Philadelphia Theatre Company, under the artistic leadership of Tyler Dobrowsky and Taibi Magar, announced its 2025/26 season, featuring three mainstage productions.
The 51st season includes ‘Primary Trust’, the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Eboni Booth; ‘Caesar’, a contemporary adaptation of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar by Dobrowsky; and the world premiere of ‘Wilderness Generation’ by Philadelphia playwright and Pulitzer Prize winner James Ijames.
Dobrowsky calls the stories, which touch upon home, heritage, and human connection, “a celebration of the ties that bind.” The season officially begins Sept. 19, 2025.
“Philadelphia Theatre Company is here because of so many people—artistic directors, artists, actors, supporters, donors and board members who have shepherded the organization,” said Dobrowsky, co-artistic director. “To still be here 50 years later is a testament to the hard work that people have put into the organization and how important the arts are to the Philadelphia community.”
A month ago, PTC got notice that their $50,000 National Endowment for the Arts grant had been terminated.
“That’s not news that any organization wants to hear,” said Dobrowsky. “A lot of performing arts organizations are still figuring out what it’s like after COVID and lots of support has gone away or dried up.”
Dobrowsky said he hopes that the current Trump administration realizes how important the National Endowment for the Arts is because it funds important and essential projects and it stands for the country’s values; also, the arts are an essential part of being an American, Dobrowsky adds.
“We have a really supportive board and a number of supporters — when they heard what happened, they stepped up and gave a good amount of money to make sure that money could be replaced,” said Dobrowsky.
“We thought a lot about this theme of home and community and how important that is these days,” he continued. “The first play we’re doing this fall is ‘Primary Trust‘, directed by Amina Robinson. It’s one of the most produced plays in America, and this is going to be the Philadelphia premiere of the show. It’s a beautiful, heartwarming comedy that is about this one man’s journey to find his community and find a friend.”
Then PTC is doing a 90 minute three person adaptation of Julius Caesar called ‘Caesar’. Morgan Green, one of the artistic directors at the Wilma Theater, will handle directorial duties.
“’Caesar‘ is about ambition, politics and violence and felt very reflective of the world that we’re living in these days,” said Dobrowsky. “To tell a story about that felt necessary. PTC doesn’t do Shakespeare too often but with the enormity of everything that the country is going through, you need that epic language.”
The third show on stage at PTC is the world premiere of ‘Wilderness Generation,’ directed by Magar and written by Philadelphia’s Ijames, who won a Pulitzer Prize for ‘Fat Ham’ not long ago.
“Taibi and I have known James for so many years and we’re so delighted to do his newest play,” said Dobrowsky. “It’s a family comedy; it is laugh out loud funny; it is really warm and tender, and I think it’s going to be a play that will have a lot of subsequent productions. We feel so lucky to do the world premiere here at PTC.”
PTC is also producing a one-night-only concert version of a new musical, ‘La Guagua 47,’ by Alba Martinez, which is about her story as a young Puerto Rican woman moving to Philadelphia and not knowing where her Latino community was.
“She hopped on the SEPTA 47 bus line and found it because that bus line goes through the Latino neighborhoods,” Dobrowsky said. “Some odd years later, she’s written a musical about that experience.”
Individual and season tickets are available. For a full schedule or to purchase tickets, visit philadelphiatheatrecompany.org
