The Peterborough Theatre Guild is kicking off its 2025-26 season with a popular full-length comedy by Norm Foster, Canada’s most-produced playwright, from September 19 to October 4.
Since it premiered in 1989 at the Piggery Theatre in Quebec, Opening Night has become a staple of community theatre, much to the delight of audiences.
The play tells the story of theatre lover Ruth Tisdale who, after winning a pair of tickets to the opening night performance of a new play, convinces her reluctant husband Jack — who’d rather stay at home to watch the seventh game of the World Series on TV — to join her as a way to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary.
With his trademark wit and fast-paced dialogue, Foster throws in a cynical director who has to deal with the actors, the wannabes, the has-beens, and his needy girlfriend — who in the midst of it all wants to talk about their relationship. Backstage antics and front-row drama collide, reaching their peak when the audience finally witnesses the “performance” of what must be one of the worst plays ever written.
Directed by Margaret Monis, the Peterborough Theatre Guild production of Opening Night stars Andrea Lane, Ashley Parker, Carissa Kaye, James Burrell, Kyle Robertson, Peter Cain, Steve Foote, and Tristina Haines.
Performances run at 7:30 p.m. on September 19 and 20, 25 to 27, and October 2 to 4, with 1:30 p.m. Sunday matinee performances on September 21 and 28. Tickets are $30 fo adults, $27 for seniors, and $20 for students and are available now online at www.peterboroughtheatreguild.com or by calling the box office at 705-745-4211 (if the box office is not open, leave a message and your call will be returned).
Opening Night is the first of six full-length productions during the Peterborough Theatre Guild’s 2025-26 season, along with five staged readings. Below are the dates and descriptions of the upcoming productions. Casting for each production will be announced at a later date.
“291” by Jade O’Keeffe
November 1 – 15
Directed by Lisa Dixon, 291 is a lyrical exploration of love, art, and the timeless bond forged through handwritten letters.
Set in an era when technology was still emerging and connection meant pen to paper, the play tells the story of one of modern art’s most iconic couples — Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz — through over 5,000 letters spanning more than 30 years. From the moment Stieglitz first encountered O’Keeffe’s charcoal drawings in 1915, sent to him by her friend Anita Politzer, a powerful correspondence began that would evolve into a lifelong romance and artistic collaboration.
“The Emperor’s New Clothes” by Gerry McBride
December 5 – 14
Written and directed by Gerry McBride based on the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, The Emperor’s New Clothes follows prideful Emperor Von Gaston Von Schmidt who, on the eve of his 50th birthday celebration, encounters two cunning swindlers come to town posing as tailors.
Equipped with the most “exquisite magical fabric”, the tailors teach the emperor, and indeed the whole town, a valuable lesson in humility. Suitable for all ages, this classic tale is a fun-filled reminder that sometimes the smallest voices speak the biggest truths.
“Where You Are” by Kristen Da Silva
January 16 – 31
Directed by Jerry Allen, Where You Are follows two retired sisters, widowed Glenda and her younger sister Suzanne, who are former city residents now living in Little Current on Manitoulin Island. The two sisters have remained devoted to each other ever since, 33 years earlier, the single, penniless, and pregnant Suzanne moved in with Glenda and her husband Mark.
With Suzanne’s now grownup daughter Beth a doctor in Toronto, the two sisters spend their days selling homemade jam, swapping stories about the locals, and roping their attractive veterinarian neighbour Patrick into doing various chores for them. All that changes when Beth arrives for a summer visit. While a romance begins budding between Beth and Patrick, the two sisters reveal a weighty secret they have been keeping from Beth, who it turns out has been keeping secrets of her own.
“Midnight Madness” by Dave Carley
February 27 – March 14
Peterborough-born and Toronto-based playwright Dave Carley brings his signature wit and keen social insight to Midnight Madness, a fast-paced and entertaining exploration of ambition, corporate culture, and the unexpected twists of life directed by Jane Werger.
Bloom’s Furniture manager Wesley is about to close the doors on the store and his career during a going-out-of-business sale when former high school classmate Anna walks in. She doesn’t recognize him at first, but Wesley remembers her as he has been keeping tabs on all his former classmates. Anna has returned to her home town to start a career as a lawyer and, as the pair recall the humiliating events that drove them both of them from high school before graduation, they reconcile with their past and find a spark of romance.
“Young Frankenstein” by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan
April 17 – May 3
Nate Axcell directs this production of the musical comedy based on the 1974 comedy film of the same name written by Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks, who also directed, with a book by Brooks and Thomas Meehan and music and lyrics by Brooks.
After the success of his 2001 musical The Producers, based on Brooks’s earlier film of the same name, Brooks decided to create a musical version of Young Frankenstein. It opened on Broadway in 2007 and ran for 484 performances before closing and heading on a U.S. tour, with a revised version opening in London’s West End in 2017.
A hilarious parody of the horror genre, the musical promises electrifying choreography, clever wordplay, and big belly laughs, along with songs including “The Transylvania Mania,” “He Vas My Boyfriend,” and “Puttin’ on the Ritz.”
Staged Readings
In addition to the six full-length shows, Peterborough Theatre Guild will also be presenting five staged readings on Sunday afternoons at 1:30 p.m. throughout the 2025-26 season, including the drama “Butcher the Pig” by Marc Ludwig on October 5 and the dark comedy “Lenin’s Embalmers” by Vern Thiessen on November 16. Three more staged readings, with the plays yet to be announced, are scheduled for February 1, March 15, and May 10.
Ticket subscriptions and single tickets for the 2025-26 season are available now, with all of the shows being staged at the Guild Hall at 364 Rogers Street in Peterborough’s East City.
Ticket subscription packages range from $120 to $320, with single tickets costing $30 ($27 for seniors and $20 for students), except for the family production The Emperor’s New Clothes, which cost $15, and the spring musical Young Frankenstein, which cost $42 ($37 for seniors and $27 for students). Tickets for staged readings are $15.
For more information about the Peterborough Theatre Guild’s 2025-26 season and to purchase subscriptions and single tickets, visit www.peterboroughtheatreguild.com.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be a media sponsor of the Peterborough Theatre Guild’s 2025-26 season.
