CORTLAND, NY (607NewsNow) — 2025 marks the start of another exciting season for the Cortland Repertory Theatre, from shows to brunches to murder mysteries.

Producing Artistic Director Kerby Thompson says the schedule for this year is much like that of the 2024 season, starting the first slot with a classic, second slot with a comedy, third slot with a more contemporary show, and the last slot with a Disney show. With Hello, Dolly! from June 4th to the 13th, The Odd Couple from June 18th to the 22nd, The Wedding Singer from July 2nd to the 11th, Murder for Two from July 16th to the 25th, and The Little Mermaid from July 20th to August 15th, this year’s lineup almost exactly follows the same mold as last year.

“Murder for Two is really what makes the schedule for this year different than last year’s. It’s a two-person mystery with one character playing thirteen roles, but it’s also got a music element to it. They both play piano and there’s songs in it, but that’s kind of the only difference from last year. We had really good feedback from last year’s season so we thought this would work out pretty well too,” Thompson says.

As for the casting process, they’re about a quarter of the way into it. Having held auditions in January, they’ve hired some people, but not nearly all of the ones they’ll need. Their talent comes from all over, having seen people from New York City, Ohio, New Jersey, and other places across the Eastern seaboard come in for their three-day audition process back in January.

“We don’t get too many people from out west when it comes to actors, but as far as our technicians and designers go, they do come from around the whole country. Our production manager does a lot of interviews with people from wherever, and they’ll fly in and work for us from places far and wide.”

Apart from the shows, their “Broadway Brunch” fundraiser is scheduled for August 9th. The brunch will include a silent auction, raffles, and the cast of The Little Mermaid performing cabaret style songs. A big fundraiser for the CRT board, the event is a big factor in making the yearly schedule. Additionally, there’s a mystery dinner theater show through the CRT Guild scheduled for March.

Having performed in a national tour of Hello, Dolly! for six months, Thompson is excited to bring the show to CRT’s stage for the first time ever.

“We’ve also tried to get the rights to The Odd Couple for the last four years and for whatever reason, couldn’t get the rights to do it until now, so I’m excited to finally be doing that. I think that’s such a classic comedy. I really love The Wedding Singer, I love the music in it, I love the story… I think it’s just a goofy, fun show. The Little Mermaid is a huge challenge for us in our little space, but we’ve got a great team behind it and we find new and creative ways to tell the story in our theater. It’s always exciting to go through the process of designing them and hearing what the directors have in mind.”

Performances in the winter will be held at the CRT Downtown location, and performances in the summer will be held at Little York Pavillion. The box office opens on May 19th for single ticket sales, but group sales, subscriptions, flex passes, and gift cards are all currently available for purchase. To learn more about CRT and how to see their upcoming shows, visit their website here.