American Conservatory Theater Reveals 2026/27 Season - OH, MARY!, NORTH BY NORTHWEST and More

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) Artistic Director Pam MacKinnon and Interim Executive Director David Schmitz revealed the six productions that will make up the company’s 2026/27 season—Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest (September 22–October 18, 2026), adapted and directed by Emma Rice; the Tony Award-winning dark comedy Oh, Mary! (October 13–November 1, 2026), presented in association with ATG San Francisco; the West Coast premiere of Kimberly Belflower’s highly acclaimed new play John Proctor Is the Villain (November 12–December 6, 2026); the world premiere of The Bad News Bears: A Musical (February 26–April 4, 2027); the West Coast premiere of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ The Comeuppance (April 20–May 16, 2027); and the West Coast premiere of Atra Asdou’s madcap comedy Iraq, But Funny (May 13–June 13, 2027).

A.C.T. also announced that it has commissioned a new play by acclaimed San Francisco playwright Christopher Chen, continuing his exploration of the city through a noir-inflected lens in the spirit of his celebrated play The Headlands. The work is currently in development and is slated for a future production during A.C.T.’s 2027/28 season.

Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest

The 2026/27 season kicks off with Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest. Theater legend Emma Rice (A.C.T.’s Brief Encounter, Berkeley Rep’s The Wild Bride) returns to the Bay Area with her inventive take on the Alfred Hitchcock 1959 classic North by Northwest in a production hailed as “an undoubted triumph” (WhatsOnStage). This thrilling tale of mistaken identity sees us fleeing from a cornfield in the middle of nowhere to the sheer face of Mount Rushmore as Rice transforms this iconic film into a riotously funny high-speed theatrical ride. Performances will take place September 22–October 18, 2026 at A.C.T.’s Toni Rembe Theater. Press night will be held on Wednesday, September 23, 2026.

Oh, Mary!

As part of the 2026/27 season, A.C.T. full-season subscribers will have exclusive access to tickets for the Tony Award®-winning comedy Oh, Mary! through a special partnership with ATG San Francisco. Oh, Mary! is a dark comedy about a miserable, suffocated Mary Todd Lincoln in the weeks leading up to Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. Unrequited yearning, alcoholism, and suppressed desires abound in this 80-minute one-act play that finally examines the forgotten life and dreams of Mrs. Lincoln, through the lens of an idiot (playwright Cole Escola). Declared “one of the best comedies in years” by The New York Times, the play received two Tony Awards including Best Direction of a Play (Sam Pinkleton, The Wizard of Oz at A.C.T.), Drama League Awards for Outstanding Play and Outstanding Direction of a Play, as well as a special citation from the New York Drama Critics’ Circle, and was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Performances will take place October 13–November 1, 2026 at ATG San Francisco’s Curran Theatre. Press night will be held on Thursday, October 15, 2026.

John Proctor Is the Villain

Next, A.C.T. will present the West Coast premiere of Kimberly Belflower’s Tony Award-nominated and widely acclaimed new play John Proctor Is the Villain. In a one-stoplight town in Georgia, in a high school AP English class, five young women begin questioning the stories and the heroes they’ve been taught to believe in, against a soundtrack of pop music and fury. As their class dissects a canonical work of literature, the parallels between the play and their own lives become uncomfortably real, prompting a re-examination of who we deem heroic, who we call a villain, and who gets burned in the process. In a bold artistic collaboration, American Conservatory Theater, Seattle Repertory Theatre, and Center Theatre Group join forces with director Jess McLeod to bring this explosive coming-of-age story to the West Coast. Performances will take place November 12–December 6, 2026 at A.C.T.’s Toni Rembe Theater. Press night will be held on Wednesday, November 18, 2026.

The Bad News Bears: A Musical

Kicking off the new year, A.C.T. will present the world premiere of The Bad News Bears: A Musical. This team still sucks—but now they sing! Based on the beloved 1976 Paramount Pictures film written by Bill Lancaster, this new musical—featuring book & lyrics by Eric Garcia, music by Brian Feinstein, choreographed by Steph Paul, and directed by Sherri Eden Barber—follows a washed-up baseball player who takes a job coaching a ragtag team of Little League misfits, including his ex-stepdaughter. Through practice, persistence, and some good luck, they just may find victory in surprising places. Performances will take place February 26–April 4, 2027 at A.C.T.’s Toni Rembe Theater. Press night will be held on Wednesday, March 10, 2027.

The Comeuppance

In Spring 2027, A.C.T. will present the West Coast premiere of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ The Comeuppance, in co-production with Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company. When a group of millennial classmates meet to pregame for their twentieth high school reunion, everyone is nervous for the night ahead. As alcohol and weed help the self-declared “Multi-Ethnic Reject Group” let their guards down, they begin to reminisce and reveal how their lives have unfolded since graduation. Directed by Tina Landau, this new tragicomedy explores the reunion that awaits us all. Performances will take place April 20–May 16, 2027 at A.C.T.’s Toni Rembe Theater. Press night will be held on Friday, April 23, 2027.

Iraq, But Funny