School Matinees | Central Square Theater

Central Square Theater is offering Student Matinee performances for the 2026-27 Season.

All student matinee performances begin at 10 am. Pricing is $20 per student, with chaperones free (1 for every 10 students). If this cost would be a financial burden for your group, please let us know what might be feasible, and we can discuss it further.

Contact Director of Education Kevin Williams at kdw@centralsquaretheater.org to coordinate your visit to see these performances:

Eleanor
Dates: Friday, September 18, 2026 and Thursday, September 24, 2026
Themes: History, Civil Rights, Human Rights, Women’s Rights
Recommended Ages: 10+

In an intimate portrait of Eleanor Roosevelt, the most consequential First Lady in American history, audiences have a front row seat to her reflections on love, loss, politics, and purpose. Multiple Elliot Norton Award winner Paula Plum (Breaking the Code) returns for this one woman show where Eleanor revisits her marriage to Franklin, her activism, and her role in shaping modern human rights. Eleanor, praised by the Wall Street Journal as, “A great show, period”, blends warmth, wit, and candor, revealing a complex public figure whose private doubts and convictions illuminate an enduring and lasting legacy of courage, empathy, and service.

The Getaway Driver
Dates: Friday, November 6, 2026 and Thursday, November 12, 2026
Themes: Local History, Protest, True Crime Drama
Recommended Ages: TBD

Based on the true story of Katherine Ann Power and Clare Schroeder, this gripping new drama follows two women bound by a single, life-altering moment. It’s 1970. College student Power joins an activist group to protest the war. When their resistance turns deadly, Schroeder must grow up in the shadow of her father’s murder while Power disappears and spends decades on the FBI’s Most Wanted List. Years later, when Power resurfaces seeking redemption, she must confront Schroeder and the past that shaped their lives. Unfolding like a true crime thriller, this remarkable story asks: How far is too far in the fight to do what’s right?

Working
Dates: Friday, April 9, 2027 and Thursday, April 15, 2027
Themes: Working People, Multicultural backgrounds
Recommended Ages: 13+

Central Square Theater once again joins forces with The Front Porch Arts Collective on a stirring musical amplifying the voices and dignity of everyday people, while revealing the human cost behind labor in America. Based on Studs Terkel’s groundbreaking interviews and utilizing music from some of our greatest songwriters, in an all-new production, we embrace a multicultural community-wide theatrical event speaking directly to our friends and neighbors in Cambridge and beyond. Helmed by The Porch’s Producing Artistic Director Maurice Emmanuel Parent (Ain’t Misbehavin’), Working is a moving call for recognition, respect, and social justice for those who keep society running.

The Importance of Being Earnest
Dates: Thursday, June 10, 2027 and Friday, June 11, 2027
Themes: Class, Identity, Humor
Recommended Ages: 13+

Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest springs from the mind of Bedlam Artistic Director Eric Tucker in an exhilarating three-actor staging. This fearless reimagining tears through Victorian social pretense, exposing the absurd machinery of class, identity, and respectability with anarchic wit and theatrical invention. With rapid character transformations and dynamic physical storytelling, the result is a fresh, irreverent, and intimate take on a beloved masterpiece—delivering nonstop laughter and theatrical ingenuity in equal measure.

Admission includes:

FREE admission for chaperones. 1 chaperone for every 10 students requested.
Digital PERFORMANCE GUIDE to help you prepare and reflect with your students
Post-performance conversation with members of the cast
Pre-show and post-show in-school workshops can be arranged for an additional fee

To make a ticket reservation contact:
Kevin Williams, Director of Education
kdw@centralsquaretheater.org