Plays in Ottawa, Eastern Ontario and beyond—Theatre for every taste!

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If seeing live theatre is one of your favourite ways to spend an afternoon or evening, check out this regularly updated list of upcoming plays in Ottawa, Eastern Ontario and beyond. From comedies of manners to thought-provoking dramas, there should be something on this list to appeal to just about every theatre fan. To quote Bugs Bunny, “Overture, curtains, lights. This is it, you’ll hit the heights. And oh what heights we’ll hit. On with the show, this is it.”

Note: Did I miss a play from your favourite local company? Or do you have photos of an upcoming production that I could add to this post? Please email me! I’ll be updating this post regularly to add plays as they are announced.

Beetlejuice, National Arts Centre, Ottawa (May 27 to June 1, 2025)

This Broadway Across Canada production of Beetlejuice is a musical version of the beloved Tim Burton movie. Theatregoers will relive the story of quirky teen Lydia Deetz, whose life changes when she meets a recently deceased couple and a demon who loves stripes.

Sisters Matsumoto, LabO Theatre, Ottawa (May 28 to 31, 2025)

Sisters Matsumoto by Philip Kan Gotanda is a heartwarming play that sheds light on the aftereffects of Japanese internment camps during the Second World War. Directed by Mina Morita, the play is set in 1945 and tells the story of three sisters who return to Stockton, California, after spending two years in a U.S. concentration camp in Arkansas.

Hair, Gladstone Theatre, Ottawa (May 29 to June 7, 2025)

It’s time to get groovy, friends: Tototoo Theatre is bringing its production of Hair to the Gladstone Theatre. The iconic musical celebrates 1960s counterculture in all its barefoot, long-haired, bell-bottomed, beaded and fringed glory (or excess, depending on your point of view). After a night of peace, love and protest, you’ll come out humming famous tunes such as “Aquarius,” “Good Morning, Starshine,” “Hair,” “I Got Life” and “Let The Sunshine In.”

The Music Man, Meridian Theatres @ Centrepointe, Nepean (May 30 to June 8, 2025)

“We’ve got trouble, right here in River City. That starts with T and that rhymes with P and that stands for POOL.” If that line got your toes tapping, then you might just be interested in Orpheus Musical Theatre’s production of The Music Man. When smooth-talking con man Harold Hill arrives in a small, tight-knit town in Iowa, he expects to dupe its residents with his elaborate moneymaking scheme. The problem? Stern librarian Marian Paroo doesn’t quite buy Harold’s story. 

Rock of Ages: Teen Edition, Brockville Arts Centre, Brockville (May 30 and 31, 2025)

Brockville’s St. Mary Catholic High School is presenting Rock of Ages: Teen Edition. The scene: Hollywood, late 1980s. A developer is trying to tear down one of the Sunset Strip’s last legendary music venues, even as music stars and wannabes jockey for a place on the stage. Can the venue’s fans save the venue… and do so to the music of Styx, Journey, Bon Jovi, Whitesnake and other ’80s legends?

How the Other Half Loves, Thousand Islands Playhouse, Gananoque (May 30 to June 22, 2024)

Playwright Sir Alan Ayckbourn’s comedy How the Other Half Loves is a portrait of three very different marriages that turns into a spirited game of mixed doubles involving sex, jealousy, ingenious stagecraft and clever dialogue.

 The Rise of the BlingBling—Le diptyque, National Arts Centre, Ottawa (May 31 and June 1, 2025)

The Rise of the BlingBling—Le diptyque is billed as a “mystical pop epic” This retelling of the life of Jesus is the tale of a young man who wants to save the world through dance, theatre, kung-fu, mime, musical comedy, lip synching and angels on roller skates. In French.

Anastasia: The Musical, Perth and District Collegiate Institute, Perth (June 5 to 7, 2025)

Anastasia: The Musical transports its audience from the twilight of the Russian Empire to Paris in the 1920s, where a brave young woman sets out to discover the mystery of her past while being pursued by a ruthless Soviet officer.

Decrepitude Blues, Domino Theatre, Kingston (June 5 to 21, 2025)

Decrepitude Blues is a comedy about getting older. Tomorrow is Warren Winter’s 70th birthday. But he’s not happy about it. He’s not happy about much of anything. And no one comes to his birthday party. The only thing he hasn’t lost is his dark sense of humour, as he wryly confronts one indignity after another.

A Woman’s Love List, Upper Canada Playhouse, Morrisburg (June 5 to 29, 2025)

In A Woman’s Love List, Megan and Carly write down a list of qualities that describe the Perfect Man, and much to their surprise, he appears! The comedy is a sequel of sorts to playwright Norm Foster’s former hit, The Love List, in which two men search for the ideal woman. The Morrisburg production is its world premiere.

Anne of Green Gables, Shenkman Arts Centre, Orleans (June 6 to 8, 2025)

This production Anne of Green Gables—the beloved story of a certain red-haired PEI orphan, her adoptive parents Matthew and Marilla, and the village of Avonlea—is being staged by the Ottawa School of Theatre.

The Sound of Neutrons, Mackenzie Community School, Deep River (June 6 to 14, 2025)

Even if you can’t make it to the show, do check out the post for The Sound of Neutrons—it’s a clever homage to The Sound of Music. The musical by Phyllis Heeney celebrates the early days of Deep River’s history in nuclear power generation. (This June is the 80th anniversary of nuclear power in Canada.)

Knickers!, Seaway Valley Theatre, Cornwall (June 6 to 22, 2025)

Knickers! is a comedy that celebrates the willingness to bare it all. When the paper mill in a small Ontario town shuts down, a trio of weight watchers and their new friend rally the community to save both jobs and spirits. Could their plan to create a custom underwear business (complete with giant knickers as a roadside attraction) really be the town’s salvation?

Threads of Fate, National Arts Centre, Ottawa (June 10, 2025)

KingDom Theatre with the James McGowan Ensemble have combined forces to present Threads of Fate, a theatre performance where the path twists and turns with every decision each audience member makes. Guided by the ensemble of actors, the audience will traverse a labyrinth built not of walls, but of thoughts and emotions, to the accompaniment of McGowan’s original jazz-classical fusion score.

Rhythm Around the World, Gladstone Theatre, Ottawa (June 11 to 14, 2025)

Rhythm Around the World is a production of The Iron Cabaret featuring Ottawa dancers, aerialists, pole dancers and burlesque artists that explores the global roots of its performers through music, costume and dance. Styles range from African drums to classical Indian dance, and from Spanish flamenco to French can-can.

37 Postcards, Ottawa Little Theatre (June 11 to 28, 2025)

Billed as a “quirky comedy,” 37 Postcards tells the story of Avery Sutton, who brings his fiancée home to meet his family after years of travelling abroad. Back in Connecticut, though, nothing is as he remembered it: the house is tilted, the dog has gone wild, his late grandmother is still alive and his elderly aunt is an unwitting phone sex worker.

Marguerite: le feu, National Arts Centre, Ottawa (June 12 and 13, 2025)

Set in Quebec in 1740, the French-language Marguerite: le feu is a multidisciplinary NAC Indigenous Theatre production. It illuminates the trial of Marguerite Duplessis, an Indigenous woman declaring her freedom from slavery.

The Savannah Sipping Society, Station Theatre, Smiths Falls (June 20 to 29, 2025)

Smiths Falls Theatre is staging the comedy The Savannah Sipping Society, in which four Southern women who need to escape from their ruts get together at an impromptu happy hour. There, they decide to reclaim the enthusiasm for life they’ve lost through the years.

Stepping Out, Studio Theatre, Perth (July 3 to 13, 2025)

The comedy-drama Stepping Out tells the stories of a diverse group of students taking tap dance class in North London. The students initially struggle with clumsy steps and personal issues, but eventually find confidence and camaraderie through dance.

The Sweet Delilah Swim Club, Upper Canada Playhouse, Morrisburg (July 3 to 27, 2025)

Five women who met years ago on their college swim team set aside a long weekend every August to recharge their friendships at a cottage called the Sweet Delilah. The comedy The Sweet Delilah Swim Club follows them across four weekends spanning 33 years as they catch up, laugh, and meddle in each other’s lives, free from husbands, kids, and jobs. This is a hilarious and touching comedy about friendships that last forever.

Mary Poppins, Thousand Islands Playhouse, Gananoque (July 8 to August 16)

Grab the kids for this musical production about everyone’s favourite magical nanny, Mary Poppins. With eternal optimism, a mysterious carpet bag, a charming chimneysweep friend, lots of catchy tunes and a spoonful of sugar (to make the medicine go down), she wins the hearts of the Banks children.

Always a Bridesmaid, Ottawa Little Theatre (July 16 to August 2, 2025)

Four Southern girls made a promise on prom night: to be in each other’s wedding parties…no matter what. More than 30 later, they’re still at it in the farce Always a Bridesmaid, which follows the beleaguered bridesmaids as they navigate the choppy waters of love and matrimony.

Much Ado About Nothing, Kinsmen Amphitheatre, Prescott (July 19 to August 9, 2025)

The St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival’s production of Much Ado About Nothing sets Shakespeare’s comedy of society, gossip and mistaken love in a 1980s small town. Like all of the festival’s productions, it will be staged in an outdoor amphitheatre beside the St. Lawrence River. There will be a pay-what-you-can preview on Friday, July 18.

Sherlock Holmes and the Vanishing Hour, Kinsmen Amphitheatre, Prescott (July 23 to August 9, 2025)

The St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival’s second production of the season, Sherlock Holmes and the Vanishing Hour, builds on the characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle but moves the action to Canada. In this family-friendly play, commissioned for the festival, super-sleuth Holmes and his friend Watson solve a mystery on the St. Lawrence River. There’s a pay-what-you-can preview on Tuesday, July 22.

Maggie’s Getting Married, Upper Canada Playhouse (July 31 to August 24, 2025)

The Norm Foster comedy Maggie’s Getting Married revolves, not surprisingly, around a wedding—the night before the ceremony, to be precise. The Duncan family are gathered in their kitchen, and a small group of friends and relatives are in the next room, awaiting the groom’s arrival. Everything’s going to plan—until a big surprise turns the kitchen into a three-ring circus.

Cottagers and Indians, Thousand Islands Playhouse, Gananoque (August 8 to 30, 2025)

Written by Indigenous playwright Drew Hayden Taylor, Cottagers and Indians is the tale of an Indigenous man named Arthur Copper who decides to repopulate several lakes with wild rice. The seeds bloom into a funny-yet-fiery exchange between the farmer and a cottage owner, Maureen Poole, and the play touches on issues of community, respect and ownership.

Play On: A Shakespeare Inspired Mixtape, Kinsmen Amphitheatre, Prescott (August 12 to 16, 2025)

Originally commissioned by the Stratford Festival, Play On: A Shakespeare Inspired Mixtape was a big hit for the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival last year. So the cabaret of pop music and Shakespearean text is back in 2025, featuring songs by everyone from The Beatles to Taylor Swift (including a few new tunes this year).

The Giant’s Garden, Station Theatre, Smiths Falls (August 15 to 24, 2025)

In the Deep Dark Forest, beyond the Stream of Sorrows and Sinking Spirits, lies the Giant’s Garden—a place forbidden to outsiders.But when the Giant goes away, the children sneak in to play—until the Giant comes home. The Giant’s Garden is a family-friendly musical about bravery, the importance of friendship, and the power of love.

Five Alarm, Ottawa Little Theatre (August 20 to September 6, 2025)

Here’s a comedy set in Eastern Ontario! At the annual Wayne Rose Memorial Chili Cook-Off in Killaloe, Ontario, Ava Rose has tried (and failed) for 16 straight years to win. In Five Alarm, she returns to battle her former childhood friend and rival. If Ava can piece together her late father’s missing Five Alarm Chili recipe, she might just piece together the mysteries of her past.

Stag and Doe, Thousand Islands Playhouse, Gananoque (August 22 to September 14, 2025)

Did you know that stag and doe parties are a uniquely Canadian thing? The Canuck-style fundraising do gets its due in Stag and Doe, a comedy set in a small-town community hall. Bonnie and Brad are hosting the titular party, their maid of honour is still getting over being left at the altar, another couple is trying to host a wedding reception despite the fact that their marquee just blew away in a storm, and the caterers have been arrested—all at the same time.

Hurry Hard, Upper Canada Playhouse, Morrisburg (September 4 to 28, 2025

Anyone who’s ever curled (or at least watched a game) will recognize the title of Hurry Hard. When Bill and Sandy divorce, their curling team splinters into men’s and women’s teams. When the men are short a player for the big bonspiel, the teams reunite—to comedic effect.

The Drawer Boy, Thousand Islands Playhouse, Gananoque (September 5 to 28, 2025)

Written by Brockville playwright Michael Healy, The Drawer Boy focuses on Morgan and Angus, two elderly bachelor farmers. They’re living a quiet, secluded existence until a young Toronto actor named Miles arrives to research “rural life” for a play. As Miles learns about their lives, secrets and friendships are revealed in a script that blends humour with pathos.

Jonas and Barry in the Home, Ottawa Little Theatre (September 24 to October 11, 2025)

Now it’s Ottawa Little Theatre’s turn to stage Jonas and Barry in the Home, which Smiths Falls Community Theatre presented earlier this year. In this comedy by Norm Foster, Barry has reluctantly agreed to move into the seniors’ home where his daughter works, so she can keep an eye on him. He is just beginning to adapt to the quiet life when along comes chatty and flirtatious Jonas, who sees the curmudgeonly Barry as a fixer-upper.

9-to-5: The Musical, Thousand Islands Playhouse, Gananoque (September 30 to November 2, 2025)

If you’re like me, just seeing the title 9-to-5 :The Musical will have you humming, “Tumble out bed and stumble to the kitchen…” This musical version of the hit 1980 movie comedy will include the title song and many more, as Violet, Judy and Doralee plot to kidnap their nasty boss and force him to improve their woeful working conditions.

The Piano Teacher, Thousand Islands Playhouse, Gananoque (October 10 to November 2, 2025)

In The Piano Teacher, a renowned classical pianist finds herself unable to even touch a piano in the wake of a family tragedy. Then, an unconventional piano teacher reacquaints her with the instrument and gives her new hope for the future. The script won the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama in 2022.

Murder on the Rerun, Station Theatre, Smiths Falls (October 17 to 26, 2025)

Smiths Falls Theatre is presenting Murder on the Rerun, the tale of a ghost who tries to find out who murdered her in a witty, sophisticated, yet suspenseful look at the upper crust of Hollywood. When an Oscar-winning screenwriter is found dead at the bottom of a staircase in a Vermont ski lodge, her four friends and her husband all say she fell. But did she? And if she didn’t, why are those closest to her trying to cover up the real story?

The Turn of the Screw, Ottawa Little Theatre (October 29 to November 15, 2024)

Just in time for Halloween, Ottawa Little Theatre is staging The Turn of the Screw, the classic horror play based on a Henry James tale. A young governess and two orphaned children in an idyllic country house start to see frightening spectres of the former footman and governess. The governess is willing to risk everything to keep her charges safe … but will her horrifying catching up with her?

Annie, Meridian Theatres @ Centrepointe, Ottawa (November 21 to 30, 2025)

Orpheus Musical Theatre is presenting Annie, the enduringly popular show based on the Little Orphan Annie comic strip. Annie fights her way up from poverty in New York City to search for the parents who left her at an orphanage years ago. Along the way, she wins the hearts of billionaire Oliver Warbucks, his secretary Grace Farrell, and a cute dog named Sandy.

A Sherlock Carol, Ottawa Little Theatre (December 3 to 20, 2025)

Ever wondered what a mashup of the works of Charles Dickens and Arthur Conan Doyle might look like? You’ll get your answer in the mystery A Sherlock Carol. Sherlock Holmes is a haunted man after the death of Moriarty, until a grown-up Tiny Tim asks him to investigate the peculiar death of Ebenezer Scrooge, forcing the Great Detective out of his lethargy.

Miracle on 34th Street: The Play, Station Theatre, Smiths Falls (December 5 to 14, 2025)

In Miracle on 34th Street: The Play, an elderly man named Kris Kringle gets hired to play Santa at Macy’s department store. However, he falls afoul of management when he starts directing parents to other stores to buy the toys they’re seeking. Macy’s tries send him to a psychiatric hospital, but a court confirms him as the real deal—much to the delight of a small girl named Susan.

Jesus Christ Superstar, Meridian Theatres @ Centrepointe, Ottawa (March 6 to 15, 2026)

Orpheus Musical Theatre is staging Jesus Christ Superstar, the enduringly popular 1970s rock opera about Jesus in the days before his crucifixion. Personal conflicts abound among Jesus, his disciples, the people of Israel and the leadership of Rome, and Judas Iscariot and Mary Magdalene play pivotal roles.

Singin’ in the Rain, Meridian Theatres @ Centrepointe, Ottawa (May 29 to June 7, 2026)

The Orpheus Musical Theatre production of Singin’ in the Rain will showcase the toe-tapping tunes that made the 1952 movie an enduring classic. (You’ve got the title song in your head right now, don’t you?) Set during Hollywood’s transition from silent movies to talkies, the musical tells the tale of an ingenue singer hired to dub the squeaky voice of one of the silent era’s biggest stars—calling into question who should really be a star at all.

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