CHOICES tell the STORY.

Director’s Note

Among the many mental talents of humanity is our ability to evade that which is right in front of us. Whether it is ignoring a sign that someone’s character isn’t what we previously believed it to be. Or a failure to integrate a new discovery into an old understanding. Or even the plain refusal to acknowledge and agree upon facts. When we want to, we can ignore THE WRITING ON THE WALL, no matter the size or serifs of the font. 

This remarkable gift arises from our tendencies toward self-preservation, protection of our ego, personal biases, adherence to the status quo, and just run-of-the-mill stubbornness. So often in our lives the answer to the uncertainty we dread or the caution about the danger we face is staring back at us with unblinking eyes. And yet we long to blink away the small voice gnawing at our conscience. We build walls around us to hide the one with words dripping in warning. 

For the 2025-2026 season of Memorial Theatre, we have selected the theme THE WRITING ON THE WALL. Each of our mainstage productions will challenge the protagonists, as well as the audience, to recognize a certainty, a truth, or a reality they have been avoiding. We open the season with Jeffrey Hatcher’s journey through the works of an American master of the macabre, Murder By Poe. What are we to make of Poe’s obsession with the collision between love and death in the human heart? Does the light of truth shine through the gloom? Our winter musical will be The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Rupert Holmes. This hilarious whodunit adapted from the work of Charles Dickens places the audience in the writer’s role as we ask them to untangle a murder plot and decide who is to blame. Our one act play contest piece will be a new work by director Bradley Hewlett. The Red One explores questions taken from our current technological discourse and urges the audience to consider where our home has been and, more urgently, where it could be. 

We invite you to join us for a wide-ranging season of gossamer dreams, engaging mystery, and hopeful exploration. Entertainment is guaranteed. The writing is on the wall!