A Message from our Executive Director
As we look ahead to the Blackfriars Playhouse’s 25th Anniversary, our stage continues to celebrate the shared light that connects artists and audiences through timeless stories and bold discoveries.
Theatre is a radical act of community—and this spring and summer, that spirit shines in every story we tell.
From shipwrecked shores and mistaken identities to sharp-witted comedies and small-town revelations, each play in our Spring 2026 and Summer 2026 seasons reminds us that the heart of theatre beats strongest when stories, artists, and audiences meet in shared light to laugh, feel, and rediscover what it means to be human.
With gratitude for the community that makes this all possible,
Executive Director, American Shakespeare Center
ASC Spring 2026 Performances
Step into a spring of disguise, desire, & deduction at the Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton, Virginia. Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night Or What You Will opens this season with mistaken identities, secret longings, and a love triangle gone delightfully awry. The Hound of the Baskervilles follows with a side-splitting spoof of Sherlock Holmes as three actors play dozens of roles in a fast-paced mystery comedy. Close out the season with A Bold Stroke for a Husband by Hannah Cowley—a rediscovered classic that turns Shakespearean disguise on its head—sharp-tongued women flip scandal into triumph with wit, heart, and audacity.
Twelfth Night Or What You Will
By William Shakespeare
February 19, 2026 – May 3, 2026
In Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night Or What You WIll, nothing and no one is quite what they seem. Shipwrecked and alone, Viola disguises herself as a man and stumbles into Shakespeare’s most tangled love triangle: a duke in love with a countess, a countess in love with a servant, and Viola caught in between.
Add wild parties, forged letters, and yellow stockings, and Twelfth Night shines as one of Shakespeare’s most joyous and mischievous plays. Join us for a tale of music and misrule.
Book Your Spring 2026 Tickets To Twelfth Night or What You Will
The Hound of the Baskervilles
By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Adapted by Steven Canny & John Nicholson
February 26, 2026 – May 17, 2026
When Sir Charles Baskerville is found dead on the moors with a look of terror on his face and paw prints by his body, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are called to unravel the curse of the hound. But in this riotous retelling, the suspense goes delightfully off the rails as classic literature meets modern spoof.
With just three actors playing dozens of roles, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s most celebrated detective story gets a gloriously funny makeover in Steven Canny and John Nicholson’s Olivier-nominated adaptation. The Hound of the Baskervilles becomes a whirlwind of slapstick comedy and quick-change artistry as the gothic mystery transforms into a theatrical romp packed with wit, parody, and non-stop laughter. This is Sherlock Holmes as you’ve never seen him before.
Book Your Spring 2026 Tickets To The Hound Of The Baskervilles
A Bold Stroke For A Husband
By Hannah Cowley
April 9 – May 2, 2026
In Madrid, scandal is never far away. Don Carlos has lost more than his heart—he’s accidentally signed his fortune over to his mistress, Laura. Now, desperate to win it back, he teams up with his old friend Don Pedro, whose return to the city sparks a tangle of flirtations and mistaken identities.
Meanwhile, Olivia, a sharp-tongued heiress who refuses to be married off, keeps every suitor guessing—including her music-loving admirer and her exasperated father, Don Caesar. When her cousin Victoria arrives in disguise to reclaim her straying husband, secrets unravel, plans backfire, and love turns the city upside down.
From secret letters to midnight encounters, Hannah Cowley’s A Bold Stroke for a Husband is a witty whirlwind of scheming lovers, clever women, and social satire. This rediscovered comedy comes to the ASC through Expand the Canon, an initiative that uncovers and uplifts overlooked classic plays.
Book Your Spring 2026 Tickets To A Bold Stroke for A Husband
ASC Summer 2026 Performances
Summer at the Blackfriars Playhouse brings Wonder & Wild Hearts. Shakespeare’s As You Like It sends lovers, fools, and outcasts into the Forest of Arden, where disguises tumble and love finds its way. While Thornton Wilder’s Our Town captures the beauty of everyday life in Grover’s Corners, showing us that the smallest moments often carry the deepest meaning. This summer, join us in Staunton, Virginia, for two timeless classics that celebrate the joy of love, the strength of community, and the wonder of being alive together.
As You Like It
By William Shakespeare
May 28 – August 8, 2026
The noble Orlando wins a court wrestling match—and Rosalind’s heart—but before their love can take root, she’s banished from court. Quick-witted Rosalind disguises herself as a young man and flees into the woods with her loyal cousin Celia and the ever-foolish (and ever-wise) Touchstone.
When Rosalind’s new identity brings her face-to-face with the man she adores, she decides to test his devotion, schooling him in the art of romance while cleverly hiding her true self.
In the Forest of Arden, among exiled nobles, shepherds, and dreamers, they discover that sometimes you have to lose yourself to find yourself.
Join us this summer at the Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton, Virginia, as self-discovery and love run wild in Shakespeare’s As You Like It, where poems hang from trees, hearts awaken, and everyone turns over a new leaf.
Book Your Summer 2026 Tickets To As You Like It
Our Town
By Thornton Wilder
June 25 – August 9, 2026
In Our Town, the roots of community run deep: through neighbors, through family, through the shared rhythms of everyday living. As the Stage Manager guides us through these small moments—breakfasts at the table, walks to school, a shared glance—we see the extraordinary in the everyday.
Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Our Town is one of the most cherished plays in American theatre, not because of spectacle, but because of its simplicity. Set in Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire, it follows the Gibbs and Webb families through daily life, young love, marriage, and loss. A timeless American classic that asks: Do we ever realize life while we live it?
Book Your Summer 2026 Tickets To Our Town
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Experience Staunton, Virginia
Your next great story starts in theStaunton, where live theatre at the Blackfriars Playhouse meets local dining, small-town charm, and sweeping mountain views.
See a show with the American Shakespeare Center, then explore everything the Shenandoah Valley has to offer — because when you make it a weekend, the story stays with you.