Annex Theatre Will Present NEXT EXIT Beginning This Month

Annex Theatre launches its Season 39 with Next Exit, a new comedic play by Seattle playwright j.chavez, directed by Max Koh, running February 6–21, 2026. Tickets, including live stream options, are now available.

Set on the shoulder of Interstate 5 during a record-breaking heatwave, Next Exit traps Miguel beside his broken-down car and pairs him with an unlikely companion: Orlando, a dead possum. As traffic screams past and the sun refuses mercy, they pass the time with games of Slide, discussions on the experiences of life, and engaging with a wacky cast of not-so-helpful characters, all the while something ancient and watchful stirs just beyond the tree line. Are the deer guides or omens? Who is the Lady in Yellow? And how far can anyone really make it once they've missed the exit?

Inspired by a truly miserable day and the eccentric real travelers who appeared throughout it, Next Exit is born from that experience mixed with their love for puppetry, of the likes of old school public access kids puppet television shows, and blends that roadside absurdity with haunting folklore and an impressive skill with modern adult comedy. Next Exit is an uproarious meditation on survival, our connections with each other and the stories we tell ourselves when help never comes.

Next Exit is for anyone who's ever been left behind, overheated, overwhelmed, and still somehow searching for meaning in the wreckage.

The cast includes Kevin Masayuki Tanner as Miguel, the Broken Down Car Guy; Kendra Tamär Budd as Orlando the Dead Possum; Karissa Chin as Scarlet the Stag; Kenzie Wells as Aurora the Baker and The Lady in Yellow; William Eames as Cody, the Truck Mechanic; and Steph Couturier as Rita and G. Jan the Tow Truck Man.

The artistic team features j.chavez as playwright and set designer, Max Koh as director and sound designer, Sophie Tuell as stage manager, Richard Klem as lighting designer, Benny Hough as Costume Designer, Lena Pulve as props designer, and Kenzie Wells as fight choreographer.

Tickets