This story was originally published by Jefferson Public Radioand is used with permission.
The season’s theme is “Homecoming." Artistic Director Tim Bond has experienced a sort of homecoming himself. He took over that role last year, having previously served as associate artistic director for 11 seasons.
But Bond said the season’s title has more meaning, since OSF has suffered from declining ticket sales in recent years.
"We would love to have audiences that may have still been hanging back from the pandemic or from whatever to say, ‘Hey, welcome back, come back.’ This is a time we need everyone to come back to OSF and enjoy the excitement," he said.
The 2025 season will feature nine shows. They include Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar with an all-female and nonbinary cast, Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest and the storybook musical Into the Woods.
Bond will direct his first show since returning to OSF: August Wilson's Jitney.
He said choosing which shows to run involves figuring out how they speak to one another.
"There are themes, there are tonal relationships. And then there are actors that can be shared between one production and another. So we look at all those factors. It's like three-dimensional chess, how we put together a season," he said.
In 2025, OSF will also bring back its rotating repertory, which Bond calls their "secret sauce." It means actors will perform in multiple shows, rather than just one. This will be the first year OSF has used its rotating repertory practice since 2019.
Last year, OSF held emergency fundraisers to keep the season going. But Bond said the organization is doing much better now and is on track to meet its budget predictions for the year.
2025 will be OSF’s 90th year, and they’re focused on making it to their 100th.
Tickets for the 2025 season will go on sale in November.
The 2025 season will also bring back OSF’s FAIR program after a five-year hiatus. It was originally founded by Bond in 2005 and offers fellowships, internships and other paid learning opportunities for theater professionals. Residencies last for two to six months.
"It's a really extraordinary program, and one that got let go of pre-pandemic and that I'm really excited to get back into our mix," he said.
OSF's Gift Shop also recently reopened after closing in 2022.