What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters in September

Fall is coming and with it the return from vacation to school and work, clubs and community meetings, and a new theater season. Check out what’s playing at our theater partners across the United States this month. What do you hope to see?

Closing this week

At the Atlanta Shakespeare Company, The Venetians (September 7); new musical Octet at Hudson Valley Shakespeare (September 7); Deceived at The Old Globe (September 7); at the Utah Shakespeare Festival: Macbeth (September 4), Antony and Cleopatra (September 5), and As You Like It (September 6) as the outdoor Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre closes for the season.

At the Folger

Our family workshops return with A Living Shakespearean Sonnet, one session for ages 5–7 and another for ages 8–11, on September 13, followed at 5pm with a musical showcase of Antonio! a queer, punk, pirate musical starring Shakespeare’s ultimate dramatic love interest by Folger Artist Fellow Ania Upstill. Folger Salons, our gathering with Folger fellows and researchers, returns on September 18 with Fellows Gbenga Adesina, John Colley, and Tamara Walker discussing their research: Hamlet on the Atlantic, mute characters in drama from antiquity to the age of Shakespeare, and a mysterious early-modern pirate known as Black Caesar. Folger Theatre kicks off the 2025–26 season with Al Letson’s Julius X: A Re-envisioning of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, on stage September 23 through October 26, with Creative Conversations: Julius X, featuring members of the creative team and Artistic Director Karen Ann Daniels, on September 26.

American Players Theatre

American Players Theatre eight-play repertory in the woods of rural southwest Wisconsin continues, with William Inge’s Picnic, closes September 13; The Barber and the Unnamed Prince, closes September 25; Nilo Cruz’s Anna in the Tropics, closes September 26); Nina Raine’s Tribes, closes September 27; Art, closes September 28; Noel Coward’s Fallen Angels, closes October 3; The Winter’s Tale, closes October 4; and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, closes October 5.

Atlanta Shakespeare Company

The wild and unwed Katherine is thrown together with the boisterous and charismatic bachelor Petruchio and thus begins Shakespeare’s fiercest and most controversial battle of the sexes.

The Taming of the Shrew will have you laughing in the aisles and then discussing the themes on the car ride home.

Featuring an all-female+ cast!

On stage September 13–28.

Pictured: Daniela Santiago (Kate) and Mary Ruth Ralston (Petruchio), The Taming of the Shrew, Atlanta Shakespeare Company, 2025. Photo by Daniel Parvis.

Chesapeake Shakespeare Company

In this captivating adaptation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion by Sarah Rose Kearns, audiences are transported to a world of social intrigue, family drama, and enduring love. Anne Elliot’s touching journey of resilience and second chances unfolds against the elegant and beloved backdrop of Regency-era England, laced with Austen’s signature wit. Performs September 26 through October 19.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Can we get a “Hail Caesar”?! Rome wasn’t built in a day, but it only takes a moment for the balance of power—and the bread basket—to crumble. In this wild and satirical “add-rap-tation” of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar from Chicago’s own Q Brothers Collective, the charismatic tyrant Caesar rules over his realm with an iron fist and a string of increasingly ludicrous executive orders. When delicious carbs are officially kiboshed, Brutus, Cassius, and the Senator crew decide the madness must end. Set to the electrifying beats of ’90s hip hop and New Jack Swing, razor-sharp wit collides with revolutionary rhythm in Rome Sweet Rome proving that political power struggles never go out of style. On stage September 3 through October 19.

Cincinnati Shakespeare Company

Experience this fresh and provocative new adaptation by Amy Herzog of the Henrik Ibsen classic. When a doctor discovers a shocking secret about his community’s prized health resort, he becomes determined to expose the truth- even if it means turning the entire town against him. With family, friendship, and the price of integrity hanging in the balance, An Enemy of the People is a riveting exploration of what happens when one person’s truth becomes a community’s greatest threat. A timeless masterpiece that challenges us to ask: how far are we willing to go to stand up for what’s right? Performances September 5–20.

Brent Vimtrup (Doctor Thomas Stockmann), An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen in a new version by Amy Herzog, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, 2025. Photo by Mikki Schaffner.

Gamut Theatre Group

Help the precocious Little Red stay on the right path and watch out for the Big Bad Wolf in Little Red Riding Hood! Will the Woodcutter save the day? Silly songs and dances will keep your toes a tappin’ in this classic that will have you laughing all the way to Grandma’s house! Performs September 17 through October 4. The TMI Improv Comedy Troupe monthly show for September, 2 Cool 4 Skool, is a unique experience, with the audience playing a major role building the scenes! September 26.

Hudson Valley Shakespeare

Octet, a new musical from the author of Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, closes on September 7.

Up next, a timeless exploration of power, loyalty, and betrayal, Julius Caesar delves deep into the tensions between personal integrity and public duty. In Raz Golden’s swift and physical production, featuring a cast of six brilliant young actors from the HVS Conservatory Company, Shakespeare’s political thriller feels more potent and relevant than ever. This production will travel to middle and high schools this fall.

Performances on September 9–10 before the production begins touring.

To learn more about booking a performance for your school, contact Sean McNall, Director of Education, at smcnall@hvshakespeare.org.

Idaho Shakespeare Festival

Set sail to explore the Neverland you never knew with this Tony Award-winning prequel that charts a course through Peter’s untold escapades. A dozen actors portray over 100 unforgettable characters in Peter and the Starcatcher. Discover the boy who never grew up before he took flight. On stage September 5–28.

Nashville Shakespeare Festival

When the ever-scheming Sir John Falstaff tries to cure his money troubles by seducing the wives of two wealthy merchants, he doesn’t count on Mistresses Page and Ford comparing notes—and plotting their revenge in The Merry Wives of Windsor. This Shakespearean comedy celebrates marriage, playful revenge, and the everlasting friendship between two brilliant women who refuse to be fooled. Performs through September 21.

Evelyn O’Neal (Mistress Alice Ford), Galen Fott (Sir John Falstaff), and Ana Harvey (Mistress Margaret Page), The Merry Wives of Windsor, Nashville Shakespeare Festival, 2025. Photo by Sammy Hearn.

The Old Globe

Gather ye lords and ladies, fairies and wizards, knights and dragons at the Kingsbridge Midsummer Renaissance Faire, which comes to glorious life in the world premiere musical comedy Huzzah! Two sisters, one a princess and one who works in insurance, must stop fighting to save their father’s Renaissance Faire from financial ruin (and the occasional mead-based fire). When they gamble the payroll to hire the greatest swordsman on the whole Ren Faire circuit, will things go fair or foul at the Faire? On stage September 13 through October 19.

From racing horses at Belmont Park to dancing on Broadway stages, Robert Montano brings his own breathtaking career to life onstage in Small. Performs September 27 through October 19.

Oregon Shakespeare Festival

OSF’s 90th season continues with Into the Woods, one of OSF’s most successful productions, through October 11; The Merry Wives of Windsor, Shakespeare’s domestic comedy of food, dancing, and dirty laundry, through October 12; Octavio Solis’s Quixote Nuevo which infuses Tejano culture and music into a modern comic adaptation of Don Quixote, through October 24; a song-filled, 1960s-infused As You Like It and Oscar Wilde’s comedy The Importance of Being Earnest transplanted to the Malay Peninsula; Karen Zacarías’s new adaptation of  Shane, through October 25; and Shakespeare’s political thriller Julius Caesar featuring an all-female and nonbinary cast, through October 26.

San Francisco Shakespeare Festival

In The Two Gentlemen of Verona, two young men journey from a small Midwestern town to California, where dreams are made and shattered in equal measure. The two friends who venture westward confront their inner conflicts as they are seduced by the possibilities of love, success and reinvention. Grounded in the spirit of exploration, this adaptation captures the quintessential drive for self invention, while acknowledging the costs that often accompany it. The 43rd season of Free Shakespeare in the Park ends this month. Performances Saturdays and Sundays at 2pm in Sue Bierman Park September 13–21.

Joel Ochoa (Lance, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, 2025. Photo by Jay Yamada.

Shakespeare Notre Dame

Actors from the London Stage bring their touring production of The Tempest to the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival (NDSF). Five actors take the stage, with minimal props and costumes, and direct themselves in a performance of a complete Shakespeare play, with each actor portraying multiple roles. The company, founded in 1975 at the University of California, Santa Barbara, by Professor Homer “Murph” Swander and the renowned stage & screen actor Sir Patrick Stewart, tours to colleges and universities across the United States twice yearly, with each tour organized and administered by Shakespeare at Notre Dame. Each company of five actors leads classes and workshops throughout the residency week. Performances September 24–26.

Shakespeare Dallas

Told in both English and Spanish and set in the Texas borderlands of the 1880s, this production Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, in modern verse translations by Amy Freed, reframes the classic battle of wills between Katherine and Petruchio with cultural vibrancy and a contemporary lens. Lucentio loves Bianca but cannot court her until her shrewish older sister Katherina marries. The eccentric Petruchio marries the reluctant Katherina and uses a number of tactics to render her an obedient wife. Lucentio marries Bianca and, in a contest at the end, Katherina proves to be the most obedient wife. Performs September 19 through October 19.

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey

Set in a time of deadly civil division, Shakespeare’s masterful tragedy Romeo and Juliet continues to hold up a heartbreaking mirror to our world. In a society ravaged by hate and violence, two young people unexpectedly find love. Their youthful passion shines a light of hope against the pernicious and poisonous enmity of their families. One of the most beautiful pieces of theatre ever written, it is a tale of opposites—love and hate; exuberant joy and deep sorrow; youth and age; brutal ugliness and poetic beauty; despair and hope. It is intimate and epic. It is about violence. It is about peace. It is a tale of caution that we must heed—now and always. Performances September 10 through October 5.

St. Louis Shakespeare Festival

A Midsummer Night’s Dream continues its tour of public parks in Missouri and Illinois through September 14. Shakespeare in the Streets, SLSF’s grassroots theatrical experience that partners with St. Louis neighborhoods to tell their stories, develop an original play based on one of Shakespeare’s works that reflects the community, and create a weekend-long celebration with three live, outdoor performances, free and open to the public. This year’s play,  Power by DeAsia Paige, is inspired by the stories of the people of East St. Louis—known as the City of Champions, home to Olympic Gold Medalist Jackie Joyner-Kerse, jazz legend Miles Davis, global dance phenomenon Katherine Dunham and many more artists, poets, and athletes.  Performs September 25–27.

Theatricum

The 2025 Summer Repertory Season, described as A Season of Resilience following the Palisades Fire, includes: Much Ado About Nothing, through September 13, and the return of Theatricum’s signature production, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, through September 15, along with Strife, through October 4, in which Nobel Prize-winning writer and activist John Galsworthy shows every point of view in 1890s Pennsylvania as the corporation and workers consider untenable options; The Seagull: Malibu, Retold by Ellen Geer from The Seagull by Anton Chekhov, through October 5, an evocative retelling of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull transported to 1970s Malibu, California; and Wine in the Wilderness by Alice Childress, through October 12.

Utah Shakespeare Festival

The Utah Shakespeare Festival’s 64th season in the indoor Randall L. Jones Theatre continues with Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling, the Tony Award-winning musical comedy A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder by Steven Lutvak and Robert L. Freedman, and the Victorian satire The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. In the intimate Anes Studio Theatre, patrons can enjoy the World War II love story Ken Ludwig’s Dear Jack, Dear Louise. Indoor performances continuing through October 3–4.

American Players Theatre,  Atlanta Shakespeare Company, Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, Folger Theatre, Hudson Valley Shakespeare, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Nashville Shakespeare Festival, The Old Globe, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, Shakespeare Dallas, Shakespeare Notre Dame, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, Theatricum, and Utah Shakespeare Festival are members of the Folger’s Shakespeare Theater Partnership Program.