Eight productions, from a youth-theatre premiere to a sweeping Les Misérables, transport audiences to the edge of the familiar
DAVIDSON, N.C. —Davidson Community Players (DCP) has announced the most ambitious lineup in the organization’s history for its 62nd year. The 2027 season opens in January with a family favorite and closes in December with a Broadway fairy tale. It also features a Shakespeare rarity, an original production from DCP’s Connie Company, and DCP’s flagship production of Les Misérables, widely regarded as one of the all-time greatest works of musical theatre.
In assembling the season, DCP Executive Director Steve Kaliski sought titles that challenged audiences with the same question: Are you willing to take a leap of faith? From the mysterious interiors of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to the startlingly quiet forests of Small Mouth Sounds to the barricade of Les Misérables, each production explores a central crossing into a new universe.
“Great theatre establishes a status quo and then disrupts it,” Kaliski said. “The stakes can vary. Between the promise of a golden ticket and the political upheavals of post-Revolutionary France lies all of existence. But courage, whether it’s Charlie stepping into the factory or Jean Valjean learning the redemptive nature of love, resonates across all genres, and our season will usher audiences of all ages and interests into the unknown.”
DCP is also excited to share that 2027 will feature its second co-production with Cain Center for the Arts. Following this August’s hit Million Dollar Quartet, this next endeavor has been selected and will be announced later this fall. DCP will also continue “Armour After Dark” programming that elevates adult-oriented comedy and new play development.
The 2027 Season
ROALD DAHL’S CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY JR. Jan. 28–Feb. 6, 2027, Cain Center for the Arts, Cornelius. The season opens with DCP’s Connie Company, the youth theatre division named for DCP founder Constance “Connie” Welsh. Willy Wonka opens the gates of his mysterious factory to a lucky few, and Charlie Bucket and four other golden ticket winners tour a world of pure imagination, from chocolate waterfalls to the great glass elevator. School and public performances will be offered.
CYMBELINE Feb. 18–March 7, 2027, Armour Street Theatre, Davidson. DCP again teams up with the award-winning Shepherd Shakespeare Company to co-produce one of Shakespeare’s most rarely staged plays. Cymbeline is Shakespeare’s wildly inventive late-career showcase, blending tragedy, comedy, history, and romance in a single evening.
LYLE THE CROCODILE April 10–18, 2027, Armour Street Theatre, Davidson. Based on Bernard Waber’s books “The House on East 88th Street” and “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile”, this stage adaptation by Kevin Kling, with music by Richard Gray, brings a character who has captured readers' hearts for more than 60 years to life for the whole family.
LES MISÉRABLES June 16–July 3, 2027, Duke Family Performance Hall. DCP’s flagship production reunites the award-winning creative team behind Evita, the smash hit that swept eight Metrolina Theatre Association Awards in October, for its biggest show yet. Victor Hugo’s sweeping 19th-century epic meets one of the most emotionally powerful scores in theatre history in the beautiful Duke Family Performance Hall at Davidson College.
ACCORDING TO JOAN July 29–31, 2027, Cain Center for the Arts, Cornelius. DCP’s Connie Company presents its first-ever original musical, with book by Robert K. Benson and music and lyrics by Sami Weathersby. Imagine Six but for the girl power martyr of the Hundred Years’ War.
SMALL MOUTH SOUNDS Sept. 23–Oct. 10, 2027, Armour Street Theatre, Davidson. This critically acclaimed dark comedy by Bess Wohl follows six strangers on a silent retreat and tells a deeply emotional, funny story with almost no dialogue. A separate Broadway production starring Julia Roberts, Paul Rudd, and Sarah Paulson opens in early 2027. DCP’s staging is its own local production.
ANASTASIA Dec. 2–12, 2027, Cain Center for the Arts, Cornelius. The season closes with a family-friendly fairy tale. Anastasia bridges the real-life mystery of the Romanov dynasty with an enduring journey of identity, self-discovery, and hope.
Tickets and Information
For priority access to Les Misérables and the rest of the slate, season subscriptions are available now at davidsoncommunityplayers.org. Single show tickets will go on sale for the whole season on December 7.