two women, one with green skin in white dress, other with peach skin in reddish-pink dress, who is lifting her left arm in the air
"Wicked" - photo by Joan Marcus.

A musical about women’s suffrage, a wickedly wonderful reimagining of a classic, and a production straight from the underworld are among the shows in the Hippodrome Theatre’s 2025/2026 season.

The theater’s upcoming season promises to thrill with three national tour launches, straight-from-Broadway debuts, season options, and more.

Two people on top of rope holding up a sail in an acrobatic move
“Water for Elephants” – photo by Matthew Murphy.

The season kicks off in September with the North American tour launch of the hit Broadway musical โ€œWater for Elephants.โ€ Based on the best-selling novel of the same name, the show tells the story of a young man who jumps aboard a moving train to take him on an adventure beyond his wildest dreams. โ€œWater for Elephantsโ€ runs from Sept. 28 to Oct. 4, 2025.

Following that comes the North American tour launch of Cameron Mackintoshโ€™s production of Andrew Lloyd Webberโ€™s โ€œThe Phantom of the Operaโ€ in November. A revitalized production featuring the original design, London critics loved it when it reopened at His Majestyโ€™s Theater in 2021. โ€œThe Phantom of the Operaโ€ has played to more than 160 million people in 47 territories and 195 cities in 21 languages. โ€œPhantom of the Operaโ€ runs from Nov. 7 through Nov. 15, 2025.

The first season option to welcome the holidays is Dr. Seussโ€™ โ€œHow the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical,โ€ featuring songs from the beloved original animated special, including โ€œYouโ€™re a Mean One Mr. Grinchโ€ and โ€œWelcome Christmas.โ€ In the musical theater version, Max the dog narrates as the mean and scheming Grinch, whose heart is โ€œtwo sizes too small,โ€ decides to steal Christmas away from the holiday-loving Whos. โ€œHow the Grinch Stole Christmasโ€ runs from Nov. 26 through Nov. 30, 2025.

The second season option, closing out 2025 and welcoming 2026 in January, is โ€œWicked,โ€ the untold story of the Witches of Oz that still draws sold out houses on Broadway and is now also a major motion picture. โ€œWickedโ€ runs from Dec. 17, 2025 through Jan. 11, 2026.

Man on stage looking at water and cloudy night sky
“The Great Gatsby” – photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

Also in January comes Baltimoreโ€™s third North American tour launch for the 2025/2026 season: โ€œThe Great Gatsby.โ€ Direct from Broadway, this show is the Tony Award-winning smash hit new musical based on F. Scott Fitzgeraldโ€™s classic American novel. โ€œThe Great Gatsbyโ€ is a jazz- and pop-infused score and winning both Broadway.com and BroadwayWorldโ€™s 2024 Audience Choice Awards for Favorite New Musical. โ€œThe Great Gatsbyโ€ runs from Jan 31 through Feb. 7, 2026.

In March 2026 is the seasonโ€™s final option, โ€œHadestown.โ€ It won eight Tony Awards in 2019, including Best Musical, and the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. The show weaves together the tales of two separate mythical couples: young lovers Orpheus and Eurydice, and King Hades and his wife Persephone. โ€œHadestownโ€ runs from March 13 through March 14, 2026.

โ€œBack to the Future: The Musicalโ€ adapts the beloved 1980s film classic into an award-winning Broadway musical by the filmโ€™s creators Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis. Itโ€™s directed by Tony Award-winner John Rando and has original music by multi-Grammy winners that will have audiences dancing in their seats. โ€œBack to the Futureโ€ runs from Feb. 24 through March 1, 2026.

Group of people on a stage wearing party hats and smiling all looking up to the right for a selfie photo
“Kimberly Akimbo” – photo by Joan Marcus.

2023 Tony Award-winning best musical โ€œKimberly Akimboโ€ tells the tale of a 16-year-old forced to navigate family dysfunction, a rare genetic condition, her first crushโ€ฆ and possible felony charges. Ever the optimist, she is determined to find happiness against all odds and embark on a great adventure. โ€œKimberly Akimboโ€ runs from Apr. 28 through May 3, 2026.

โ€œSuffsโ€ is a straight-from-Broadway, Tony Award-winning production, about American women who fought for the right to vote. From the history-making artist Shaina Taub, this โ€œthrilling, inspiring and dazzlingly entertainingโ€ (Variety) new musical boldly explores the triumphs and failures of a struggle for equality thatโ€™s far from over. โ€œSuffsโ€ runs from May 26 through May 31, 2026.

The final show of the season is โ€œA Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical.โ€ Created in collaboration with Neil Diamond himself, it is the uplifting story of how a kid from Brooklyn became a chartbusting, show-stopping American rock icon. โ€œA Beautiful Noiseโ€ runs from June 23 through June 28, 2026.

โ€œAt the Hippodrome, our daily promise to our patrons is to deliver the very best touring shows Broadway has to offer,โ€ said Ron Legler, president of the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center, home of Baltimoreโ€™s historic Hippodrome Theatre. โ€œThis upcoming season lineup is a testament to that promise, and we canโ€™t wait to share the wonderful experience thatโ€™s in store with our dedicated subscribers and other supporters!โ€

The Hippodromeโ€™s seven-show 2025/2026 subscription package includes:

  • WATER FOR ELEPHANTS | Sept. 28-Oct. 4, 2025
  • THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA | Nov. 7-15, 2025
  • THE GREAT GATSBY | Jan. 31-Feb. 7, 2026
  • BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE MUSICAL | Feb. 24-March 1, 2026
  • KIMBERLY AKIMBO | April 28-May 3, 2026
  • SUFFS | May 26-31, 2026
  • A BEAUTIFUL NOISE: THE NEIL DIAMOND MUSICAL | June 23-28, 2026

Season options include:

  • DR. SEUSSโ€™ HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS! THE MUSICAL | Nov. 26-30, 2025
  • WICKED | Dec. 17, 2025-Jan. 11, 2026
  • HADESTOWN | March 13-14, 2026

Current subscribers are invited to renew their subscriptions starting January 28 and will receive an email with more information. Patrons seeking new seven-show subscriptions for the Hippodromeโ€™s upcoming season can join the Hippodromeโ€™s waitlist to be among the first in line, with new packages going on sale in Spring 2025. The seven-show package prices begin at just $290. 

Subscriptions are available online at this link, by phone at 800.343.3103 (M-F, 10 a.m.โ€“5 p.m.), and in-person at the Hippodrome Theatre Box Office, located at the corner of Eutaw and Baltimore Streets (M-F, 11 a.m.โ€“3 p.m. and show dates 11 a.m.โ€“curtain).

Individual ticket on-sale dates will be announced throughout the year.