Some of Broadway’s biggest hits are coming to Tampa as Straz Center for the Performing Arts announced its 2025-2026 Bank of America Broadway at Straz Center season lineup. With multiple Tony Award-winning shows headlining the 2025-26 run, this season promises one of the most exciting lineups yet.
The entire lineup is packed with big-ticket shows, Broadway revivals, and even encore productions of longtime favorites. Perhaps the biggest stars are two Tony Award winners for Best Musical, The Outsiders, and Kimberly Akimbo, alongside the Tony Award-winning Best Play, Stereophonic.
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The full 2025-2026 Bank of America Broadway at Straz Center lineup includes The Wiz, Water for Elephants, Kimberly Akimbo, The Outsiders, & Juliet, Hell’s Kitchen, Stereophonic, and The Notebook.
In addition to the big shows, Straz Center will once again produce an “only in Tampa” theatrical event in the Jaeb Theater as audiences are taken into the depths of Transylvania with the Off-Broadway sensation, Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors. In addition to the full nine-show package, the season hosts
encores of Les Misérables, SIX, Beetlejuice, and the holiday treat A Christmas Story, The Musical.
Bank of America Broadway at Straz Center season ticket renewals and new subscriptions are available now. Individual show tickets will go on sale later this year.
2025-26 Season Highlights: New Shows and Returning Favorites
The Wiz
Oct. 14-19, 2025
The Tony Award®-winning Best Musical that took the world by storm is back.
The Wiz returns “home” to stages across America in an all-new tour, direct from Broadway. The Baltimore Sun raves “Powerhouse performances. Stunning choreography. Visionary sets” and the Chicago Sun-Times proclaims The Wiz is “an eye-popping and high-intensity revival!”
This groundbreaking twist on The Wizard of Oz changed the face of Broadway — from its iconic score packed with soul, gospel, rock and ‘70s funk to its stirring tale of Dorothy’s journey to find her place in a contemporary world.
Everybody rejoice — this dynamite infusion of ballet, jazz and modern pop brings a whole new groove to easing on down the road!
Water For Elephants
Oct. 28-Nov. 2, 2025
“Many wonders await audiences in this gorgeously imaginative Broadway musical.” – The New York Times
The critically acclaimed, bestselling novel comes to “thrilling, dazzling” life (Time Out New York) in a unique, spectacle-filled new musical! Hailed as a Critic’s Pick, The New York Times calls it “stunning, emotional, heart-filled and gorgeously imaginative.”
After losing what matters most, a young man jumps a moving train unsure of where the road will take him and finds a new home with the remarkable crew of a traveling circus, and a life — and love — beyond his wildest dreams. Seen through the eyes of his older self, his adventure becomes a poignant reminder that if you choose the ride, life can begin again at any age.
Tony Award®-nominated director Jessica Stone’s “huge, heart-filling” production (The New York Times) features a book by three-time Tony nominee Rick Elice adapted from Sara Gruen’s novel, and a soaring score by the acclaimed PigPen Theatre Co.
So, step right up to the “spellbinding entertainment” (Variety) at Water for Elephants, “the best new musical on Broadway” (Theatermania)
Kimberly Akimbo
Nov. 18-23, 2025
A new musical about growing up and growing old (in no particular order), Kimberly Akimbo is the winner of five Tony Awards® including Best Musical. It features Tony Award-winning book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire (Shrek), a Tony Award-winning score by Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home), choreography by Danny Mefford (Dear Evan Hansen) and direction by the Tony-nominated Jessica Stone (Water for Elephants).
Kimberly is about to turn 16 and recently moved with her family to a new town in suburban New Jersey. In this “howlingly funny heartbreaker of a show” (The New Yorker), Kim is forced to navigate family dysfunction, a rare genetic condition, her first crush … and possible felony charges. Ever the optimist, she is determined to find happiness against all odds and embark on a great adventure.
The Outsiders
Dec. 27, 2025 – Jan. 4, 2026
The winner of four 2024 Tony Awards®, including Best Musical, is The Outsiders.
Adapted from S.E. Hinton’s seminal novel and Francis Ford Coppola’s iconic film, this thrilling new musical features a book by Adam Rapp with Justin Levine, music and lyrics by Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance) and Tony Award winner Justin Levine, music supervision, orchestration and arrangements by Justin Levine, choreography by Rick Kuperman and Jeff Kuperman and direction by Tony Award winner Danya Taymor. Entertainment Weekly says, “The Outsiders has the power to inspire an entire generation.”
In Tulsa, Okla., 1967, Ponyboy Curtis, his best friend Johnny Cade and their greaser family of “outsiders” battle with their affluent rivals, the socs. The Outsiders navigates the complexities of self-discovery as the greasers dream about who they want to become in a world that may never accept them. With a dynamic original score, The Outsiders is a story of friendship, family, belonging … and the realization that there is still “lots of good in the world.”
& Juliet
Feb. 10-15, 2026
Broadway’s most fun hit musical, & Juliet, flips the script on the greatest love story ever told, imagining what would happen next if Juliet hadn’t ended it all over Romeo and got a second chance at life and love — on her own terms. This audience favorite is created by the Emmy®-winning writer of Schitt’s Creek and features a playlist of iconic pop hits from Max Martin and his collaborators, including “Since U Been Gone,” “Roar,” “I Want It That Way,” “Confident” and more.
Hell’s Kitchen
March 24-April 4, 2026
Welcome to Hell’s Kitchen, Broadway’s hit musical from Alicia Keys—inspired by her life, her music, and her community.
Your journey begins with Ali, a 17-year-old girl full of fire, searching for freedom, passion and her place in the world. Along the way, you’ll meet the musical mentor who changes her life, her dynamic family and the neighborhood that helps her grow. Relatable, raw and refreshingly fun, it’s a celebration of finding yourself, your purpose and the people who lift you up.
More than watching a performance, this experience pulls you out of your seat and has you buzzing when you leave, wondering who to tell about it first. The music—a mix of Keys’ classics and new songs written exclusively for the show—is brought to life through exhilarating choreography. It’s a soundtrack of rebellion, life and love that speaks to you no matter where you’re from, where you’ve been or where you’re going.
You’re invited to feel the energy of this multi-award-winning musical. Come experience where dreams begin: Hell’s Kitchen.
Stereophonic
April 28-May 3, 2026
The most Tony Award®-winning show of 2024. The most Tony Award-nominated play of all time.
Stereophonic mines the agony and the ecstasy of creation as it zooms in on a music studio in 1976. Here, an up-and-coming rock band recording a new album finds itself suddenly on the cusp of superstardom. The ensuing pressures could spark their breakup — or their breakthrough. Written by David Adjmi, directed by Daniel Aukin and featuring original music by Arcade Fire’s Will Butler, Stereophonic invites the audience to immerse themselves — with fly-on-the-wall intimacy — in the powder keg process of a band on the brink of blowing up.
The Notebook
May 26-31, 2026
Based on the best-selling novel that inspired the iconic film, The Notebook tells the story of Allie and Noah, both from different worlds, who share a lifetime of love despite the forces that threaten to pull them apart. “Full of butterfly-inducing highs and beautiful songs” (Entertainment Weekly), The Notebook is a deeply moving portrait of the enduring power of love.
Chris Jones of The Chicago Tribune says The Notebook is “absolutely gorgeous, not to be missed” and The New York Daily News calls it “a love story for the ages.”
The Notebook is directed by Michael Greif (Dear Evan Hansen, Next to Normal, RENT) and Schele Williams (The Wiz, Aida) and features music and lyrics by multi-platinum singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson, book by Bekah Brunstetter (NBC’s This Is Us) and choreography by Katie Spelman.
Also featured this season:
Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors
Sept. 16-Oct. 26, 2025
Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors is a Bram-new comedy you can really sink your teeth into. Filled with clever wordplay and anything-goes pop culture references, it’s a 90-minute, quick-changing, laugh-out-loud reimagining of the gothic classic, perfect for audiences of all blood types.
In the treacherous mountains of Transylvania, a meek English real estate agent takes a harrowing journey to meet a new and mysterious client, who just happens to be the most terrifying and ferocious monster the world has ever known. As famed female vampire hunter Jean Van Helsing and company chase Drac from Transylvania to the British countryside to London and back, their antics are guaranteed to increase your pulse and cause bloodcurdling screams — of laughter.
Learn more about 2025-2026 Bank of America Broadway at Straz Center season and get tickets here.
