As the nation marks its semi-quincentennial, Broward County’s ensemble theatre company presents its most ambitious season yet.
As America celebrates its 250th birthday (July 4, 2026), New City Players announces Season 11: a bold exploration of communities at breaking points spanning a century of American struggle. This season, New City Players will present five productions across two venues—three MainStage productions at Island City Stage and two limited runs at Broward Center for the Performing Arts through their Amplify Arts partnership.
“As our nation turns 250, we’re asking the hardest question theatre can ask: What holds us together when we’re pushed apart?” says Tim Davis, Producing Artistic Director. “Each production examines a different community in crisis—a poisoned town meeting, a backyard ideological fracture, a cigar factory threatened by mechanization, a sealed envelope containing questions about freedom and authority. Theatre has always been democracy’s rehearsal space. This season, we lean into that civic role.”
The season features a classic revival, a Pulitzer finalist, a Pulitzer-winner, world premieres by South Florida playwrights, and an international theatrical phenomenon performed over 3,000 times worldwide but never twice by the same actor. The season opens with An Enemy of the People (November 13-29, 2026), Amy Herzog’s acclaimed 2024 Broadway adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s 1882 masterwork. When a doctor discovers the town’s water supply is poisoned, the community turns on him—because fixing the problem would destroy the economy. Directed by Ali Tallman.
February brings Short Plays: Lauder Made Vol. III (February 26-28, 2027) to Broward Center for the Performing Arts for a limited four-performance run. Developed through New City Players’ monthly NCPLab program at LauderAle Brewery, this curated evening of world-premiere short plays by South Florida playwrights explores the season’s central question through hyperlocal stories. The focus of the year: What holds us—South Floridians, Broward County residents—together when we’re pushed apart? Expect comedy, drama, and perspectives you won’t find anywhere else. Directed by Caroline Tarantolo.
Spring introduces Heroes of the Fourth Turning (April 16-May 2, 2027), Will Arbery’s Pulitzer-nominated, Obie Award-winning examination of conservative intellectualism. Set in August 2017, four young Catholic conservatives gather in a Wyoming backyard to celebrate their mentor’s promotion and spend one night tearing each other apart over Trump, faith, and the meaning of conservatism. Directed by Timothy Mark Davis.
Summer features White Rabbit Red Rabbit (June 11-13, 2027) at Broward Center for the Performing Arts—a theatrical phenomenon unlike anything Fort Lauderdale has seen. Written by Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour when he was forbidden to leave his country, each performance features a different actor opening a sealed envelope containing a script they’ve never seen. No rehearsal. No director. Every night is opening night.
The season culminates with Anna in the Tropics (August 20-September 5, 2027), Nilo Cruz’s 2003 Pulitzer Prize-winning play that premiered in Coral Gables. Set in a 1929 Tampa cigar factory, Cuban workers roll tobacco while a lector reads Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina aloud. As the workers’ lives begin to mirror the novel, the threat of machine takeover looms. Directed by Victoria Collado.
NEW THIS SEASON:
The Space. A pilot post-show dialogue program where audiences practice democracy by sitting across from another human being—friend, acquaintance, or stranger—for a guided conversation using a modified version of psychologist Arthur Aron’s “36 Questions” framework. Sessions will follow the closing of An Enemy of the People, Heroes of the Fourth Turning, and Anna in the Tropics. “Our mission says we exist ‘to create space for authentic dialogue,” says Davis. “The Space makes that literal—transforming audiences from spectators into active participants in building a stronger, more connected community.”
Season passes are available now and can be purchased at https://newcityplayers.org/2026-27-season or by calling the box office at (954) 376-6114. Individual tickets go on sale in August 2026.
ABOUT NEW CITY PLAYERS: New City Players is a professional, ensemble-based nonprofit theatre company in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Their mission is to stage transformative classic, contemporary, and original works of live theatre that explore the complexity and diversity of the human experience, create space for authentic dialogue, and connect South Florida audiences and artists. Their vision is to be a vital public square in Broward County—where stories spark change, artistry shapes understanding, and a diverse ensemble leads the charge toward a more empathetic, curious, and connected society. Newcityplayers.org | IG: @newcityplayers | Facebook
Hailing from New York City, but now a long-time resident of Fort Lauderdale, Mindy Leaf has worked as a professional writer and editor for over 30 years. Her byline has appeared in both national and international magazines, including Omni, New York Magazine, Showboats International, Power & Motoryacht, Yachting, Fine Dining, Jewish Monthly and various literary publications. She is the author of “The Working Mom's Handbook” and childrens book, “Things That Count!” and was series editor for Commuter Press. She’s worked as a restaurant critic for Florida's MyCity magazine network and was senior staff writer at Artblend, an international fine-art quarterly. She particularly enjoyed writing a weekly opinion blog for LA’s Jewish Journal called “The Examined Life.” Mindy has headed a bi-
weekly theater column at Around Town for over a decade and is delighted to also contribute her reviews to South Florida Theater Magazine.
