SWING STATE & More Set for Harbinger Theatre 2025 Season

Harbinger Theatre has revealed its 2025 season, which includes four more Capital Region Premieres bringing Harbinger's total of premieres to 18 in 4 years, featuring a bold lineup of plays that tackle love, loss, and the divides of our time. The season opens with Bryna Turner's “At The Wedding,” a dark comedy about love and emotional baggage, followed by Stephen Adly Guirgis' “Between Riverside and Crazy,” a gripping story of a retired cop facing his past. Abe Koogler's “Deep Blue Sound” explores trauma and healing in a coastal town, while Rebecca Gilman's “Swing State” dives into America's political divide. This season promises to challenge, entertain, and resonate with audiences, offering a powerful reflection on the complexities of today's world.

For the season's first show, we bring you “At The Wedding” by Bryna Turner, a comedic play that explores the tensions surrounding love, loyalty, and identity. Carlo crashes her ex's wedding (to a man) with three simple goals: Don't get drunk. Don't make any kids cry. Don't try to win back the bride, no matter how boring the groom is. As Carlo grapples with her feelings of rejection, she strikes up an unexpected connection with a stranger at the event. The play delves into themes of emotional baggage, unrequited love, and the complexity of relationships, all while maintaining a witty tone. While painting a vivid picture of the messiness that comes with trying to move on from the past, this is a very, very funny play about loneliness, estrangement, and a slow-burn romance with being alive. Directed by Chris Foster, this will premiere at Sand Lake Arts Center from June 6th through the 15th.

From the playwright that brought us “The Motherf**ker with the Hat”, we are bringing back Stephen Adly Guirgis with the Pulitzer Prize Winner, “Between Riverside and Crazy.” This follows retired cop Walter "Pops" Washington, who is fighting a lawsuit after being shot on duty. Living in a rent-controlled apartment, he navigates complicated relationships with his son, girlfriend, and others in his life. The play explores themes of justice, redemption, and the clash between holding onto the past and moving forward. By examining the struggles of a man facing both personal and legal battles, for Pops and Junior, it seems the old days are dead and gone — after a lifetime of living Between Riverside and Crazy. Directed by Patrick White, this will premiere at Albany Civic Theatre from July 18th through the 27th.

“Deep Blue Sound” by Abe Koogler takes place on an island in the Pacific Northwest, the community gathers to address the disappearance of the local orca pod. Friendships fray, tumors grow, new love blooms, wood is chopped, and poems are written. The seasons change. Will the whales ever return? Directed by Chris Foster, this will premiere at Steamer No. 10 Theatre on September 12th through the 21st.

“Swing State” by Rebecca Gilman is a contemporary drama about a widowed woman named Peg who lives in rural Wisconsin. The play explores themes of loss, longing, and depression, and how national divisions can affect personal relationships. The play begins with Peg tending to her plants in her backyard, but her life is turned upside down when her late husband's footlocker is stolen. Peg calls the authorities, which sets off a series of events that change the lives of Peg and her neighbor Ryan. Directed by Brian Sheldon, this will premiere at Sand Lake Arts Center on November 14th through the 23rd. 

$50 Flex Subscriptions for 4 tickets are available by emailing harbingertheatrealbany@gmail.com or making a Venmo payment to @HarbingerTheatre.
The Flex Subscription can be used interchangeably, as you have the choice to use them all for a party to experience a single show or indulge in four plays you've never witnessed before!