Productions

2026–2027 MAINSTAGE SEASON

Dead Man’s Cell Phone

by Sarah Ruhl
DeWitt Mainstage Theatre

• October 16, 17, 22, 23, 24 | 7:30 p.m.
• October 18 | 2 p.m.

When the incessant ringing of a cell phone interrupts Jean’s quiet afternoon lunch of lobster bisque, she decides to answer the phone only to discover that the owner of the phone is dead. Who is the man slumped on the cafe table beside her, where did he come from and what type of life did he lead? Thus begins Jean’s surreal adventure into Gordon’s mysterious life, including dinner at his mother’s estate, a date with his brother, a bar stop with his intoxicated wife, a mysterious rendezvous with his mistress, and detours into the black market and afterlife. Join us for this quirky comedy as Jean keeps answering the dead man’s cell phone only to discover the meaning of life.
(mature content)

Dead Man’s Cell Phone is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. (www.concordtheatricals.com) 

Richard III

By William Shakespeare
DeWitt Mainstage Theatre

• November 13, 14, 19, 20, 21 | 7:30 p.m.
• November 15 | 2 p.m.

Richard, Duke of Gloucester, is bored. The Wars of the Roses have come to an end and he needs something to do. Why not depose his brother from the throne, murder anyone who stands in his way and convince the world that he is kind, generous and worthy of being king? Richard’s “winter of discontent” becomes a quest for ultimate power as he gaslights the world while imperiling the nation. Set in a world that echoes our own, Hope’s production of Richard III brings Shakespeare’s Machiavellian world to our very doorstep.
(mature content)

Everybody

by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
DeWitt Studio Theatre

• March 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11 | 7:30 p.m.
• March 6, 7 | 2 p.m.

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’s audacious retelling of the 15th-century morality play Everyman brings Everybody face-to-face with Death. It is time for Everybody to meet God, but Everybody doesn’t want to face the afterlife alone. Will Everybody’s good friends Strength, Stuff, Beauty, Friendship, Kinship, Cousin and Senses travel with Everybody to convince God they are worthy of heaven, or will Everybody die alone without any hope? Join us for a meta-theatrical evening in which five of the nine actors will play a multitude of roles chosen by an onstage lottery each night. With 120 possible combinations, every performance offers a unique exploration of how our individual identities intersect with life’s universal questions.
(mature content)

Everybody is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Dramatist Play Service Inc. (www.concordtheatricals.com)

A Devised Work

by Hope College Students 
DeWitt Mainstage Theatre

• April 16, 17, 22, 23, 24 | 7:30 p.m.
• April 18 | 2 p.m.

With the assistance of a brilliant devising company, Hope’s theatre students will gather this fall to create a brand-new play for Hope College, which they will produce in April. Devised work is often highly physical and relies on “total theatre” in which all the design elements (scenery,  lighting, sound, costumes and props) have just as much power to reveal character and advance the story as spoken text. If you want to know what our Hope students are thinking, imagining, and dreaming, you won’t want to miss this production.

Check out photos from past productions