FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS CONTACT:
CSC Communications Manager
Nia June, 410-244-8571 x119
june@chesapeakeshakespeare.com

CHESAPEAKE SHAKESPEARE COMPANY ANNOUNCES NEW SEASON: LOVE, TRANSFORMATION, CLASSICS

Baltimore (4.15.2025) — Chesapeake Shakespeare Company (CSC) is proud to unveil its 2025–2026 Season, a vibrant collection of works that deepen the company’s longstanding dedication to classical theatre, community engagement, and local artistry. This season offers a stirring exploration of love in its many forms: redemptive, enduring, and transformative. Through timeless texts, some reimagined, CSC continues to create space for dialogue between the past and present, bringing vitality to the stories that have shaped us. 

The season opens against the backdrop of Regency-era England with Jane Austen’s Persuasion – including a special performance for the Jane Austen Society of North America. Sarah Rose Kearns’s adaptation ushers the literary classic gracefully to the stage, supported by CSC’s robust creative team and their unique ability to build immersive worlds. Under the direction of Megan Behm, admirer of Austen’s work, this story of social intrigue, family drama, and enduring love is brought to life with wit, intimacy and energy. 

CSC’s annual holiday tradition, A Christmas Carol, returns in December, directed by Séamus Miller and Quae Simpson. Set in 19th-century Baltimore, this hauntingly beautiful and heartfelt retelling of Dickens’ masterpiece has become a vessel of nostalgia and fellowship. It continues to provide CSC with the opportunity to unite audiences, across generations, through the generous spirit of the holidays. 

In the new year, the company culminates its journey through August Wilson’s American Century Cycle with the Pulitzer Prize-winning Fences. Set in 1950s Pittsburgh, the story centers on a former Negro League baseball star whose unfulfilled dreams ripple through his relationships with his wife and son. Award-winning director Reginald L. Douglas makes his CSC debut, infusing the landmark production with his approach to theatre as an instrument of connection and community. This show marks the company’s final staging in The Baltimore August Wilson Celebration, a citywide tribute CSC has been honored to spearhead. 

Final bows continue in the spring. The Tempest, believed to be Shakespeare’s last play, will conclude the company’s Downtown Baltimore season. Directed by Founding Artistic Director Ian Gallanar, this production moves away from vengeance, placing redemption at its core. In a storm of past betrayals revealed, the play unfolds as a meditation on forgiveness and the magic of letting go. 

The Tale of Cymbeline, one of Shakespeare’s rarely staged romances, will unfold under the stars. Packed with a mastery of storytelling, character, and language, this sweeping tale featuring a betrayed princess, an evil stepmother, and a headless corpse promises a spellbinding finale to the season.  

CSC’s student matinee program continues, introducing a new staging alongside the annual production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in the spring. This fall, students and their teachers will have the opportunity to experience Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, offering students an engaging approach to literature through live theatre. 

Off the stage and in the parks, CSC’s Shakespeare Beyond program will also continue, entering its third summer. “Not everyone can visit our theater spaces, so we've built the Shakespeare Wagon that travels around the state providing free outdoor performances and free educational programs. We'll be visiting dozens of communities during the summer months.” says Gallanar. The program is an excellent extension of the season’s emphasis on love and community.  

Lesley Malin, CSC’s Producing Executive Director notes, “In these challenging times, the transformative power of theatre to change hearts and bring communities together is more important than ever before.  I hope this season, full of hope and a belief in second chances, will inspire our audiences to come to our beautiful theatre to hear these luminous, heartfelt stories brimming with rich language.  Each play offers courage, optimism, and tenacity as well as a joyful evening of great storytelling.” 

Audiences are invited to join this unforgettable journey through some of the canon’s finest works and to support Chesapeake Shakespeare Company’s dedication to bold, community-rooted classical theatre.  

Full details for each show, including casting, will be announced closer to the dates of production. For more information about subscriptions, single tickets and School Matinees, visit www.chesapeakeshakespeare.com or call the box office at 410-244-8570. 

TICKET INFORMATION 

For those interested in securing their first choice of seats for CSC’s 2025-2026 season, subscription packages go on sale today. Single tickets for mainstage shows will go on sale later this summer. 

With their fixed subscription package, full-season subscribers save 20% or more on single ticket prices; pay no exchange or service fees; receive a 10% discount on additional single tickets; secure early access to add-on shows like A Christmas Carol and The Tale of Cymbeline before they go on sale to the public; and get discounts on signature drinks for each downtown production at The Company Bar. 

PRODUCTION INFORMATION 

Persuasion
Adapted from Sarah Rose Kearns by Jane Austen
Directed by Megan Behm
September 26 – October 19, 2025 

A Christmas Carol
Adapted from Charles Dickens by Laura Rocklyn
Directed by Sèamus Miller and Quae Simpson
November 29 – December 23, 2025 

Fences
By August Wilson
Directed by Reginald L. Douglas
February 6 – March 1, 2026 

Student Matinee: Romeo and Juliet
By William Shakespeare
Performances run: March 16 – May 15, 2026 (no show April 3, public show April 6) 

The Tempest
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Ian Gallanar
April 24 – May 17, 2026 

The Tale of Cymbeline
Chesapeake Shakespeare-in-the-Ruins
By William Shakespeare
June 12 – July 19, 2026 

ABOUT CHESAPEAKE SHAKESPEARE COMPANY: 

Founded in 2002, Chesapeake Shakespeare Company brings great classic theatre to Baltimore, Howard County, the state of Maryland, and beyond. The company offers performances of Shakespeare and other plays of classic stature that are unforgettable, challenging, and innovative. In 2012, Chesapeake Shakespeare Company acquired the Mercantile Safe Deposit and Trust Company building in downtown Baltimore, renovating it into a modern Globe Theater for indoor performances, while continuing to produce outdoor Shakespeare every summer at the PFI Historic Park in Howard County. The organization regularly serves 30,000+ people annually through artistic projects and intentional community engagement. CSC’s vibrant education program includes an extensive matinee series, camps, classes, and in- and out-of-school residencies. The company invites patrons, students, and neighbors to become part of the creative collaboration that generates powerful, magical theatre and a more purposeful, engaged, and connected community.