Signature Theatre announces the cast and creative team for new musical Safety Not Guaranteed, with music and lyrics by Guster’s Ryan Miller (The Kings of Summer, Safety Not Guaranteed film) and a book by Nick Blaemire (Space Dogs, Soon). Based on the film written by Derek Connolly, the production will be directed by Oliver Butler (Broadway’s What the Constitution Means to Me, NYCC Encores!’ Tick… Tick… Boom!) with choreography by Lisa Fagan (Under the Radar’s Friday Night Rat Catchers, The Wilma’s HILMA), music supervision, orchestration, and arrangements by Bill Sherman (Broadway’s & Juliet, In the Heights), and music direction by Jeff Tanski (Broadway’s Moulin Rouge!, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical). Performances run March 3 – April 12, 2026 in Signature’s MAX Theatre. Tickets start at $47 and are available at SigTheatre.org.
“Signature has always valued its commitment to producing new works written by bold voices in the American musical theater,” said Signature Theatre Artistic Director Matthew Gardiner. “Safety Not Guaranteed is an audacious and imaginative new musical, a genre-bending sci-fi story with an indie spirit, that taps into something deeply human: the longing to go back and change a moment, undo regret, or return to life before. At its heart, the piece reminds us that life offers no guarantees, and that meaning comes from choosing to take risks anyway. I am thrilled to welcome Nick Blaemire back to Signature nearly a decade after the world premiere of Soon, and to introduce our audiences to the singular musical voice of Ryan Miller of the beloved band Guster. I cannot wait for audiences to experience this electrifying new musical in the intimacy of Signature’s MAX Theatre.”
Safety Not Guaranteed is an imaginative indie-rock musical by Guster’s Ryan Miller and Nick Blaemire (Space Dogs, Soon) based on the 2012 film of the same name. WANTED: Someone to go back in time with me. This is not a joke. You’ll get paid after we get back. Must bring your own weapons. I have only done this once before. SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED. After seeing this classified ad, journalist Darius sets out to find its author. When she agrees to go along for the ride, however, Darius finds herself in way over her head on a time-traveling adventure that’s beyond what she’s ever imagined. Heartwarming and hilarious, with an electrifying score, Safety Not Guaranteed asks, if you could go back and change your story – would you?
“Time travel has fascinated me ever since I heard the concept of a ‘do-over’ playing four square in elementary school,” said Safety Not Guaranteed book writer Nick Blaemire. “And years later, when I first saw the movie Safety Not Guaranteed, I discovered a new perspective on time travel – a small film about adults dealing with the dream of the do-over in a grounded, emotional way. I saw a musical in there – in large part because of the score, written by Ryan Miller of Guster, one of my favorite bands. I was immediately transported back to high school, in my friend Zia’s bedroom, learning how to write music from their songs. That’s when it clicked: songs are time machines. And it’s quite the time travel to now bring our show to Signature Theatre, my artistic home of 20 years. Signature is a rare and beautiful place, full of superlative artists and technicians, who put up some of the sharpest, most compelling musicals anywhere in the world. It’s hard to get musicals produced at all, so to introduce this fantastic story to DC audiences in an intimate 300-seat space, it’s a dream come true.”
“In my decades of writing songs, I had heard story upon story of friends in bands who dove into the world of musical theater only to be spit out mercilessly,” said Safety Not Guaranteed composer Ryan Miller. “Productions took eons to mount (if ever), and the community could be fickle and unwelcoming to outsiders. I can say with a full chest that I have found the OPPOSITE to be true: I feel as if I have found my people and a new medium to boot. How lucky am I to have been guided by Nick into his universe where these songs and performances can now live on forever? So lucky. What joy.”
The cast of Safety Not Guaranteed includes Preston Truman Boyd (Broadway’s Kiss Me Kate, The Play That Goes Wrong) as Jeff, Tyler Dobies (Signature’s The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical, Olney Theatre Center’s Frozen) as Arnau, Gunnar Manchester (BAM’s Macbeth in Stride, Hudson Valley Shakespeare’s Octet) as Kenneth, Joshua Morgan (Broadway’s Ain’t Too Proud, Signature’s Soon) as Tristan/Others, Mia Pak (The Public’s Suffs, Lincoln Center Theater’s In the Green) as Darius, Erin Weaver (Signature’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Private Jones) as Liz/Others. Steven Nicolás Franco (Signature’s In the Heights), Sydne Lyons (Studio Theatre’s Octet), and Scout Santoro (Glimmerglass Festival’s The Pirates of Penzance) are understudies.
The creative team for Safety Not Guaranteed includes Scenic Design by Arnulfo Maldonado (Broadway’s Buena Vista Social Club, Dead Outlaw), Costume Design by Shahrzad Mazaheri (Signature’s In Clay, Goodman Theatre’s English), Lighting Design by Jason Lyons (Broadway’s Hand to God, Signature’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum), and Sound Design by Eric Norris (Signature’s In Clay, Fiddler on the Roof). Casting is by Charlotte Sandor. New York Casting is by Alldaffer & Donadio Casting. Kerry Epstein is the Production Stage Manager, Stephen Bubniak is the Assistant Stage Manager, Jay Dews is the Production Assistant, Kelly Crandall d’Amboise is the Associate Director, Marika Countouris is the Associate Music Director, Daniel Powers is the Associate Choreographer, Joe Burt is the Associate Scenic Designer, Channing Tucker is the Assistant Costume Designer, Catherine Girardi is the Assistant Lighting Designer, and Kenny Neal is the Associate Sound Designer.
Safety Not Guaranteed runs March 3 – April 12, 2026 in the MAX Theatre at Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave, Arlington, VA. Tickets range from $47-$98 and are available online or by calling the box office at 703.820.9771. Tickets are also available on TodayTix.
Accessibility and Special Performances
Closed captions will be available for every show via the GalaPro app.
Pride Night: March 20, 2026
Post-show Discussions: March 25 and April 7, 2026
ASL Interpreted: April 8, 2026
Masks Required: March 22 (2PM), 2026
ABOUT SIGNATURE
Signature Theatre is a Tony Award-winning regional theater that broadens and brightens the region’s cultural landscape with its bold productions of challenging new and established works and engaging education and outreach programs. Founded in 1989 by Eric Schaeffer and Donna Migliaccio, and currently under the leadership of Managing Director Maggie Boland and Artistic Director Matthew Gardiner, musical theater is Signature’s “signature,” and the Theatre is renowned for its definitive Sondheim productions, inventive adaptations of overlooked or forgotten works, and investment in fresh new projects. Signature combines Broadway-caliber productions with intimate playing spaces and aims to be a leading force in U.S. musical theater.
Since its inception, the Theatre has produced 61 world premiere works — including 20 new musical commissions. Signature opens its doors to more than 100,000 people annually from the Washington, DC region and beyond and reaches more than 10,000 students every year through its innovative education programs, including the award-winning initiative Signature in the Schools. Signature has won 148 Helen Hayes Awards for excellence in the Washington, DC region’s professional theater and has been honored with 527 nominations.
