New Canon Season 5: Summer 2026
This summer, New Canon Theatre Co. is leaning into what we do best: ambitious classical work, meaningful gathering, and intentional growth.
This season marks a more focused and deliberate chapter for New Canon. As we look ahead, we are prioritizing development, resource building, and the long-term sustainability of the company. By choosing a smaller season, we are creating space for sharper artistic focus now and stronger footing for the future.
We’ll kick off the season with a launch party and staged reading with a new work by one of our favorite playwrights in mid-May. More details, including the official date and location, will be announced soon.
NCTC returns to Carmel’s beloved Outdoor Forest Theater June 11-28 with Romeo and Juliet.
A sweeping story of first love, reckless joy, sharp comedy, and devastating loss, Romeo and Juliet reminds us why Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy endures. Set in 1968, at the height of the Vietnam War and nationwide civil unrest, this reimagining of Romeo and Juliet places the Capulets and Montagues on opposite sides of a fractured America. The Capulets are Hawks, aligned with authority, tradition, and the war machine, while the Montagues are Doves, rooted in protest culture, resistance, and the push for social change. Against a backdrop of demonstrations, generational rupture, and escalating violence, Romeo and Juliet’s love becomes an act of defiance, exposing the human cost of ideological extremism and asking whether empathy can survive when a nation is at war with itself.
During the run of Romeo and Juliet, the New Canon Theatre Lab will present a special, limited engagement: an intimate work-in-progress by a celebrated artist, developed in collaboration with New Canon. Full details will be announced soon.