Soul Rep Theatre Company will present a dynamic 2025–2026 season that celebrates its 30th anniversary with new works, classic revivals, and community-centered storytelling. The season will deepen the company’s commitment to legacy, innovation, and cultural memory while continuing to amplify Black voices on stage.

THE PARRISH CHARITABLE FOUNDATION AUGUST WILSON PLAY SERIES

Anchoring the season will be two pivotal works from August Wilson’s groundbreaking American Century Cycle. Soul Rep will stage the North Texas premiere of King Hedley II, a co-production with Bishop Arts Theatre Center (BATC), running October 9–26 at BATC in North Oak Cliff. Directed by Los Angeles–based Soul Rep company member Jemal McNeil, the play will feature local actors Jamal Sterling, Dennis Raveneau, Anyika McMillan-Herod, Olivia Lewis, Jerrold Trice, and Brian Gibson. Set in 1985 Pittsburgh, the play explores hope, redemption, and the struggle to rebuild in a world of limited opportunity.

In February, the Dallas premiere of Gem of the Ocean will take place at the South Dallas Cultural Center. Chronologically the first play in Wilson’s ten-part cycle but the last to be written, the work is set in 1904 and bridges African ancestral memory with the 20th-century Black experience. Both productions will be directed by Jemal McNeil and underwritten by the Parrish Charitable Foundation.

WORLD PREMIERE OF MADAM QUEEN

The season will also feature the world premiere of Madam Queen, the final work by the late playwright and Soul Rep mentor dianne tucker. Supported by the TACA New Works Fund, the production will blend live theater and film to tell the extraordinary story of Hannah Elias, a Black businesswoman who “passed” as White at the turn of the 20th century. Elias became one of the wealthiest women in the world, lived in a Central Park West mansion, and was embroiled in a sensational blackmail case. The production will be co-directed by Soul Rep co-founders Guinea Bennett-Price and Tonya Holloway.

TED SHINE NEW PLAY FESTIVAL

Closing the season will be the biennial Ted Shine New Play Festival, honoring the late Dallas playwright and professor who inspired several company members. This year’s festival will embrace the theme of “Sankofa,” a Ghanaian word meaning “to go back and get it,” symbolizing the company’s commitment to honoring its past while moving forward. The festival will feature audience favorites from earlier festivals as well as new works by emerging playwrights attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director Guinea Bennett-Price said, “We are excited to present a season that honors our past, celebrates our present, and looks boldly toward the future. From the soul-stirring work of August Wilson to the triumphant world premiere of Madam Queen, and the Sankofa energy of the Ted Shine New Play Festival, this season is a tribute to 30 years of Black stories and excellence on our stage.”

Season subscriptions and individual tickets are available now at www.soulrep.org.