Circle Theatre in downtown Fort Worth has scrapped three planned shows as venue leaders work to address operational challenges.<\/p>\n
The shows \u201cJagged Little Pill,\u201d \u201cI\u2019m Gonna Marry You Tobey Maguire,\u201d and \u201cThe Leopard Play\u201d scheduled from June through November have been dropped from the company\u2019s 45th season<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The lineup now includes a production of \u201cAin\u2019t Misbehavin\u2019: The Fats Waller Musical Show\u201d in October and \u201cScrooge in Rouge\u201d from November to December. \u201cAin\u2019t Misbehavin\u2019\u201d <\/strong>was on stage at Circle last year<\/a> and the latter has previously been performed at Stage West Theatre in 2021.\u00a0<\/p>\n Executive Director Tim Long said the company is exploring the best types of shows to produce moving forward to ensure the theater\u2019s long-term success.<\/p>\n He emphasized that Circle Theatre is not at risk of shutting down, but that the company has struggled with low attendance despite \u201cartistic success.\u201d Recent shows like the Pulitzer Prize-winning \u201cRent<\/a>\u201d sold out, while others like buddy comedy \u201cKing James<\/a>\u201d sold few tickets, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFinancially, we\u2019re not in a bad position, but we\u2019d like to do a lot better,” Long said. “It\u2019s just a thoughtful decision to get butts in seats.\u201d<\/p>\n The two replacement shows are familiar to Fort Worth audiences and can be produced in a short time amid future planning, he said.<\/p>\n What were the plays removed from the 2026 season about?<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n Public tax filings<\/a> from Circle Theatre show that the downtown venue\u2019s expenses have exceeded revenue since 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2024, the theater\u2019s $848,587 expenses surpassed its revenue of $706,994. The venue lost $91,482 in 2023 and nearly $33,000 the year before.\u00a0<\/p>\n Board President Jeremy Dontray Davis said the midseason shift allows the company\u2019s artistic team to take a reset, given that the theater operates year-round.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some may view the sudden changes as a risk, he added, but the nine-member governing board is doing what it believes is best to keep the theater in a positive light.<\/p>\n \u201cI personally don\u2019t think that it\u2019s a negative thing,\u201d Davis said. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say that it\u2019s common, but we have Circle Theatre’s best interest at heart.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cJagged Little Pill\u201d will hit the Circle Theatre stage in August 2027<\/a> as a coproduction with the Dallas-based venue Uptown Players.\u00a0<\/p>\n Davis expressed gratitude to the theater\u2019s patrons and teased that the company\u2019s upcoming season will be bigger and better than ever.\u00a0<\/p>\n David Moreno is the arts and culture reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or @davidmreports<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Fort Worth Report\u2019s arts and culture coverage is supported in part by the Meta Alice Keith Bratten Foundation and the Virginia Hobbs Charitable Trust. At the Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n This <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2026\/05\/24\/circle-theatre-scraps-planned-shows-shifts-season-as-leaders-address-challenges\/”>article<\/a> first appeared on <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/fortworthreport.org”>Fort Worth Report<\/a> and is republished here under a <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nd\/4.0\/”>Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License<\/a>.<img src=”https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/cropped-favicon.png?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1″ style=”width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;”><\/p>\n <img id=”republication-tracker-tool-source” src=”https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/?republication-pixel=true&post=566711&ga4=2820184429″ style=”width:1px;height:1px;”><script> PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: “https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2026\/05\/24\/circle-theatre-scraps-planned-shows-shifts-season-as-leaders-address-challenges\/”, urlref: window.location.href }); } } <\/script> <script id=”parsely-cfg” src=”\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/fortworthreport.org\/p.js”><\/script>\n