From Shakespeare, to a play called "the greatest American play ever written," to an off-beat musical about an alien plant, to a bluegrass- and folktale-filled musical by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, the Grand Canyon University College of Arts and Media's 2025-26 theatrical season hopes to inspire a range of emotions.
“We want to have all kinds of different experiences for our students,” Assistant Dean of Theatre and Dance William Symington said of the four productions that will be performed in Ethington Theatre. “We are going to be taking classics and making them more appealing to today.
“Some of the challenges to doing classics is that when we make it seem too old-fashioned, for students it could feel like they are in a lecture class or there is going to be a test at the end. We just want it to be fun and approachable.”
'Our Town'
(Sept. 12-14, 19-21)
The 1938 Thornton Wilder drama follows two New Hampshire families, the Gibbses and Webbses, and their everyday, mundane lives in the small, fictional town of Grover's Corners in the early 20th century.
The story is primarily told through Emily Webb and George Gibb as they navigate childhood, love, family and loss and is presented in three acts: "Daily Life," "Love and Marriage" and "Death and Eternity."
Unique for its time, Wilder’s work won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and is noted for its fresh take on scenic design. The play is traditionally performed without scenery, with actors working with nothing but costumes, small props, auditory noises and the audience’s imagination. That scenic minimalism is a reflection of the blandness of the lives of the people in Grover's Corners.
American playwright Edward Albee called the Thornton Wilder play "the greatest American play ever written."
Under professor Claude Pensis’ direction, the theatre program will take inspiration from that traditional minimalist approach.
“This is a classic and a classic for a reason,” Symington said. “It is unique because it is simply about the acting, the story and not so much about the stuff. It’s sad and sweet, and one of my favorite plays of all time. I was in it back in college and it is one of my all-time favorites.”
'Little Shop of Horrors'
(Nov. 7-8, 12-15)
In post-Halloween fashion, off-kilter “Little Shop of Horrors” will germinate on the Ethington Theatre stage later in the fall.
A darkly comedic rock musical, Howard Ashman’s 1980 production, featuring the music of Alan Menken, features a baritone-singing plant from outer space that lands on Earth and fascinates everyone with its beauty.
Meek flower shop assistant Seymour discovers the plant during an eclipse and names it Audrey II, after the girl he pines for, though she has a dentist boyfriend, Orin, who isn't very nice to her.
Seymour quickly discovers that the demanding plant, which has brought a lot of new business to the struggling flower shop, has a voracious appetite, and the only way it can survive is by feeding on human blood as it tries to fulfill its goal of taking over the world.
For the first time since arriving at GCU two years ago, technical director Klay Wandelear will take on the director role, while the music will be helmed by by musical director Mark Fearey.
“We chose this play because puppetry is a major part of theatre,” Symington said – Audrey II is typically a large puppet. “It is a whole other genre of storytelling, and our students haven’t had much experience doing that.”
Popular tunes from the doowop- and Motown-inspired musical include "Suddenly, Seymour," "Skidrow (Downtown)" and "Feed Me (Git It)."
'Romeo and Juliet'
(Feb. 6-8, 11-15)
The theatre program will kick off the spring semester by bringing a classic, tragic Shakespearean love story to life.
In "Romeo and Juliet," two teenagers from the feuding Montague and Capulet families fall in love in the shadow of the families' hatred, which has spanned generations and dooms the young lovers' story. It is one of the most retold and studied plays in theatre, English and literature courses.
The play is classically set in the Renaissance, but GCU theatre will put on a contemporary version of the production under assistant theatre professor Michael Kary’s direction to make it more relatable and relevant to today’s younger generation.
“Most young people hate Shakespeare because they got tortured in high school with some really difficult English class thing they had to do,” Symington said. “They didn’t get to enjoy the fact that it is actually really fun and silly.
“The reason we still do Shakespeare is not because it’s so intellectually important, which is true, but it is because the themes and the stories remain the same.”
'Bright Star'
(March 6-8, 13-15)
The season will end with a Grammy-winning musical written and composed by comedian, actor and musician Steven Martin and singer-songwriter Edie Brickell.
The 2014 production, set in 1944-45 with flashbacks to the 1920s, tells the love story of a successful literary editor, Alice Murphy, and an ambitious young soldier who has just returned from World War II. They have a unique connection that inspires Alice to confront her past.
Set in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge mountains, the bluegrass and folk musical will be directed by Costume Shop Manager Cindi Calhoun.
“We want this season to be fun, where if you saw the preview, it would be like going to the movies on the weekend," Symington said.
GCU staff writer Izabela Fogarasi can be reached at [email protected]
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