Syracuse Stage Announces 2025-26 Season

International spy rings, eternal winters, courageous trailblazers and one super-secret message add up to an extraordinary 25/26 season at Syracuse Stage, featuring a thrilling Broadway hit, fresh revivals of award-winning classics, an inspiring new American musical and a knockout world premiere play.

The six show subscription season, including a full schedule of educational, family and community related programming will run Sept. 10, 2025, to June 21, 2026. Subscription packages are on sale now at www.syracusestage.org or at the Box Office, 315.443.3275.

“We’re thrilled to announce an ambitious and exciting season of powerful theatrical stories for Central New York,” says artistic director Robert Hupp. “We’ve spent the past year exploring dynamic narratives, assembling creative teams and building partnerships that ensure our ability to create entertaining, one-of-a-kind theatrical experiences that you can’t get anywhere else. Our work is created specifically for the wonderful people of Central New York, and we can’t wait to share with everyone these bold, fun, vibrant plays and musicals in the year ahead.”

Subscription season at a glance:

“The Hello Girls” (Sept. 10 to 28, 2025), “The 39 Steps” (Oct. 22 to Nov. 9, 2025), “A Christmas Story” (Nov. 25 to Dec. 28, 2025), the world premiere of  “Relentless” (Feb. 4 to 22, 2026), “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” (March 11 to 29, 2026) and “Disney’s Frozen The Broadway Musical” (May 13 to June 21, 2026).

Opening the season is “The Hello Girls,” a new American musical inspired by the incredible true story of the first women to join the U.S. Army as bilingual telephone operators during WWI.

Originally commissioned by Prospect Musicals in New York City, “The Hello Girls” opened off-Broadway in 2018 to coincide with the centennial anniversary of the groundbreaking journey taken by the real-life Hello Girls, from the frontlines in France to their decades-long fight to be recognized back home. Writing for The New York Times, critic Laura Collins-Hughes called the production “a rather thrilling thing—smart, human and sardonically feminist.”

With a rich jazz and ragtime flavored score from Peter Mills, Syracuse Stage’s new production of “The Hello Girls” is directed by co-writer Cara Reichel and is a co-production with Michael Cassel Group (Broadway: “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” “Pretty Woman The Musical,” “The Cher Show”) and runs Sept. 10 to 28, 2025.

In October, Syracuse Stage celebrates the return of a raucous comedy/mystery: The two-time Tony Award-winning “The 39 Steps,” playwright Patrick Barlow’s rollicking sendup of Hitchcock’s 1935 spy-thriller. Last seen at Stage in 2010, “The 39 Steps” runs Oct. 22 to Nov. 9, 2025.

For the annual holiday show, audiences are invited to relive one memorable December with the Parker family and “A Christmas Story,” the charmingly nostalgic play based on the 1983 film and humorist Jean Shepherd’s childhood reveries. Marking the first time Hupp directs a show in the festive winter slot, “A Christmas Story” runs Nov. 25 to Dec. 28, 2025.

In the new year Syracuse Stage will present “Relentless” by Rae Binstock, a world premiere drama about legacy and loyalty set in the world of professional boxing. Directed by associate artistic director Melissa Crespo (“Primary Trust,” “Once,” “What the Constitution Means to Me”), “Relentless” depicts the intimate bout between a former contender and her old coach over whether to sell their iconic gym in a gentrifying Brooklyn. Building on Syracuse Stage’s commitment to produce new work, this world premiere is co-produced by Sing Out, Louise! Productions (Broadway: “The Notebook,” “& Juliet,” “Hadestown”) and runs Feb. 4 to 22, 2026.

“It’s always thrilling to direct a new play for the first time, and Rae Binstock’s ‘Relentless’ is sure to be a crowd pleaser,” says Crespo. “With the International Boxing Hall of Fame located just 20 minutes east of Syracuse, ‘Relentless’ is an electrifying glimpse into the world of boxing.”

“Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,” the powerful and poetic Tony-Award winning entry in Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson’s historic “Century Cycle,” comes to Syracuse Stage in the spring. The show is the seventh title in the 10-play cycle to be produced at Stage, and the first Wilson play presented at the theatre since 2014’s “The Piano Lesson.” Directed by Timothy Douglas, who led the Syracuse Stage productions of Wilson’s “Jitney” (2002) and “Gem of the Ocean” (2007), “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” runs May 13 to June 21, 2026.

And as the summer approaches, Syracuse Stage offers families a thrilling and entertaining way to cool off with “Disney’s Frozen The Broadway Musical,” a spectacular musical based on the hit animated film. Featuring Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Sven and Olaf the lovable snowman, “Disney’s Frozen The Broadway Musical” is a co-production with the Syracuse University Department of Drama and the first professional production of the musical in Central New York. Directed by Amy Anders Corcoran, with music direction by Brian Cimmet and choreography by Marjorie Failoni, the show will close out the subscription season and runs May 13 to June 21, 2026.

“We are so excited for families to experience ‘Disney’s Frozen The Broadway Musical’ live on stage for the first time in Central New York,” says managing director Carly DiFulvio Allen. “With the songs and characters you know and love, this joyful production showcases the power of sisterhood and asks us to consider how far we would go for true love. With no seat further than 50 feet from the stage, you’re never far away from the magic, music and spectacle of this beautiful show. I can’t wait for audiences to experience it this spring”

Supporting each production is a strong line-up of supplementary special event programming, including Prologue, a series of insightful pre-show conversations, talkbacks with cast and creative teams, community nights with show-specific activities and the return of Tuesday evening performances featuring a complimentary “Tacos and Trivia” event hosted by “Jeopardy!” Champion Dillon Hupp.

In addition, Syracuse Stage will offer a host of educational and community outreach programs, the return of Sensory Friendly/Relaxed performances for select shows and an array of accessibility offerings throughout the season including audio description, open captioning, ASL interpretation and the M&T Bank Pay-What-You-Will program.

In the fall the Children’s Tour resumes performances live in elementary schools with “My Robot” by Finegan Kruckemeyer. Directed by Katherine McGerr, this delightful story explores the relationship between a young girl and her mechanical friend, and supports socio-emotional learning, understanding poetic language, creative thinking and STEM based problem solving.