PHILADELPHIA, PA – Walnut Street Theatre, America's Oldest Theatre and a National Historic Landmark, is excited to announce its 216th season of live entertainment, and its 42nd season as a not-for-profit producing theatre company. This is “the season dreams are made of,” with three phenomenal musicals, a powerful Pulitzer Prize-winning play, and a comedic masterpiece. As a self-producing regional theatre, the Walnut is the most popular theatre company in Philadelphia.
“As we built this season, I was thinking about the dreams we are collectively chasing,” says Producing Artistic Director Bernard Havard who is celebrating his 42nd anniversary at the theatre this season. "From fame to family to a better tomorrow, our 216th season explores the dreams that drive us all.”
The season begins in the streets of New Jersey with the sensational behind-the-scenes story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons in JERSEY BOYS. Ushering in the holiday season, ELF The Musical brings you the charming story of Buddy, the human raised by elves, and his trip to the magical land of New York City to find his birth father and save Christmas. DRIVING MISS DAISY is the Pulitzer Prize-winning play about an unlikely friendship between an elderly Jewish widow and an African American chauffeur in 1940s Atlanta, and the transformative nature of their relationship. When spring arrives, you’ll be sneezing with laughter at Noël Coward’s HAY FEVER, where we invite you to the Bliss family country house for a weekend of madcap games and melodrama. Closing out our 216th season is DREAMGIRLS, the Broadway sensation telling the story of a Supremes-like girl group learning that stars rise and fall, but dreams last forever.
OUR 2024-25 SEASON
JERSEY BOYS
(October 1 - November 3, 2024)
They were just four guys from Jersey, until they sang their very first note. They had a sound nobody had ever heard… and the radio just couldn’t get enough of. But while their harmonies were perfect on stage, off stage it was a very different story — a story that has made them an international sensation all over again. Go behind the music and inside the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons with the Broadway musical phenomenon, JERSEY BOYS. From the streets of New Jersey to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, this is the musical that’s just too good to be true!
ELF The Musical
(November 19 - December 29, 2024)
ELF The Musical is the story of Buddy, who mistakenly crawled into Santa's bag as a baby and was raised as an elf! Buddy is unaware that he is actually a human, until his enormous size and poor toy-making abilities cause him to face the truth. With Santa's permission, he embarks on a journey to New York City with dreams to find his birth father and discover his true identity. What's an adopted elf to do when he realizes his father is on Santa's 'naughty' list and his half-brother doesn't believe that there is a Santa Claus? It's up to Buddy to save Christmas in this hilarious and charming Broadway musical!
DRIVING MISS DAISY
(January 7 - February 2, 2025)
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, DRIVING MISS DAISY is about the transformative power of friendship. Miss Daisy is an elderly Jewish widow who is struggling to come to terms with her diminishing independence. After a car crash, her son convinces her to take on a chauffeur and hires an African American driver named Hoke. Set in Atlanta from the late 1940s to early 1970s, the relationship between Miss Daisy and Hoke changes from one of employer and employee to a deep friendship, as they encounter issues of growing old, race and class in an America fighting for equal civil rights.
Noël Coward’s HAY FEVER
(February 11 - March 9, 2025)
From Noël Coward, the master of witty comedy, HAY FEVER. Judith Bliss, the once glittering star of the London stage, is still enjoying life with more than a little high drama and the occasional big scene. To spice up her weekend, she invites a young suitor to join her in the country, but her novelist husband and two children also have the same idea, and their unassuming visitors are thrown into a living melodrama. Misjudged meetings, secret seductions and scandalous revelations run riot at the most outrageous of all house parties. This delightful comedy will have you sneezing with laughter!
DREAMGIRLS
(March 25 - May 4, 2025)
Stars rise and fall… but dreams live forever! This sensational Broadway musical tells the story of a 1960s Supremes-like girl group that catches its big break during an amateur competition. But will their friendship—and their music—survive the rapid rise from obscurity to pop super stardom? Full of onstage joy and backstage drama DREAMGIRLS is a sweeping and inspirational journey with a dazzling production, powerhouse vocal performances, and an unforgettable score filled with pop, R&B, gospel, disco and more!
Our 2024-2025 Season starts October 1. Now is the time to subscribe and avoid disappointment by guaranteeing your seats today. Thousands were turned away from the Walnut's record-breaking run of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.
Subscriptions are available now for as little as $26 per show – up to a 70% savings off regular ticket prices! For information on season subscriptions, call the Walnut at 215-574-3550 ext. 6, or visit our website at WalnutStreetTheatre.org.
All show titles, dates, and prices are subject to change.
