Williamstown Theatre Festival Cancels Summer 2026 Programming

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 1/20/26 at 5:15pm

"Massachusetts' Williamstown Theatre Festival will not present programming in summer 2026. The summer theatre company will resume in 2027. The company says it will use the intervening time "to activate a new phase of artistic research, development, and year-round engagement," aimed at creating a sustainable model of newly year-round programming, with the annual summer Festival as a cornerstone."

"Creating bold work requires strong systems behind the scenes,” adds Managing Director of Operations and Advancement Kit Ingui. "We’ll use the coming months to build the infrastructure, processes, partnerships, and workplace practices that allow artists and staff to do their best work at the scale the Festival now demands."

Jeremy O. Harris will program the 2027 summer season.

https://playbill.com/article/williamstown-theatre-festival-cancels-summer-2026-programming

[spicemonkey]

Posted: 1/20/26 at 5:26pm

Ugh

1. Not happening this year 

2. Jeremy O. Harris will program the 2027 summer season.

 

two bad things announced at the same time 

 

- I do hope it could be easier to travel up to the venue tho

[JSquared2]

Posted: 1/20/26 at 5:27pm

Keeping JOH on as their "Programmer" is sort of like rebuilding the Titanic and re-hiring the same Captain.

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 1/20/26 at 5:53pm

Yes.  Time to lose JOH.  The funding people/groups need to handle this now.

This institution needs to be put in more reliable, responsible and sober hands. 

Updated On: 1/20/26 at 05:53 PM

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 1/20/26 at 5:53pm

He’s also their dealer!

[sinister teashop]

Posted: 1/20/26 at 6:10pm

I like the gambit of drawing audiences to Williamstown with the louche provocations of JOH but I fear there is not enough money in the coffers of the Festival to do it justice, which is a disservice to JOH (no matter what you think of him) or the Festival’s audience or the continuing legacy of the Festival itself. The cultural demographic that created the Festival died some time ago even if many of its audience members are still alive. Time for the Festival to reinvent itself as something less fabulous, boring even. Scale it down, quiet it down, focus on quality.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 1/20/26 at 6:53pm

The problem with a revolving door of programmers is major donors are often drawn to the artistic vision of a leader. So if people loved what JOH did, they may be less inclined to support a different programmer next year. And then you end up with a kind of transient business model with no sustained vision.

I didn't go to Williamstown last summer but it sounds like quality was not the issue. It was ambitious and exciting. But ticket sales for most arts orgs only cover a small fraction of the budget. The key to successful leadership is translating buzz into six-to-seven-figure donations. That's a tough thing to do when you've been mostly dormant since before the pandemic, and this gap in 2026 programming won't help them with retention.

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 1/20/26 at 6:58pm

The programming was not great last year.  The Williams revivals were fine but also incoherent in concept (glad we knew Camino Real in advance... because....wow)- but the best of the bunch.  Harris' play was not open to review - and there was a reason.  yikes.  

  I fear they made a deal and are stuck with him for a season or two.  The year off may indeed be to make changes as he is more of a liability than asset. 

Updated On: 1/21/26 at 06:58 PM

[Ensemble1698878795]

Posted: 1/21/26 at 1:01am

CoffeeBreak said: "The programming was not great last year. The Williams revivals were fine but also fairly incoherent in concept - but the best of the bunch. Harris' play was not open to review - and there was a reason. yikes.

I fear they made a deal and are stuck with him for a season or two. The year off may indeed be to make changes as he is more of a liability than asset."

JOH is not an inspiring leader or voice in the theater. His recent drug issues internationally don’t help his reputation. I bet donors don’t wanna get behind his name or vision. It’s a liability. Big yikes all around.
 

 

[bwayobsessed]

Posted: 1/21/26 at 8:07am

Maybe if their entire history wasn’t based around having 300 unpaid interns while raking in enough money to hire movie stars they’d have a more sustainable business model…

[sinister teashop]

Posted: 1/21/26 at 12:04pm

bwayobsessed said: "Maybe if their entire history wasn’t based around having 300 unpaid interns while raking in enough money to hire movie stars they’d have a more sustainable business model…"

The unpaid intern issue has sunk them, with among other things that were out of their control. But I don't know if I would agree that their entire history was based on the exploitation of interns. It began more or less as a summer festival for the Yale Drama School and the focus was on international playwrights as much as performance. I don't think the star-futzing started until the 1980's. 

Updated On: 1/21/26 at 12:04 PM

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 1/21/26 at 2:12pm

Because JOH did such a great job at Center Theatre Group?