The theater’s children’s production of “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus” sold more than 10,000 tickets.
During the stage adaptation of Stephen King’s “Misery” in September 2024, the recently installed administration of Virginia Repertory Theatre announced by press release the company’s dire financial condition. One of its challenges concerned the continued use of the former Scottish Rite Temple on Hermitage Road. Purchased as an ambitious expansion, the costs associated with the building’s renovation proved too extensive.
The community rallied to support the half-century-old performing arts organization with a stopgap of more than $600,000.
A potential buyer for the temple building seemed apparent, but the deal fizzled; now, another awaits in the wings. As of this writing, however, the company cannot divulge details.
Virginia Repertory Theatre’s production of “Waitress” comes to the November Theatre June 20-Aug. 3.
Thus, the shows go on, with the current season’s summer musical offering, “Waitress,” taking the November Theatre stage June 20-Aug. 3.
A recent production for young people, “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus,” sold more than 10,000 tickets to both families and busloads of school children. Enthuses Virginia Rep Managing Director Klaus Schuller, “Most performances were sold out. It was great to see the buzz of excited school children on Broad Street.”
Coming up, there is a scheduled and recently announced 2025-26 season.
The roster features diverse subject matter, including an Agatha Christie mystery; a visit from Scrooge; a boy who mails himself to exotic addresses; an invisible friend; and 7,000 airline passengers marooned in Gander, Newfoundland.
As always in the business of show, trying to strike a balance between artistic expression and crowd-pleasers, or perhaps a show that embraces both originality and popularity, is a form of guesswork. Every older play was once new, and some hold up better than others — even new plays. A company may shake a Magic 8 Ball for an answer, but the only way to discern what works best is putting the work on the stage for audiences. Schuller reflects, “As we were planning the season, first and foremost was the desire for great shows, either timeless classics or some of the best plays and musicals of recent years. We believe — indeed we have to believe — that if we’re doing great work, then audiences will come.”
Schuller sees in the upcoming season themes for the present day. Moving past greed into an understanding that how we treat each other really matters is exemplified in “A Christmas Carol” onstage at the November Theatre Nov. 28-Dec. 28. Exploring the grieving process is “Primary Trust,” presented at Virginia Rep’s Theatre Gym March 5-29, 2026. Based on a true story of community and togetherness among grounded passengers and residents of Gander, Newfoundland, in the aftermath of 9/11, “Come From Away” takes the stage at the November Theatre June 18, 2026-Aug. 2, 2026. Of the new performances lineup, Schuller says, “You have to have some fun.”
Family-oriented fare arrives in the spring with “The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley” at the November Theatre April 11, 2026-May 3, 2026. It follows a kid who dreams of travel and, when he’s crushed flat by a bulletin board, gets himself mailed around the world.
There are familiar mysteries, such as “Murder on the Orient Express” at the November Theatre (Sept. 11-Oct. 12) and at Hanover Tavern, “Deathtrap” (Dec.12-Jan. 18, 2026) and “The Cottage” by Sandy Rustin (March 27, 2026-April 26, 2026). There, an admission of infidelity at a posh English country house in 1923 turns into an amusing series of “interconnections and plot twists,” as one critic described, and the setup is a knowing nod to the late English playwright Noël Coward. But this is more a comedy of ill manners.
Meanwhile, “Come From Away” is an affirmation that there is good in people during fraught circumstances. “I have a particular love for ‘Come From Away,’” Schuller says. “When I first saw it, I couldn’t wait to leap to my feet at the end, and my eyes were streaming with happy tears. I’ve seen it three more times since and loved it every time.”
Eboni Booth’s 2023 Pulitzer Prize-winning “Primary Trust” follows Kenneth, a Black 30-something bookshop clerk — that is, until the store where he’s worked for 20 years suddenly closes. This leaves him in a mai-tai-soaked quandary. He appears to be drunk and muttering to himself when he’s conversing with Bert — whom no one else can see. The 95-minute smart and often mordantly funny show addresses subjects of the moment, among them: the supplanting of the small and local with the corporate and homogenized, the expense of health care, and the daze in which people may find themselves in as they go about their living.
In an American Theatre interview, Booth spoke with playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, who remarked about writing wisdom from Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Marsha Norman, as in: “‘The Wizard of Oz’ would still be ‘The Wizard of Oz’ even without the Munchkins; the point is that Dorothy’s lost. And when I’m writing, I’m now constantly like, ‘Is this a Munchkin or is this the journey?’ Trying to separate the Munchkins from the journey is half of the work when you’re working with your imagination.” To which Booth responded, “She would also say: ‘The audience needs to know when it’s time to go home. That’s structure.’”
“Waitress” is onstage at the November Theatre June 20-Aug. 3. Tickets start at $62. Subscription packages for Virginia Rep’s 2025-26 season are now available.
