Even as this year’s stellar Broadway-level productions are still thrilling audiences night after night in the Tuacahn Outdoor Amphitheatre, many patrons are already turning their gaze toward next year with the announcement of the highly anticipated 2026-2027 Tuacahn season, including Les Misérables, Grease, Disney & Pixar’s Finding Nemo: A 70-minute Family Musical, Holiday Inn and The Play That Goes Wrong.
“This is so exciting,” Shari Jordan, associate artistic director for Tuacahn, said when the full list was revealed. “I hardly have words. It’s going to be so amazing!”
Her enthusiasm is echoed by numerous other Tuacahn staff, all delighted to offer a season that combines the musical version of Victor Hugo’s epic story of justice, mercy and forgiveness, along with the 1950s favorite featuring “Summer Lovin’” and “Greased Lightnin’” alongside an underwater adventure in the condensed family musical rendition of the wildly popular Disney & Pixar’s Finding Nemo, all on the outdoor stage.
For Scott Anderson, producing artistic director for Tuacahn, there are so many high points, it’s hard to know where to begin.
“If I were to put a bucket list out there of shows that I wanted to do in my life, Les Mis would be right at the top,” Anderson said. “The story and the music… it’s one of the better things ever written for the stage.”
Anderson had his chance to cross Les Misérables off that bucket list back in 2008, but the overwhelming popularity of the production made it clear, one season telling the story of these thought-provoking characters was simply not enough. This time, Anderson is passing the directorial baton for this epic production to Sarah Hartmann, who proved herself wildly capable with her approach to Tuacahn’s Anastasia in 2024, and the current version of Newsies now playing at Tuacahn.
“This is a great show to have a female perspective at the helm,” Anderson said. “We’re excited to put it into Sarah Hartmann’s hands.”
In stark contrast to the scenes unfolding around the French revolution, the lighter, but equally popular Grease will hit the Tuacahn stage in a flurry of poodle skirts and hair pomade.
“Of all the shows we polled this year in our customer survey, and there were many, ‘Grease’ was at the top of the wish list for patrons,” Anderson said. “It comes in at No. 1 almost every time we ask.”
Anderson credits the timeless music, and upbeat storyline for its evident popularity, adding that he is pleased to be able to “give the people what they want.”
Grease will be directed by Aaron DeJesus, who audiences may recall from his work with Tuacahn’s 2024 production of Jersey Boys.
Moving back to the ocean, this time for a deep-sea rescue, the regional premiere of Disney & Pixar’s Finding Nemo will be presented as a 70-minute, one act, family musical filled with everyone’s favorite clown fish, the adorably forgetful Dory, and a bevy of other aquatic characters singing and dancing in a production unlike anything Finding Nemo fans have ever seen.
“This production was written by the same team that brought Disney’s Frozen to the stage, so you know there is going to be some fantastic music in this,” Anderson said. “The shorter run-length is perfect for our younger audiences, allowing parents and children to enjoy the Tuacahn experience while still getting home at an earlier time.”
Once the outdoor offerings have wrapped up in the fall of 2026, it’s time for the indoor productions to shine. Inside the Hafen Indoor Theatre, the 2026 Christmas season will come to life with classic tunes you love, tied together with an Irving Berlin bow in the joyous musical, Holiday Inn.
“When we produced White Christmas in 2023, it sold out every performance,” Anderson said. “We feel like Holiday Inn is really in that same vein and we’re excited for audiences to experience it.”
Then, in January 2027, Tuacahn embarks on its first ever non-musical offering, bringing comedy and chaos together in the best possible way in The Play That Goes Wrong.
“Anyone who likes theater, or who has been involved in a theater production will really appreciate this one,” Jordan said. “We’ve been wanting to try a nonmusical for quite a while, just to offer something a little different, so we’re really excited that this worked out.”
Season packages for the 2026-2027 season will go on sale during our Black Friday Sale starting Nov. 5. For more information check out our web site at www.tuacahn.org or call the box office at 435-652-3300.
