The Main Stage
At the Barker Playhouse in Providence, Rhode Island.
The performing season at the Barker Playhouse is from September to May and features four main stage plays, each of which run two weekends; as well as one main stage musical which runs for three weekends. Below is our lineup for Season 118!
Perfect Arrangement
Written by: Topher Payne
Directed by: Tyler John
It’s 1950, and new colors are being added to the Red Scare. Two U.S. State Department employees, Bob and Norma, have been tasked with identifying sexual deviants within their ranks. There’s just one problem: both Bob and Norma are gay, and have married each other’s partners as a carefully constructed cover. Inspired by the true story of the earliest stirrings of the American gay right’s movement, madcap classic sitcom-style laughs give way to provocative drama as two “All American” couples are forced to stare down the closed door.
Show Dates: September 25, 26, 27 & October 2, 3 & 4, 2026
Catch Me If You Can
Book by: Terrance McNally, Music by Marc Shaiman, Lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman
Directed by: Greg Geer, Musical direction by Tim Sauer
Based on the hit film and incredible true story, Catch Me If You Can is the high-flying musical comedy about chasing your dreams and not getting caught. Seeking fame and fortune, precocious teenager, Frank Abagnale, Jr.. runs away from home to begin an unforgettable adventure. With nothing more than his boyish charm, a big imagination and millions of dollars in forged checks, Frank successfully poses as a pilot, a doctor and a lawyer, living the high life and winning the girl of his dreams. When Frank’s lies catch the attention of FBI agent, Carl Hanratty, Carl pursues Frank across the country to make him pay for his crimes.
Show Dates: December 4, 5, 6 & 11, 12, 13 & 18, 19, 20. 2026
H*tler’s Tasters
Written by: Michelle Kholos Brooks
Directed by: Lynne Collinson
Three times a day, every day, a group of young women have an opportunity to die for their country. They are Adolf Hitler’s food tasters. And what do girls discuss as they wait to see if they will live through another meal? Like all girls throughout time, they gossip and dream, they question and dance. They want to love, laugh an above all, they want to survive. H*tler’s Tasters is a dark comedy about the German women who had the “honor” of being chosen as Adolf Hitler’s food tasters. Based on true events in history, with shades of 2026, H*tler’s Tasters explores the way girls navigate sexuality, patriotism and poison against the backdrop of war.
Show Dates: January 22, 23, 24, & 29, 30, 31, 2027
Clue
Written by: Sandy Rustin
Directed by: Elizabeth Peterson and Jeff Davis
Based on the movie and board game of Clue, this farcical murder mystery brings together six “strangers” to Mr. Boddy’s mansion under mysterious circumstances. All six characters are being blackmailed by an unknown perpetrator and are thrown together to try to save their own reputations and survive Mr. Boddy’s mansion.
Show Dates: March 12, 13, 14 & 19, 20, 21, 2027
How To Transcend A Happy Marriage
Written by: Sarah Ruhl
Directed by: Kelli Noonan
At a dinner party in the wilds of New Jersey, George and her husband talk with a fellow married couple about a younger acquaintance, a polyamorous woman who also hunts her own meat. Fascinated, they invite this mysterious woman and her two live-in boyfriends to a New Year’s Eve party which alters the course of their lives. A show that explores the boundaries of monogamy and the limits of friendship, this work from Ruhl asks what happens when parents let their wild sides come out of hibernation.
Show Dates: May 7, 8, 9, & 14, 15, 16, 2027
Full Event List
Click the button below to view the full event list from plays to workshops, to musicals, and more!