Gilded Age's Claybourne Elder to Direct Spelling Bee for Cape Playhouse

The Cape Playhouse, the longest continuously operating summer theater in the United States, hasannounced its 2026 summer line-up, the largest season in its 99-year history. The theater will celebrate its centennial on July 4, 2027.

The 2026 season will kick off with Nat Zegree’s Mozart to Pop Chart (June 3-20), a theatrical concert exploring the musical traditions that give contemporary music its beating heart, directed by Kenneth Ferrone, followed by the Playhouse premiere of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods (June 24-July 11) directed by artistic director Eric Rosen.

Next up are Marc Shaiman and Scott Whitman’s Tony-winning musical Hairspray (July 15-August 8), directed by Meredith McDonough, and Mean Girls (August 12-29), Tina Fey’s comedy about what some girls will do to fit in, with a score by Jeff Richmond and Nell Benjamin, directed and choreographed by Al Blackstone.

The season will conclude with William Finn’s Tony-winning musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (September 2-19), directed by The Gilded Age’s Claybourne Elder.