Many different kinds of people walk through the doors to Main Street Players’ black-box theater.
The company, which has announced and is selling tickets for its 2027 season, wants to offer something for a diverse set of tastes – and perhaps build some community along the way.
“I definitely want to feature shows that are going to impact our community in different ways,” MSP Artistic Director Sara Jarrell says.
She sees the company’s patron base broadly as three groups. There are the people she describes as a wonderful community of retirees, the people who have made Miami Lakes what it is. The second group is younger – from adults with families to some older teens. They’re looking for family programming, date-night fun – and crucially, work “where they can see themselves within the show relate to the characters,”Jarrell says.
Finally, you have young, often bilingual families for whom the company’s educational offerings are tailored to.
“Those are for our young families who have children anywhere from newborns to 10 years old,” Jarrell says of the educational programming.
The upcoming season reflects how the company tries to find something for those varied tastes. The season’s first two aim at an audience that knows live theater and loves it.
Betrayal, by celebrated British playwright Harold Pinter, was both a culturally significant, talked-about work and a big hit when it was first staged in the ‘70s.
“It really showcased how a couple goes through a divorce and an affair, and what that looks like,” Jarrell says. Musical comedy Nunsense was also a huge hit when it debuted in 1985; a subsequent television version starred The Golden Girls’ Rue McClanahan.
These are the kinds of works that speak to patrons who are longtime theater-goers and appreciate good work in an intimate setting.
“We’re spoiled because the actors are right there, you could reach out and touch them,” Jarrell says. “That type of theater is really for our theater people.
“They want to see the actors work onstage and showcase their talent ability; (they don’t) really need anything else.”
The next two plays, Good Cuban Girls and The Beautiful Land I Seek, aim for that somewhat younger audience who wants a fun night out but also wants to see something that speaks to their life experiences.
“Those two plays will really allow our community to think about these circumstances and how it relates to the world today,” Jarrell says.
Good Cuban Girls looks at a young mother, while The Beautiful Land I seek examines what it looks like when somebody is so desperate for their ideals to be seen and heard - the price paid for rash and radical moves. For Miami Lakes audiences, there may be familiar characters in difficult situations.
Good theater, Jarrell says, also breeds empathy. “I am trying to allow people to sit in different circumstances.”
The group’s educational offerings have doubled this year after tripling last year, Jarrell said. Several fall youth programs are now getting underway; there will also be a winter teen conservatory staging Romeo and Juliet, and a spring playwright workshop.
Jarrell doesn’t think it’s easy being a kid today; in addition to the art and craft of theater, she believes the programs “provide them a space where they can be themselves, authentically.”
Authenticity will also be on tap thanks to MSP’s continued partnerships with smaller companies that don’t have a physical space to stage their works.
“That’s really the barrier for most young companies – the space,” Jarrell said.
Fostering those relationships with young companies cutting their teeth creates benefits for everybody, she said.
“We learn from them,” she said, “which is really a blessing.”
Another blessing is the company’s home on its namesake street, and the local band of patrons who keep coming back.
“We’re really grateful for the community we have here,” Jarrell said. “The community we’ve built.”
Main Street Players’ recently announced 2027 season includes:
Nunsense by Dan Goggin
February 27 – March 14,
This riotous show is a fundraiser put on by the Little Sisters of Hoboken to raise money to bury sisters accidentally poisoned by the convent cook, Sister Julia (Child of God). Updated with new jokes, additional lyrics, two new arrangements, and a brand new song.
Betrayal by Harold Pinter
April 17 – May 2
Jerry is a literary agent; Emma runs an art gallery; Robert is a publisher. Emma and Robert are married and Jerry is Robert’s best friend, but Emma and Jerry have had a seven-year affair. The play opens with Emma and Jerry meeting for lunch in 1977, two years after the affair has finished and, by a brilliant device, the relationship of the three is traced backwards nine years to the evening when it all began.
Good Cuban Girls by
Iraisa Anne Reilly
July 24 - August 8
Marisol is home from college for the summer-with a big secret. How will she break this news to the matriarchs of her family without inducing her grandmother’s instantaneous death? Good Cuban Girls is a coming of age story that navigates the first generation American struggle for cultural preservation in the face of exile.
The beautiful land i seek (la linda tierra que busco yo) by Matt Barbot
September 18 – October 3
In 1950, two would-be assassins board a train from New York to Washington, DC and discuss their plan to strike in the name of Puerto Rican independence. Well, they would be discussing it, that is, if it weren’t for interruption after interruption, each time by figures out of art and history, reflections of what their country means to them and has meant to the United States. As the borders of their reality begin to shift and their train chugs along, the two must finalize their plan,interpret what messages these strange visitors have for them, and decide how they want their sacrifice to be remembered.
Educational Season Lineup
2027 Winter Teen Conservatory: Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Classes begin November 30, 2026, with performances February 11–14, 2027. Rehearsals will be held during Winter Break
Ages 12–18. Participation in the show is based on an initial audition.
Auditions will be held on December 7, 2026 by appointment only, and rehearsals will be held on Mondays and Thursdays from 4:30 to 6 P.M. starting on December 10, with additional rehearsals scheduled as performances approach.
Cost: $250 for the session.
2027 Spring Kids Camp Playwrighting Workshop
Class starts January 19, 2027 with performances May 7-9, 2027
Does your child have a big imagination or love telling stories? The Playwrighting Workshop introduces students to the art of writing for the stage. During this creative class, students will explore how ideas become plays through writing exercises, collaboration and script readings.
Campers will create their own original scenes and short plays while learning how playwrights develop characters, dialogue, and dramatic action. Students will explore story development and plot structure, writing dialogue and creating characters, turning ideas into scenes for the stage and sharing and presenting their work with fellow campers
Ages 6-11; Classes start January 19 and will be held weekly on Tuesdays at 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.
leading up to the show.
Ages 12-18; Classes Start January 20 and will be held weekly on Wednesdays at
4:30 to 5:30 p.m. leading up to the show
Cost: $250 for the session