The Garfield Center Announces Their 2026 Season

Executive Director Steven Arnold announces the season to the attendees of the GCA’s volunteer appreciation event held on July 16th.

At a volunteer appreciation event held at the Garfield Center for the Arts on Wednesday, July 16th, the GCA’s Executive Director, Steven Arnold, unveiled the 2026 Season. The evening was designed to provide first access to the Season title announcement to the most actively involved part of our community, and the GCA treated attendees to food and refreshments prior to the presentation.

The GCA’s Programming Committee includes Mr. Arnold, Mark Sullivan, Shannon Carter, Melissa McGlynn, Jen Friedman, Brad Chaires, and Nic Carter. It was their task to review title proposals from interested directors, read scripts, settle on a production calendar, and finalize the selected season. Thursday’s event also featured projections showing the new poster graphics for each 2026 title. All of the Garfield Center’s graphics are designed by Francoise Sullivan, the GCA’s webmaster and Marketing specialist.

Opening the new season is a play that will undoubtedly chill audiences to the bone. It is common knowledge that Stephen King knows how to bring a sledgehammer to a horrific story. In the GCA’s first 2026 production, he made that sledgehammer literal. “Misery”, adapted by William Goldman and based on the novel by Stephen King, will be directed by JW Ruth.

“Misery” introduces us to the terrifying meeting between writer Paul Sheldon and ex-nurse Annie Wilkes when Paul is rescued from a car crash. He wakes up as a captive in her secluded home and is forced to write a new Misery novel when Annie discovers that he intended to kill off Misery Chastain, the main character in his books. The incensed and imbalanced Annie has Paul writing as if his life depends on it, and it does. “Misery” will open February 20th and run through March 8th, 2026.

For the second production in the new season, the GCA is thrilled and excited to present a family friendly musical so fun, energetic and wonderful that it will animate the souls of its audience. “The SpongeBob Musical” opened on Broadway in December of 2017, and among its cast was actor and QACHS graduate Matt Wood, who returned to the area 2 years ago to headline the Garfield Center’s Gala. The show will run weekends from April 17th and through May 3rd and its director is Abbey Wark, the Production Manager for Washington College’s Department of Theatre and Dance.

In this original “SpongeBob” story, the citizens of Bikini Bottom face impending doom when a volcano is about to erupt. With the destruction of their homes looming, SpongeBob, Patrick, and Sandy team up to save the town, while other residents grapple with fear, greed, and attempts to exploit the crisis. The creators of the show commissioned a score of songs from an amazing assortment of contemporary music artists that include Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Sara Bareilles, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, The Flaming Lips, Panic at the Disco, and They Might Be Giants, among others.

Opening June 19th and running weekends through July 5th, 2026, will be the annual return of “Short Attention Span Theatre.” Frequently premiering new works by local playwrights, the production introduces audiences to 8 short ten-minute plays, each with its own director and actors, and each designed to hold your attention for ‘Just. Long. Enough.’ Once again, the production will be produced by Mark Sullivan.

The Garfield Center’s prized youth theatre camp, Playmakers, will start up camp in 2026 on July 6th and the kids participating in the program will enjoy a month of acting, design and stagecraft learning prior to a performance of their camp’s production on July 31st, August 1st, and 2nd, 2026.

Rocking the Garfield Center stage from October 16th through October 31st is the original stage version of the pop culture phenomenon, “The Rocky Horror Show.” The show will close with a final midnight show on Halloween night. The production will be directed by the GCA’s Executive Director, Steven Arnold.

In Richard O’Brien’s cult classic, sweethearts Brad and Janet, stuck with a flat tire during a storm, discover a dark and eerie mansion belonging to Dr. Frank-N-Furter. There, Brad and Janet encounter a houseful of wild characters, elaborate dances, rock songs, a science experiment resulting in a muscular man named “Rocky”, and the complete and total loss of their innocence.

Featuring one of the most generation-busting soundtracks of all time, the show is retro, cutting edge, nostalgic and envelope-pushing all at the same time. The GCA production will also include call-back audience members and the GCA will sell bags of props – all so that audience members will feel right at home in the kind of Rocky experience they have participated in all their lives.

Closing the 2026 season will be a funny and delightful crossover of two literary classics. “A Sherlock Carol” is by Mark Shanahan and will be directed by Hester Sachse. The show will open December 4th and run weekends through December 20th, 2026.

In the play, Moriarty is dead, to begin with. And Sherlock Holmes is a haunted man. But when a grown-up Tiny Tim asks Holmes to investigate the death of Ebeneezer Scrooge, the great detective must use his gift to solve this Dickens-of-a-mystery. Typically performed by only 6 actors, New York and London reviews for the play celebrated its clever, crowd-pleasing, and funny script. It will be a terrific, family-friendly way to end the GCA season.

Chestertown, Kent County and the region will also be given plenty of opportunities throughout the 2026 calendar year to enjoy music and special events on the Garfield Center Stage. Continuing programming will include Ford Schumann’s Open Mic nights on the final Wednesday of each month, meetings of the Live Playwrights Society on the first Monday of each month, future music performances by local and regional bands and musicians, and a variety of other programs for the community to enjoy. The Garfield Center for the Arts and the staff look forward to presenting this stellar season to all.

For more about The Garfield Center for the Arts, go here.