I N T E R N A T I O N A L C I T Y T H E A T R E
International City Theatre announces 2027 season:
Five stories that dare to defy expectations
LONG BEACH, Calif. (August 11, 2026) – What happens when we refuse to accept the path laid out for us? International City Theatre has announced a 2027 season of five stories that dare to defy expectations — stories about challenging the roles, rules and circumstances that threaten to define us. Spanning genres from musical biography and medical drama to laugh-out-loud comedy, bold new sci-fi and a modern American classic, the season explores what happens when we challenge the circumstances we’ve been given and dare to imagine something different.
Launching the season in February is Tenderly by Janet Yates Vogt and Mark Friedman, an intimate and heartfelt musical that traces the extraordinary life of one of America’s most beloved voices. Rosemary Clooney was a force of nature, a young woman from a small town in Kentucky who became one of the 20th century’s biggest recording stars. But behind the golden voice and Hollywood glamour was a life marked by personal upheaval, addiction and an extraordinary comeback that redefined her legacy. In a story about finding the courage to begin again, Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Musical captures the music, the magic and the tenacity of a true legend. Directed by Cate Caplin and featuring music direction by Daniel Gary Busby. (February 19 through March 7; previews on February 17 and February 18.)
Next up is The Man Who Killed the Cure, a gripping, fact-based drama that delves into a world of medicine where the end goal is not healing, but profit. Dr. Max Gerson was a pioneer in the field of natural healing — yet chances are, you’ve never heard of him. Inspired by Gerson’s life and death, playwright/director Luke Yankee weaves together the story of Gerson and his business partner, Rudolph Heller, refugees from Nazi Germany. While Rudy partners with large pharmaceutical companies to treat his patients, Max is determined to let the world know there is a more natural and less expensive route to a cure. The play asks what happens when one person refuses to accept the rules of a system he believes is fundamentally wrong. (April 30 through May 16; previews on April 28 and April 29.)
Brian Shnipper directs Slow Food by Wendy MacLeod is a laugh-out-loud comedy that wryly explores the human connection we all hunger for. A vacationing couple heads to a Greek restaurant in Palm Springs for their anniversary dinner — but will the marriage survive the service? As a wacky waiter insinuates his way into their meal — and their lives — the couple is forced to take a hard look at their past, and at their future together. Sometimes defying expectations means confronting the assumptions we’ve made about our lives, only to discover that the future may look nothing like the one we planned. (June 11 through June 27; previews on June 9 and June 10.)
The Southern California premiere of Walden by Amy Berryman, opening in August with caryn desai at the helm, takes us to a not-very-distant future, when climate change has intensified and humanity is struggling with whether to save the planet or flee it. After returning from a year-long Moon mission, a NASA botanist finds herself in a remote cabin in the woods where her estranged twin sister, a former NASA architect, has found a new life with her climate activist boyfriend. Old conflicts reignite, forcing the sisters to choose between life on Earth or pursuing a future in space — and humanity’s fate hangs in the balance. Is the future we inherit the one we must accept? (August 27 through September 12; previews on August 25 and August 26.)
Finally, a revival of Driving Miss Daisy, the funny, touching Pulitzer Prize-winning modern classic by Alfred Uhry, closes out the season in October. When elderly widow Daisy Wertham demolishes yet another car, her son replaces her keys with a chauffeur. But wealthy, sharp-tongued Jewish Daisy and Hoke, a previously unemployed Black man, have little in common beyond their mutual dislike. Hoke sticks with it, driving “Miss Daisy” for 25 long years. As the decades pass, the two develop an unlikely bond that transcends the racial prejudices and social conventions of a changing South. In defying the expectations of the world around them, they discover a connection neither could have imagined. (October 22 through November 7; previews on October 20 and October 21.)
Together, the plays offer five very different answers to the question at the heart of the season: What happens when we dare to defy expectations? Across these stories, characters reinvent themselves, challenge systems that constrain them, change course, reconsider what they thought they knew and reach across divides they never expected to cross. In each story, the unexpected becomes an invitation to see what else might be possible.
Recognized by Long Beach as the City’s resident professional theater company, International City Theatre is the recipient of over 500 awards, including the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle’s prestigious Margaret Harford Award for “Sustained Excellence” and the LADCC’s 2016 Polly Warfield Award for an “Excellent Season.” In addition to its professional theater productions, ICT offers six community and educational outreach programs each year. The company’s commitment to the community also includes ongoing collaborations with Long Beach’s African American community and other groups and organizations. Former Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe called ICT “a cultural treasure.”
All performances take place Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.
For more information about ICT’s 2027 season and to purchase subscriptions or single tickets, call (562) 436-4610 or visit www.InternationalCityTheatre.org
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