Feature: CAPA PREVIEW at Ohio Theatre

  

A nun, a DeLorean, a wizard, an elephant, a farmer’s daughter, a pair of jazz musicians, and a gang of greasers walk into a theatre. It sounds like a set up for a very odd joke, but instead it is the line-up of Columbus Association of the Performing Arts’ Broadway series 2025-26 season.

CAPA will present six Columbus premieres, including the Ohio debut of the play HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD, as well as the return of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic THE SOUND OF MUSIC, the association announced April 7 at the Ohio Theatre.

As he emerged from a DeLorean on stage, CAPA President and CEO Chad Whittington channeled his inner Marty McFly and quipped, “I’ve been to the future … and the 2025-26 season is our best one yet.”

“We couldn’t be more excited to share this new season with all our loyal Broadway fans,” Whittington said. “The season really does represent the last several years of Broadway at its best, freshest, and most creative, alongside two beloved classics.”

The seven show package includes HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD (Oct. 12-Nov. 1), SOME LIKE IT HOT (Nov. 18-23), BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE MUSICAL (Jan. 6-11, 2026), THE SOUND OF MUSIC (Feb. 24-March 1, 2026), THE OUTSIDERS (March 17-22, 2026), SHUCKED (APRIL 7-12, 2026), and WATER FOR ELEPHANTS (June 9-14, 2026).  

Outside of its seasonal package, CAPA also offers three intriguing optional shows with the return of SIX (Dec. 16-21), LES MISERABLES (Jan. 27-Feb. 1, 2026) and HADESTOWN (May 15-17, 2026). 

The nearly full Ohio Theatre oohed and awwed as CAPA marketing manager Lisa Minken and NBC4’s Matt Barnes unveiled each selection.

“We have been doing this together for 37 years, bringing the best of Broadway to Columbus,” said Lauren Reid, the President of the John Gore Organization. “Broadway Across America works in many cities, but we’ve heard in New York that Columbus has the best audiences. I have heard that your reactions to the new shows is unlike anywhere else, so I have come here to see it for myself … So don’t let me down.”

Columbus will be the only spot in Ohio to see HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD and will be one of the first stops of the play’s national tour. POTTER is the only non-musical on the CAPA slate for next year.

The show, which is based on a story written by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany, resumes the story of the popular series 19 years after where the last film, HARRY POTTER AND THE DEADLY HOLLOWS - PART 2, left off. Potter’s son Albus teams up with the son of Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter’s darkest enemy.

 SOME LIKE IT HOT will be the season’s first musical, running from Nov. 18-23. The musical follows the basic premise of the 1959 movie of the same name, which starred Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon, and Tony Curtis. After witnessing a Chicago mafia hit, two jazz men jump trains and dress as women to elude the gangsters out to silence them. As a way of introducing the audience to the show, Tarra Conner Jones, who plays “Sweet Sue” on the touring version of the show, offered up an energetic version of the title track.

According to CAPA, the show captured more theater awards than any show in its season, including being named Best Musical by the Drama Desk, The Drama League, and the Outer Critics Circle.

Also making its Columbus debut is BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE MUSICAL. Based on the 1985 movie, the show follows the antics of Marty McFly, who travels back in time 30 years to 1955. However, before he can return to the present, he must make sure his high-school aged parents meet and fall in love to avoid disrupting the time-space continuum and disintegrating his family. Emmy and Grammy Award-winning Alan Silvestri and six-time Grammy Award-winning Glen Ballard bolster the soundtrack with several additional songs to Huey Lewis’ “The Power of Love” and “Back in Time” and Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” from the original movie.

THE SOUND OF MUSIC, the beloved musical that made Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer famous in 1965, makes its return to Columbus for the first time since 2016. Jill-Christine Wiley, who takes on the role of Maria in the touring show, led a choir of local students in singing “Do Re Mi” at the presentation.

Making its Columbus debut will be THE OUTSIDERS, the musical adapted from S.E. Hunton’s novel of the same name. In 2024, the musical about a gang of “greasers” in 1967 Tulsa, took home four Tony Awards including Best Musical. The choreography of the climatic brawl between the greasers and the socs in a film clip and the performance of “Great Expectations” by Trevor Wayne (Ponyboy Curtis in the traveling cast) appeared to intrigue the audience.

The comedy SHUCKED, which won a 2023 Tony Award for outstanding music, is at the polar end of the grittiness scale when compared to THE OUTSIDERS. With her town’s corn crops in crisis, Maizy ventures off to the big city to find a “corn doctor” to save the day.

The show has the right pedigree to be successful with the Grammy winning team of Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally penning the score and Tony Award winner Robert Horn writing the book. Jimmy Brewer (Beau in the touring cast) offered up an amusing version of “Somebody Will.”

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS closes out the season. Tony nominee Rick Elice (book) and the PigPen Theatre Co. (score) transform Sara Gruen’s poignant novel into a moving musical. After losing both his parents in a car accident, Jacob Jankowski jumps on a train and becomes a part of the "Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth.”

For the optional portion of the season, CAPA brings back three audience favorites: SIX, LES MISERABLES, and HADESTOWN. LES MISERABLES, a musical adaptation of Victor Hugo’s novel about life during a student revolution in 19th Century France, returns to Columbus for the first time since 2019. SIX, a diva-esque retelling of the lives of the wives of Henry The VIII is back by popular demand after its run in 2023. The former spouses of the monarch, each taking on the singing style of a current pop diva (Adele, Britney Spears, et. al) unite for a pop concert about their lives. Finally, HADESTOWN, the first CAPA show performed at the Ohio Theatre after the Covid epidemic, returns for the first time since 2021. Part gospel, part blues, the musical combines the tales of Persephonie and Hades and Orpheus and Eurydice. Hermes narrates the ancient Greek tale of boy meets girl, boy can't afford girl, and girl is wooed by the Lord of the Underworld.

“Our presenting sponsorship of PNC Broadway in Columbus truly sets the stage to help our local team deliver on our commitment to spur economic development and enrich our communities,” said Mary Auch, PNC regional president for Columbus. “PNC Broadway in Columbus also provides cultural opportunities for students and underserved populations in our community and across the region. The longevity of our collaboration is a testament to PNC’s commitment to the arts in the community and making programs accessible.”

Photo credit: McLeod9 Creative (BACK TO THE FUTURE) and Matthew Murphy (HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD)

               

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