For the 2026-27 season, performing arts patrons will see a new, unified vision across the award-winning professional companies and academic departments at Tulane University’s School of Liberal Arts.  

On January 16, the New Orleans performing arts community joined Tulane University President Michael A. Fitts, School of Liberal Arts Dean Brian T. Edwards, and recently appointed School of Liberal Arts Associate Dean Leslie Scott to celebrate the announcement of the 2026-2027 Performing Arts Season and to learn how this unification will further the professional approach to established theater troupes and student experiences.  

“One of the things I really love is that we get to have these incredible performers, incredible faculty, incredible students, and performances in a world global cultural capital,” shared Edwards. Students from the Black American Music program and Summer Lyric Theatre artists set the tone for the evening with a Speak Easy-style cabaret, as projections designed by James Lanius III from the Department of Theatre & Dance transformed the columns and walls of Dixon Hall Annex with images of the past, present, and future of university performances.  

Reiterated at the event, Scott will lead the newly formed Performing Arts at Tulane, bringing together the university's theater, dance, and music programs to produce year-round performances that serve students and the performing arts community across New Orleans and the Gulf South. Programs within the unification include the New Orleans Shakespeare Festival, Summer Lyric Theatre, the Department of Theatre & Dance, the Newcomb Department of Music, and Tulane Bands.   

“The performing arts are not an addition,” said Scott. “They are central to research, innovation, cultural preservation, and they are the beating heart of a strong liberal arts education.” 

The 2026-27 Season Includes: 

Summer Professional Programs 

• The New Orleans Shakespeare Festival at Tulane brings a bold take on the classics, beginning with King Lear, directed by Jana Mestecky, followed by Macbeth, directed by Interim Artistic Director Graham Burk. 
  

• The popular Lagniappe Series will include the comedic improvisation of The Fools Ensemble, the fast-paced (un)prompted Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing, and a reading of a new translation of Moliere’s The School for Wives by Professor Ryder Thornton. In January, the Shakespeare for the Schools program will return, bringing Macbeth to thousands of students across the Gulf South. 

• Summer Lyric Theatre at Tulane offers a knockout musical season with Chicago, directed by Jaune Buisson in June, La Cage aux Folles, directed by Diane Lala in July, and A Little Night Music, directed by Ricky Graham to close out the summer in August. 

Academic Programs 

• The Department of Theatre & Dance presents Hurricane Diane, directed by Professor Jenny Mercein in October; Almost Maine, directed by Dr. John ‘Ray’ Proctor in November; and a new initiative, the Actors Upfront Series with Love and Information, directed by Professor Monica Payne in April. Our dance offerings include Above the Oaks in October and Blanched with the Newcomb Dance Company in March, both led by Professor Jeffrey Gunshold, and Daughter Debris in January, conceived and choreographed by MFA candidate Rachel Slater. 

• The Newcomb Department of Music will host a full year of free concerts from September through April, featuring Music at Midday curated by Dr. Katakin Lukács, the Piano Concert Series led by Professor Faina Lushtak, and the Dr. Michael White Thursday Jazz Series directed by Professor Jesse McBride, along with the annual Vocal Arts Festival produced by Professor Amy Pfrimmer.  

The season will close out in collaboration with the Departments of Music and Theatre & Dance, with the spring musical Avenue Q, directed by Dr. Laura London Waringer in April.  

Visit Tulane Performing Arts for season details and ticket information.