITH THE MAESTRO is a fundraising event to support Musical Theatre Guild’s own Youth Education Outreach programs. Featuring a large cast of the Guild’s talented performers, the World Premiere of AN EVENING WITH THE MAESTRO: MTG SINGS BERNSTEIN promises to be an unforgettable musical event.

Charles Strouse provided American Musical Theatre with a lengthy and eclectic library of work that has entertained generations of theatregoers. BYE BYE BIRDIE and ANNIE are among the most popular of his shows, which continue to be performed around the world. Musical Theatre Guild celebrates Strouse by presenting his rarely-performed 1970 Tony® Award-winning musical, APPLAUSE. With sass, wit, and a pulsing 1970s score, APPLAUSE presents showbiz in all its glory and ferocity. This updated musical version of the Academy Award®-winning movie, “All About Eve” explores the complicated relationship between superstar Margo Channing and her assistant, Eve Harrington. In a story that seems timelier than ever, Eve’s attachment to Margo begins as a fan, evolving into a ruthless drive to take over Margo’s career and personal life. APPLAUSE features a score by Strouse and frequent collaborator, lyricist Lee Adams, with a book by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. Nominated for ten Tony® Awards (including for the Strouse/Adams score), and winning four, including Best Musical, APPLAUSE’s hit songs include "But Alive," "Applause," "Welcome to the Theater," and "Something Greater." 

Musical Theatre Guild exists, in part, to celebrate the great creators of musical theatre,” says Paul Wong, a Guild member who serves on the organization’s governing Executive Committee. “Our concert fundraisers are a great way to honor these theatre giants, and have become popular to audiences because of our unique take on the material. The combination of the famous and the forgotten is a great match for Musical Theatre Guild’s talented performers.” Adds Wong, “When Charles Strouse passed away, we decided that the best way to honor him was to present one of his musicals that isn’t frequently done. APPLAUSE is such an obvious Guild choice that we were surprised we hadn’t already done it!”

Indeed, approaching thirty years, and with well over one hundred productions, Musical Theatre Guild is ready to celebrate the 30th Anniversary in 2026. Both the fundraiser concert, AN EVENING WITH THE MAESTRO: MTG SINGS BERNSTEIN, and APPLAUSE will be presented at the beautiful Eli and Edythe Broad Stage, part of the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center, in Santa Monica. The venue is a modern, state-of-the-art theater that features plentiful free parking right outside the theater.

Concurrent with the two mainstage performances, Musical Theatre Guild will soon announce other performance and fundraising events for the 2025-2026 season, to complement the announced shows, and to celebrate the company’s 30th Anniversary. In addition, the Guild’s Youth Outreach Programs will continue, expanding into the Westside community, bringing local high school students to live theatre performances, as well as offering mentorships to theatre students who shadow theatre professionals behind the scenes of the productions. Musical Theatre Guild is committed to inspiring and developing the next generation of theatre artists and audiences.

The 2025-2026 Season remembers and celebrates two of Musical Theatre’s finest composers. Celebrate Leonard Bernstein and support Youth Education Outreach with AN EVENING WITH THE MAESTRO: MTG SINGS BERNSTEIN, and then let the music of Charles Strouse be your guide to the backstage drama and humor of APPLAUSE! Musical Theatre Guild’s 30th Anniversary is just around the corner – be part of the celebration! The fundraiser AN EVENING WITH THE MAESTRO: MTG SINGS BERNSTEIN performs on Sunday, September 21st, 2025. APPLAUSE will perform on Sunday, February 15, 2026. Both performances start at 7:00 PM, and take place at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center, Eli and Edythe Broad Stage, located at 1310 11th Street, Santa Monica, CA. Ticket prices range from $39-$69. Ticket information is available online at www.musicaltheatreguild.com. Both productions will feature ASL access for Deaf and Hard of-hearing patrons. Student Rush and Actors’ Equity member discounts will be available at the box office on show day, with appropriate ID.

Your ticket purchase and donation helps Musical Theatre Guild continue to produce the rarely seen Broadway works you love to see year after year. Musical Theatre Guild is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership company of theatre professionals, devoted to preserving the unique American art form of musical theatre by presenting seldom-seen musicals in a staged reading concert format.

The Guild has earned its unique reputation by focusing their concert productions on the shows themselves – presenting the music and stories as simply as possible, script-in-hand, performed by some of the finest musical theatre performers in the area. They come together for a 25-hour rehearsal period with the express purpose of bringing to life Broadway’s forgotten gems, lesser-known shows, and rarely performed musicals. In addition, MTG’s Youth Outreach Program takes specially prepared live performances into Southern California schools, brings hundreds of local high school students to live theatre performances, and offers mentorships to theatre students who shadow our professionals behind the scenes of mainstage productions. All Musical Theatre Guild mainstage productions are ASL signed for deaf and hard-of-hearing patrons.