UTEP Theatre and Dance Announces 2026-27 Mainstage Season
Mean Girls, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, more set to entertain El Paso community
EL PASO, Texas (Aug. 4, 2026) – The 2026-27 season of shows from the UTEP Department of Theatre and Dance promises something for everyone — from a town taken over by rhinos and the Broadway musical adaptation of “Mean Girls” to the chilling tale of a mad barber in Victorian London.
“This season, we're bringing you a captivating lineup of productions that will entertain, inspire, and spark conversation,” said Henry MacCarthy, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance. “From edge-of-your-seat thrills to unforgettable stories that stay with you long after the curtain falls, there's something for everyone to experience.”
The 12-show season kicks off on Sept. 26 with an International Talent Cabaret featuring students and faculty from UTEP and Tec de Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico, followed by a moving stage adaptation of In the Time of the Butterflies by acclaimed novelist Julia Alvarez. Stephen Sondheim's electrifying musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street arrives just in time for Halloween, and fall continues with Ionesco's thought-provoking Rhinoceros and a festive Christmas musical extravaganza in the Union Ballroom.
Spring brings the department’s annual Dance Concert featuring exciting new works by Tawanda Chabikwa and guest artist Leila Awadallah; the Broadway hit Mean Girls; Ramon Esquivel's Luna, a magical adventure for audiences of all ages; and concludes with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, a nod to the very first production staged at the UTEP Dinner Theatre in 1983.
UTEP Dinner Theatre will continue to offer musical theatre productions to the campus and the city of El Paso now that it is fully merged with the Department of Theatre & Dance. During the 2026-27 season, it will present three final shows in the Union Ballroom before relocating for the 2027-28 season as Union Building West begins reconstruction.
“Dinner Theatre’s special lineup celebrates the decades of outstanding performances that have taken place in the Union Ballroom,” MacCarthy said. “The team produced more than 175 shows and sold more than 380,000 tickets since its inception — and we expect that number to continue growing in the years ahead.”
The Department of Theatre and Dance’s full 2026-27 lineup is as follows:
“International Talent Cabaret: UTEP and Tec de Monterrey”
Sept. 26, 2026
La Fe Culture and Technology Center, 720 S. Ochoa St.
“In the Time of Butterflies”
Adapted by Caridad Svich from the novel by Julia Alvarez
Oct. 14-18, 2026
June Sadowski Kruszewski Studio Theatre
“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim; book by Hugh Wheeler
Oct. 23 – Nov. 8, 2026
Union Ballroom
“Raising the Barre”
Nov. 4-5, 2026
June Sadowski Kruszewski Studio Theatre
“Rhinoceros”
By Eugene Ionesco
Nov. 18-22, 2026
The Wise Family Theatre
Christmas Music Extravaganza
Dec. 4-12, 2026
Union Ballroom
Spring Dance Concert: New Works by Leila Awadallah and Tawanda Chabikwa
Feb. 18-21, 2027
The Wise Family Theatre
“Mean Girls”
Music by Jeff Richmond; lyrics by Nell Benjamin; book by Tina Fey
March 26 – April 11, 2027
Union Ballroom
“Luna”
By Ramon Esquivel
April 16 – 25, 2027
The Wise Family Theatre
Dance Capstone
May 5 – 8, 2027
June Sadowski Kruszewski Studio Theatre
“Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber; lyrics by Tim Rice
July 2 – 18, 2027
Union Ballroom
Faculty Research Series
“shapeshifters,” a screening
Oct. 29, 2026
Rubin Center for the Visual Arts
“La Gorda,” a play by Ramón Griffero
October 2026
Keystone Heritage Park
Auditions for fall productions will be held during the first week of the semester, and everyone is invited to audition. Tickets will be available soon after the beginning of the semester.
Click here to learn more about each show.
Last Updated on August 04, 2026 at 12:00 AM | Originally published August 04, 2026
By MC Staff UTEP Marketing and Communications
