Author - F. Andrew Leslie, from the novel by Shirley Jackson

Director - Pamela Lambert

Spine-tingling thrills

F. Andrew Leslie’s dramatization of Shirley Jackson’s thrilling novel of the same name brings the story of Hill House and all its ghosts to theatrical life. Cut off from the outside world by its remote location and shunned by all who know its forbidding and sinister reputation, Hill House has remained empty and silent except for the daily visits of its grumbling caretaker, Mrs. Dudley. Its isolation is broken by the arrival of Dr. Montague, an investigator of supernatural phenomena who has been granted a short lease by the present owner. His mission is to delve into the morbid history of the house and to come to grips with the occult forces that have made it uninhabitable for many years. He is joined by three others, and their investigation brings on a crisis in which the evil forces of Hill House are goaded to a new and, for one of those present, fatal fury.

THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE is presented by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing, LLC, servicing the Dramatists Play Service collection. (www.dramatists.com)

By David Lindsay-Abaire 

Directed by Jason Connors

Hilarious dark comedy with heart

Note: Contains explicit language  

Meet the Levaco family — an anything-but-average working-class family from New Jersey — whose teenage daughter, Kimberly, was born with a condition that causes her to age four and half times faster than everyone else. Watch how Kimberly navigates high school, her very pregnant mother, her drunken father, her criminal aunt… and maybe even her first boyfriend? Footlighters’ own President of the Board, Pam Lambert, stars as Kimberly in this outrageously funny and deeply moving play, recently adapted into a Tony Award–winning musical. 

KIMBERLY AKIMBO is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Dramatists Play Service. www.concordtheatricals.com

About the Series:

Between the Lines is Redlands Footlighters’ new staged reading series where theatre meets conversation. Featuring thought-provoking plays driven by big questions rather than big spectacle, each reading focuses on rich language, compelling characters, and moral, philosophical, and social ideas. Join us for a Saturday matinee performance followed by an optional, facilitated engagement experience—including guided discussions, simple creative prompts, and shared reflection. 

This special event series is not included in the 2026-27 Season Ticket packages.

Author - Barbara Robinson

Directors - Carolyn Duncan & Samantha French

Fun for all ages!

In this hilarious Christmas classic, a couple struggling to put on a church Christmas pageant is faced with casting the Herdman kids – probably the most inventively awful kids in history. You won’t believe the mayhem – and the fun – when the Herdmans collide head-on with the story of Christmas!

This holiday special is produced in partnership with the Looking Glass Studio of Performing Arts, Redlands.

“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com

By Eugene Ionesco 

Translated by Derek Prouse

Directed by Jason Connors

Mid-20th-century masterpiece of Absurdist Theatre 

In a bustling Paris café, a meeting between two longtime friends is abruptly disrupted by the shocking intrusion of a mysterious and exotic menace. The aftermath plunges the friends — and their entire community — into an absurd new reality, as each character develops their own way of making sense of, accepting, rationalizing, and conforming to the “alternative facts” transforming them into something unrecognizable. 

An allegory about the dangers of complacency in perilous times, this timeless and unsettling play is as relevant now as when it was first performed — and not to be missed. 

RHINOCEROS is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com

About the Series:

Between the Lines is Redlands Footlighters’ new staged reading series where theatre meets conversation. Featuring thought-provoking plays driven by big questions rather than big spectacle, each reading focuses on rich language, compelling characters, and moral, philosophical, and social ideas. Join us for a Saturday matinee performance followed by an optional, facilitated engagement experience—including guided discussions, simple creative prompts, and shared reflection. 

This special event series is not included in the 2026-27 Season Ticket packages.

Author - Mary Orr

Director - Phillip Gabriel

The dark side of fame

Adapted from the same short story that inspired All About Eve and the hit musical Applause! An engrossing and revealing “inside” story of life in New York‘s theatre world, told in terms of an unscrupulous ingenue’s rise to Broadway stardom. The play follows Eve Harrington, a devoted fan who inserts herself into the life of actress Margo Crane. As Eve gets more and more entangled in Margo‘s life, her intentions are revealed to be not as pure as they seemed.

THE WISDOM OF EVE is presented by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing, LLC, servicing the Dramatists Play Service collection. (www.dramatists.com)

By George Bernard Shaw 

Directed by Jason Connors

Pinnacle of biting Shavian wit 

When the disarmingly charming Candida returns home from abroad to her popular yet egocentric reverend husband, she brings back not only her luggage, but a young poet she befriended along the way. Reverend Morell might tolerate his wife’s new companion — if the idealistic Marchbanks weren’t head-over-heels in love with Candida and determined to free her from what he sees as a life of domestic banality.

Who will Candida choose? This Valentine’s season, choose an evening at Footlighters for a night of exquisitely witty banter and a thoughtful exploration of love, commitment, and the complicated duties of following one’s own heart. 

About the Series:

Between the Lines is Redlands Footlighters’ new staged reading series where theatre meets conversation. Featuring thought-provoking plays driven by big questions rather than big spectacle, each reading focuses on rich language, compelling characters, and moral, philosophical, and social ideas. Join us for a Saturday matinee performance followed by an optional, facilitated engagement experience—including guided discussions, simple creative prompts, and shared reflection. 

This special event series is not included in the 2026-27 Season Ticket packages.

Author - Oscar Wilde

Director - Cindi East

Classic, clever & charming

Oscar Wilde’s famously witty play follows two Victorian gentlemen, Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, who create false identities (specifically, a brother named “Ernest”) to avoid tiresome societal duties. Their roguish duplicity leads to romantic complications when they woo two charming ladies, Gwendolen and Cecily. After Jack discovers his real name is in fact ‘Ernest’, the play’s farcical resolution untangles their web of identities and satirizes Victorian hypocrisy..

By Karel Čapek 

Translated by Paul Selver

Directed by Jason Connors

Groundbreaking early science-fiction drama

Ever wonder where the word robot came from? It was coined in this play. The Universal Robot Company manufactures humanoid machines designed for every household and industrial task imaginable. But what happens when these machine-servants begin to learn, think, and dream for themselves? 

Will they accept a life of servitude — or rise up against their creators? Written over 100 years ago, this astonishingly prescient play anticipated many of our modern anxieties about artificial intelligence and automation, asking what it means to remain human in a world obsessed with efficiency. 

About the Series:

Between the Lines is Redlands Footlighters’ new staged reading series where theatre meets conversation. Featuring thought-provoking plays driven by big questions rather than big spectacle, each reading focuses on rich language, compelling characters, and moral, philosophical, and social ideas. Join us for a Saturday matinee performance followed by an optional, facilitated engagement experience—including guided discussions, simple creative prompts, and shared reflection. 

This special event series is not included in the 2026-27 Season Ticket packages.

Adapted for the stage by Ken Ludwig

Director - Christopher Diehl

Whodunnit from the Queen of Crime

Just after midnight, a snowdrift stops the Orient Express in its tracks. The luxurious train is surprisingly full for the time of the year, but by the morning it is one passenger fewer. An American tycoon lies dead in his compartment, stabbed eight times, his door locked from the inside. Isolated and with a killer in their midst, the passengers rely on detective Hercule Poirot to identify the murderer – in case he or she decides to strike again.

“Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com