Posted October 22, 2025
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Matt Ross / Liz Lombardi / Grace Walker
THE SAMUEL H. SCRIPPS
THEATER CENTER
GRAND OPENING 2026 SEASON
FEATURING
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S
AS YOU LIKE IT
DIRECTED BY MIRIAM LAUBE
WITH ORIGINAL MUSIC BY AMANDA DEHNERT
JUNE 10 – SEPTEMBER 18
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S
KING LEAR
DIRECTED BY DAVIS MCCALLUM
FEATURING KURT RHOADS AS KING LEAR
JUNE 12 – SEPTEMBER 18
AND
BY ARRANGEMENT WITH CAMERON MACKINTOSH
A NEW PRODUCTION OF
BOUBLIL AND SCHӦNBERG’S
LES MISÉRABLES
PRESENTED BY ARRANGEMENT WITH MUSIC THEATRE INTERNATIONAL (MTI) AND CAMERON MACKINTOSH LTD
DIRECTED BY JENN THOMPSON
MUSIC SUPERVISION BY AMANDA MORTON
AUGUST 12 – SEPTEMBER 27
HVS HAS ALSO LAUNCHED
A NEW STUDENT MATINEE SERIES
(October 20, 2025 – New York) Hudson Valley Shakespeare (HVS) (Davis McCallum, Artistic Director; Kendra Ekelund, Managing Director) announced today its 2026 Season, which will be the first season in its new, permanent theater space, the Samuel H. Scripps Theater Center. The season, featuring a repertory run of two revered Shakespeare plays and one beloved musical in a new production, will run June 10 – September 27, 2026 at Hudson Valley Shakespeare (2015 Route 9, Garrison, NY 10524).
Hudson Valley Shakespeare’s season will include William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, directed by Miriam Laube (OSF’s Much Ado About Nothing) and featuring original music by Amanda Dehnert (HVS’s Love’s Labor’s Lost); Shakespeare’s King Lear, directed by Artistic Director Davis McCallum (HVS’s The Matchmaker) and featuring Kurt Rhoads in the title role; and, by arrangement with Cameron Mackintosh, a new production of Boublil and Schӧnberg’s Les Misérables, presented by arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI) and CAMERON MACKINTOSH LTD, directed by Jenn Thompson (HVS’s Into the Woods) with music supervision by Amanda Morton (Operation Mincemeat).
Artistic Director Davis McCallum said, “The well-known monologue in Act II of As You Like It refers to the stages in life, so it is fitting that the play will be the debut performance in HVS’s new space, the Samuel H. Scripps Theater Center, as we enter our next stage of life as a company, and a community. We’ve programmed a season that celebrates love—for each other, for nature, for freedom—as well as one that looks to the past to try to make sense of the present. We have been building towards this moment for more than five years and now I am eagerly counting down the days until we can welcome audiences into our new home.”
HVS is also extending its educational programming with a new student matinee series. Students are invited to Hudson Valley Shakespeare’s new Samuel H. Scripps Theater Center located in Garrison, NY for an inspiring day of world-class performance and discovery. Morning student matinees will offer the same mainstage productions that have made HVS one of the cultural treasures of the region, with the Hudson River itself as the spectacular backdrop of the stage. Student matinee performances will be available for As You Like It and King Lear and will be $15.
Full details about HVS’s 2025 season, including casting, dates, and ticket information, will be announced at a later date.
Designed by architecture and urban design practice Studio Gang, the Samuel H. Scripps Theater Center will be the first public purpose-built LEED Platinum theater in the United States and is the centerpiece of a 98-acre campus, conveyed to the company by philanthropist Christopher Davis. Consigli Construction Co., Inc. is the Construction Manager for this project and Fisher Dachs Associates Theater Consultants also advised. Now and into the future, HVS audiences will continue to experience the company’s signature open-air productions and pre-show picnicking on the grounds. Information about the grand opening is forthcoming.
MORE ON THE 2026 SEASON:
William Shakespeare’s
As You Like It
Directed by Miriam Laube
Original Music by Amanda Dehnert
June 10 – September 18, 2026
“All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players”
All the world’s a stage as imagination takes the spotlight in this exuberant, music-filled romp. Rosalind and her cousin Celia adopt new identities and seek refuge in the Forest of Arden, where exiles become adventurers, friendships bloom into romances, and wit collides with whimsy. Enjoy Shakespeare’s bucolic romantic comedy against the backdrop of the Hudson River valley in this celebration of love, identity, and transformation.
William Shakespeare’s
King Lear
Directed by Davis McCallum
Featuring Kurt Rhoads as King Lear
June 12 – September 18, 2026
“How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child”
What happens when the crown slips from a king’s head and into the hands of those who would destroy him? Shakespeare’s tragic tale of madness, power, and betrayal roars to life in this gripping open-air production. An aging monarch divides his kingdom between daughters demanding their love as proof of loyalty, and setting off a chain of deceit and destruction that tears family and country apart. In the heart of the tempest, Lear learns too late that a king must first be a man, and the price of wisdom is everything he once held dear.
By arrangement with Cameron Mackintosh
A new production of
Boublil and Schӧnberg’s
Les Misérables
By arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI) and CAMERON MACKINTOSH LTD
Directed by Jenn Thompson
Music Supervision by Amanda Morton
August 12 – September 27, 2026
“If you wish to gain an idea of what revolution is, call it Progress; and if you wish to acquire an idea of the nature of progress, call it Tomorrow.” – Victor Hugo
After 19 years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread, Jean Valjean is given a second chance, but freedom comes at a price. Haunted by his past and relentlessly pursued by Inspector Javert, Valjean’s quest for redemption unfolds against the rising storm of revolution in 19th-century France. Les Misérables is a soaring tale of love, justice, and the unbreakable human spirit — featuring iconic songs including “I Dreamed a Dream,” “On My Own,” “Bring Him Home,” and “One Day More.”
LES MISERABLES is presented by special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI) and by arrangement with CAMERON MACKINTOSH LTD. All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. (www.MTIshows.com) This production is licensed by Music Theatre International.