2025-2026 Season

by Michael Paul Hirsch, Executive Director Over the past year, hundreds of SBMT patrons shared what they value most, and their responses are directly shaping our upcoming seasons and audience experience. I thought I would share a few interesting insights. Our core audience continues to be local, long-time supporters, while our fastest-growing segment is a younger, more diverse community. This is why we are expanding outreach to schools, senior communities, and local service organizations, to ensure SBMT remains welcoming, relevant, and reflective of the South Bay. The vast majority of you come to see all of the main stage productions [...]

by Walter M. Mayes, Artistic Director When Little Women opened two weeks ago, the enthusiastic response from our audiences confirmed something we had felt throughout the rehearsal process: this production is being carried by a powerful sense of connection, collaboration, and shared purpose. At its heart, Little Women is a story about sisterhood—about women supporting one another through hardship, ambition, loss, and love—and it feels especially meaningful to see that theme reflected so clearly both on our stage and within the team that brought this production to life. With only 10 characters in the musical, Little Women asks a great [...]

A classic story, reimagined with heart, music, and community by Walter Mayes, Artistic Director, South Bay Musical Theatre Many of us first met the March family on the page—curled up with a well-worn copy of Little Women, discovering ourselves in Jo's ambition, Meg's grace, Beth's quiet strength, or Amy's determination. Louisa May Alcott's novel has endured for more than a century because it speaks, with uncommon feeling and clarity, to who we are and who we hope to become. I first read it when I was eleven and I return to the book every few years, sometimes only to read [...]

by Michael Paul Hirsch, Executive Director I am no soothsayer or diviner, but I am empathetic and perceptive enough to sense a shift carrying us toward a far more optimistic trajectory in 2026. From my discussions with you in the lobby of the theater, I know you feel it too. Last week, Doug Hughes, our Marketing Director, wrote about reflecting on SBMT’s remarkable 2025. This week, I thought I would talk a bit about what is to come in the New Year and why I am feeling so hopeful. First off, the obvious: the season we are actively producing is [...]

By Walter M. Mayes, Artistic Director South Bay Musical Theatre is thrilled to unwrap something truly special this season: Let It Show: A Broadway Holiday Celebration. As Artistic Director, I have long imagined bringing a warm, inviting December tradition to the Saratoga Civic Theater that celebrates community, showcases remarkable local talent, and ushers in the magic of the holidays without feeling like a children’s pageant. This year, that dream becomes reality. I am delighted to have created this new concert with one of my favorite collaborators, pianist and Music Director Bob Sunshine. Bob and I spent months digging through the [...]