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Producing Artistic Director J. Scott Lapp.

Dear Friend, 

I am truly honored and excited to have become a part of the Rubicon Theatre Family during this remarkable 2025/2026 season in which we have shared timeless tales and unforgettable moments onstage. In addition to being an extraordinary year of storytelling, this season has also been one of meaningful transition and thoughtful planning, as Karyl Lynn and I collaborate ahead of her well-earned retirement following Ragtime this fall.

It has been a great joy to meet so many of you in my first months here and to discover your incredible dedication and commitment to Rubicon. Because of your loyalty, I am thrilled for you to be among the first to know about my first full season as Artistic Director – five extraordinary dramas, comedies, and musicals that explore the enduring power of family, community, memory, and shared humanity. Our 2026/2027 season, entitled The Ties That Bind, includes a haunting and hope-filled holiday tale featuring a Tony Award-winner in his Rubicon debut; a hilarious musical whodunit; a bold new version of an acclaimed Off-Broadway musical; and two powerful Tony Award-winning shows – an epic American drama, and a joyous musical based on an inspirational true story. In an era marked by division and uncertainty, these stories invite us to reflect on what connects us, what we inherit, and how compassion and responsibility can shape a more hopeful and unified future. 

Our season starts in the winter, with Tony Award-Winner Jefferson Mays (I Am My Own Wife, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder) in a one-man version of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story, playing over 50 roles in this master-class performance that must be seen to be believed!

Next up is a bold new production of John & Jen, written by Andrew Lippa and Tom Greenwald. Spanning from the 1950s through the 1990s, John & Jen traces the evolving relationship between a sister and brother, and later, a mother and son. Reframed through the experience of a South Asian immigrant family, this production foregrounds the pressures of assimilation, the cost of silence, and the ways national identity shapes private lives.

Winner of the 2022 Tony Award for Best Play, The Lehman Trilogy by Stefano Massini, chronicles the 163-year history of the Lehman family and their investment firm, from their arrival as Bavarian immigrants in 1844 to the firm’s spectacular collapse in 2008, which triggered the global financial crisis. Told by just three actors playing multiple roles, the play is a sweeping saga of ambition, capitalism, and the American dream, exploring themes of family, identity, and the price of unchecked success.

In late spring, we are excited to announce the Ventura County Premiere of Murder for Two by Kellen Blair and Joe Kinosian, a madcap musical comedy that blends murder mystery with vaudevillian flair. With two performers playing all the roles (and the piano!), sharp wit, clever wordplay, and a tuneful score; Murder for Two is an irresistible theatrical romp. 

Our season closes in the fall of 2027 with Come From Away by Irene Sankoff and David Hein, the uplifting and unforgettable musical about compassion, community, and hope in extraordinary times. Come From Away will be directed by Ventura native and Rubicon alumni Andrew Samonsky, a Broadway veteran who toured the U.S. in the most recent National Tour of the show.

Theatre remains one of the few spaces where we can collectively sit with curiosity, truth, and open hearts. The Ties that Bind season invites us to reflect on the connections that shape who we are family, community, history, and the shared moments that pull us together even in times of change. Each story on our stage explores how we hold on, how we let go, and how we find one another at life’s turning points. As we gather in the theatre, we’re reminded that these bonds – between artists and audiences, stories and society – are what make live theatre not just meaningful, but essential. We can’t wait for you to experience all that we have in store for you!