PUFFS, LA GRINGA & More Lead Tampa's Hot Summer 2025 Theater Picks
What's hot this summer!
Summer Theatre in Tampa Bay: July & August Highlights You Shouldn’t Miss
Tampa Bay’s summer stage lineup is buzzing with energy, and this year’s July and August offerings are especially rich with new work, inventive comedy, classic revivals, and thought-provoking drama. From community-driven productions to sharp, professionally mounted premieres, here’s a curated preview of what’s taking over local theatres this summer.
Puffs
Jobsite Theater – July 9 – August 3, 2025
Jobsite opens the summer with Puffs, a fast-moving, fourth-wall-breaking comedy that follows the underdog “Puffs” at a certain magical school. This one leans on clever writing and heart to imagine how side characters might cope in a world of epic battles and chosen ones. Fans of Harry Potter (and parodies in general) will find plenty to love. jobsitetheater.org/puffs
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The Merry Wives of Windsor
TheatreFor – July 10 – 27, 2025
Clearwater’s TheatreFor offers a surprisingly fresh take on Shakespeare with The Merry Wives of Windsor, where gossip, mischief, and revenge unfold in a bright, modernized adaptation that highlights the sharp wit of its leading ladies. theatrefor.org
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Witch Hunt
Powerstories Theatre – July 11-20, 2025
Powerstories Theatre’s Witch Hunt sets a darkly funny tone for July for its 25th anniversary season. In this acerbic sequel to the Salem witch trials by Liz Duffy Adams, Abigail Williams returns a decade later to confront her past—and her once-friend Mercy Lewis—just as the Devil himself starts making house calls. Like The Crucible meets Mean Girls, this timely meditation on mass fear and accountability is bold, biting, and unexpectedly hilarious. powerstories.com/witch-hunt
Return to Forbidden Planet
Carrollwood Cultural Center – July 18 -27, 2025
Carrollwood Cultural Center blasts off this July with Return to the Forbidden Planet, a campy, high-energy jukebox musical that fuses Shakespeare’s The Tempest with ‘50s and ‘60s rock hits like “Great Balls of Fire” and “Good Vibrations.” The production features a cast that doubles as musicians, delivering sci-fi spectacle, roller-skating robots, and interstellar antics aboard the starship Albatross. There will be a special ASL-interpreted show on July 18 and a free one-night teen performance on July 31.
https://carrollwoodcenter.org/series/return-to-the-forbidden-planet
La Gringa
American Stage – July 19 – August 13, 2025
American Stage brings La Gringa to its summer calendar with a bilingual play that follows a New York-born Puerto Rican woman’s search for identity during her first trip to the island. It’s an intimate, character-driven story with poignant questions about cultural belonging, home, and heritage. americanstage.org/shows/la-gringa
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Broadway Miscast / You Can’t Take It With You
Carrollwood Players – July 25-August 3, 2025, August 8-23, 2025
Carrollwood Players offers Broadway Miscast), turning tradition on its head as performers sing roles they’d never be cast in—women take on Phantom, seniors belt teen ballads, and the results are both comedic and touching. Immediately after, the classic Kaufman & Hart comedy You Can’t Take It With You brings the Sycamore family’s joyful chaos to the stage—a warm reminder that happiness doesn’t follow convention. carrollwoodplayers.org
TYA Play Fest
ThinkTank Theatre – August 21-24, 2025
For younger audiences and families, the ThinkTank Theatre's 5th Annual TYA Play Fest is not to be missed. These staged readings of original plays for teen and youth audiences showcase promising new voices. Selected plays are workshopped with a professional director and cast, allowing young playwrights to collaborate and refine their scripts in a supportive, creative environment. Each piece is presented as a semi-staged, script-in-hand reading, offering further development opportunities through engagement with a live audience. thinktanktya.org/playfest2025
Tampa Bay Theatre Festival
Rory Lawrence Productions – August 29-31, 2025
Finally, if you’re looking for a place where new work and local voices meet, founded in 2014, the Tampa Bay Theatre Festival closes out the summer with full-length plays, a mix of ten-minute short plays, staged readings, and creative workshops. This annual gathering remains one of the best places to discover emerging talent in the region. tampabaytheatrefestival.com
Whether you’re craving laughter, music, history, or discovery, Tampa Bay’s summer theatre scene offers it all—on stages big and small, traditional and experimental. These July and August productions showcase the pinnacle of summer theatre, brimming with passion, exceptional talent, and delightful surprises.
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Schoolhouse Rock Live! Carrollwood Cultural Center (7/17-7/26) |
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Wicked Straz Center [Carol Morsani Hall] (2/03-2/28) |
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Young Performers to Roar onto the Stage at Richey Suncoast Theatre's "The Lion King" Summer Camp Richey Suncoast Theatre (7/06-7/10) |
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The Gods of Comedy Carrollwood Players Theatre (8/14-8/30) |
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Rush at Hard Rock Live Hard Rock Live (11/05-11/06) |
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War Virgin TheatreFor (6/19-7/12) |
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Penelope Jobsite Theater (8/19-9/06) |
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The Music of Duke Ellington and Count Basie Carrollwood Cultural Center (8/08-8/08) |
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A Night With Janis Joplin American Stage Theatre Company (9/16-10/11) |
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Blue Train - The Music of John Coltrane Carrollwood Cultural Center (9/19-9/19) |