The Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre has unveiled what it calls a “dynamic 2025/2026 season, a vibrant mix of world premieres, returning favorites, and an exciting lineup of productions from its both resident and guest companies.”
Theater leaders added that the season promises to be a hub of innovation, collaboration and community engagement, solidifying the Phoenix’s role as a vital artistic force in Indianapolis and beyond.
The 2025/2026 season launches with Phoenix Theatre’s highly anticipated National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere of Crystal Skillman’s The Rocket Men. This compelling new work delves into the fascinating true story of the German “Rocket Men” who, driven by their scientific prowess, escaped consequence from being Nazis to find an improbable new home in North Alabama. These men, who created the backbone of NASA’s rocketry program, will be portrayed by a diverse all-female cast: Jaddy Ciucci, Paige Elisse, Karla “Bibi” Heredia, Jen Johansen, Constance Macy, Jolene Moffatt and Milicent Wright. The Rocket Men will be directed by Timothy Scholl, artistic director of Angels Theatre Company in Lincoln, Neb. The Rolling World Premiere will continue at Synchronicity in Atlanta, Ga., and at Angels in Lincoln. The play premieres at Phoenix on Sept. 4 and runs for three weeks.
Christel DeHaan Artistic Director Constance Macy says, “We’ve been working with Crystal for the past year to launch The Rocket Men: zoom readings with local actors, live readings in New York, workshopping, lots of rewriting, reshaping to land on target. I love it because it exposes hidden history told through women’s voices, resonates in a profoundly modern way, and is grandly theatrical.” Macy continues, “We have a brilliant artistic team, and I am excited to get back onstage (as Wernher von Braun of all people!) with a cast of amazing women.”
In addition to The Rocket Men, the Phoenix’s beloved annual holiday tradition returns with a fresh twist: A Very Phoenix Xmas XVII: Sleigh, Queen, Sleigh!will offer a festive and irreverent celebration spanning centuries. This is Phoenix’s 17th version of this sketch comedy favorite and has been solely written by Zack Neiditch of Zack & Zach with songs by Paige Scott. Neiditch will also direct. A Very Phoenix Xmas XVII opens Nov. 29 and closes Dec. 21.
The Phoenix will also produce Wasabia by Wendy Herlich. Brian Balcom of The New Harmony Project will direct this delightfully weird yet poignant new play which will feature Jan Lucas as a woman facing the early stages of dementia. When she meets a young hospice volunteer desperate to shine, they strike up an unlikely friendship, which is thrown into question when Vivian (Lucas) enlists her help in getting life-ending drugs from a hapless musician. Along the way, personified drugs Val (Valium) and Di (Digoxin) appear in Lifetime interviews, a game show and more to help explore life’s choices. This dark comedy follows the experience of two flawed women as they wrestle with the challenges of medically assisted dying. Wasabia will be presented March 27 to April 12.
The fourth Phoenix production of the season is Ride the Cycloneby Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell. This popular and quirky musical centers on six teenage members of a Canadian chamber choir who die in a tragic roller coaster accident. After their deaths, they find themselves in the afterlife, where a mechanical fortune-telling machine, The Amazing Karnak, offers them a chance to return to life by competing in a contest. Each teen must tell their story and argue why they deserve a second chance. K.T. Peterson will direct. The musical will run four weeks beginning July 10.
The majority of the 2025/2026 season will showcase the talent and diverse offerings of the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Center’s resident companies.
American Lives Theatre (ALT) will bring three captivating world premieres to the Phoenix stage:
* Wadby Keiko Green about the comical and revealing pen pal relationship between a young woman and a man on Death Row, in the studio theatre Sept. 12 to 28.
* Borrowed Babiesby Jennifer Blackmer about the actual university practice of using infants from orphanages for college Home Ec classes in midcentry America, running February 6 to 22, 2026.
* Arlington, or Your Forgotten American Heroby Andrew Kramer, a new play about Oliver Sipple, who saved President Ford from assassination only be swiftly erased from history, running May 21 to June 7.
In addition to those three plays, ALT will also produce Extreme Home Makeover, a bilingual comedy about a Latin family auditioning for the TV show. This play will be in the studio theater July 16 to August 2, 2026.
New to the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre family is the Seda Negra/Black Silk Dance Company, which will grace the stage with two captivating performances on Oct. 4. Storytelling Arts will be back for more spooky stories Oct. 10 and 11, and Relevations Dance returns November 13 to 16, 2025.
Indianapolis Shakespeare Company will present Lavina Jadhwani’s ADO, a fresh, feminist response to Shakespeare’s classic Much Ado About Nothing, promising a fun, funny, thought-provoking and engaging experience, Feb. 12 to March 1.
Summit Performance will also return for the 2025/2026 season with a production that will be announced at a later date. Additionally, a new resident company is coming to Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre in 2026; that announcement will arrive soon.
Beyond the stage productions, the Michael O’Brien Gallery will continue to host monthly exhibits, showcasing a diverse range of visual artists, including new including new works by Anthony Radford and We Are Indy Artists, as well as The Emerging Artists Exhibit which features the work of Simon Youth Academies students.
Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre leaders said the facility will remain a vibrant hub for social, cultural and artistic activity, offering a welcoming space for the community to connect and engage. Speak Up!, a program of Corporate Supportive Housing that coaches the formerly houseless to share their stories, is one of Phoenix’s community partners, sharing space and communing together.
Further details regarding auditions, classes, Trail Talks, and additional programming will be released in the coming months. Stay tuned to the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre website and social media channels for the latest updates.
Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre
2025/26 season / More to be announced
* Aug. 9-21 – Phoenix Theatre presents The Rocket Men by Crystal Skillman.
* Aug. 12-28 – American Lives Theatre presents Wad by Keiko Green.
* Oct. 4 – Seda Negra/Black Silk Dance Company presents a dance performance.
* Oct. 10-11 – Storytelling Arts of Indiana presents Spooky Stories.
* Nov. 13-16 – Relevations Dance presents a new production.
* Nov. 29 through Dec. 21 – Phoenix Theatre presents A Very Phoenix Xmas XVII: Sleigh, Queen, Sleigh!
* Feb. 6-22 – American Lives Theatre presents Borrowed Babies by Jennifer Blackmer.
* Jan. 12 through Feb. 1 – Indianapolis Shakespeare Company presents Ado by Lavina Jadhwani.
* March 4-15 – Production by a new company at the Phoenix. To be announced soon.
* March 27 through April 12 – Phoenix Theatre presents Wasabia by Wendy Herlich.
* May 8-24 – Summit Performance production to be announced.
* May 21 through June 7 – American Lives Theatre presents Arlington, or Your Forgotten American Hero by Andrew Kramer.
* July 10 through Aug. 13 – Phoenix Theatre presents Ride the Cyclone by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell.
* July 16 through Aug. 2 – American Lives Theatre presents Extreme Home Makeover by Makasha Copeland.
