GREAT EXPECTATIONS, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM and More Set for The Acting Company 2025–2026 Season

The Acting Company has revealed its 2025–2026 season of programming, featuring a world premiere adaptation of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations by Nikki Massoud and William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by Risa Brainin. The productions will tour in repertory to 12 states across the U.S., alongside the Company’s annual Louanna O. Carlin & John McDonald Reading Series in New York City.

In a statement, Artistic Director Kent Gash shared, “Now more than ever, The Acting Company wants to lift hearts, spirits, and minds—delighting and engaging audiences all over the country. We can think of no better way to achieve this goal than with these two plays that revel in the absurd improbabilities of finding and sustaining love in a world both magical and cruel. Both Great Expectations and A Midsummer Night’s Dream are The Acting Company at its best!”

2025–2026 National Tour Productions

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

Written by Nikki Massoud | Directed by Devin Brain
Based on the novel by Charles Dickens, this new adaptation offers a fresh, comedic, and heartfelt take on Pip’s coming-of-age journey. Featuring high-society twists, mysterious benefactors, and Dickensian charm, the production brings Massoud’s sharp wit and emotional clarity to the classic tale.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

Written by William Shakespeare | Directed by Risa Brainin
This joyful production reimagines Shakespeare’s beloved comedy as a raucous coming-of-age tale bursting with music, magic, and mayhem. When young lovers flee into an enchanted forest, they encounter mischievous fairies, bumbling actors, and romantic confusion in a celebration of theatrical delight.

Design Team

The productions will feature scenic design by Tanya Orellana, lighting design by Alan C. Edwards, and sound design by Sharath Patel. Costume design is by Valérie Thérèse Bart (Great Expectations) and Devon Painter (A Midsummer Night’s Dream). Original music is by Lindsay Jones, and Dream features choreography by Christina McCarthy. Casting, by Claire Yenson, CSA, will be announced soon.

2025–2026 National Tour Schedule

Dec 2–21: Rubicon Theatre Company – Ventura, CA
Jan 13: State Theatre New Jersey – New Brunswick, NJ
Jan 15–16: Virginia Arts Festival – Norfolk, VA
Jan 20: Radford University – Radford, VA
Jan 23–24: Wortham Center for the Arts – Asheville, NC
Jan 27–28: Hoover Public Library – Hoover, AL
Jan 30–31: University of Georgia – Athens, GA
Feb 3: Weidner Center – Green Bay, WI
Feb 5–7: Great Lakes Center for the Arts – Bay Harbor, MI
Feb 11–12: Purdue University – West Lafayette, IN
Feb 14–17: Johnson County Community College – Overland Park, KS
Feb 19: Wayne State College – Wayne, NE
Feb 25–Mar 1: Queens Theatre – Flushing Meadows Corona Park, NY

Tickets and subscriptions for the national tour are now available through each venue's box office.

LOUANNA O. CARLIN & John McDonald READING SERIES

Presented in tandem with the tour, The Acting Company’s annual NYC reading series showcases alumni and notable guest artists through rarely seen classics, new adaptations, and exploratory revivals. The 2025–2026 lineup includes:

• Stokely: The Unfinished Revolution by Nambi E. Kelley, directed by Kent Gash (October 2025)

• Faustus by Christopher Marlowe, adapted and directed by Devin Brain (November 2025)

• Timon of Athens by Shakespeare, translated by Kenneth Cavander (January 2026)

• A Bold Stroke for a Husband by Hannah Cowley, directed by Emily Lyon (February 2026)

• R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) by Karel Čapek, directed by Ann C. James (March 2026)