Bowling Green and Southern Kentucky are quietly ending one of the strongest community theater stretches the region has ever had this past Spring. Now, they continue through the summer. Five active companies, two of them with full mainstage seasons, a youth theater pipeline that has put kids on the Carnegie Hall stage and into Governor’s School of the Arts, and a string of summer camps that turn the Xclaim! Center and SKyPAC into year-round training grounds. Here’s what’s playing between now and next summer, with the camps that feed it all underneath.
Last updated April 30, 2026. Dates are confirmed at the time of publication; check directly with the company before driving.
Upcoming Shows · May 2026 – June 2027
Puffs
Public Theatre of Kentucky · May 15–17, 2026 · 545 Morris Alley, Bowling Green
Matt Cox’s affectionate Off-Broadway hit retells seven years at a certain school of magic from the perspective of the Hufflepuffs — the kids who weren’t the Chosen One. It’s a love letter to the supporting cast, played for laughs and heart, and it’s the kind of show PTK does well in the intimate Morris Alley space. Tickets at ptkbg.org.
Aesop’s Fables
Xclaim! · May 28–31, 2026 · Xclaim! Center, 502 College Street, Bowling Green
An Xclaim! original that mixes live actors with stage puppets to retell the classic Aesop’s tales — the tortoise and the hare, the boy who cried wolf, the rest. Ages 7 and up perform; family audiences of all ages will recognize every story. Details at xclaiminc.com.
Treasure Island
Xclaim! Acting Camp PIRATES showcase · June 5, 2026, 6:00 p.m. · Xclaim! Center
The Friday-night payoff to Xclaim’s first summer camp of the season — a one-week, full-staging of Robert Louis Stevenson’s pirate adventure with every camper given a speaking role. Tickets are $5; the show runs 75 minutes. A great way to see what a week of theater training does for a kid.
The Jungle Book
Xclaim! Musical Theatre Camp JUNGLE showcase · June 13, 2026, 12:00 p.m. · Xclaim! Center
A one-week musical-theatre camp that produces a full staging of The Jungle Book on Saturday at noon. Every camper gets a vocal solo or speaking line — the camp model Xclaim! has refined over a dozen-plus summers. Tickets $5.
WEE Theatre: Disney Magic Showcase
Xclaim! · June 19, 2026, 12:00 p.m. · Xclaim! Center
Xclaim’s youngest performers (ages 4–6) stage Disney songs and scenes after a week of WEE Theatre camp. Runtime is intentionally short (about 10 minutes), and admission is free. If you have a small kid debating whether the stage is for them, this is the audition.
PTK Youth & Teen Camp Showcase
Public Theatre of Kentucky · June 19, 2026, 6:00 p.m. · 545 Morris Alley
The week-one PTK summer camp closes with a Friday-night public showcase. Campers spend Monday through Friday building a full production with performing-arts professionals, then perform it for family, friends, and walk-ins. Camp registration and showcase info.
Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Ramsey Theatre Company · June 26–28, 2026 · SKyPAC, 601 College Street
Ramsey is the most ambitious thing on this list — a professional-level summer Broadway company auditioned in person at SKyPAC and remotely in New York City, performing in Robin and David Ciochetty’s full orchestra pit with Orchestra Kentucky. The 2026 mainstage is the Disney/Schwartz/Menken stage adaptation of Hunchback, a darker and more operatic show than the animated film, scored by the team behind Wicked and Beauty and the Beast. Friday and Saturday at 7:30, Sunday matinee at 3:00. Tickets at theskypac.com.
PTK Inclusive Camp Showcase
Public Theatre of Kentucky · June 26, 2026, 6:00 p.m. · 545 Morris Alley
Week two of PTK’s summer camp model is an inclusive theatre week, designed for students on the autism spectrum alongside their neurotypical and neurodiverse peers. The Friday public showcase is the payoff — a unified production that the campers built together. Registration here.
Thingers Strange (a Stranger Things parody)
Xclaim! Acting Intensive · July 16–19, 2026 · Xclaim! Center
A camper-developed parody of the Duffer Brothers’ Netflix series, built over three weeks of acting intensive (improv, narrative form, sound, lights, costuming) and performed as a full mainstage run — Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 7:00 p.m., Sunday matinee at 3:00 p.m. Tickets $12 adults / $9 students & seniors / $6 kindergarten and under.
Beetlejuice
Xclaim! Musical Theatre Intensive · August 6–9, 2026 · Xclaim! Center
The Xclaim! summer ends with the most ambitious camp of the year — a full mainstage production of the Broadway musical Beetlejuice, built over two-plus weeks of vocal coaching, choreography, and tech. Camper-performers get solos or solo acting lines. Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 7:00 p.m., Sunday matinee at 3:00 p.m. Tickets $12 / $9 / $6.
How the Other Half Loves
Public Theatre of Kentucky · September 4–13, 2026 · 545 Morris Alley
Alan Ayckbourn’s 1969 farce — three couples, two living rooms staged simultaneously on one set, and a misunderstanding that escalates across both timelines at once. It’s a directing puzzle as much as a script, and the kind of British farce that only works when the cast can keep the choreography clean. PTK’s two-weekend run gives them room to find it. ptkbg.org.
Charlotte’s Web
BG OnStage · October 21–22, 2026 · SKyPAC
The 60-minute stage adaptation of E.B. White’s classic — Wilbur, Charlotte, the spider’s web full of words, and the friendship that saves a runt pig from the smokehouse. School day matinees on Wednesday October 21 at noon and Thursday October 22 at 9:30 a.m. (group reservations required); the public performance is Thursday at 6:30 p.m. theskypac.com.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
Public Theatre of Kentucky · December 11–13, 2026 · 545 Morris Alley
Barbara Robinson’s 1971 holiday classic — the Herdman kids, the worst-behaved children in the history of the world, somehow get cast as the Holy Family in the church Christmas pageant. Funny, warm, and exactly the right length for a December outing with a family of any size. ptkbg.org.
Seussical, KIDS
BG OnStage · April 21–22, 2027 · SKyPAC
The 45-minute musical, with Horton, the Cat in the Hat, JoJo, Gertrude McFuzz, and the rest of Seuss’s lineup compressed into a Whoville-shaped narrative. School day matinees on Wednesday April 21 at noon and Thursday April 22 at 9:30 a.m.; the public performance is Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
Day Trips: Kentucky’s Destination Theater
Two productions outside Bowling Green proper are worth the gas. Both are major Kentucky cultural institutions, both run free or affordable, both pair well with a meal and a long drive home in the dark.
The Stephen Foster Story & Annie
Stephen Foster Drama Association · June 13 – August 8, 2026 · J. Dan Talbott Amphitheater, My Old Kentucky Home State Park, Bardstown KY (90 minutes from BG)
Now in its 67th season, The Stephen Foster Story is one of the longest-running outdoor musicals in America — set in the mid-19th century, scored by Foster’s own catalog (Oh! Susanna, Camptown Races, Beautiful Dreamer, My Old Kentucky Home), and staged at the amphitheater inside the state park that gave Kentucky its state song. In 2026 it runs in rotating repertory with a full Broadway production of Annie. The setting is the show — bring a light jacket, get there early, and stay for the curtain. Schedule and tickets at stephenfoster.com.
Kentucky Shakespeare Festival in Central Park
Kentucky Shakespeare · May 27 – August 9, 2026 · C. Douglas Ramey Amphitheater, Central Park, Louisville (75 minutes from BG)
The longest-running free Shakespeare festival in America. The 2026 mainstage is a rotating repertory of As You Like It, Antony and Cleopatra, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, the Globe Players’ Romeo and Juliet, and Louisville Ballet’s Hamlet & Ophelia, all performed outdoors in Old Louisville’s Central Park. Performances are 8 p.m. nightly (Wednesday – Sunday); food trucks, the Kids’ Globe, and Will’s Tavern open at 6. The closest stop on Kentucky Shakespeare’s spring touring schedule is Elizabethtown (Freeman Lake Park) on Friday, May 22, 2026 at 6:30 p.m. — about 70 miles from BG and free. Full calendar at kyshakespeare.com.
Summer Camps · 2026 Season
Five organizations, more than a dozen camps, and pricing that ranges from free public showcases to multi-week intensives that produce full mainstage shows. Listed by company.
Public Theatre of Kentucky
PTK runs two one-week camps each summer at 545 Morris Alley, both Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., culminating in a public showcase on Friday evening. Performing-arts professionals lead the instruction; campers bring lunch.
- Session 1 — Youth & Teen: June 15–19, 2026. Showcase Friday, June 19 at 6 p.m. Register.
- Session 2 — Inclusive: June 22–26, 2026. Welcomes students on the autism spectrum alongside neurotypical and neurodiverse peers. Showcase Friday, June 26 at 6 p.m. Register.
Xclaim! Performance Academy
Xclaim! runs the deepest camp lineup of any local company — five distinct camps across the summer, ranging from a half-day intro for four-year-olds to three-week intensives that produce a full mainstage musical. All camps held at 502 College Street.
- Acting Camp PIRATES (ages 7–18): June 1–5. Performs Treasure Island Friday, June 5 at 6 p.m.
- Musical Theatre Camp JUNGLE (ages 7–18): June 8–13. Performs The Jungle Book Saturday, June 13 at noon.
- WEE Theatre Camp DISNEY MAGIC (ages 4–6): June 15–19, half-days. Performs Friday, June 19 at noon.
- Acting Intensive STRANGER THINGS (ages 10–adult): June 24–26, July 6–10, July 13–15. Performs Thingers Strange July 16–19. Audition required after registration; late dinner sponsored by Melissa’s Country Cafe.
- Musical Theatre Intensive BEETLEJUICE (ages 10–adult): July 22–24, July 27–31, August 3–5. Performs Beetlejuice August 6–9. Audition required.
- Summer Fun Theatre Package (ages 10–18): bundles four of the camps above into a six-week, 33-day program — early-bird deadline May 3, final deadline May 18.
Registration and forms at xclaiminc.com.
BG OnStage at SKyPAC
- BG OnStage Mini-Musical (ages 8–14): June 15–19, 2026, 9 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Drop-off camp; campers develop an original musical from script through staging across one week, performing for families on Friday. $130. Two venue options — SKyPAC (limited availability) or BG High School. Register at theskypac.com.
The Companies
Public Theatre of Kentucky · 545 Morris Alley, Bowling Green · ptkbg.org
BG OnStage · resident youth theater of SKyPAC · theskypac.com
Ramsey Theatre Company · professional summer Broadway company at SKyPAC · theskypac.com
Xclaim! · Bowling Green Youth Theatre · 502 College Street · xclaiminc.com
Stephen Foster Drama Association · Bardstown · stephenfoster.com
Kentucky Shakespeare · Louisville · kyshakespeare.com
Have a show or camp we missed? Email BuyLocalBG@gmail.com and we’ll add it.