All the new shows (and the new stage) coming to Olney Theatre this fall

Eleven new productions and a new performing space are coming to the Olney Theatre Center for the 2026/2027 season.

“Les Misérables,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “A Christmas Carol” and a yet-to-be-announced Tony Award-winning musical are all heading to Olney beginning this fall, the Montgomery County-based theater company announced Wednesday.

A brand-new theater on the OTC campus will also open this fall with a production of “La Cage aux Folles.” After two years of construction, the Bernard Family Theatre will welcome audiences back into a renovated version of the original 1938 Olney Theatre performance space.

“I’ve always wanted Olney Theatre Center to be something special for everyone in the community,” artistic director Jason Loewith said in a statement. “Starting this summer, it truly is.”

Here’s the full lineup of OTC productions for the coming season.

August Wilson’s ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’

Sept. 9 through Oct. 11 at Round House Theatre in Bethesda

Chicago in the 1920s is the backdrop for this play about racial exploitation in the music industry, where trailblazing singer Ma Rainey and her entourage struggle to control her art. Lili-Anne Brown directs and Melody A. Betts stars in the titular role — both are OTC alums and Helen Hayes Award-winners.

‘La Cage aux Folles’

Sept. 18 through Nov. 8 in the Bernard Family Theatre

The first production in the OTC’s new Bernard Family Theatre takes audiences to a drag club in Saint-Tropez for a lively comedy musical about a gay couple who owns the club but conceal their identities when their son shares his plans to marry the daughter of a conservative politician. In keeping with the theme, tickets for limited cabaret table seating will be available at every show.

‘Sleepy Hollow’

Oct. 7 through Nov. 1 in the Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab

Just in time for Halloween, the OTC invites back Arlington-based physical theater company Synetic Theater for a gothic, surreal adaptation about Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman.

‘Les Misérables’

Oct. 30 through Jan. 31, 2027, on the Roberts Mainstage

This season’s big holiday production is the epic Broadway classic about the 1832 Paris uprising, featuring Broadway and OTC alum Kevin S. McAllister as Javert and Alex De Bard as Eponine, who’s currently onstage at Olney Theatre in “I & You: The Musical.”

‘A Christmas Carol’

Nov. 27 through Dec. 27 in the Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab

Ebenezer Scrooge gets a new adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic in the OTC’s annual one-person performance of “A Christmas Carol.”

‘Crowns’

Jan. 28 through March 7, 2027 in the Bernard Family Theatre

“Crowns,” described as a “musical play,” explores the significance of church hats in Black Southern culture through the eyes of Yolanda, who moves from Brooklyn to the South following the death of her brother. Following “Les Mis,” McAllister will return to the OTC to direct.

‘Churchill’

Feb. 4 through March 21, 2027 in the Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab

A one-man show from a father-son creator and actor duo, “Churchill” focuses on former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill as he reflects on his award of honorary American citizenship and the rest of his storied political career.

A to-be-announced Tony Award-winning musical

March 18 through April 25, 2027 on the Roberts Mainstage

The OTC isn’t able to announce this title until after June 1, but promises a Tony Award-winning “female-centered musical” that’s “one you won’t want to miss.”

‘Peter and the Starcatcher’

April 29 through June 6, 2027 in the Bernard Family Theatre

“Peter Pan” gets a humorous prequel aimed at kid theater-goers in “Peter and the Starcatcher.” It stars young Molly, who, on a secret mission from the queen, enlists the help of a nameless orphan boy to fight pirates.

A soon-to-be announced play

June 2 through June 27 in the Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab

Another teaser: Loewith said the Olney will soon reveal another play in next summer’s lineup.

‘Million Dollar Quartet’

June 30 through Aug. 22, 2027 on the Roberts Mainstage

This jukebox musical chronicles the night that Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley played together at Sun Records. Hits include “Blue Suede Shoes,” “I Walk The Line” and “Great Balls of Fire.”