SEAGULLS to Make New England Premiere at Wilbury Theatre Group

Wilbury Theatre Group continues its 2026/27 Main Series Season with the New England Premiere of SEAGULLS, an indie-rock musical written by Beth Hyland and directed by Rebecca Willingham with music direction by Carrie Tully, inspired by Anton Chekhov's The Seagull. Seagulls features Charlotte Gray, Michael Eckenreiter, Jessie March* and Carlos Fruzetti with set design by Monica Shinn, sound + light design by Andy Russ, costume design by Arianna Davey, intimacy direction by Susie Schutt, technical direction by Jason Sall, stage management by Liam Horne*, and assistant stage management by Allison Marchetti.

New England premiere performances of SEAGULLS run at the Wilbury Theatre Group November 19 - December 13, 2026. Single tickets and more information about the show are available at thewilburygroup.org/seagulls.

Beth Hyland takes Chekhov's most heartbreaking play and strips it to its bones, reimagined as four college musicians, two love triangles, one industry predator, and a lot of songs played live by the actors performing them. Crackling with 'undeniable energy' (Chicago OnStage), SEAGULLS is a new musical about ambition, desire, and the particular damage done to young women who want things in a world not built to protect them.

'Wilbury has always been at its best when re-energizing a classic for the stage, and that's what Beth Hyland has done so brilliantly here with The Seagull,' says Wilbury Artistic Director Josh Short. 'Almost ten years ago we presented another take on this Chekhov masterpiece, Aaron Posner's Stupid f-ing Bird, and we couldn't be more excited to revisit the play from Beth's point of view. SEAGULLS is funny, raw, and at times, heartbreaking. It comes from one of the country's most promising young playwrights, and it asks what happens to young people, especially young women, who dare to want something big in a world that isn't built to protect them. We're thrilled to share this conversation with our audiences, and to have the incredibly talented Rebecca Willingham, who directed its Chicago premiere, at the helm.'

SEAGULLS was previously produced by The Sound at Steppenwolf LookOut, Octagon Bolton, and Oak Park Festival Theatre in Chicago. The Wilbury Theatre Group production is made possible with support from the Susan F. Gonsalves Charitable Fund.

About Beth Hyland

Beth Hyland is a playwright and screenwriter. Her play Baby Shower Katie will receive its co-world premiere off-Broadway at Primary Stages and at Round House Theatre in spring 2027.

She is a 2026-2027 Terrence McNally Fellow at Rattlestick Theatre, the 2025 winner of the Alliance/Kendeda Graduate Playwriting Prize, the 2024 recipient of the Weissberger Prize/Jay Harris Commission, and a two-time winner of the Kennedy Center KCACTF Mark Twain Prize for Comic Playwriting. She currently holds commissions with Manhattan Theatre Club/Sloan, Geffen Playhouse, La Jolla Playhouse, Steppenwolf Theatre, and Williamstown Theatre Festival.

Her plays and musicals, which include SYLVIA SYLVIA SYLVIA, Fires, Ohio, Cancelina, grippy sock vacation, Seagulls, and Clearing, have been produced and developed at theatres including Geffen Playhouse, Alliance Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Portland Center Stage, Steppenwolf LookOut, Know Theatre, and Octagon Theatre Bolton.

She recently received her MFA in Playwriting from UC San Diego under the mentorship of Naomi Iizuka and Deborah Stein. She is represented by Jamie Kaye-Phillips at Paradigm and Benjamin Blake and Anthony Ippolito at Heroes and Villains Entertainment.

More information about the Wilbury Theatre Group's 2026/27 Main Series season is available at thewilburygroup.org/2026-27.

About The Wilbury Theatre Group