Studio Theatre of Bath opens 2026 season with family comedy

Studio Theatre of Bath is opening its 2026 season with a production that puts one of Bath’s long-running arts institutions back at the center of downtown life. Over the River and Through the Woods will run May 15 through May 24 at Winter Street Center, giving the company its first show of the year and drawing audiences into the historic former church at 880 Washington Street.

For Bath, the opener is more than a night at the theater. Studio Theatre of Bath says it has served Midcoast Maine since 1979, when it was founded in part by Priscilla and J. Pat Montgomery, and it describes itself as one of the region’s oldest active community theater groups. Since 1980, the company says it has produced more than 140 major theatrical productions, a record that makes each season launch a marker for the city’s cultural calendar.

The new production also gives Bath native Kirstin Hayward her directorial debut. Hayward has performed with Studio Theatre of Bath since 2011, most recently appearing in the company’s 2019 production of The Producers and in the cabaret series Impossible Destinations. She also serves as the organization’s board president. Hayward chose the play because it blends humor with family tension and speaks to intergenerational ties that still shape life in a close-knit community.

Joe DiPietro’s comedy centers on Nick Cristano, a single Italian American man from New Jersey whose dream marketing executive job in Seattle threatens to pull him away from the grandparents who raised him. Frank, Aida, Nunzio and Emma react the way only a devoted family can: by scheming to keep him close, including a plan to introduce him to a charming nurse. The story is set in the Gianelli home in Hoboken, New Jersey, and its mix of affection, guilt and comic pressure has kept it popular since it premiered off-Broadway at the John Houseman Theatre on Oct. 5, 1998. One licensing source says the original production ran for about 800 performances over two years.

The local cast brings together names familiar to Midcoast theatergoers: Max Middleton as Nick Cristano, Peter Havas as Frank Gianelli, Shirley Bernier as Aida Gianelli, Roger Scott Powers as Nunzio Cristano, Cathy Matero as Emma Cristano and Lydia Pinard as Caitlin O’Hare. Jenny Byrnes is producing the show.

There will be eight performances. Shows are scheduled for May 15 and May 22 at 7:30 p.m.; May 16 and May 23 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; and May 17 and May 24 at 2 p.m. Doors open 30 minutes before showtime. Advance tickets are $22 for adults and $20 for seniors and students; at the door, tickets are $25 for adults and $22 for seniors and students. Seating is first come, first served because of the venue’s limited capacity, making early purchase the surest way into one of Bath’s most established spring traditions.