Fan favorite Hershey Felder returns to The New Vic stage next season with Monsieur Chopin, following his performances of Rachmaninoff and the Tsar and George Gershwin Alone earlier this year, as a special addition to Ensemble Theatre Company’s (ETC) upcoming Season 47.
Making its world premiere in 2019, the entirely new Monsieur Chopin (based on an original production that premiered at Chicago’s Royal George Theatre in 2006) has delighted audiences across the country in critically acclaimed sold-out runs. New York’s BroadwayWorld wrote, “Felder masters the role of Chopin so perfectly that you will find yourself believing the musical genius has come alive before your eyes.”
“This is an extraordinary opportunity for Santa Barbara audiences,” said Scott DeVine, Executive Artistic Director of ETC.
The show will have a strictly limited run of 14 performances, April 30-May 10, 2026. Season 47 subscription packages are available now and current and new subscribers may add Monsieur Chopin to their packages through August 1, before single tickets are released to the general public.
The upcoming season subscriptions include: War of the Worlds: The Panic Broadcast; The Complete Jane Austen, Abridged; The Shark Is Broken; A Night with Janis Joplin; and Every Brilliant Thing.
War of the Worlds: The Panic Broadcast (Oct. 2025), adapted by Joe Landry, is a recreation of Orson Welles’s legendary 1938 broadcast, transporting the audience to a pivotal moment when radio — then our most trusted medium — convincingly declared an alien invasion.
The Complete Jane Austen, Abridged (Dec. 2025), explores what happens when you take the wit, romance, and wisdom of Jane Austen’s greatest works and distill them into a fast-paced, laugh-out-loud experience.
The Shark Is Broken (Feb. 2026), by Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon, is a behind-the-scenes drama of the making of the movie Jaws, based on the 1974 diaries of actor Robert Shaw. The mechanical shark is malfunctioning, the schedule is in shambles, and three actors — Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, and Roy Scheider — are stuck on a boat, battling egos, alcohol, and artistic frustration.
A Night with Janis Joplin (Apr. 2026), created and written by Randy Johnson, is part theater, part rock ‘n’ roll celebration. It’s a high-energy production that dives into the life and music of a fearless icon who changed the sound of rock forever, including performances of “Piece of My Heart,” “Summertime,” and other signature works.
Every Brilliant Thing (June 2026), written by Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe, may sound familiar because a special benefit production of this show for New Beginnings Counseling Center graced our cover in fall 2022 (see Josef Woodard’s story “Art, Activism, Awareness, and ‘Every Brilliant Thing’” here). This powerful show is about finding and focusing on the wonders of life. A child starts a list of every brilliant thing in the world, hoping to help their mother through depression. As the list grows — ice cream, the color yellow, the sound of laughter — the audience is invited on a heartwarming, interactive journey through life’s highs and lows, discovering joy in the simplest things.
“This season is a reminder of why stories matter,” said DeVine in the season introduction. “Whether it’s a voice on the radio, a book that makes us believe in love, a film that terrifies and thrills us, or a song that stays with us forever, these stories shape who we are. And in a world where truth and illusion often blur, theatre offers a unique opportunity to connect with our shared humanity, to find clarity amidst the noise, and to experience the power of stories together.”
For more information, visit etcsb.org or call (805) 965-5400.
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