By Emily R. Zarevich, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
“It’s because of you that audiences get to be transported to somewhere special!”
This is how Tim Cadeny, president of the BurlOak Theatre Group, addressed all attendees on May 20, 2026, during BurlOak Theatre Group’s virtual information night at 7 p.m. sharp. The celebrated theatre company will be celebrating its 50th season of diverse and creative storytelling on stage, a well-earned Golden Jubilee, with an exciting 2026/2027 season of shows. As Cadeny says, the group is not only proud to have successfully made it to five decades, but it is also thankful to have survived the COVID-19 pandemic, a notoriously difficult era for live theatre.
The meeting was briefly interrupted at the beginning by an anonymous troll spewing racist and homophobic insults and threats, which the group does not tolerate. The troll was blocked from the Zoom meeting, and the presenters carried on with admirable calmness and composure. Cadeny, along with director and playwright Chantal Forde, executive producer Kim Colbourne, and talented actress Erin Ross (who appeared in the BurlOak Group’s recent spring production of Rock of Ages), introduced attendees not just to the new shows in progress but also to promising volunteer and career opportunities with the group and at the group’s usual venue, The Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts.
The BurlOak Theatre Group has four shows coming up that will appeal to the musical-loving masses. First up will be a production of the rock musical Mean Girls, directed by Forde, with Penelope Artemis as the choreographer. Cady Heron, a naïve teenager, is thrown without warning into the lion’s den of American high school politics when her family moves from Kenya to a Chicago suburb. With the help of school outcasts Janis and Damian, Cady infiltrates the most exclusive girls’ clique in the school, “The Plastics,” in an attempt to bring down the ruthless Queen Bee, Regina George. In the process, Cady learns what kinds of friendships are shallow-level and what kinds are pure and true. She also learns to form her own identity as she finds herself being torn between two vastly different social circles. Mean Girls will premiere at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts on September 24, 2026.
For the annual December family pantomime, a festive staple for many theatres of musical calibre, the BurlOak Theatre Group is trying something unexpected and ambitious this year. Playwrights Forde and Cadeny have cleverly devised a playful mashup of Charles Dickens’s famous Victorian ghost story, A Christmas Carol, and the modern Broadway musical Wicked, based on Gregory Maguire’s novelistic take on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. According to Forde, the concept is that Elphaba (the green-skinned Wicked Witch of the West) is the Ebenezer Scrooge character, and has to be converted out of her wicked nature by three visiting spirits during the holidays. A Wicked Christmas Carol: A Holiday Pantomime is set to premiere on December 19, 2026.
“Scrooge is one we have been thinking of for a while,” said Forde, when asked how the idea of such an unlikely crossover came to materialize in the minds of the playwrights. “When the second Wicked movie came out, it was also swimming in our heads. We thought it could work and thought of the wildest way we could put it together. A little something to look forward to is that the Cratchits are flying monkeys and Tiny Tim is a baby flying monkey.”
Local theatre director Tyler Collins is directing the BurlOak Theatre Group’s upcoming production of Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite, which is due to premiere on January 21, 2027. Plaza Suite is a trio of romantic comedies that take place in the luxurious Suite 719 of the Plaza Hotel in New York City. Married couples and movie producers use the suite for their spats, reconciliations, and moments of bliss, all while room service waits ready outside to deliver the champagne. Collins plans to hold two sets of auditions: one set for the main twelve characters who make up the central plotlines, and a set for the cameo background characters who populate the busy, bustling hotel. He considers the play a great opportunity for anyone of beginner or intermediate level looking to gain experience being on stage.
“The focus for the tone of the show is to put in as much warmth and love as we possibly can,” said Collins, when asked about his vision for this popular American comedy. Collins is an experienced director. Last year, he was the director of the Pinocchio pantomime at Theatre Burlington on New Street, and is now focusing his attention on an entertainment experience more directed towards adults. “We’re going to play the naturalism and sincerity of the playwright’s work. Our hope is to have a really classy hotel set close to the real Plaza hotel.”
Finally, the Canadian musical hit Come From Away, directed by Marc Richard, is set to hit the Oakville stage on April 14, 2027. Richard promises “Newfoundland kitchen party kind of storytelling” with a riveting Newfoundland-Celtic score. The story of Come From Away is about the resilience of the human race and the enduring power of community. In the week following the September 11 attacks, the small town of Gander unexpectedly welcomes thousands of diverted passengers whose planes are redirected away from the USA into Canada for safety. In the blink of an eye, the population of the town doubles, and the town’s inhabitants and their surprise guests have to cope with being brought together under such difficult circumstances and find connections. It’s set to be a heartwarming experience.
“I have a very unique perspective on Come From Away,” Richard comments. “It comes at a time when we need uplifting Canadian stories.”
Tickets are not yet available for these four shows, but interested theatregoers can stay tuned and keep checking the website regularly. In the meantime, while the BurlOak casts and crews are busy preparing for their big season, they are also holding a series of workshops for both young and adult thespians. The next available workshop will be “Youth Music Theatre Audition” on Sunday, May 31, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for ages 8 to 12. Registration deadline is May 26 on the BurlOak Theatre Group website.
