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<\/div>\n<\/div>\nTony Awards: Gabriel Ebert talks ‘John Proctor Is the Villain’<\/p>\n
Gabriel Ebert says the future of American theater is in great hands at the Tony Awards red carpet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/story-highlights> Whether the theme is traditional or topical, a show by The Contemporary Theatre of Ohio is likely to be a launchpad to meaningful conversation.<\/p>\n The company\u2019s productions provoke thought while providing entertainment, leading to healthy attendance at post-show talkbacks, moderated panels and other events.<\/p>\n Producing artistic director Leda Hoffmann<\/a> couldn\u2019t be more elated about these opportunities to engage with the community, artists to audience.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m excited about the way people stick around afterward; they kind of consider it Act Two. People are curious and want to learn more,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople really want to share a personal connection. What a beautiful thing to trust us with.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoffmann hopes that theatergoers will be talking about The Contemporary\u2019s 2026-27 season, which will begin with the fiery, Tony Award-winning \u201cJagged Little Pill: The Musical<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Inspired by the landmark 1995 album by Alanis Morissette<\/a>, the book by Diablo Cody (\u201cJuno\u201d<\/a>) follows a seemingly perfect white family with an adopted Black daughter. Buried tensions are unearthed as they come to grips with issues of race, sexual orientation, gender identity, sexual assault, and addiction.<\/p>\n The jukebox musical features hits from the album including \u201cIronic,<\/a>\u201d “You Oughta Know,<\/a>” \u201cHead Over Feet,\u201d \u201cYou Learn,\u201d and \u201cHand in My Pocket,\u201d as well as newer material.<\/p>\n Hoffmann believes the familiarity of the songs will be a big draw to the season opener.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m always looking for plays that are going to capture people\u2019s attention. \u2018Jagged Little Pill\u2019 felt like the right show for that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201c(Morissette) helped revolutionize what it means to be a rock artist as a woman. Everyone will come in knowing the music, but not the way it\u2019s used to tell the story.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJagged Little Pill,\u201d which will run Sept. 17-Oct. 4, is recommended for ages 13 and older, as are the other shows in the upcoming season. All performances will be in the studios at the Riffe Center, 77 S. High St.<\/p>\n The Contemporary\u2019s 2026-27 season will continue with the following productions:<\/p>\n Nov. 7\u201322<\/strong><\/p>\n Winner of the 2025 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play, this biting satire revolves around a progressive private school where inclusion is prized above all else \u2013 until a mumps outbreak causes a clash over the school\u2019s liberal vaccine policy.<\/p>\n \u201cIt asks the big question of how you talk to people whose opinions are different than yours. It\u2019s a chance to laugh at the way we fail to talk to each other while also figuring out how to communicate,\u201d Hoffmann said.<\/p>\n Dec. 11-20<\/strong><\/p>\n Angela Iannone will return for the fourth year to portray every character in the Dickens classic during her one-actor performance.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just keep finding people who love to make this part of their holiday season,\u201d Hoffmann said.<\/p>\n Feb. 27-March 14, 2027<\/strong><\/p>\n Fresh from a 2025 Broadway run that earned seven Tony nominations, the play centers on a group of young women in a small Southern town who begin to question patriarchal power and abuse as their English class reads \u201cThe Crucible.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is one of my favorite plays; I directed it at Case Western before it was well-known. The fact that we have the rights to do this in Columbus, I\u2019m beyond thrilled,” Hoffmann said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a simple story about young women at the height of the #MeToo movement<\/a>. They start to question the adults around them as they\u2019re trying to figure out who they are amid the ideas they\u2019ve been taught about gender and sexuality.\u201d<\/p>\n May 1-16, 2027<\/strong><\/p>\n This touching drama explores family, legacy and connection as a son retraces his Haitian immigrant parents\u2019 trip from Miami to California, seeking to understand his father\u2019s America. Along the way, he discovers the music of the Appalachian South that reminded his father of home.<\/p>\n Hoffmann said the \u201cbeautiful and poetic\u201d production will be enhanced by live musicians playing Haitian and Appalachian folk music and emphasized the timeliness of the subject matter.<\/p>\n \u201cThis play raises a lot of questions like, \u2018What does \u201cAmerica\u201d mean?\u2019 \u2018What are the dreams of new Americans for their kids?\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re excited to be telling the story of Haitian immigrants knowing the story of the many Haitian immigrants in Ohio<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n The Contemporary offers reserved seating for all productions.<\/p>\n The four-show Classic subscription, which goes on sale April 3, will cost $199, which includes one ticket to each non-holiday production. \u201cA Christmas Carol\u201d will be available as an add-on to the subscription package.<\/p>\n Individual tickets will be on sale in late spring.<\/p>\n Pay-What-You-Want previews and $20 student rush tickets are sold, subject to availability, at the CBUSArts ticket office, 77 S. High St., fourth floor, beginning two hours before each performance.<\/p>\n For more details, visit thecontemporaryohio.org\/season-pass<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n
More shows to spark dialogue<\/h2>\n
‘Eureka Day’<\/strong><\/h2>\n
‘A Christmas Carol’<\/strong><\/h2>\n
‘John Proctor is the Villain’<\/strong><\/h2>\n
‘Where the Mountain Meets the Sea’<\/strong><\/h2>\n
How and when to buy tickets<\/h2>\n