EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — The University of Texas at El Paso’s Department of Theatre and Dance has unveiled its 2026-27 mainstage season, bringing a diverse lineup of 12 productions that includes Broadway favorites, classic plays, dance performances and community collaborations.

The season begins Sept. 26 with the International Talent Cabaret, featuring students and faculty from UTEP and Tecnológico de Monterrey, and concludes next summer with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, a musical that pays tribute to the first production ever staged at the UTEP Dinner Theatre in 1983.

This season, we’re bringing you a captivating lineup of productions that will entertain, inspire, and spark conversation,” said Henry MacCarthy, chair of the UTEP Department of Theatre and Dance, in a news release. “From edge-of-your-seat thrills to unforgettable stories that stay with you long after the curtain falls, there’s something for everyone to experience.

Among the season’s highlights are the Broadway musical Mean Girls, Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Eugene Ionesco’s absurdist classic Rhinoceros, and a stage adaptation of Julia Alvarez’s novel In the Time of the Butterflies.

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The spring schedule also includes the department’s annual dance concert featuring new works by Tawanda Chabikwa and guest artist Leila Awadallah, as well as Luna, a family-friendly play by Ramón Esquivel.

UTEP officials said the 2026-27 season will also mark the final year of Dinner Theatre productions in the Union Ballroom before the venue relocates for the 2027-28 season as renovations begin on the Union Building West.

According to the university, the UTEP Dinner Theatre has produced more than 175 shows and sold more than 380,000 tickets since it opened.

“Dinner Theatre’s special lineup celebrates the decades of outstanding performances that have taken place in the Union Ballroom,” MacCarthy said.

2026-27 UTEP Theatre and Dance seasonInternational Talent Cabaret: UTEP and Tec de Monterrey – Sept. 26, 2026, La Fe Culture and Technology CenterIn the Time of the Butterflies – Oct. 14-18, 2026, June Sadowski Kruszewski Studio TheatreSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – Oct. 23-Nov. 8, 2026, Union BallroomRaising the Barre – Nov. 4-5, 2026, June Sadowski Kruszewski Studio TheatreRhinoceros – Nov. 18-22, 2026, Wise Family TheatreChristmas Music Extravaganza – Dec. 4-12, 2026, Union BallroomSpring Dance Concert – Feb. 18-21, 2027, Wise Family TheatreMean Girls – March 26-April 11, 2027, Union BallroomLuna – April 16-25, 2027, Wise Family TheatreDance Capstone – May 5-8, 2027, June Sadowski Kruszewski Studio TheatreJoseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – July 2-18, 2027, Union Ballroom

The department will also present faculty research events, including a screening of “shapeshifters” on Oct. 29 at the Rubin Center for the Visual Arts and La Gorda, a play by Ramón Griffero, at Keystone Heritage Park in October.

Auditions for fall productions will take place during the first week of the semester and are open to the public. UTEP said tickets for the season will go on sale shortly after the start of the fall semester.

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