Plays like Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? or Angels in America don’t go from obscurity to Pulitzer Prize winner overnight. Instead, new plays and musicals take time, effort, investment, and dedication. Sure, there are some stories that practically “write themselves,” but that is generally more fiction than fact.

Instead, a playwright goes through drafts and rewrites and drafts again before submitting a script for consideration. Then it may sit on a very large stack awaiting initial review. If it sparks the interest of a producer, a script may then be read in front of an audience, workshopped, and rewritten before it’s ever even considered for full production.

Once it’s selected, the work expands. A director must shape the material, a cast must add their own secret sauce, and a design team must transform words into visual form. No small feat.

And then…the audience must assume its own risk — the risk inherent in an unknown and largely untested story. Will it be the next Hamilton or A Teaspoon Every Four Hours. (Never heard of it? It closed on opening night after just one performance!)

Here is the 2026 lineup of new plays and regional premieres sure to serve up an adventurous new year of theatre on Colorado stages:

WORLD PREMIERES

BAD BOOKS by Sharyn Rothsetin

Co-produced by Curious Theatre Company and Local Theatre Company
Jan 8-Feb 1, 2026 • Curious Theatre, Denver
Feb 5-14, 2026 • Dairy Arts Center, Boulder

Part of the National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere, Bad Books turns a question about “appropriate content” into a discussion of parenting, protection, and the power of a good story.

COWBOYS AND EAST INDIANS by Nina McConigley and Matthew Spangler

Denver Center Theatre Company
Jan 16-Mar 1, 2026 • Singleton Theatre, Denver

A rare exploration of rural immigrant experiences in the American West, this premiere set in Casper, WY, examines how one understands their identity when they don’t see a reflection of it in their community.

GODSPEED by Terence Anthony

Denver Center Theatre Company
Jan 30-Feb 22, 2026 • Kilstron Theatre, Denver

It’s 1865. Slavery has just been abolished in Texas. And a gunslinger named Godspeed returns to the Lone Star State with a six-shooter, one bullet, and vengeance on her mind. Think classic Western, with a twist.

BURNING BLUEBEARD by Jay Torrence

The Catamounts
Jan 31-Feb 21, 2026 • Dairy Center, Bouldewr

Celebrating its 15^th season, The Catamounts offer a new staging of Burning Bluebeard, an immersive experience that recounts the 1903 Chicago Iroquois Theatre fire from the performer’s perspective.

UNCONTAINABLE

The Catamounts with 3rdLaw Dance/Theatre
May 28-June 15, 2026 • 29^th Street Mall, Boulder

In collaboration with 3rdLaw Dance/Theatre, the groups will present an original immersive dance/theatre piece in eight shipping containers.

FEED: CELESTIAL

The Catamounts
Aug 14-16, 2026 • StarHouse, Boulder

Held in conjunction with the Perseid meteor shower, this immersive event will consider if we can find answers to earthly questions in the stars.

NEW PLAY FESTIVALS

COLORADO NEW PLAY SUMMIT

Denver Center Theatre Company
Feb 14 & 15, 2026, Bonfils Theatre Complex

Features 4 readings of scripts in development:

Lemuria by Bonnie Antosh
When a legendary primatologist abruptly retires, her fiercely ambitious protégées battle for succession in a queer, lemur-filled, King Lear–inspired showdown about power, inheritance, and the animal instincts that drive us.

Influent by Isaac Gómez
A once‑viral influencer duo tries to reunite after a scandal as they navigate authenticity, friendship, and forgiveness in an online world obsessed with curated perception and cancel culture.

You Should Be So Lucky by Alyssa Haddad-Chin
As Jenny struggles to learn her grandmother Poh Poh’s Lunar New Year dumpling recipe, she discovers both family history and unspoken secrets amid a Chinatown neighborhood that’s rapidly disappearing around them.

The Myth of the Two Marcos by Tony Meneses
Two boys named Marco form a deep comic‑book‑fueled friendship that’s tested, forcing them to rely on a time-bending Aztec superhero to rediscover the small moments that shape who we become.

LOCAL LAB 15

Local Theater Company

April 17-19, 2026 • Nomad Playhouse, Boulder
A three-day festival of three new works. Watch for titles to be announced at a later date.

REGIONAL PREMIERES

THE SHARK IS BROKEN by Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon

Vintage Theatre
Jan 9-Feb 15, 2025 • Vintage Theatre, Aurora

An A-List group of movie stars is assembled to work on the next big summer blockbuster, but things go hysterically awry when their shark “co-star” malfunctions.

WHERE WE STAND by Donnetta Lavinia Grays

Theatreworks
Jan 29-Feb 15, 2026 • Dusty Loo Bon Vivant Theater, Colorado Springs

This spellbinding solo fable blends poetry, music, and theatre into a modern tale about choice, consequence, and community, offering an unforgettable journey into the bonds that connect us.

A STRANGE LOOP by Michael R. Jackson

Vintage Theatre
May 15-June 21, 2026 • Vintage Theatre, Aurora

The Pulitzer- and Tony-winning musical follows Usher, a Black, queer writer creating a musical about a Black, queer writer like himself, in a sharp, funny, and heartfelt exploration of identity, desire, and self‑doubt brought to life by a bold ensemble.

BROOKLYN LAUNDRY by John Patrick Shanley

BETC: Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company
Jan 30 – Feb 15, 2026 • The Savoy, Denver
Feb 20 – Mar 15, 2026 • Dairy Arts Center, Boulder

A new play by the acclaimed writer of Moonstruck and Doubt follows three sisters and a laundromat owner as they navigate the bittersweet, humorous, and romantic twists of adulthood, love, and family obligations.

MARY JANE by Amy Herzog

BETC: Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company
May 1-24, 2026 • Dairy Arts Center, Boulder

When a single mom must care for her chronically ill child, she turns to her female friends for strength, determination, and kindness.