Quintessence Theatre Announces 2026-27 Season Featuring Pippin, Medea & More

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The Philadelphia company's lineup also includes Witch, Two Gentlemen of Verona, and more.

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Since 2010, Quintessence Theatre has produced epic works of award-winning, classic theater for the Contemporary Stage at Mt. Airy's historic Sedgwick Theater (7137 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19119). Exploring the theme of “The Outsider,” the theater has announced six new productions for its upcoming 17th season: Jen Silverman 's Witch, Pippin by Stephen Schwartz , Roger O. Hirson , and Bob Fosse , Euripides' Medea, a repertory presentation of Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen of Verona and Patrick Hamilton 's Rope, and Tennessee Williams ' Suddenly Last Summer and The Parade.

Featuring witches and princes, scorned lovers and swaggering killers, these stories follow characters pushed to the margins of society and those who choose to stand apart, each daring in their own way to defy the rules and roles the world has written for them. Quintessence's 17th season, which it is calling the “Outsider” Season, marks one of its most ambitious yet and includes a return to its roots as a repertory theater. Patrons can choose from several subscription packages starting at $72, available online now.

“Each play in this season speaks to the outsider in a different way, from those cast out by their communities to those who refuse to conform to the roles they've been given,” said Alexander Burns, Producing Artistic Director of Quintessence. “At Quintessence, our mission is to bring classic texts into conversation with the present, and these works feel especially urgent in how they examine identity, power, and belonging. Whether it's a reimagined Jacobean tale, a beloved musical, or enduring works by Euripides, Shakespeare, and Tennessee Williams , these stories remind us that the margins are often where the most compelling truths reside. ‘The Outsider' season invites audiences to see these timeless characters anew and to reflect on what it means to live, love, and prosper from the edges of society.”

The season opens with Witch, Jen Silverman 's adaptation of John Ford and Thomas Dekker 's The Witch of Edmonton, beginning September 30. In this timely adaptation, a charming devil arrives in the quiet village of Edmonton to bargain for the souls of its residents in exchange for their darkest wishes. Elizabeth should be his easiest target, having been labeled a “witch” and cast out by the town, but her soul is not so readily bought. As the devil returns to convince her – and her neighbors – unexpected passions flare, alliances are formed, and the village is forever changed. Directed by Maura Krause, the inventive retelling of a Jacobean tragicomedy is a sharp, subversive fable that debates how much our souls are worth when hope is hard to come by.

Quintessence continues its annual holiday tradition of presenting musical theater with Pippin, onstage starting November 18. Heir to King Charlemagne the Great, the young prince Pippin is in search of the secret to true happiness and fulfillment. He seeks it in the glories of the battlefield, the temptations of the flesh, and the intrigues of political power. In the end, Pippin discovers happiness lies not in extraordinary endeavors, but rather in the unextraordinary moments that happen every day. Told by a band of traveling players, Pippin's quest to be extraordinary helps us find the beauty in life's simple pleasures. Led by Quintessence Artistic Director Alex Burns , theatergoers of all ages can look forward to experiencing a spellbinding adventure with iconic songs like “Magic to Do” and “Corner of the Sky” this holiday season.

On February 3, Burns leads another production that marks the theater's return to Greek literature with one of the western canon's most formidable heroines in Euripides' Medea. The renowned princess and sorceress Medea saves the life of the warrior Jason and helps him to win the Golden Fleece. Their great romance turns sour when Jason chooses policy and power over love and moves on to a second wife. Publicly humiliated and seized by grief and rage, Medea sets out on a terrible quest for revenge against the men who abandoned her and her children. Quintessence returns to the Greeks with one of literature's most titanic female protagonists, whose complexity and contradictions has enraptured audiences for almost 2,500 years.

Known for its work in repertory theater, when two or more plays are performed in rotation by the same company of actors, Quintessence presents the Guys Gone Wild Rep: Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen of Verona and Patrick Hamilton 's Rope. Burns directs one of Shakespeare's earliest comedies, where the friendship between two young men, Proteus and Valentine, is challenged by love and ambition in a playful, fast-paced comedy about the beautiful, messy chaos of growing up. Under the direction of Jake Loewenthal , charm gives way to chilling suspense in Rope, as two college students attempt to prove they can commit the “perfect murder” and host a dinner party with the very evidence of their crime in plain sight. Hamilton's pulse-pounding thriller was later adapted into a 1948 Alfred Hitchcock feature film of the same name. Together, these timeless plays trace a line from youthful impulse to calculated transgression, revealing how quickly devotion can turn and how subjective our sense of right and wrong can be when desire overrules reason. Audiences can experience the Guys Gone Wild Rep beginning March 31.

To close out its 17th season, Quintessence presents its first Tennessee Williams , bringing together two rarely performed plays, Suddenly Last Summer and The Parade, or Approaching the End of a Summer, in a special presentation directed by Mikael Burke that probes the fragile line between truth and illusion, desire and denial. In Suddenly Last Summer, a young woman's shocking account of violence threatens to unravel the carefully preserved mythology of a powerful family, as a mother fights to protect her son's legacy at any cost. In The Parade, Williams turns inward, drawing from his own life to chart a tender, unguarded story of first love, heartbreak, and the quiet resilience of friendship. Together, these plays reveal Williams at his most intimate and unflinching, illuminating the ways we reshape memory, conceal longing, and abandon the truths we fear most. The Tennessee Williams double-header runs during Pride Month, from June 2 to July 4.

This summer, Quintessence begins the first phase of renovations to its home, the Sedgwick Theater, which was officially acquired by the theater in 2024. The former historic movie palace was built in 1928 as a 1,600-seat theater designed by architect William Harold Lee. Construction on a new marquee and façade renovations, in addition to upgrading the building's egress and electrical systems, will begin over the summer and conclude in the fall.

Quintessence has expanded subscription packages this season, with tiered discounts offering over 25% off single-ticket prices and expanded subscriber benefits. Subscriptions are available for six (Full Season), five (Play-Only), and four shows (Choose-Your-Own), starting at $184.

A Preview Subscription is available for four, five, or six shows and starts at $96. The Five- and Six-Show Premium Seat Packages are $244 and $300, respectively, and offer guaranteed Premium seats for each production. The Four-Show Premium Package is $216.

Subscribers can purchase an Opening Night Subscription to attend five or six performances and join the post-performance celebration with the cast and creative team, with packages starting at $244. Single tickets for Quintessence's XVII Season are available beginning August 1.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/philadelphia/article/PIPPIN-MEDEA-and-More-Set-For-Quintessence-2026-27-Season-20260514)._