Civic Theatre announces 2025-26 Season

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In October, Civic Theatre will kick off the 2025-26 season in Carmel with the uproariously funny Shakespearean spoof Something Rotten.

Created by Grammy Award-winning songwriter Wayne Kirkpatrick, and successful screenwriters Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell, Something Rotten was lauded by audience members and critics alike, receiving several Best Musical nominations and hailed by Time Out New York as “the funniest musical comedy in at least 400 years.”

Set in 1590, brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom are desperate to write a hit play but are stuck in the shadow of that Renaissance rock star known as “The Bard.” When a local soothsayer foretells that the future of theatre involves singing, dancing, and acting at the same time, Nick and Nigel set out to write the world’s very first musical, but along the way, they realize that reaching the top means being true to thine own self.

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For the holidays, Civic will revisit A Christmas Story, The Musical, which was a hit for Civic in 2022. This musical, based on the classic movie that runs round-the-clock on television every Christmas, earned rave reviews in its Broadway run.

Set in the 1940s in the fictional town of Hohman, Ind., audiences will again follow nine-year-old Ralphie, his quest for the Holy Grail of Christmas gifts – an Official Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot Range Model air rifle, and his many funny and heart-warming adventures. The entire family will enjoy this holiday favorite.

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Civic will present two plays that are new to audiences in early 2026.

In February, The Great Gatsby will come to the Knebel Stage in the Tarkington Theatre. The breathtaking glamour and decadent excess of the Jazz Age, captured in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel, adapted by Simon Levy, will come to vivid life on Civic’s stage.

In March, Civic will take to the intimate Studio Theatre to present to present a bold, fresh adaptation of The Scarlet Letter by award-winning playwright Kate Hamill, whose lively takes on classics like Pride & Prejudice and Sense & Sensibility have previously delighted Civic audiences. This highly theatrical reimagining of the classic tale follows strong-willed Hester Prynne as she tries to find her own moral compass and raise her daughter in a society that harshly punishes women for independent thought, sexuality, or defiance.

Both plays will also feature weekday student matinees, available for school groups, since they align with the curriculum of many middle and high schools.

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Civic will round out its season with the beloved favorite Fiddler on the Roof. Winner of nine Tony Awards when it debuted in 1964, this classic is the brainchild of Broadway legends Jerome Robbins and Harold Prince, songwriters Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick and book writer Joseph Stein. Touching audiences worldwide with its humor, warmth and honesty, this universal show is a staple of the musical theatre canon.

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Subscriptions will be available beginning May 28 and can be purchased at CivicTheatre.org or by calling or emailing the Box Office of the Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts at (317) 843-3800 or tickets@thecenterpresents.org.

About Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre
Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre is the largest of more than 70 community theatres in Indiana and one of the 10 largest active community theatres in the United States. Civic has been a vital part of the cultural landscape of Central Indiana for more than 100 years. Civic Theatre is the principal resident company of the Tarkington Theatre at the Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel. To learn more about each show and to find links to tickets as they become available, visit CivicTheatre.org.