Broadway favorite Claybourne Elder (Company, The Gilded Age) will try his hand directing with a production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Massachusetts' Cape Playhouse, to perform September 2-19. The William Finn-Rachel Sheinkin musical, currently being revived in NYC at Off-Broadway's New World stages, is part of the company's newly announced 2026 season, the Playhouse's 99th year.

And Elder won't be the only Broadway favorite on the creative team. The staging will be choreographed by Charlie Williams, with further creative team and casting to be announced.

The company's season will open with Nat Zegree's Mozart to Pop Chart June 3-20, directed by Kenneth Ferrone. Written and performed by Zegree, the theatrical concert explores the classical behind today's contemporary music.

Playhouse Artistic Director Eric Rosen will be at the helm for a new production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Into the Woods June 24-July 11, with Betty Weinberger choreographing. Hairspray will follow July 15-August 8, with Meredith McDonough directing and Felicity Stiverson choreographing. Mean Girls, directed and choreographed by Al Blackstone, will take the company's stage August 12-29.

"A 100th birthday is extremely rare for any theatre company, but for The Cape Playhouse, where Broadway legends have shaped its history beginning with Bette Davis’s debut, there’s much to celebrate. That’s even more true with the extraordinary growth the theatre has seen over the past few years," says Rosen, also Elder's off-stage husband, in a statement. "This summer, we can’t wait to greet over 50,000 audience members with a season of joy and celebration in the way that only great musical theatre can create."

Subscriptions are at CapePlayhouse.com.