Season 61

Welcome to Season 61 at Players by the Sea—The Stories That Bring Us Home.

This season invites you to rediscover the heart of live theatre and the connections that make us who we are. Through laughter, healing, and truth, each production explores what it means to belong—to a place, to a moment, and to each other. From epic tales to intimate journeys, these stories remind us that home isn’t just where we are—it’s what we create together.

A deeply moving contemporary musical, Dear Evan Hansen follows Evan, a socially anxious high schooler whose life changes after a lie spirals out of control. When a classmate’s death leads others to believe Evan was his best friend, Evan suddenly finds himself at the center of a viral movement about connection and belonging. As he basks in newfound attention, he must confront what it means to be seen, to tell the truth, and to truly connect in an age of social media and isolation.

Every Brilliant Thing invites the audience into an intimate story of love, loss, and the small joys that make life worth living. After their mother’s attempted suicide, a young person begins compiling a list of everything brilliant about the world—ice cream, laughing so hard you snort, staying up past your bedtime. Through humor and honesty, the play becomes a life-affirming conversation about mental health and the extraordinary beauty found in the ordinary.

Disaster! is a campy jukebox musical parody of 1970s disaster films, packed with hit songs from the era and a boatload of absurdity. When a group of mismatched passengers boards a floating casino for its grand opening, chaos strikes as earthquakes, tidal waves, and killer bees threaten everyone on board. It’s a wild, laugh-out-loud tribute to disco, danger, and the decade of big hair and bigger drama—with beloved pop hits like “Hot Stuff,” “I Will Survive,” and “Knock on Wood.”

Set in 1964, Violet follows a young woman scarred by a childhood accident as she journeys across the American South in search of a televangelist who she believes can heal her. Along the way, she meets fellow travelers who challenge her understanding of beauty, faith, and self-worth. With a soaring folk and gospel-inspired score by Jeanine Tesori, Violet is a heartfelt story of discovery, resilience, and seeing oneself beyond the scars.

Part Monty Python, part Sherlock Holmes, The Play That Goes Wrong is a riotous farce about a local theatre troupe attempting to stage a 1920s murder mystery—only to have everything that can go wrong, go spectacularly wrong. Props disappear, actors forget lines, set pieces collapse, and chaos reigns in this side-splitting comedy that celebrates the joy of live theatre and the beautiful art of things falling apart.

In Feeding Beatrice, a young Black couple eager to buy their first home moves into a crumbling old mansion for a suspiciously low price. Soon, they discover they’re not alone—Beatrice, a mysterious white woman from another era, haunts the house with sinister charm. As her influence grows, the couple must confront the home’s—and the country’s—racial and historical ghosts. Equal parts horror and social satire, this haunting play explores privilege, assimilation, and the cost of belonging.

Sweeping and powerful, Ragtime paints a portrait of America at the turn of the 20th century—when industrial progress collided with racial and class divides. Through the intersecting stories of an upper-class white family, a Black musician from Harlem, and a Jewish immigrant and his daughter, the musical captures the struggle for justice, freedom, and the elusive American Dream. With its lush score by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, Ragtime remains a timeless story of hope, change, and the pursuit of equality.