L-R Top Line: Douglas Sills* as Leander Starr in the staged musical reading of Genius | Beaux Mali in the Composer Lyricist Cabaret (CLC) of Café con Leche by Maiga Vidal | Joseph Cavazos in the CLC of Café con Leche by Maiga Vidal | Chris Dimond (Lyricist) and Michael Kooman (Composer) | Caelan Creaser* as Elspeth, Rob Watson as Lyle, Tommy Krob as James, and Séarli Green as Ailey in the staged musical reading of The Roads to Loch Lomond | L-R Middle Line: Šime Košta in the CLC for Kooman & Dimond | Michelle Chin, Festival of New Works Director | Estrella Parra in the CLC of Café con Leche by Maiga Vidal | L-R Bottom Line: JP Coletta* as Bart Parfunkel and Gregg Hammer* as Saul Hymon in the staged musical reading of We Ain’t Ever Gonna Beak Up: The Hymon & Parfunkel Musical for the 2024 Festival | Wesley Bradstreet, Asst. Director of the Festival | Ilene Reid (Composer, Lyricist, and Co-Bookwriter) and Michael Heitzman (Co-Bookwriter) for Genius | Cast and team of Let the Good Times Roll: A New Orleans Gumbo for the 2024 Festival. Photos by Brennen Russell.
The Phoenix Theatre Company is preparing to welcome audiences for an extraordinary journey through the creative process with the 28th Annual Richard P. Stahl Festival of New American Theatre. Running from January 9-25, 2026, at the Judith Hardes Theatre, this year’s festival promises to be a dynamic showcase of emerging voices, bold storytelling, and the collaborative spirit that transforms words on a page into living, breathing theatre.
For nearly three decades, the Festival of New American Theatre has been an incubator for theatrical innovation. The Phoenix Theatre Company’s longstanding commitment to developing new works, playwrights, and performers has yielded remarkable results. Productions like ¡Americano!, We Ain’t Ever Gonna Breakup: The Hymon and Parfunkel Musical, Let the Good Times Roll: A New Orleans Gumbo, and The Roads to Loch Lomond all began their journeys at this festival before moving to a world premiere, proof that what starts as a reading today could become tomorrow’s must-see production.
“We are thrilled to be welcoming artists back for the 2026 Festival as well as hosting new up-and-coming talent from around the country and from the Arizona arts community,” Festival Director Michelle Chin said in a press release. “This year’s Festival highlights unique themes across all of our works and is a celebration of the development process at every level: with pieces that have been refined over the last decade to works being created right in front of you.”
A Festival of Firsts and Favorites
This year’s lineup offers something for everyone, from intimate play readings to high-energy improvisation, choreographed storytelling to composer showcases.
The festival opens January 9 with Falls, a tender and funny play by Irish playwright Colm Summers that explores Parkinson’s disease, queerness, and the complexities of caregiving. When a young father’s diagnosis threatens to upend his relationship with his son, expectations of fatherhood fall away in unexpected ways. Directed by Ron May, founding Artistic Director of Stray Cat Theatre and a finalist for the 2018 Zelda Fichandler Award, this moving work will be presented with ASL interpretation available at the January 11 matinee.
A festival favorite returns, the 24-Hour Theatre Project, where four playwrights Kyle Olson, Shayna Padjen, Elias Matthews, and John Perovich will be randomly paired with directors and actors to create, rehearse, and perform brand-new short plays in just 24 hours. Audiences can witness the theatrical magic that emerges from this intense creative sprint on January 10. Directors Shelina Elyse, Amanda Noel Trombley, Mark Stoddard, and Catherine Ricafort McCreary will guide their teams through this exhilarating challenge.
Musical Moments and New Discoveries
The festival’s musical offerings shine bright this year with two Composer Lyricist Cabarets.
On January 16 at 7 p.m. and 18 at 5:30 p.m., audiences can experience the work of Danny Feldman, a New York-based composer whose songs have been performed at Lincoln Center and 54 Below, and whose tune “Classy Time” was recorded by Tony Award winner Beth Leavel.
Also on January 16 at 8:30 p.m. and 18 at 13:30 p.m., will feature the songwriting team of Amanda D’Archangelis and Sami Horneff, whose musical The Radium Girls is eyeing a world premiere production in the 26-27 season and was a 2022 NAMT Finalist. Each 45-minute performance will be followed by a talkback, offering audiences a rare glimpse into the creative minds behind the music.
Brand new for 2026, [title to be determined]: An Improvised Musical takes the stage on January 17 for a truly one-night-only experience. A group of talented performers including Jena Allen, Ryan Ardelt, Sally Jo Bannow, Maggie Barry-Torres, Hahnna Christianson, Teddy Ladley, Brian Sweis, and Matt Villar will gather audience suggestions to improvise a complete musical with music, lyrics, and dialogue created in real time. It’s theatrical lightning in a bottle, and once it’s over, it’s gone forever.
The festival features two full musical readings that showcase works with vastly different themes and storytelling. Fly Fly Fly, with book, music, and lyrics by Katie Brady and co-composer Eric Powers, tells the story of an empty nester who opens a forgotten pop-up book and magically conjures her children back home. This Broadway-infused pop-folk musical explores memory loss, aging, identity crisis, and neurodiversity with both humor and heart.
Meanwhile, An Optimist’s Guide to the Dark Ages, by the Emmy-nominated team of Michael Kooman and Christopher Dimond, offers a hilarious journey through history as the world’s only optimist attempts to end the Dark Ages. Kooman and Dimond, who also participated in the Composer Lyricist Cabaret last year, have written for stars including Patti Lupone, Audra McDonald, and Sutton Foster, and their stage musical Romantics Anonymous debuted to rave reviews at Shakespeare’s Globe.
Beyond the Performance
The festival extends its celebration of the creative process with events that put a spotlight on often-unseen aspects of theatrical development.
The Choreography Lab on January 23 and 25 will feature two choreographers, Kate E. Cook and Brant Michaels, interpreting “Jaw-Dropping Girls,” the act 1 finale of The Radium Girls by Amanda D’Archangelis, Sami Horneff, and Lisa Mongillo, demonstrating how movement can transform storytelling.
The New Works Design Panel on January 24 brings together scenic designer Douglas Clarke, lighting designer Tim Monson, and costume designer Cari Sue Smith to discuss their creative process for Fly Fly Fly, offering audiences insight into how designers envision the world of a new work.
In collaboration with Spotlight Youth Theatre, the First Draft Series: Young Playwrights on January 24 and 25 will present free readings of three one-act plays, winners of Spotlight Youth Theatre’s 2025-2026 Playfest competition. It’s a chance to witness the next generation of theatrical voices finding their footing on stage.
The Richard P. Stahl Festival of New American Theatre 2026 is an invitation to witness the messy, magical process of creation itself.
It’s a chance to be present at the beginning of something that might one day become iconic, to offer feedback that shapes a work’s future, and to support artists at their most vulnerable and courageous moment.
All festival events will be held at the Judith Hardes Theatre. Tickets are on sale now at phoenixtheatre.com. Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of theatre history in the making.
Event Details
Dates: January 9 – 25, 2026
Location: The Phoenix Theatre Company, Judith Hardes Theatre
Tickets: phoenixtheatre.com | (602) 254-2151
ASL/Audio Describe performances are available for the readings.
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