Billy Porter to lead 'La Cage aux Folles' at New York City Center; full season announced

The storied venue presents four concert productions of rarely revived musicals per year, including a fall gala presentation and three shows in its Encores! series.

The Off-Broadway venue New York City Center has set its 2025-26 season of musical theatre programming, featuring four limited-run stagings of classic shows seldom seen in NYC.

NYCC's annual gala presentation, running from October 29 to November 9, is of Bat Boy: The Musical, starring Tony Award nominee Taylor Trensch in the title role and directed by two-time Tony Award winner Alex Timbers (Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Just in Time, Beetlejuice). The cult-favorite show follows a half-human, half-bat teenager who is found in a cave and seeks to be accepted in his small town. The show, which premiered off Broadway in 2001, features a score by Laurence O’Keefe, original orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire, and a book by Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming.

The next three productions in NYCC's season are part of its annual Encores! series of rarely revived musicals. First up, from February 4-15, 2026, is High Spirits, directed by Tony Award winner Jessica Stone with Encores! music director Mary-Mitchell Campbell. This musical adaptation of Noël Coward’s play Blithe Spirit follows the eccentric Madame Arcati, who causes trouble for a man named Charles when she summons the ghost of his ex-wife, Elvira, to his current wife Ruth's chagrin.

The score is by Hugh Martin and Timothy Gray, and the Tony-nominated musical first ran on Broadway in 1964.

Next up is The Wild Party, originally announced for 2025 and now playing from March 18-29, 2026. Michael John LaChiusa (score) and George C. Wolfe's (book) adaptation of Joseph Moncure March’s poem about a gin-soaked 1920s bash that spins out of control. Lili-Anne Brown directs.

The final musical of the Encores! season is La Cage Aux Folles, starring Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award winner Billy Porter leading an all-Black cast as Albin. Directed by Robert O’Hara with guest music director Joseph Joubert, the show follows a gay couple who run a drag club and must hide their true identity when their son's conservative, prospective father-in-law comes to visit.

La Cage Aux Folles is based on the same-named play by Jean Poiret. The musical features a book by Harvey Fierstein and a score by Jerry Herman that includes the famous song "I Am What I Am."

All of NYCC's musical theatre productions are concert stagings, meaning that they are presented with minimal sets and costumes, instead putting the orchestra front and center with the often-starry casts.

Additional cast and creative team members for all productions have yet to be announced.

Photo credit: Billy Porter. (Photo courtesy of production)