Follow the yellow brick road in this delightful stage adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s beloved tale, featuring the iconic musical score from the MGM film. Directed here by Zoë Adams, with musical direction by J. Quinton Johnson and choreography by Khali Sykes.

Summer Stock Austin: The Wizard of Oz

You know this one, about Rydell High's senior class of 1959: duck-tailed, hot-rodding "Burger Palace Boys" and their gum-snapping, hip-shaking "Pink Ladies" in bobby sox and pedal pushers, evoking the look and sound of the 1950s in this rollicking musical. Directed here by Michael Ávila, with musical direction by J. Quinton Johnson and choreography by Kristie Copeland.

Summer Stock Austin: Grease

This international hit offers a faithful stage adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters, following Screwtape, a senior tempter in Hell, as he schemes to capture the soul of an unsuspecting human on earth and reveals spiritual warfare in vivid, humorous, and powerful ways.

The Screwtape Letters

Based on creator Odile Gakire Katese’s collected letters from survivors and perpetrators of Rwanda’s 1994 genocide, The Book of Life leads audiences on a journey of pain, grief, acceptance, and rebirth. Finding hope in the aftermath of tragedy, the playwright and cultural entrepreneur’s story reverberates through spoken word and the rhythms of Ingoma Nshya, Rwanda’s first-ever female drumming ensemble founded by Katese.

Odile Gakire Katese and Volcano Theater: The Book of Life

Based on a memoir by journalist Charles M. Blow, jazz trumpeter/composer Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones became the first opera by a Black composer to debut at the Metropolitan Opera. Though its themes of African American empowerment and some raw language ruffled the usual conservative feathers, the cast recording also won the Grammy for Best Opera Recording this year. For this Austin show, Blanchard, his band the E-Collective, the Turtle Island String Quartet, and singers Nicholas Newton and Adrienne Danrich present excerpts and re-worked pieces from this much-acclaimed show in a streamlined format to spread the word.

Fire Shut Up in My Bones: Excerpts in Concert w/ Terence Blanchard ft. the E-Collective & Turtle Island Quartet

The seven-time Grammy Award winner presents his masterwork in a concert production that features excerpts from the opera performed by the composer, an ensemble of string and jazz musicians – the Turtle Island Quartet! – and two guest singers. With projections by visual artist Andrew F. Scott.

Terence Blanchard: Fire Shut Up In My Bones

Darden Smith

The first of two Summer Stock Austin productions this summer (stay tuned for Guys & Dolls on August 2), Disney’s The Little Mermaid revives Hans Christian Anderson’s enduring tale of a sea-maiden who dreams of life on land and enlivens it with standout music and lyrics by Disney Renaissance dream team Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. High school and college students make up the cast, but don’t confuse their youth with amateurishness: With 20 years under its belt, Summer Stock Austin knows how to put on a helluva show. – Kimberley Jones