Harvard Theater: Spring 2024 Season Preview

Looking to attend musicals, plays, or operas at Harvard this spring? Check out this round-up of campus theater productions running in Spring 2024!

“Falstaff”

Harvard College Opera’s mainstage comedy follows the fat, old knight Falstaff as he attempts to seduce and swindle two married women; the women falsely accept Falstaff’s advances in a plot of their own. When one of the women’s husbands misunderstands their plans, the couples and Falstaff find themselves in a hilarious, chaotic entanglement of miscommunications.

“Falstaff” runs from Feb. 2 to Feb. 10 at the Agassiz Theatre.

“HPT 175: Heist Heist Baby!”

For the 175th Anniversary of the Hasty Pudding Institute of 1770, Hasty Pudding Theatricals will bring satire, puns, and tradition together in its annual musical spectacular. Written by Sophie M. Garrigus ’25 and Maddie Dowd ’25, “Heist Heist Baby” follows aspiring journalist Rita L’Boutette as she sneaks into the elite gallery opening of celebrity artist, Spanksy. Rita gets more drama than she bargained for when Spanksy’s masterpiece goes missing — surrounded by a host of punny and colorful suspects, Rita must solve the case to keep her hands on the exclusive story.

“HPT 175: Heist Heist Baby” runs from Feb. 2 to March 3 at Farkas Hall.

“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”

How do we handle the growing pains of life? Quirky and earnest, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” follows six middle schoolers as they compete in the titular Spelling Bee while ruminating on their hopes and fears. Prepare to spell words like C-O-W and C-H-I-M-E-R-I-C-A-L along with Chip, Logainne, Leaf, Barfée, Marcy, and Olive in this musical comedy.

“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” runs from Feb. 29 to March 8 at the Loeb Experimental Theater.

“Medea: The Musical”

Seneca’s tragedy about the vengeful princess Medea is transformed into an original musical, presented by the Harvard Classical Club. Preserving Seneca’s verse amidst translation, choreography, music, and direction by Harvard students, “Medea: the Musical” centers on a princess who murders the family of her ex-lover, Jason. The musical promises to refresh the age-old myth by examining feminine rage and agency in an age of male-dominated expression.

“Medea: The Musical” runs from March 21 to March 24 at the Agassiz Theatre.

“Constellations”

Beekeeper Roland and physicist Marianne fall in love in this contemporary play, featuring an exploration of their future through the lens of quantum mechanics, string theory, and the theory of multiple universes. The high-concept structure uses scene repetitions to explore the infinite outcomes of their relationship, anchored by the warmth of intimate connection. “Constellations” explores the what-ifs of life and the roads not taken.

“Constellations” runs from March 28 to March 31 at the Loeb Experimental Theater.

“Spring Awakening”

The Tony Award-winning musical, “Spring Awakening,” boldly depicts the universal struggle of puberty. In conservative 19th-century Germany, teenagers grow into their sexual desire through an electrifying alternative rock score. The worldly Melchior questions the confines of his education, Wendla struggles to understand reproduction, Moritz flounders in school, and all their schoolmates find themselves burdened with new taboo thoughts. Fusing poetic lyricism and modern sound, the show is groundbreaking in its honesty about repressing sexuality and its consequences.

“Spring Awakening” runs from April 3 to April 6 at the Loeb Proscenium.

“The Last Five Years”

“The Last Five Years” is an intimate musical that depicts two timelines of a single relationship: Jamie’s experience in chronological order and Cathy’s in reverse chronological order. As Jamie falls in love with Cathy in their first encounter, Cathy reckons with their divorce papers. Their scenes alternate as the characters come together, fall in love, and grow disastrously apart.

“The Last Five Years” runs April 4 to April 6.

“The Tragedy of Julius Caesar”

Conspiracy, war, and classic speeches: The Hyperion Shakespeare Company delivers “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar” this semester, a historical tragedy about several mutinous members of the trusted ranks of Caesar’s government. When Caesar grows more and more tyrannical, politicians Cassius and Brutus initiate an assassination plot resulting in a Roman civil war and universal questions about leadership, ambition, violence, and politics.

“The Tragedy of Julius Caesar” runs from April 11 to April 14 at the Loeb Experimental Theater.

“First-Year Musical”

This year’s First-Year Musical is a groovy comedy about two best friends, Sam and Jamie, who are event planners at the River Rock Hotel & Cabins. In a desperate bid to save their workplace from closure, they host a music retreat that attracts a diverse variety of musicians. Created, directed, and staffed entirely by members of Harvard’s Class of ’27, this production takes its place as the 29th First-Year Musical in an annual tradition that introduces first-years to Harvard’s student theater scene.

The First Year Musical runs April 12 and 13 at the Agassiz Theatre.

“Little Shop of Horrors”

After finding a strange plant that he dubs “Audrey II” after his crush, floral assistant Seymour commits to taking care of his new possession — soon finding out that Audrey II hungers for the taste of human blood. Promised fame and riches by the nefarious plant, Seymour supplies it with live bodies, but discovers Audrey II’s true plans too late. This rock musical, set in the 1960s, is gruesomely entertaining and hilarious.

“Little Shop of Horrors” runs from April 25 to April 28 at the Agassiz Theatre.

—Staff Writer Isabelle A. Lu can be reached at isabelle.lu@thecrimson.com.