2025/2026 Season
PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG GAY MAN
November 2025
Written and performed by Patrick Scully
The return of the highly popular show from our 50th Anniversary Season, this time in St. Paul! Join us at the The Theater (formerly the Lowry Lab Theater) at Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists in St. Paul for the first work in Patrick Scully’s autobiographical series Somewhere Along the Rainbow. The play begins in Patrick’s high school in the 1960’s and takes us on a journey through his school, college years, and into his early professional life in the arts.
THERE’S A PILL FOR THAT FOR THE HOLIDAYS!
December 2025
Written and performed by Miss Richfield 1981
Our 51st season would not be complete without a return of the ever-popular, ever-irreverent MISS RICHFIELD 1981. She brings her annual holiday show back to ILLUSION.
Todd Price joins Miss R to accompany her on the piano. Miss Richfield 1981 never disappoints - she appears in fabulous outfits, her hair is never out of place, and she is always totally inappropriate.
ILLUSION OUTSIDE INSIDE!
February-March 2026
If the winter blues leave you craving the summer, we’re excited to present to you the cure — an extension of our summer programming: ILLUSION OUTSIDE: Live at Lyndale Gardens!
Join us for some familiar favorites (line up TBA) as they bring the sounds and joy of summer to our home at the Center for Performing Arts.
Fresh ink
March 2026
ILLUSION THEATER’s Fresh Ink Series allows writers to explore new areas by giving them a platform and the resources they need to develop new work in a workshop setting and then share that with an audience. The Fresh Ink Series began in 1987 and has continued since.
THE POSTMAN’S DAUGHTER
April 2026
By Danielle Koenig & Justin D. Cook
ILLUSION is excited to introduce this brand new musical! When a young woman gives birth to her first child and moves to a new town, she finds an unlikely friend in her local postman. This sung-through musical takes a look at empathy, forgiveness, and the always complex dynamics within a family.
SCARECROW ON FIRE
May 2026
By Kevin Kling
If you missed an opportunity to see the sold-out run of Kevin Kling’s hit show, SCARECROW ON FIRE, now’s your chance! After a highly successful run in May of 2025 and then a similarily successful out-of-town run at Theatre L’Homme Dieu in Alexandria, we’re thrilled to be bringing back Kevin’s unique, poignant look at the events after the Wizard of Oz when the Scarecrow, Tin-Man, and Lion must travel to Kansas, this time to rescue Dorothy.