Drayton Entertainment has unveiled an ambitious 2026 season packed with Broadway blockbusters, comedies, and family favourites.
At the original Drayton Festival Theatre, the season features music, comedy, and heart, from the soulful sounds of Nashville to a spirited convent and a cheeky Canadian comedy.
The first show of the season will take place from June 10 to June 27 with Nashville Music City, created by Tracey Power and Van Wilmott. The high-energy musical pays tribute to the artists and songs that made Nashville famous, celebrating the city’s enduring musical legacy through heartfelt storytelling and toe-tapping performances.
Following that, audiences can look forward to the divine musical comedy Sister Act, on stage July 2 to July 26. With music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Glenn Slater, and a book by Cheri and Bill Steinkellner, the show is based on the beloved film starring Whoopi Goldberg. It tells the story of a disco diva forced into hiding in a convent after witnessing a crime — and discovering unexpected harmony as she transforms the convent choir with her larger-than-life spirit.
Rounding out the season is Sexy Laundry, a contemporary Canadian comedy by Michele Riml, running August 12 to August 30. The play follows a middle-aged couple trying to rekindle the spark in their 25-year marriage with the help of a “Sex for Dummies” guidebook. What unfolds is a funny, frank, and touching exploration of love, vulnerability, and long-term relationships.
In all, Drayton Entertainment has an ambitious 2026 season filled with Broadway blockbusters, Canadian comedies, Agatha Christie thrillers, musical revues, and family favourites.
Seventeen productions will be presented across four venues — the St. Jacobs Country Playhouse, Hamilton Family Theatre Cambridge, Hildebrand Schoolhouse Theatre St. Jacobs, and the Drayton Festival Theatre.
“Our 2026 Season spans genres, emotions, and generations but at its core, it’s about what unites us: the need to laugh, to feel, to dream, and to share the experience together,” said Artistic Director David Connolly. “We can’t wait to welcome you into this vibrant collection of unforgettable stories… where hope inspires change, courage strengthens connection, and shared experiences celebrate the joy, resilience, and humanity that bind us together.”
At the St. Jacobs Country Playhouse, the season begins on March 18 with "Dear Evan Hansen," the Tony, Olivier, and Grammy Award-winning musical that explores connection and belonging in the digital age. It’s followed in May by Agatha Christie’s classic mystery And Then There Were None.
Summer audiences can look forward to Return to Grace, a high-energy tribute to Elvis Presley featuring 20 musicians, singers, and dancers, and Neil Simon’s timeless comedy The Odd Couple, running in August.
Fall brings Sondheim’s Into the Woods, a darkly funny and musical reimagining of fairy tales, while the holiday season wraps up with the family-friendly panto Snow White and the Seven Tenors by Caroline Smith, running from November 19 to December 27.
The Hamilton Family Theatre in Cambridge will host Finding Neverland in April, followed by the glitzy dance spectacular 42nd Street in July, and the country music celebration Nashville Music City in August.
The mystery continues in October with Murder on the Orient Express, and Connolly hints that the year will close with something extraordinary. “We have been trying relentlessly to secure the rights to this particular production for years, and once revealed, we know that audiences will be as excited as we are,” he said.
The title of the blockbuster holiday show will be announced later this year.
The Hildebrand Schoolhouse Theatre in St. Jacobs welcomes back Neil Aitchison in Sorry…I’m Not Sorry! His trademark Mountie-themed comedy runs all summer. In the fall, Norm Foster’s Jonas & Barry in the Home brings warmth and wit to life in an assisted living residence, followed by the poignant holiday production All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914, named one of the “top live events for Christmas in North America” by BBC Magazine.
