Straz Center for the Performing Arts is delighted to announce the 2025-26 Bank of America Broadway at Straz Center season. The schedule includes The Wiz, Water for Elephants, Kimberly Akimbo, The Outsiders, & Juliet, Hell’s Kitchen, Stereophonic, The Notebook and, in the intimate Jaeb Theater, the off-Broadway hit Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors. In addition to the nine-show package, the season hosts encores of Les Misérables, SIX, Beetlejuice and the holiday treat A Christmas Story, The Musical.
“This season’s Broadway at Straz Center shines with Tony Award winners for Best Musical Kimberly Akimbo and The Outsiders. Tony Award-winning Best Play Stereophonic takes audiences into a recording studio while rock musicians lay down tracks for a new album,” said CEO and President Greg Holland. “Straz Center will once again produce an ‘only in Tampa’ theatrical event in the Jaeb Theater as audiences are taken into the depths of Transylvania with Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors while last year’s sellout Broadway revival of The Wiz eases on down the road to Tampa.”
The 2025-26 season features:
The Wiz
October 14-19, 2025
The Tony Award-winning Best Musical that took the world by storm is back. The Wiz returns ‘home’ to stages across America in an all-new tour, direct from Broadway.
This groundbreaking twist on The Wizard of Oz changed the face of Broadway — from its iconic score packed with soul, gospel, rock and ’70s funk to its stirring tale of Dorothy’s journey to find her place in a contemporary world.
Water for Elephants
October 28-November 2, 2025
After losing what matters most, a young man jumps a moving train, unsure of where the road will take him and finds a new home with the remarkable crew of a traveling circus, and a life — and love — beyond his wildest dreams. Seen through the eyes of his older self, his adventure becomes a poignant reminder that if you choose the ride, life can begin again at any age.
Tony Award-nominated director Jessica Stone’s “huge, heart-filling” production (The New York Times) features a book by three-time Tony nominee Rick Elice adapted from Sara Gruen’s novel, and a soaring score by the acclaimed PigPen Theatre Co.
Kimberly Akimbo
November 18-23, 2025
A new musical about growing up and growing old (in no particular order), Kimberly Akimbo is the winner of five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. It features a Tony Award-winning book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire (Shrek), a Tony Award-winning score by Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home), choreography by Danny Mefford (Dear Evan Hansen) and direction by the Tony-nominated Jessica Stone (Water for Elephants).
Kimberly is about to turn 16 and recently moved with her family to a new town in suburban New Jersey. In this “howlingly funny heartbreaker of a show” (The New Yorker), Kim is forced to navigate family dysfunction, a rare genetic condition, her first crush and possible felony charges. Ever the optimist, she is determined to find happiness against all odds and embark on a great adventure.
The Outsiders
December 27, 2025-January 4, 2026
The winner of four 2024 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, is The Outsiders.
Adapted from S.E. Hinton’s seminal novel and Francis Ford Coppola’s iconic film, this thrilling new musical features a book by Adam Rapp with Justin Levine; music and lyrics by Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance) and Tony Award winner Levine; music supervision, orchestration and arrangements by Levine; choreography by Rick Kuperman and Jeff Kuperman; and direction by Tony Award winner Danya Taymor. Entertainment Weekly said, “The Outsiders has the power to inspire an entire generation.”
In Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1967, Ponyboy Curtis, his best friend Johnny Cade and their greaser family of ‘outsiders’ battle with their affluent rivals, the Socs. The Outsiders navigates the complexities of self-discovery as the greasers dream about who they want to become in a world that may never accept them. With a dynamic original score, The Outsiders is a story of friendship, family, belonging and the realization that there is still “lots of good in the world.”
& Juliet
February 10-15, 2026
Broadway’s most fun hit musical, & Juliet, flips the script on the greatest love story ever told, imagining what would happen next if Juliet hadn’t ended it all over Romeo and got a second chance at life and love — on her own terms. This audience favorite is created by the Emmy-winning writer of Schitt’s Creek and features a playlist of iconic pop hits from Max Martin and his collaborators, including “Since U Been Gone,” “Roar,” “I Want It That Way,” “Confident” and more.
Photo credit: Marc J. Franklin.
Hell’s Kitchen
March 24-April 5, 2026
Welcome to Hell’s Kitchen, Broadway’s hit musical from Alicia Keys — inspired by her life, her music and her community.
Your journey begins with Ali, a 17-year-old girl full of fire, searching for freedom, passion and her place in the world. Along the way, you’ll meet the musical mentor who changes her life, her dynamic family and the neighborhood that helps her grow. Relatable, raw and refreshingly fun, it’s a celebration of finding yourself, your purpose and the people who lift you up.
Stereophonic
April 28-May 3, 2026
The most Tony Award®-winning show of 2024. The most Tony Award-nominated play of all time.
Stereophonic mines the agony and the ecstasy of creation as it zooms in on a music studio in 1976. Here, an up-and-coming rock band recording a new album finds themselves suddenly on the cusp of superstardom. The ensuing pressures could spark their breakup — or their breakthrough. Written by David Adjmi, directed by Daniel Aukin and featuring original music by Arcade Fire’s Will Butler, Stereophonic invites the audience to immerse themselves — with fly-on-the-wall intimacy — in the powder- keg process of a band on the brink of blowing up.
Photo by Julieta Cervantes (2024).
The Notebook
May 26-31, 2026
Based on the best-selling novel that inspired the iconic film, The Notebook tells the story of Allie and Noah, both from different worlds, who share a lifetime of love despite the forces that threaten to pull them apart. “Full of butterfly-inducing highs and beautiful songs” (Entertainment Weekly), The Notebook is a deeply moving portrait of the enduring power of love.
The Notebook is directed by Michael Greif (Dear Evan Hansen, Next to Normal, RENT) and Schele Williams (The Wiz, Aida) and features music and lyrics by multiplatinum singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson, a book by Bekah Brunstetter (NBC’s This Is Us) and choreography by Katie Spelman.
The season also features:
Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors
September 16-October 26, 2025
Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors is a ‘Bram-new’ comedy you can really sink your teeth into. Filled with clever wordplay and anything-goes pop culture references, it’s a 90-minute, quick-changing, laugh-out-loud reimagining of the gothic classic, perfect for audiences of all blood types.
In addition to the nine-show Broadway series, Straz Center will present encore engagements of:
A Christmas Story, The Musical
November 28-30, 2025
From the songwriting team behind the smash-hit, Tony Award-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen and the critically acclaimed films La La Land and The Greatest Showman, A Christmas Story, The Musical brings the classic 1983 movie to hilarious life onstage. Set in 1940s Indiana, a young and bespectacled Ralphie Parker schemes his way toward the holiday gift of his dreams, an official Red Ryder Carbine-action 200-shot Range Model Air Rifle. An infamous leg lamp, outrageous pink bunny pajamas, a maniacal department store Santa and a triple-dog-dare to lick a freezing flagpole are just a few of the distractions that stand between Ralphie and his Christmas wish.
Les Misérables
December 10-14, 2025
Cameron Mackintosh’s acclaimed production of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg’s Tony Award-winning musical phenomenon, Les Misérables, makes a triumphant return to Tampa. This brilliant staging has taken the world by storm and has been hailed as “a reborn dream of a production” (Daily Telegraph). Set against the backdrop of 19th-century France, Les Misérables tells an enthralling story of broken dreams and unrequited love, passion, sacrifice and redemption — a timeless testament to the survival of the human spirit. The magnificent score of Les Misérables includes the songs “I Dreamed a Dream,” “On My Own,” “Bring Him Home,” “One Day More” and many more.
SIX
May 12-17, 2026
From Tudor queens to pop icons, the SIX wives of Henry VIII take the microphone to remix 500 years of historical heartbreak into a euphoric celebration of 21st-century girl power. This new, original musical is the global sensation that everyone is losing their head over.
Beetlejuice
June 9-14, 2026
It’s showtime! Based on Tim Burton’s dearly beloved film, this hilarious musical tells the story of Lydia Deetz, a strange and unusual teenager whose whole life changes when she meets a recently deceased couple and a demon with a thing for stripes. With an irreverent book, an astonishing set and a score that’s out of this Netherworld, Beetlejuice is “screamingly good fun!” (Variety). And under its uproarious surface (6 feet under, to be exact), it’s a remarkably touching show about family, love and making the most of every Day-O.
Prices for the nine-show season package range from $346.50 to $1055.45. For more information, call the Straz Center Ticket Sales Office at 813-229-7827 (local) or 800-955-1045 (outside the Tampa Bay area) or visit www.strazcenter.org. Individual show tickets will go on sale later.
Events, days, dates, times, performers and prices are subject to change without notice.
David A. Straz, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts and its programs are funded in part by the City of Tampa; the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners; the Tourist Development Council/Hillsborough County; the State of Florida; the Florida Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture; the Florida Council on Arts and Culture; and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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