2025-26 SEASON
Celebrating 40 years
Alice by Heart
Sept 4 – 21, 2025
Music by Duncan Sheik, lyrics by Steven Sater, and book by Steven Sater and Jessie Nelson. Escape down the rabbit hole on an extraordinary adventure where mystery, magic, and music awaits! From the award-winning writers of Spring Awakening and Waitress comes Alice by Heart, an awe-inspiring musical celebration of imagination and friendship. Taking refuge in a London Underground station during WWII, two friends escape into the world of their favorite story– Alice in Wonderland. A magical experience for anyone seeking courage and creativity—this is a tale of finding your way when it feels like you’re lost.
The Roommate
Oct 30 – Nov 16, 2025
By Jen Silverman. Sharon has never had a roommate before. After her divorce, she needs someone to share her Iowa home. Enter Robin, looking for a new start. But just-moved-from-New York City Robin is nothing like the women in Sharon’s Midwestern-nice book club. Sharp, witty, and unpredictable, Jen Silverman’s fresh-from-Broadway comedy The Roommate hilariously navigates the twists and turns of change as it explores what happens when life doesn’t go quite as planned.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
Dec 11 – 21, 2025
By Greg Alan Bodine. Back by popular demand, A Christmas Carol returns to The Contemporary stage again this December! In this masterful solo retelling of Charles Dickens’ famous Christmas story, over 30 characters– every Ghost, every Cratchit, and Scrooge himself– are brought to life in the virtuosic performance of audience-favorite Angela Iannone. This one-person show shines a dazzling new light on a beloved classic, leaving you utterly spellbound and filled with the holiday spirit.
Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
Mar 5 – 22, 2026
By Jocelyn Bioh. Welcome to Jaja’s, a buzzing, bustling Harlem salon where West African immigrant braiders create masterpieces on New Yorkers’ heads. Pull up a chair as love blossoms, dreams flourish, and secrets are revealed. But beneath the surface lies a current of uncertainty, pushing this close-knit community to confront the challenges of being outsiders in the place they call home. Fresh off a twice-extended Broadway run, this laugh-out-loud comedic gem “is equally affecting as it is hilarious” (Entertainment Weekly). After a sold-out run of School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, Tony Award-nominated playwright (and Ohio State graduate) Jocelyn Bioh and Columbus director Shanelle Marie return to The Contemporary!
Primary Trust
Apr 23 – May 10, 2026
By Eboni Booth. Kenneth is a man with a routine. He spends his days working at the local bookstore and his evenings sipping two-for-one Mai Tais at the tiki bar with his best friend Bert. When the bookstore closes, Kenneth’s world is turned upside down and he must find the courage to face his biggest fear: change. Eboni Booth’s absorbing, funny, and deeply moving Primary Trust–a New York Times Critic’s Pick, Pulitzer Prize-winner, and “pretty darn near to a perfect play” (Daily Beast)– is a touching story of new beginnings and the transformational power of friendship.