Second Stage Theater Announces 2026-27 Season, Featuring Broadway Debuts of The Fantasticks and Gloria

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The season will also include The Visitors, Work of Devotion, and how to roll a blunt.

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Second Stage Theater has announced five productions for its upcoming 48th Season, including the Broadway premieres of The Fantasticks and Gloria.

Second Stage Theater ’s 2026-27 season will kick off with the first ever Broadway production of the Tom Jones / Harvey Schmidt musical, THE FANTASTICKS, directed by Tony Award nominee Christopher Gattelli . In this new production, this classic romantic musical is seen through a contemporary lens, reimagined as a gay love story, with a revised book and lyrics by original co-author Tom Jones . The show's original off-Broadway production ran a total of 42 years (until 2002) and 17,162 performances, making it the world's longest-running musical.

As BroadwayWorld previously reported , this new version of the world's longest-running musical was completed by Jones before his death in 2023. The adaptation was first presented in 2022 at Flint Repertory Theatre in Flint, MI, and continued its development at several other theatres including Provincetown Playhouse in Provincetown, MA, and Coachella Valley Repertory in Cathedral City, CA.

In Spring 2027, the Hayes will welcome the return of Pulitzer Prize and two-time Tony Award winner Branden Jacobs-Jenkins , when his Pulitzer finalist play, GLORIA, receives its Broadway debut, directed by Second Stage Artistic Director Evan Cabnet . The production, which will begin previews in March and open in early April, will reunite Jacobs-Jenkins and Cabnet, who collaborated on the play’s 2015 world premiere off-Broadway production as well as its 2017 Chicago staging.

Second Stage ’s off-Broadway lineup will feature two world premiere productions, as well as one New York premiere, kicking off in October with THE VISITORS, written by Bryna Turner and directed by Jenna Worsham , who most recently collaborated on the acclaimed production of At the Wedding at LCT3. THE VISITORS will run on the Irene Diamond Stage at the Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street). Previews are scheduled to begin in late October and will officially open in mid-November.

2027 will also include the world premiere of Miranda Rose Hall’s WORK OF DEVOTION, premiering in February, followed by the New York premiere of Naomi Lorrain ’s HOW TO ROLL A BLUNT, directed by Colette Robert . The comedy, which was the standout in Second Stage ’s Judith Champion Reading Series for emerging playwrights, will run in April 2027 on the Irene Diamond Stage at the Pershing Square Signature Center.

Casting and full creative teams for all productions will be announced at a later date. Learn more about the shows below!

Broadway Premiere

Book and Lyrics by Tom Jones Music by Harvey Schmidt Revised Book and Lyrics by Tom Jones Directed and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli

Performances begin October 22, 2026 Opening November 16, 2026

In this re-envisioned Fantasticks, the central romantic pair—traditionally Matt and Luisa—are now Matt and Lewis. Two boys. Their two mothers. And a mischievous plan to make the young men fall in love. This is THE FANTASTICKS, known and adored across the globe, in a Broadway premiere that brings glorious new life to the beloved classic. With a book and lyrics by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt , this inspired reinterpretation celebrates love, reconciliation, and the singular power of theater. Tony Award winner Christopher Gattelli (Schmigadoon!, Newsies) directs.

Tom Jones (Revised Book and Lyrics) and Harvey Schmidt (Music) met at the University of Texas at Austin where they wrote their first musical together, Time Staggers On. After coming to New York, they wrote The Fantasticks for a summer theatre production at Barnard College. After its Off Broadway opening in May 1960, it ran for an incredible 42 years becoming the longest running musical in the world and the longest-running uninterrupted show of any kind in the history of the American theatre.

Their first Broadway show, 110 in the Shade, was nominated for a Tony Award and was successfully revived by the New York City Opera and later produced on Broadway starring Audra MacDonald. I Do! I Do!, their two-character musical starring Mary Martin and Robert Preston , was also a success on Broadway and on tour.

Additional collaborations include Celebration, which moved to Broadway; Philemon, which won an Outer Critics Circle Award and was produced on Hollywood Television Theatre; Mirette, based on the award-winning children’s book; The Show Goes On, a musical revue featuring their theatre songs and starring Jones and Schmidt; and Roadside, based on a play by Lynn Riggs . They contributed incidental music and lyrics to the Off-Broadway play Colette starring Zoe Caldwell , then developed a full-scale musical version starring Diana Rigg , which was later revised under the title Colette Collage.

In addition to an Obie Award and a special Tony Award for “Excellence in the Theatre” for The Fantasticks, Jones and Schmidt were inducted into the Broadway Hall of Fame at the Gershwin Theatre, and their “stars” were added to the Off-Broadway Walk of Fame outside the Lucille Lortel Theatre. In 2012, they were inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame and in 2017, they received the Oscar Hammerstein Award. For more information on their work together and separately, visit their extensive website: www.JonesandSchmidt.com.

Christopher Gattelli (Director, Choreographer). Currently represented on Broadway with Schmigadoon! (Tony noms. for Direction and Choreography), Death Becomes Her (Tony noms. for Direction and Choreography) and Ragtime (creative consultant). Tony Award winner for Disney’s Newsies. Broadway: 20 productions including My Fair Lady, SpongeBob SquarePants, The King and I and South Pacific. Lortel Awards for Bat Boy, Dogfight and Altar Boyz. Other dir./chor.: R&H 80th Anniversary Concert at the Drury Lane in London, Silence! The Musical, Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas, In Your Arms. Film: Wonka; Isn’t It Romantic?; Hail, Caesar! Television: “Schmigadoon!” (Two Emmy nominations), “Miracle Workers”, “Bupkis” and “The Muppet Show” with Sabrina Carpenter and Seth Rogen .

Broadway Premiere

By Pulitzer Prize and Two-time Tony Award-winner Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Directed by Second Stage Artistic Director Evan Cabnet

Performances begin March 17, 2027 Opening April 5, 2027

In the cutthroat offices of a prestigious New York City magazine, a group of low-level employees frantically try to claw their way up the corporate ladder. Ruthless and driven, they’re willing to do almost anything to get ahead – even as their once-glamorous industry collapses around them. With sharp, cutting wit, GLORIA expertly skewers the absurd, dog-eat-dog world of early-career professional life in the 2010s.

From two-time Tony and Pulitzer Prize winner Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (Appropriate, Purpose), one of the most astonishing and original voices of our time, comes a biting – and ultimately shocking – dark comedy about how far people will go to satisfy their ambition. Second Stage Artistic Director Evan Cabnet directs this "whip-smart" (New York Times) Pulitzer Prize finalist play in its Broadway premiere.

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (Playwright) is a writer and theatre artist whose plays include Purpose, Appropriate, The Comeuppance, Girls, Everybody, War, Gloria, Appropriate, An Octoroon and Neighbors. He is a Professor in the Practice at Yale University and serves as Vice President of the Dramatists Guild council. He has been the recipient of two Tony awards, a Pulitzer Prize, the MacArthur fellowship, the Windham-Campbell Prize for Drama, and the inaugural Tennessee Williams Award.

In his first season as Artistic Director of Second Stage Theater , Evan Cabnet (Director) produced the world premiere of Talene Monahon ’s Pulitzer finalist, Meet the Cartozians, as well as Tony-nominated productions of Jordan Harrison ’s Marjorie Prime and Gina Gionfriddo ’s Becky Shaw. As Artistic Director of LCT3, Cabnet produced Antoinette Nwandu’s Pass Over (Lortel Award, Best Play), Jackie Sibblies Drury ’s Marys Seacole, Aya Ogawa ’s The Nosebleed, Bryna Turner ’s At The Wedding and Bull in a China Shop, and Miranda Rose Hall’s Plot Points in Our Sexual Development, among many others. As a director, he has collaborated with Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (Gloria), Stephen Sondheim (Do I Hear a Waltz? Encores!), Helen Edmundson (Therese Raquin), Donald Margulies (The Model Apartment), David West Read (The Performers, The Dream of the Burning Boy), Kenneth Lin (Warrior Class), Christopher Shinn (Teddy Ferrara), Theresa Rebeck (Poor Behavior), and Liz Meriwether (The Mistakes Madeline Made, Oliver Parker), among others. He is a former Artistic Associate at the Roundabout Theatre Company, a founding member of the Ars Nova Writers Group, and a former Resident Artist with Richard Foreman ’s Ontological-Hysteric Theater . His first book, “Directing New Plays,” was published in October 2024.

World Premiere

By Bryna Turner Directed by Jenna Worsham

Performances begin October 21, 2026 Opening November 9, 2026

Joanna is in her mid-thirties and eager to become a parent. When she invites her three siblings to her New York City apartment to ask them for a shocking favor, they’re all forced to get to know each other as adults – but whether they’ll emerge from the visit closer or more at odds than ever is anyone’s guess. From playwright Bryna Turner and director Jenna Worsham , the acclaimed team behind New York Times Critic's Pick At the Wedding, comes THE VISITORS, a wry, heartfelt world premiere comedy-drama about finally meeting the people you’ve known your whole life.

Bryna Turner (Playwright) is an award-winning playwright originally from Northern California. Their plays include Bull in a China Shop (LCT3, About Face, Aurora, Diversionary, and many more); At the Wedding (LCT3, Studio Theatre, TheatreSquared); and Phases of the Moon. Honors include: the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation’s Theatre Visions Award, Lincoln Center Theatre’s Emerging Artist Award, a MacDowell Fellowship, and a New Roots Residency. They are a member/alum of: New Dramatists, WP Theater Lab, and Clubbed Thumb ’s Early Career Writers Group. They are currently under commission by Lincoln Center. BA: Mount Holyoke College. MFA: Rutgers University www.brynaturner.com

Jenna Worsham (Director). Select directing: Lagniappe (NYSAF); At The Wedding (Lincoln Center, NYT Critic’s Pick); The Siblings Play (Rattlestick Theater); Agnes (59E59, NYT Critic’s Pick); Belleville (Pasadena Playhouse); Superstitions (New Georges/Pool Plays); Summer’s Soldier and The First Immigrant (Williamstown); The Climb (Cherry Lane); Street Children (NYT Critic’s Pick). Broadway: Picnic, The Parisian Woman, The Heidi Chronicles. Jenna’s plays include: The Fifth (Venturous Fellowship nomination, Relentless Award Summer Series, O’Neill Semi-Finalist); Lacuna (OPC Finalist); Game (Rattlestick, SPACE on Ryder Farm). Co-founder of New Roots LGBTQIA+ artist residency and Co-creator of The Homebound Project with No Kid Hungry. National Directing Fellowship, Drama League & Boris Sagal Fellowship, Jonathan Alper Award (MTC). Proud member of SDC. Represented by Emma Feiwel (WME).

World Premiere

Written by Miranda Rose Hall

Performances begin February 3, 2027 Opening February 22, 2027

Welcome to WORK OF DEVOTION, a raucous, profound, and decidedly contemporary story about a group of 8th century nuns in rural Italy desperate to make meaning out of their constrained lives. When their leader dies in a freak accident (don’

_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Reimagined-THE-FANTASTICKS-and-GLORIA-Will-Make-Broadway-Premieres-as-Part-of-Second-Stages-2026-27-Season-20260603)._