Powerhouse Theatre Collaborative reveals details of 2027 season

LACONIA — Powerhouse Theatre Collaborative, the resident theater company of The Colonial Theatre in Laconia, recently held a season announcement party for participants and supporters. There was much excitement as Powerhouse laid out the plans for its upcoming 2027 Colonial Series, Spark Series and Special Events.

The Colonial Series will kick off in February with a musical revue called "More in Love with Broadway." This will be a night that features the musical talent of many Power Players and the Power Chords as they perform a night of show tunes about love, perfect for Valentine’s Day weekend.

From April 30 to May 2, Powerhouse will bring the hit Broadway musical, "The Drowsy Chaperone," to the Colonial stage. This is a musical comedy about a 1920s musical comedy coming to life in a modern day apartment as a character known only as “Man in the Chair” plays the record of his favorite musical for the audience.

In October, Powerhouse will be producing the musical "Little Women," based on the classic American novel. This touching and entertaining musical will also have a school matinee performance available to local schools.

The Colonial Series finishes, as always, next December with "A Christmas Carol: The Musical Ghost Story."

Also part of the Colonial Series, Powerhouse takes on its biggest and most expensive musical challenge to date, bringing the Disney classic, "Mary Poppins" to the Colonial stage in August. Powerhouse will be hiring ZFX Flying Systems, one of the best theater flying systems companies in the world, to make Mary, Bert and the Banks children safely fly high above the Colonial stage. The community has a chance to help Powerhouse make this magic happen at the Colonial by supporting its “Make Mary Fly Fund” throughout this holiday season.

The 2027 Spark Series will include a February break production put on by teens called "Treasure Inland: A Pirate Adventure" far from the sea, that will perform at area libraries and the Belknap Mill.

The Spark Series also encompasses two annual events Powerhouse holds at Prescott Farm — the 2027 New Play Festival in May, and an all-new outdoor theater adventure in September called "The Wonderful Venture Through Oz." The new play festival will consist of plays written in Powerhouse’s 2027 playwriting workshop, which is already filling up.

The Power Chords will hold its annual holiday concert in November at the Congregational Church of Laconia and the Taylor Community.

And for the first time since 2023’s production of the musical "Quilters," Powerhouse will be performing a full production at the Belknap Mill of Yasmina Reza’s Tony-Award winning play, "Art." "Art" will star Powerhouse regulars Christopher Graham, Joel Iwaskiewicz, and making his long-awaited return to a Lakes Region stage, Powerhouse’s founder and producer Bryan Halperin.

Special events in the 2027 season include a new rendition of the naughty Christmas parody "Fezziwig’s After Dark, Just Duet V" — a fundraiser for Powerhouse and the Colonial Theatre Advancement Fund, the 2028 Season Announcement Party, and a new cabaret series called the Power Surge Cabaret that will perform quarterly at the Taylor Community as well as at other venues around the region.

Those looking to get involved in Powerhouse workshops, productions, or the Power Chords should be able to find all the information at powerhousenh.org.

There are still plenty of activities left in the 2026 season, including the Power Chords Holiday Concert, "A Christmas Carol: The Musical Ghost Story," and "Fezziwig’s After Dark."

Email info@powerhousenh.org with questions on how to get involved or support the “Make Mary Fly Fund.”