Playhouse Stage Company – 2025 Summer Musical Theatre Season

Enduring Rodgers & Hammerstein classic OKLAHOMA! to play at Albany’s Park Playhouse & GPAC, with new musical THE WAITING premiering at Cohoes Music Hall

Albany, N.Y. (January 2, 2025) –Today, Playhouse Stage Company announced plans for its 37^th Summer Season presenting professional musical theatre to Capital Region audiences in 2025. The company announced productions that will play at Albany’s Park Playhouse, Cohoes Music Hall, and GPAC at Tawsentha Park. Playhouse Stage Company has been producing free, outdoor summer musicals at Albany’s Park Playhouse since 1989, and has been presenting musicals year-round at the historic Cohoes Music Hall since 2016. In 2024, the company also began an encore  summer residence for it’s outdoor production at Guilderland Performing Arts Center in Tawasentha Park.

The free outdoor musical to be presented at Park Playhouse in Albany’s Washington Park will be a new production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s first collaboration, Oklahoma!, which last played at the company’s outdoor venue nearly a generation ago in 2001.  “There is a reason Oklahoma! has stood the test of time” said Playhouse Stage Co. Producing Artistic Director Owen Smith. “It is a musical masterpiece, and one of the show that audiences most frequently request to see back on our outdoor stage,” Smith continued.

The production will be presented in association with the City of Albany. The City traditionally provides use of the Lakehouse venue, police officers for crowd control, and support from the Department of General Services, but, this year, will also provide direct financial support to the free theatre program for the first time since 2010. “Park Playhouse is a vital cultural resource in our Capital City, welcoming tens of thousands of residents and guests to enjoy accessible, free musical theatre each summer,” remarked Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan. “In the face of funding challenges at regional theatres across the country, and mindful of inclement weather affecting recent Park Playhouse seasons, I am proud to provide City support to the Playhouse to ensure that this Albany tradition continues and flourishes for generations to come,” Mayor Sheehan continued.

Oklahoma! will be directed by the Playhouse’s Managing Director and veteran stage director, Chuck Kraus, with choreography by Playhouse Stage Academy graduate Alexis Papaleo, and musical direction and original Bluegrass-inspired orchestrations by Brian Axford. The production will play at Park Playhouse from July 1 through July 27, with performances Tuesday through Sunday at 7:30pm. An encore weekend of performances will be held at Tawasentha Park, sponsored by the Town of Guilderland, from July 31 through August 2. Free seating will be available at both outdoor venues.

Prior to Oklahoma!, the company’s summer season will kick off at Cohoes Music Hall with a world premiere production of The Waiting: A New Folk Musical, playing from June 12-15, coinciding with the first annual Capital Region Festival of Theatre. The musical was written by Capital Region native and former Playhouse Stage Academy student Maria Andreoli and EmmaLee Kidwell. The pair developed the work while students at Pace University, and have since presented readings and concert presentations at Quisisana Restort, The Triad Theatre, SheNYC, and Open Jar Studios. Playhouse Stage will support a two-week developmental residency for the musical’s cast and team at Cohoes Music Hall, ahead of a public weekend of performances.

As previously announced, the summer season will continue at Cohoes Music Hall with the Playhouse producing new productions of two beloved Disney musical adaptations. First up, from July 17 through August 11, is the musical adaptation of the fim that sparked “The Disney Rennaissance,” Disney’s The Little Mermaid. The show, which will be directed by Playhouse veteran Michael LoPorto, with choreography by AshleySimone Kirchner, will feature the company’s advanced teen students alongside professional performers, including PSC veterans Molly Rose McGrath as the Sea Witch Ursula, and Brandon Jones as Sebastian the Crab.

The season will close with Playhouse Stage Academy’s younger students performing the youth adaptation of Disney’s modern hit Moana. Featuring original songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Moana Jr. tells the story of a brave young girl in the Pacific Islands, who journeys to discover the truth about her heritage. The production will play at Cohoes Music Hall from August 20-24, 2025.

Season 37 Memberships are now on sale online via playhousestage.org, by phone at (518) 434-0776, and in person at the Cohoes Music Hall box office. Memberships are $50 per household for the season, and give patrons two weeks early access to tickets ahead of the general public for each production, 30% off ticket purchases for the season, and the ability to exchange tickets between performances and productions. Individual tickets for summer productions will go on sale later in 2025. For more information, audiences can visit www.playhousestage.org.