Constellation Theatre Company today announces its landmark 20th anniversary season for 2026/27. This season continues the adventure, wonder, and theatrical innovation that has characterized Constellation for the past two decades. Constellation Theatre Company maintains its mission as an established DC company dedicated to telling big, powerful stories in intimate spaces. Events and experiences accompanying the season will be announced at a later date.
Constellation’s 20th anniversary season is one of expansion with three full productions, two of which are coming to life in theatrical spaces that are new to Constellation. As part of the newly announced partnership with the Atlas Performing Arts Center, The Old Man and The Old Moon will be performed in the spacious Sprenger Theater and Failure: A Love Story will take place in Theatre Lab II. Dial M For Murder will be staged at The Writer’s Center in Bethesda, Maryland, a new location for the theater company. Constellation’s leadership is excited to stretch the company’s impact across the DMV, expanding their audience base, meeting new neighbors, and deepening relationships.
Managing Director Anderson Wells shares, “Constellation is thrilled to deepen our relationship with the Atlas Performing Arts Center. Our shared commitment to epic storytelling creates the ideal theatrical destination for the DC theater-loving community. We’re so excited to see what the future holds for this partnership!”
Founding Artistic Director Allison Arkell Stockman continues, “Dial M For Murder is a great fit for The Writer’s Center, an organization dedicated to writers and the literary process. The original play was written by Frederick Knott in 1952 before becoming the 1954 famous, film noir thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock. In 2021, yet another celebrated writer of stage and film, Jeffrey Hatcher, adapted the same story into a delicious, theatrical version that is scintillating to today’s audiences.”
Constellation Theatre Company’s 20th anniversary season consists of:
THE OLD MAN AND THE OLD MOON
Book, Music, and Lyrics by PigPen Theatre Co.
Directed by Allison Arkell Stockman
November 19 – December 13, 2026
Sprenger Theater at Atlas Performing Arts Center
The moon’s caretaker goes on an epic adventure to pursue his true love across the sea. An ensemble of actor musicians creates a wild and marvelous tale complete with towering ships, flying sharks, and an overstuffed hot air balloon! Immerse yourself in a magical world where people dare to chase their dreams and fight for what they hold dear. Powerful storytelling and folk-rock music blend to create an enchanting fantasy for all ages – an experience like none other.
DIAL M FOR MURDER
Adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher
From the original by Frederick Knott
Directed by Aria Velz
February 19 – March 21, 2027
The Writer’s Center in Bethesda, MD
In this thrilling new version of the murder mystery that inspired Hitchcock’s masterpiece, Margot Wendice is fighting to repair and rejuvenate her marriage. But her husband has something else in mind – a murderous plot driven by vengeance and greed. Passion and intrigue, mixed with envy and ambition, lead to a delicious plot with a dangerous endgame. The twists and turns of this cold-blooded crime will keep you on the edge of your seat until the truth is revealed.
FAILURE: A LOVE STORY
By Philip Dawkins
Directed by Nick Martin
May 14 – June 13, 2027
Theatre Lab II at Atlas Performing Arts Center
Once upon a time, the Fail sisters lived in Chicago at the end of the 1920s: the Era of Wonderful Nonsense. Gerty Fail keeps the family clock shop running on time. Jenny June Fail dreams of being the first female swimmer to cross Lake Michigan. Young Nelly Fail is swept up in jazz and the jitterbug. Within a single year, their lives are turned upside down. Will the Fail sisters succeed in finding enduring love? Let this whimsical tale of tragedy and triumph touch your heart.
Subscriptions will be available on September 4, 2026 at constellationtheatre.org.
ABOUT CONSTELLATION THEATRE COMPANY
Constellation Theatre Company tells big, powerful stories in an intimate space. Constellation sparks curiosity and imagination with plays and musicals from all over the world that feature visual spectacle, original music, dynamic movement and passionate acting ensembles. The company draws from the genres of fantasy, farce, and epic adventure to transport audiences to dramatic worlds where the action is larger than life.
Since 2007, Constellation has brought to life numerous diverse and vibrant stories. Constellation received the John Aniello Award for Outstanding Emerging Theatre Company from the Helen Hayes Awards in 2009 and the prestigious National Theatre Company Award from the American Theatre Wing in 2013. According to Metro Weekly magazine, Constellation “does some of the best, most adventurous, most reliable work in town, all presented on an epic scale with a level of intimacy that can’t be beat.”
SEE ALSO:
Atlas Performing Arts Center welcomes Constellation Theatre Company as a Resident Arts Partner (news story, August 19, 2026)
