Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks is a tour de force exploration of brotherhood, rivalry, and the weight of history on the present. It asks us who gets to win, who gets to survive, and how cycles of poverty and violence shape identity.

With Into the Woods, Stephen Sondheim dares us to step into the forest—into the unknown—where our desires, fears, and choices collide. The musical reminds us that community is forged not in the perfection of fairy tales, but in the messiness of reality. It’s a story about what happens after “happily ever after,” and it resonates deeply with Vanguard’s belief in theater as a mirror of life’s complexity.

Heidi Schreck’s What the Constitution Means to Me invites us to grapple with the living, breathing document that shapes our rights and freedoms. By blending personal narrative with civic discourse, the play empowers us to reconsider what America’s founding promises mean today—and for whom.

Our Illuminating New Voices Festival is a cornerstone of this season, shining a spotlight on emerging playwrights and bold new works. The festival gives rise to stories that demand to be told—stories that challenge what we think we know, expand the narratives we inherit, and invite us to imagine new communities together.

We close with Newsies, a musical that captures the spirit of young people rising up, demanding justice, and finding power in collective action. It is a jubilant call to arms, a reminder that courage belongs to all of us, and that even the smallest voices can move mountains.