The Waterfront Playhouse, named the “Best Professional Theatre in Florida” and Florida’s oldest theatre, is proud to announce its 2024/2025 season, the 86^th season in its rich history.

The first show of the season, which shouldn’t come as surprise to anyone, is an encore production of the incredibly popular Fantasy Fest production that has delighted audiences for years (and which Tom Thayer will return to direct): “The Rocky Horror Show” October 15^th -25^th.  Phillip Cole White, who appeared at the Waterfront as Hedwig in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” will be taking on the role of Frank N. Furter this fall. We can’t wait.

The rest of the shows in the season are divided into two categories. Our Spotlight Series shows, which feature small cast, small set, short run productions and our larger Mainstage Series shows that will have runs of three to four weeks.

The first show after ‘Rocky’ is a Spotlight Series show here for one weekend only. It’s a love letter to the theatrical experience that almost defies description. It was written by Olivier Award-nominated playwright John Kolvenbach and features Jim Ortlieb who delivers “a tour-de-force performance as a man desperate for connection, bent by isolation, and deeply in love with the audience itself.” 

After sold out runs in Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston and Paris, we are proud to present “Stand Up if You’re Here Tonight.” November 7^th to 9^th.

The next show is our first Mainstage Production. The original production of this musical on Broadway won ten Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Original Score, and Best Book. Some of the best stories ever written start with the magical words “Once upon a time”. A young maiden, a sad young man, a baker and his wife all go on a journey. Their stories, combined with the genius of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, form our holiday production of the brilliant “Into the Woods”, November 20^th to December 14^th.

Starting off the new year will be our second Spotlight series production; a show that the New York Times at the end of the 1990’s called “probably the most important piece of political theatre of the last decade” and again in a 2018 article reiterated “No recent hour of theatre has had a greater impact worldwide”. Featuring talented local voices, we are proud to present Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues”.

Next, is our second Mainstage Series show. This wonderfully funny script captures the sheer joy, sophistication, and wit of 1940’s screwball comedies. This will be a Florida Premiere and only the fourth production of this recently published new farce.  Brace yourself for what a critic called “a perfect storm of comedic chaos, irresistible charm, and rapid-fire banter”- Paul Slade Smith’s “The Angel Next Door” January 22^nd to February 8^th.

Soon after, and moving into the high season in Key West we are proud to present a classic of American Musical Theatre. The original production of this show ran for more than four years and over 1700 performances. It won six Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Score, and Best Book. 

But more than that, it’s an important story about family, tolerance, love, and understanding- 

The Waterfront Playhouse is proud to present: “La Cage Aux Folles”, February 26^th to March 22^nd.

Next is the final Spotlight Series show. Critics described this show as: “Lively, evocative, poetic, enlightening, hilarious, raunchy, and quite wonderful” as well as an “Unplugged and intimate look at the making of an artist”. This one man show evokes, through extraordinary written correspondence with family, friends, lovers, and other writers, the 25 years from boyhood to the opening of his first smash hit on Broadway. Here is Thomas Lanier Williams growing up, exploring and finding his artistic voice as Tennessee Williams in “A Distant Country Called Youth”, March 27 to March 29.

The final show of the season is, according to the New York Post, “A first rate shocker… The suspense drama we’ve long awaited eagerly… A classic”. Written in 1966 by Frederick Knott and then adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher in 2013, this is the story of a blind woman in Greenwich Village in post WWII America imperiled by con men who are trying to recover diamonds that have accidentally come into her possession.  It is “Wait Until Dark” April 16^th to May 3^rd. 

This season will be the first season with Patrick New as Artistic Director who will direct the Mainstage productions. The renowned Michael Boyer returns as Set Designer and Technical Director.