Wharton Center announced its 2026-2027 performing arts season on April 29, highlighting a lineup designed to appeal to audiences of all ages.
This year marks the 45th anniversary of Wharton’s performing arts season, and curators wanted to lean into that, said Wharton Center Executive Director Eric Olmscheid.
"There’s a couple of programming nods that really are intentional to tie to our anniversary," he said. "The first one is our season opener, which is Sutton Foster."
Olmscheid said Sutton Foster was intentionally chosen to open the 2026–2027 season because of her strong connection to Michigan, where she grew up and began her performing career. Her appearance is meant to highlight both her national success and her local roots.
It also ties into the Wharton Center’s Sutton Foster Awards, which recognize outstanding high school theater students across the state. Students chosen to represent their high school in a performance at Wharton can advance to New York City to compete in the Jimmy Awards.
Another performance that ties directly into the 45th anniversary trope is the Dance Theatre of Harlem, which performed at Wharton for its first-ever performing arts season.
"We wanted to throw a nod to that very first year, and Dance Theatre of Harlem is that..." Olmschied said. "Dance Theatre of Harlem was also one of Mrs. Wharton's favorite dance companies. So it was a nice honor of her interest in that legacy."
Several other performances tie into this theme, such as Yo-Yo Ma & Emanuel Ax and the Count Basie Orchestra with Carmen Bradford, a Michigan State University jazz studies faculty member hired by Count Basie himself as featured vocalist.
Wharton Center marketing manager Ryonn Clute said she is looking forward to Yo-Yo Ma & Emanuel Ax, specifically because she admires them as performers and as people out in the world.
"I think that is based on just the performance last time when they were here last time," Clute said. "It was magical."
Olmschied is excited about these performances and said that student ticket prices give students “the ability [to] step outside of their day-to-day and walk into the theater and explore something artistic, take a risk, and gamble on something they may not have otherwise thought to explore and engage with.”
He highlights how many students he has seen recently who want to attend Wharton to see live music and theatre performances.
For more information, visit: https://www.whartoncenter.com/events-tickets.
Here is the full list of shows coming to Wharton Center for its 2026-2027 season:
Wharton Center’s 2026-2027 Variety:
An Evening with Sutton Foster: Oct. 3, 2026
Manual Cinema’s The Fourth Witch: Nov. 10, 2026
Ana Gasteyer: Sugar & Booze: Nov. 19, 2026
The Acting Company: A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Feb. 9, 2027
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Yamato-The Drummers of Japan: Mar. 16, 2027
Richard Thomas in Mark Twain Tonight!: May 6, 2027
2026-2027 Classical:
Yo-Yo Ma & Emanuel Ax: Dec. 8, 2026
Berlin Philharmonic Brass: Feb. 2, 2027
Midori & Festival Strings Lucerne: Feb. 21, 2027
Avi Avital & Ksenija Sidorova: Mar. 18, 2027
2026-2027 Dance:
Ballets Jazz Montréal: Dance Me – Music by Leonard Cohen: Nov. 5, 2026
Dance Theatre of Harlem: Feb. 17, 2027
Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández: Mar. 2, 2027
2026-2027 Jazz:
Endea Owens & The Cookout: Oct. 9, 2026
Count Basie Orchestra with Carmen Bradford: Jan. 12, 2027
Emmet Cohen Trio: Mar. 3, 2027
2026-2027 Club 750:
Club 750 Music: Brittany Davis: Jan. 6, 2027
Club 750 Cabaret: Nicholas Rodriguez – Sincerely, Sondheim: Jan. 7, 2027
Club 750 Comedy: John Heffron: Jan. 8, 2027
Club 750 Music: Layale Chaker & Maeve Gilchrist: Mar. 23, 2027
Club 750 Cabaret: Caroline Bowman: Mar. 24, 2027
Club 750 Comedy: Leah Rudick: Mar. 25, 2027
2026-2027 Act One Family Series:
What Do You Do With a Problem?: Nov. 15, 2026
Three Little Pigs and Other Tales: Feb. 13, 2027
The Boy Who Cried Wolf: May 1, 2027
