Short North Stage, the equity theater company based in Columbus’s Short North Arts District, has announced its 2026-27 season, the organization’s 15th since its founding. The eight-show lineup spans classic musicals and contemporary works and represents the company’s largest season yet. Season subscriptions are available, with new subscriber packages opening March 17, 2026.

The season opens with Pippin, directed and choreographed by Edward Carignan, which the company describes as a revival of its acclaimed 2019 production emphasizing stage magic and movement-driven storytelling. Carignan also directs Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, to be staged with a full orchestra. The Rocky Horror Show returns for its ninth year as a limited-engagement Halloween tradition, and Hairspray, directed by Dionysia Williams Velazco, will serve as the holiday offering.

The season also includes the Tony Award-winning Dear Evan Hansen, directed by Brandon Kelly; Mel Brooks’s The Producers, directed by Carignan with choreography by Carignan and Williams Velazco; and Mean Girls, directed and choreographed by Williams Velazco. Short North Stage operates under a Special Production Agreement with Actors’ Equity Association at the SPT Tier 6 level and performs at 1187 N. High St. in Columbus.

Source: Short North Stage