The 2026 circle theatre season
By Ashlyn Armock, Arts Editor
Circle theatre has announced their new, upcoming season which includes a multitude of plays, musicals and concerts.
It’s been tradition at Circle for the new season to be announced at the closing show of the last season. On Sept. 20, after the closing show of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” the 2026 season was released and read aloud to the audience of the show.
The flyers inside of circle theatre, displaying the 2026 season – Photo by Henry Vredevelt
Circle typically offers one musical or play for younger audiences. This season the musical selected is “Elephant & Piggy We are in a Play!” which follows the characters Gerald and Piggy from Mo Willems’ award winning children’s books as they go to a party hosted by three singing squirrels.
The three musicals selected for a more wide-ranged audience include “Forever Plaid,” “Newsies” and “Sister Act.”
“Forever Plaid” follows a male quartet group that are killed in an accident and come back to perform one final gig. This jukebox musical features many classic 1950s and 1960s pop hits with barbershop quartet harmonies.
“Newsies,” inspired by true events, showcases the character of Jack Kelly as he and his fellow newsies strike against publisher Joseph Pulitzer as he sets new rules that make it more difficult for the newsboys to make any money. Journalist Katherine Plumber also aids the boys in their protest as she fights for her place as a young female journalist.
“Sister act” is a musical comedy about the character of Deloris Wilson, a club lounge singer, who is put in witness protection after accidentally watching her boyfriend, Vince LaRocca, execute an informant. Now with LaRocca coming after her, the police hid her in a struggling convent where she is disguised as “Sister Mary Clarence.”
An announcement post from Circle’s instagram – Photo by circletheatregr instagram
The season also includes two plays, “Lend me a Tenor” and “Nana’s Naughty Knickers,” which are both comedies.
“Lend me a Tenor” follows Henry Saunders, the general manager of the Cleveland Grand Opera Company, and his assistant Max Garber as they prepare for the world-famous tenor, Tito Merelli, to come and perform at their opera. After accidentally being given two doses of tranquilizers, Merelli passes out and is perceived as dead, resulting in Saunders needing a new tenor for the opera. Saunders then persuades Garber to take Merelli’s place, but right before the opera begins Merelli awakes and gets into an identical costume as Garber. Now the two are running around being confused for the other, creating a comedy of mistaken identities.
“Nana Naughty Knickers” displays a comedic situation between Bridget Charles and her grandmother, Sylvia Charles, who is illegally selling lingerie to every senior citizen in the area. Bridget discovers this as she moves into grandmother’s apartment, thinking the two would have a unique experience being roommates in New York, only to find her nana is selling naughty knickers out of her apartment.
Announcement post for the first summer concert of the season – Photo by circletheatregr instagram
Every year, Circle also includes a summer concert series, with a wide range of music being performed. For this upcoming season, the titles of each concert are as follows: “Cinema sounds of the ‘70s,” “Deva Vu: The music of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young,” “Turn it on again: The music of Genesis,” “Play that funky music” and “A family affair.”
Tickets will be on sale for the public starting Jan. 5, 2026 and can be found in the link below:
The Saint 