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.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
by Oscar Wilde
directed by Eric Tucker, of Bedlam
June 3 – 27, 2027

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’), Workingis a moving call for recognition, respect, and social justice for those who keep society running.

WORKING
adapted by Nina Faso & Stephen Schwartz
songs by Craig Carnelia, Micki Grant, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mary Rodgers, Susan Birkenhead, Stephen Schwartz, and James Taylor
from the book by Studs Terkel
localized format conceived by Daniel C. Levine for ACT of CT
directed by Maurice Emmanuel Parent
April 1- 25, 2027
Co-produced with The Front Porch Arts Collective

Derbyshire, England, 1809: A brilliant thirteen year-old, Lady Thomasina Coverly, proposes a scientific theory with implications well beyond her own understanding. Her tutor, Septimus Hodge, engages in romantic entanglements with the lady of the house, among others. In Arcadia, Tom Stoppard explores themes of time, knowledge, love, and chaos – a dazzling theatrical experience that fuses romance, mystery, and the thrill of scientific discovery. One of CST’s most popular productions, we’re thrilled to bring an all new production of Arcadia, a play praised by The New York Times as “A play of wit, intellect, language, brio and.. emotion.. Exhilarating!’

ARCADIA
by Tom Stoppard
February 4 – 28, 2027
A Catalyst Collaborative@MIT Production

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?

THE GETAWAY DRIVER
by Deborah Salem Smith & Charlie Thurston
directed by Curt Columbus
October 29 – November 22, 2026
A Rolling World Premiere with Trinity Rep and Northern Stage

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.

ELEANOR
by Mark St. Germain
directed by Bryn Boice
starring Paula Plum
September 10 – October 4, 2026