Midland Center’s 2026-27 Season Embraces Growth, Transformation & Connection

A spectacular and transformative season awaits patrons throughout the Great Lakes Bay Region and beyond as Midland Center for the Arts is poised to embark upon its 2026-2027 Performance Season with a divergent mix of programming ranging from the greatest shows direct from Broadway, singularly notable artists from around the world, symphonic masterworks with the Midland Symphony Orchestra, local theatrical productions by Center Stage Theatre, and top-notch national musical artists such as Melissa Etheridge. 

Regardless of your artistic preferences, the new season at Midland Center invites audiences to gather for experiences that entertain, move and connect.

This new season also arrives during a historic period of transformation for the Center. As Midland Center for the Arts prepares to reopen its Museum and expand opportunities for the community to engage across all arenas of art, science and history, the organization’s renewed mission is diligently focused upon sparking creativity by connecting art and science across the past, present, and future.

"As we continue this exciting period of growth and transformation, we are building experiences where more people can see themselves, connect with one another, and feel a true sense of belonging,” reflects Matt Travis, President & CEO of Midland Center for the Arts.  This season is an invitation into that vision, through the best Broadway tours, music that inspires you, and theatre that moves us. These shared experiences reflect the creativity and connection at the heart of our mission.”

A few years ago, the Center embarked upon an impressive $4.7 million capital campaign that has grown into a $5.3 million project to completely redesign their Museum, which is now close to completion. “It’s a really thrilling time for us,” reflects Travis. “We’re working with wonderful partners such as Hüttinger Interactive Exhibitions, a prominent German firm known for planning, designing, and fabricating interactive museum exhibits and science centers, along with Reich & Petch out of Toronto who have designed some of the leading museums all over the world such as the Smithsonian American History Museum, so we’re really thrilled to bring that caliber of craftsmanship here to Midland. This will be a one-of-a-kind space that will open later this Fall.”

“We haven’t had a museum space open now for about 6.5 years since the COVID pandemic, so there’s a whole generation of young people that haven’t experienced it, including my daughter who was 2-years old at the time the museum shut down,” he continues. “We’re coming back with a new sense of vitality and re-engaging with families in a meaningful way is very important to us. We anticipate this renovation will add an additional 50,000 people coming to the Center; and we also have all these other wonderful programs to match different interests, whether that’s art classes or Broadway shows or Community Theater, or the Symphony Orchestra.”

“Last year we had 116,000 visitors attend the Center, so the new Museum should hopefully maximize our capacity,” notes Travis. “We believe here in the Great Lakes Bay Region we can have things that are best in the state of Michigan, so people don’t necessarily have to go to Detroit or Lansing or Grand Rapids to have these types of experiences.”

In terms of programming for the Fall portion of the 2026-27 season, Matt views this as a truly historic year.

“This is the largest investment in the Center itself since we first opened, so we are capitalizing on that and making sure our programming mix is of an equally high caliber and quality,” state Matt. “We’re bringing Jacob Collier into the Center on October 5^th, who is a multi-Grammy award-winning artist with 7 wins and 16 nominations and is the first British artist in history to win Grammys for each of his five studio albums. The New York Times called him the ‘Gen Z Mozart’ and for my money, he is one artist that perfectly encapsulates what the Center represents.”

“He also actively builds community among those who attend his shows by having them sing and kind of improvise alongside of him, and he lives in this wonderful intersection of science, philosophy, art, and music,” notes Matt. “Frankly, to bring an artist of that caliber to the Center is something that should be celebrated and we’re incredibly excited about his upcoming performance.”

“We also have a great Broadway Season in store featuring one of my favorite shows, Jersey Boys, which is right around that Halloween window, along with Beetlejuice coming off an extensive Broadway success. And then we also have A Beautiful Noise coming in the Spring, which is the story of Neil Diamond, so we have some wonderful programs lined up for the Broadway Season”

“Our Center Stage Community Theatre season is equally impressive, as we’re starting with a series of performances of 9 to 5 from Sept. 18 – 27^th and then have Come from Away happening in November, which for my money is one of the best musicals written in the last quarter century with a wonderful message about how when we collaborate meaningfully anything is possible.”

“The Midland Symphony Orchestra has a wonderful year in store, including Ocean In Concert which is David Attenborough’s film that will feature live music from the orchestra performing Steven Price’s Academy Award-winning score live, along with our Holiday Pops showcases, which have become a classic staple at the Center featuring our Community Choral program.”

“As for our Matrix:Midland Series, which as always has a varied mix of programming, in addition to Jacob Collier we have Melissa Etheridge coming in Sept. 12^th, and we also have Dominate the Sort with Reed Timmer, who is America’s most famous storm chaser for all the Twister fans out there. Timmer is an extreme meteorologist who specializes in intercepting the most powerful storms on the planet to collect valuable scientific data. We also have best-selling author David Sedaris coming to the Center on Oct. 15^th, who is one of America’s best humorists and social satirist.”

“Regarding our Windows on the World Series, this year that is centered upon Cirque Kalabanté, which is a wonderful fusion between breathtaking acrobatics with live music played on traditional Guinean instruments. Dazzling circus arts intertwine with the sounds of live Afro-Jazz music, percussion beats, and the soulful melodies of the kora, a West African string instrument.”

“Overall, it’s a really amazing year and we’re excited,” concludes Matt. “We work on a season like this for well over a year, so by the time we announce it and the time we get to see how audiences respond is truly a thrilling time.”

“Acknowledging that the Museum we be open later this fall is something we’re very thrilled about, and we are actively booking field trips for any parent groups or classrooms that are interested in exploring it, and we will start that after the Christmas holiday window.  Those interested in other classes can reach out to our team here at the Center. We would love to have any school or classrooms visit because we want to be that space for anybody in the region to celebrate and elevate creativity.”

“That’s the centerpiece of this Museum. The whole idea is designed on the premise that we are all creative and it’s our intention that the experience people will have throughout the museum will evolve into creative transformation”

“Whether you identify as an artist such based on your vocation or not, we are all creative people. Regardless of whether you’re a professional actress or simply like to sing in the shower, we all utilize creativity to solve problems in our daily lives. Everybody experiences moments of creativity on a daily basis.”

“It’s just that sometimes we don’t realize what those talents are, so it’s our hope that we can awaken that sentiment and sharpen that sensibility.”

Season Tickets are available to secure the best seats at the best price. Purchasing Season Tickets comes with many benefits including flexible ticket exchanges up to 24 hours before the performance, pre-sale access to newly announced events, and savings on additional tickets.   Patrons looking to enjoy the benefits of Season Tickets, without the upfront cost, can secure their package with an interest-free payment plan, spreading the cost across up to nine months, with all orders due in full by Jan. 15, 2027.

To learn more about the 2026/27 season or purchase individual tickets to your favorite shows and programs, visit MidlandCenter.org.