(PHILADELPHIA, PA) -- Philadelphia-based Arden Theatre Company has announced its 2025-2026 season, featuring a dynamic lineup of performances. Highlights include the production of Tony, Grammy, and Olivier Award- winning musical Dear Evan Hansen, as well as the Philadelphia premiere of Good Bones by Pulitzer Prize- winning playwright James Ijames—continuing the Arden's commitment to bold, impactful storytelling.
“We are thrilled to announce our 2025-2026 season and welcome a brilliant group of Philadelphia artists to direct these productions – Kevin Glaccum, Brett Ashley Robinson, Akeem Davis, and Amina Robinson,” says Arden Theatre Company’s Producing Artistic Director Terrence J. Nolen. “We are honored to be producing the Philadelphia premiere of Good Bones by James Ijames, an artist whose work as an actor, director, and playwright has enlivened and enriched the Arden’s stages for many years and who is now inspiring audiences in theatres across the world,” says Nolen. “Next season represents the range of work we seek to share with our audiences: a wildly original musical, an intimate drama featuring two powerhouse performers, a new play by a Pulitzer Prize-winning Philadelphia playwright, a return to William Shakespeare with one of this region’s most exciting directors, and a musical that I have been dying to direct, co-created with video genius Jorge Cousineau. How wonderful to be collaborating with these extraordinary storytellers who have shaped and continue to help lead the way for what Philly theatre can be!”
The Arden kicks off its new season on September 25 with Falsettos, the bold, Tony Award-winning musical by William Finn and James Lapine. Directed by Philadelphia-based theatre artist Kevin Glaccum, Falsettos is a contemporary musical set at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, exploring love and its consequences. When Marvin leaves his wife and son to be with his lover, their world is upended, but amidst the chaos, new bonds redefine what family can be. Falsettos is a tribute to the messy and beautiful connections that hold us together—through baseball games, bar mitzvahs, and the unexpected twists of life.
On October 30, Barrymore Award-winning Philadelphia-based theater maker, divisor, and educator Brett Ashley Robinson will direct The Mountaintop. Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and television creator Katori Hall, The Mountaintop—recipient of the 2010 Olivier Award for Best New Play—is an intimate reimagining of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s final night: a powerful and poetic meditation on legacy, mortality, and the man behind the movement that changed a nation. After delivering his iconic “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. retires to his room at the Lorraine Motel. As a storm rages outside, an unexpected visit from a mysterious motel maid sparks a night of conversation. As the evening unfolds, King is gradually revealed in all his complexity: a man grappling with doubt, destiny, and the weight of what’s to come.
The Mountaintop will star Akeem Davis as Dr. King, returning to the Arden after his most recent performance in August Wilson’s King Hedley II, alongside Kishia Nixon as Camae, whose past Arden credits include Holy Grail of Memphis and Clyde’s.
In 2026, the Arden rings in the New Year with the Philadelphia premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright James Ijames’ Good Bones on January 22. Directed by Philadelphia-based, award-winning actor Akeem Davis, Good Bones is a story about community, change, and the soul of our cities. A new sports stadium is being built in the middle of a community. City planner Aisha, returns to her childhood neighborhood to help the developers revitalize the place where she grew up. She meets a contractor, who also grew up in the area, who isn’t convinced the neighborhood needs the help. As they clash over the future of the community, they must grapple with who gets to stay and who must go.
On March 5, Philadelphia native Amina Robinson, winner of two Barrymore Awards, including Outstanding Direction of a Musical for the Arden’s 2024 production of Once on This Island, will bring new life to William Shakespeare’s iconic tale, Romeo and Juliet. The bold reimagining draws on the traditions of early oral storytelling and old-school theater magic to breathe new life into Shakespeare’s most iconic tragedy. A story of violence and beauty, Romeo and Juliet reminds audiences of the risks they take for love and the cost of a world unwilling to change.
The 2025-26 season comes to an end on May 21 with Dear Evan Hansen, the Tony, Grammy, and Olivier Award-winning musical by Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul. Directed by Terrence J. Nolen, Dear Evan Hansen is a deeply personal and profoundly contemporary musical for anyone who’s ever felt alone in a crowded room. A letter meant to stay private, a truth that was never supposed to come to light, a life he never imagined possible. Evan Hansen is on the verge of getting the one thing he's always desired: a chance to truly belong.
2025-2026 Season
* Falsettos runs September 25 to October 26, 2025Subscribers to Arden’s 2025/26 season receive 40% off regular ticket prices and receive exclusive benefits, including priority seating, ticket exchange privileges, and parking and dining discounts. A five-show subscription starts at $195 for five tickets to each of the 2025-2026 shows. A four-show subscription starts at $164, and a three-show subscription starts at $129. Subscriptions are available for purchase online or by calling the Arden’s box office at 215-922-1122.
Arden Theatre Company, founded in 1988, is a professional theatre company in Old City, dedicated to bringing to life great stories by great storytellers on the stage, in the classroom, and in the community. To date, the Arden has produced 46 World Premieres. The Arden has developed four distinct educational programs: Arden for All, their in-school arts education program for elementary level students; Arden Drama School, our on-site, tuition-based theatre classes for pre-K through 12th-grade students; Teen Arden, their theatre enrichment program for high school students; and the Arden Professional Apprentice program, a rigorous training program for young theatre professionals.
