The Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance at Wayne State University have a 2026-27 season with classics, contemporary works, musicals and dance performances. For information, go to theatreanddance.wayne.edu.
Whether you like classics or contemporary works, or long for a memorable musical, Theatre and Dance at Wayne have a 2026-27 season planned to celebrate all tastes at the Studio and main Stage theaters at the Hilberry Gateway.
Don Evans’ “One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show” launches the season Oct. 2 to 10 in the Studio at the Hilberry Gateway.
Set in Philadelphia in 1972, the story satirizes social-climbing and class aspirations, as well as the culture clash between middle-class and working-class African Americans when an unexpected visitor disrupts a respectable family’s life. Fast-paced and thought-provoking, the story explores themes of ambition, family and authenticity.
The main Stage at the Hilberry Gateway launches its season Oct. 16 to 25 with the large cast edition of the musical “The Old Man and the Old Moon,” created by the Pig Pen Theatre Company.
The whimsical musical is about an old man who spends his life refilling the moon with light. However, when his wife disappears, he abandons his task and sets off to find her, encountering strange characters, creatures and stories along the way.
The show blends imaginative storytelling, inventive staging and original folk-inspired music that celebrates devotion, courage and the power of love.
“Scrooge!” the holiday musical follows, running Dec. 4 to 20 on the main Stage.
Based on Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” the story follows miserly Ebenezer Scrooge’s journey when he is visited by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. As Scrooge reviews the results of his life choices, he must decide whether he will open his heart to kindness and the community in the future. The show is a holiday family favorite.
The new year opens with two shows in rotating repertory March 5 to April 3 on the main Stage at the Hilberry Gateway: Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” and Dominique Morisseau’s “Blood at the Root.”
Both shows share a common theme of justice, fear and systemic inequity in communities across different time periods as they provoke thought about truth, accountability and the impact of collective fear.
The theater season ends with the musical “Hair” April 9 to 25 at the Studio Theater at the Hilberry Gateway.
With a rock score and a message that is relevant 60 years later, the show captures the 1960s counter-culture, the sexual revolution and the anti-Vietnam war sentiment through a tribe of hippies living in New York City.
Iconic songs include, “Aquarius,” “Let the Sunshine In,” “Hair,” and “Good Morning Starshine.”
For more information or to subscribe, go to theatreanddance.wayne.edu./onstage.