- New Musical Laboratory (NML) in collaboration with Wharton Center for Performing Arts
- Music by Dan Gibson and Book and Lyrics by Alex Higgin-Houser
- Location: Pasant Theatre, Wharton Center for Performing Arts
Dates: September 24 – 27, 2026
Discovery tells the story of the NASA astronaut corps after the 1986 Challenger tragedy and the lead-up to the 1988 launch of Space Shuttle Discovery. Following Dr. Sally Ride on her journey from iconic astronaut’s astronaut to queer outsider speaking truth to power, along with the astronaut corps’ rocky journey back to space, Discovery dives deep into how catastrophe and grief can catalyze self-discovery, reinvention, and healing.
becoming through imagination
- By Reina Hardy and Rory Leahy
- Directed by: Rob Roznowski
- Location: Arena Theatre, MSU Auditorium
- Dates: October 9 – 18, 2026
When a group of college film majors venture into the woods to make an ill-advised horror movie, they encounter supernatural forces of love and madness. Based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
becoming through moral defiance
- By Sophocles; freely adapted by Emily Mann
- Directed by: Ann Folino White
- Location: Pasant Theatre, Wharton Center for Performing Arts
- Dates: November 6 – 15, 2026
Based on the ancient Greek tragedy of Antigone, the story of a daughter in a powerful family tries to bury her brother’s corpse against the dictates of her uncle Creon
becoming under pressure to conform
- By Eugene Ionesco
- Translated by Derek Prouse
- Co-Directed by: Andrew Keller
and Nick Torres - Location: Studio 60, MSU Auditorium
- Dates: November 18 – 22, 2026
A small town is besieged by one roaring citizen who becomes a rhinoceros and proceeds to trample on the social order. As more citizens become rhinoceroses, the trampling becomes overwhelming until only one sane man, Berenger, remains, refusing to surrender his identity.
becoming in the moment
- Directed by: Sarah Hendrickson
- Location: Studio 60, MSU Auditorium
- Dates: December 3 – 6, 2026
This annual favorite pushes MSU’s first-year theatre and transfer students to perform fast-paced improv scenes in front of a live audience that gives suggestions. No scripts. No safety net. Just quick thinking, fearless collaboration, and spontaneous comedy that changes every night.
becoming who they need to be
- Book writer Tina Fey, lyricist Nell Benjamin, and composer Jeff Richmond
- Co-Directed by: Dan Smith and Brad Willcuts
- Location: Fairchild Theatre, MSU Auditorium
- Dates: February 19 – 28, 2027
Cady Heron may have grown up on an African savanna, but nothing prepared her for the wild and vicious ways of her strange new home: suburban Illinois. How will this naïve newbie rise to the top of the popularity pecking order? By taking on The Plastics, a trio of lionized frenemies led by the charming but ruthless Regina George. But when Cady devises a plan to end Regina’s reign, she learns the hard way that you can’t cross a queen bee without getting stung.
becoming as a team
- By Sarah DeLappe
- Directed by: Dennis Corsi (Alumni Guest)
- Location: Pasant Theatre, Wharton Center for Performing Arts
- Dates: March 26 – April 4, 2027
A girls’ indoor soccer team warms up. From the safety of their suburban stretch circle, the team navigates big questions and wages tiny battles with all the vim and vigor of a pack of adolescent warriors. A portrait of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for nine American girls who just want to score some goals.
- By Steve Yockey
Directed by: Deric McNish - Location: Studio 60, MSU Auditorium
- Dates: April 7 – 11, 2027
When a firework-filled marriage proposal goes very wrong, the accompanying explosions wake up something very old that’s been sleeping in the nearby lake for thousands of years. What follows are intimate, darkly comic, and sometimes startling vignettes about the lengths people go when they desperately want something to believe in.
becoming an artist
- By Randy Jackson-Alvarenga
- Co-Directed by Ji Won Jeon and Ryan Welsh
- Location: Arena Theatre, MSU Auditorium
- Dates: April 23 – May 2, 2027
When a fractured theatre company gathers for an emergency late-night rehearsal, the plan is simple: fix the show before it all falls apart. But as simmering tensions rise and the theatre’s ghosts begin to stir, the entire company is forced into a night none of them bargained for. Night, by Ghostlight is a haunting and heartfelt tale that asks what theatre demands of us, and why we keep coming back, night after night.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
You can buy MSU theatre season tickets through the Wharton Center for Performing Arts website: https://www.whartoncenter.com/events/category/dept-of-theatre
MSU Theatre performances are held either at the MSU Auditorium building (542 Auditorium Rd, East Lansing, MI 48824), which holds the Arena Theatre, Studio 60, and Fairchild Theatre, or at Wharton Center for Performing Arts, which holds the Pasant Theatre. Double check the performance location so you arrive at the right place!
For MSU Auditorium performances, you can park for free at parking lot 9 after 6 PM on weekdays and all day on weekends. Otherwise, there is Pay By Plate parking across campus.
For Wharton Center for Performing Arts performances, you can park in Ramp 3 (Lot 19), which is adjacent to Wharton Center with Pay By Plate. There is also Shaw Ramp (Lot 51) or surface lots 112, 113, and 54, all with their separate parking fees.
Please silence or turn off your phone before the show and give full attention to those running the performance. If you have to use your device like taking a phone call, exit discreetly. Do not take photos/videos of the performance to avoid violating copyright and spoiling performances for others. Exceptions can be made for professional photographers and publicity/media specialists officially covering the event. Be present, limit distractions, and help create a respectful experience for all.
MSU students from all types of majors and backgrounds, including theatre, film, dance, engineering, biology, English, etc. are involved in these performances! Students gain experience, bond, and learn real-life skills through preparing and performing for the MSU Theatre department.
