Hancher announces 2025-26 Broadway series

It's quite a contrast between Hancher's current Broadway season, which concludes at the end of the month with "Tina: The Tina Musical“ and its 2025-26 campaign.

"Tina" and the preceding shows from the current season, including "Mean Girls," "Dear Evan Hanson" and “Hadestown,” are heavy productions. The future shows are on the lighter side.

"What we have coming up is a set of titles that will be really fun," Hancher Programming and Engagement Director Aaron F. Greenwald said. "The four shows that will represent next season will all be a blast. I feel like we covered all of our bases."

Subscriptions go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Monday, June 9 for "Kinky Boots," "Clue Live On Stage!," "The Music Man" and "Beetlejuice." The season also includes a one-nighter with "Rent," which is slated for March 1, 2026.

"We wanted a family title, and we ended up with two family titles," Greenwald said. "’Beetlejuice’ is a classic, and then there's 'The Music Man.’ We wanted a farce, and we're going with ‘Kinky Boots,’ which is a modern classic."

"Kinky Boots" is a quirky and clever musical that's based on the British film of the same title. The protagonist forms a surprising partnership with a cabaret performer/drag queen to produce a line of high-heeled boots.

The book was written by Harvey Fierstein, and the music and lyrics were crafted by Cyndi Lauper.

"Being part of the creative team for 'Kinky Boots’ was one of the most joyous, creative experiences I ever had," Lauper said. "It was just-awe-inspiring to see how the show developed. We started that first meeting sitting around a table, and I sang a song. Three years later, we created this magical world."

“Kinky Boots,” which is slated for Jan. 23-25, 2026, straddles a line but it never goes too far. "It's outrageous and it's fun," Greenwald said. "It's kind of winking at the audience. It's a little naughty, but it's not lurid."

“Clue Live on Stage!” set for Feb. 6-8, 2026, is a rare play that's based on a board game. "Clue" is a black comedy mystery. The movie hit screens in 1985, but the play debuted in 2017. It’s a lighthearted, clever whodunit set in the 1950s. The familiar characters from the board game, Colonel Mustard, Miss Scarlett and Mrs. Peacock, are part of the show.

“’Clue' goes over well with everyone," Greenwald said.

Meredith Willson's "The Music Man," which will hit the stage March 27-29, 2026, is a classic about a con man who poses as a boy's band organizer who sells the band's instruments and uniforms promising to teach Midwestern townsfolk to become musicians. However, the protagonist is no music man. A piano teacher figures out the scam but falls in love with the con.

The venerable play became a Broadway smash in 1957 and won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Willson is a Mason City, Iowa native. When Hancher opened a half-century ago, the venue presented a production of "The Music Man," and Willson conducted one of the performances.

"Willson was an Iowa guy," Greenwald said. "So 'The Music Man' is the essential Iowa musical. Willson didn't go to the University of Iowa, but he was a full-blooded Iowan.“

Every quarter century, “The Music Man” is resurrected at Hancher.

"The cool thing is that the play is more visible since Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster did it on Broadway recently,“ Greenwald said. ”We're very excited about 'The Music Man.' Since there is a marching band scene in it, we've already fielded calls from the University of Iowa marching band about whether they can participate."

“Beetlejuice,” which will conclude the season after a May 1-3 run in 2026, has even more visibility than “The Music Man,” thanks to the sequel “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice," which premiered in theaters last September.

"People were reminded of how much fun 'Beetlejuice' is after the sequel came out last year," Greenwald said. "That play is such a good time. I'm confident that anyone who comes out to see what we're presenting next year will enjoy what they experience."