The Spring 2026 repertory opens a milestone year at the Blackfriars Playhouse, marking 25 years of shared light. The season brings three distinct stories on stage: a Shakespearean comedy of disguise, a fast-paced mystery, and a rediscovered classic driven by wit and audacity.
Meet the Directors
Three directors guide this season of Disguise, Desire, & Deduction.
- Nana Dakin directs Twelfth Night Or What You Will, returning to the American Shakespeare Center after directing Eurydice in 2022. A queer Thai American director of classics, new work, and devised performance, Nana serves as Board President of the Thai Theatre Foundation and brings a contemporary lens to Shakespeare, balancing rigorous text work with questions of identity, power, and desire.
- Brian Isaac Phillips makes his American Shakespeare Center debut directing The Hound of the Baskervilles. He serves as Producing Artistic Director and CEO of Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, where he has led the organization for nearly 25 years, overseeing the completion of Shakespeare’s full 38-play canon and the building of a new theatre in Cincinnati’s historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood.
- Emily Lyon directs A Bold Stroke for a Husband by Hannah Cowley. She is the Artistic Director of Expand the Canon, where her work includes directing ten world premieres, extensive dramaturgical and text-focused work, and national partnerships dedicated to rediscovering, contextualizing, and returning historic women writers to the classical stage.
Together, these directors shape a spring repertory where nothing is quite what it seems—and that’s precisely the point.
SPRING 2026 CAST
Repertory theatre demands range, generosity, and trust. This spring’s company embodies those qualities in every role, shifting worlds and stories in real time while supporting one another under a shared light.
- Angelique Archer (ASC Debut) — Olivia (Twelfth Night); Laura, Marcella (A Bold Stroke for a Husband)
- Darin F. Earl II — Antonio, Curio (Twelfth Night); Don Julio (A Bold Stroke for a Husband)
- Topher Embrey — Orsino (Twelfth Night); Sir Charles, Sir Henry, Mortimer, Cabbie, Yokel 2 (The Hound of the Baskervilles); Gaspar (A Bold Stroke for a Husband)
- Summer England — Viola/Cesario (Twelfth Night); Victoria (A Bold Stroke for a Husband)
- Blake Henri — Malvolio (Twelfth Night); Don Carlos (A Bold Stroke for a Husband)
- Angela Iannone — Valentine, Maria (Twelfth Night); Minette (A Bold Stroke for a Husband)
- Justin McCombs (ASC Debut) — Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Twelfth Night); Watson, Yokel 1 (The Hound of the Baskervilles); Don Garcia, Vasquez (A Bold Stroke for a Husband)
- Christopher Joel Onken (ASC Debut) — Sebastian, Fabian (Twelfth Night); Holmes, Slasher Seldon, Mr. & Mrs. Barrymore, Stapleton & Cecille (The Hound of the Baskervilles); Don Vincentio (A Bold Stroke for a Husband)
- Isabel Lee Roden — Feste (Twelfth Night); Olivia (A Bold Stroke for a Husband)
- Christopher Seiler — Sir Toby Belch (Twelfth Night); Foley Artist (The Hound of the Baskervilles); Don Caesar (A Bold Stroke for a Husband)
Plan Your Spring Theatre Escape in Virginia
Spring begins under shared light at the Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton, Virginia, an unforgettable live theatre stop in the Shenandoah Valley. Join us for a Pay-What-You-Will Preview or opening night and you might be featured in our Audience reaction videos.
Opening & Preview Dates
Twelfth Night Or What You Will
- Opens Friday, February 20, 2026
- Pay-What-You-Will Preview: Thursday, February 19 at 7:30 PM
- Opens Friday, February 27, 2026
- Pay-What-You-Will Preview: Thursday, February 26 at 7:30 PM
- Opens Friday, April 10, 2026
- Pay-What-You-Will Preview: Thursday, April 9 at 7:30 PM