The Electric Company Theatre, a non-profit theatre company residing at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton, will bring four unique experiences to the local community throughout 2026.

Callie Prendiville Johnson is the co-artistic director of the Electric Company Theatre alongside her husband Brian Johnson. Both run the company without permanent employees, instead granting paid positions to actors, directors and other artists for each show.

Callie Prendiville Johnson said that the program selection process is simultaneously tied to events surrounding the Muckenthaler and their personal interests.

“We only put on shows we’re super passionate about,” Prendiville Johnson said. “We’re never gonna put something on just because we think it’s gonna make money or just because it’s the popular thing to do. We really have to love it first.”

The 2026 season will begin with “Once The Musical.” Performances will take place at the Charleston in Downtown Fullerton rather than at the Muckenthaler.

“It’s based off an Irish movie from the early 2000s and we did it here in 2023 inside the gallery,” Prendiville Johnson said. “It was sold out, it was a big hit, so we’re doing it again but at a new location.”

Most of the cast from the 2023 production will be reprising their roles, including Prendiville Johnson. 

“Once The Musical” opens to the public Feb. 1 and runs until Feb. 25.

For the annual kids’ show, the Electric Company Theatre will perform “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.” 

Performances will take place in the Muckenthaler’s art gallery during the Cultural Center’s exhibition where Tom Everhart’s artistic reinterpretations of Charles M. Schulz’s classic work will be on display. 

Prendiville Johnson said the exhibition influenced their decision to put on the play, which features a senior-only cast playing the characters created by Schulz. 

“It’s an unusual way to cast that show. Normally you have young adults playing kids,” Prendiville Johnson said. “It’s an idea he (Brian) has been talking about for years.”

“You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” will have nighttime public performances on March 1, 4 and 11, with special student matinees for Fullerton elementary school children.

Performed in a driveway on the side of the Muckenthaler, the third show of 2026 will be “Tristan & Yseult.” 

“It’s a really ancient myth. It’s a ‘Romeo and Juliet’-type story, but it’s a very modern adaptation. There will be a live rock band, there will be lots of combat,” Prendiville Johnson said. “It’s very tragic, but it’s very beautiful and funny and fun too.”

The show includes combat sequences choreographed by Cal State Fullerton’s part-time devised theatre faculty member Michael Polak, who is also co-directing the show alongside Brian Johnson.

According to Prendiville Johnson, the audience will sit around the driveway while actors perform among the center trees and come in and out of the building.

“Tristan & Yseult” will run from June 2 until June 24.

The final show at the end of 2026 will be “Servant of Two Masters,” taking place on the amphitheater stage from Nov. 1 until Nov. 18. 

The Electric Company Theatre will be putting their own unique twist on the play. Rather than being a direct read of the script, the show will follow underfunded performers as they try to perform Carlo Goldoni’s comedy using limited resources. 

Attendees will sit in both the house and on the stage while the actors perform in the area surrounded by the audience, staging a unique immersive dynamic.

Tickets for all four shows are available through the company’s website.