Join Nevada Conservatory Theatre in celebrating 25 years of artistic excellence as they mark a quarter-century of bringing transformative theatrical experiences to Las Vegas. Tickets are on sale now.
From timeless masterpieces to bold contemporary works, the 25th anniversary season invites you to explore the landscapes of human desire, ambition, and revelation. This is a season that illuminates the moments that transform us.
“Transformation is the key to this season," said Kirsten Brandt, NCT executive director and chair of the department of theatre. "As we look back at 25 years of producing vibrant theatrical experience, we embrace the transformative power the theatre has on audiences, community, and the world."
Each production examines transformation: the yearning for change, the resistance against it, the unexpected metamorphoses that define us, and the courage required to emerge anew. Through drawing rooms of stifled passion, wartime holidays that rekindle hope, playful comedic disruptions of social order, intimate snapshots of life's pivotal moments, journeys across boundaries both physical and spiritual, and fantastical tales that reframe our perspective, NCT invites you to witness the extraordinary potential within ordinary lives to be utterly transformed.
"An anniversary is a time of reflection and celebration as well as an opportunity to imagine the future," said Brandt. "Theatre exists in a perpetual state of evolution – always growing and expanding and transforming. I am thrilled we have put together a season that honors while reinventing timeless classics, lifts the voices of our community, and celebrates the future of the art form."
25th Anniversary Season
Hedda Gabler
By Henrik Ibsen
Adapted by Kirsten Brandt
Directed by Norma Saldivar
Black Box Theatre
Previews Sept. 26
Runs Sept. 27-Oct 19, 2025
Newlyweds Hedda and Tesman have returned from their honeymoon and already their marriage is in trouble. As her world begins to unravel, a determined Hedda attempts to manipulate those closest to her. Based on Ibsen’s masterpiece, this world premiere adaptation by NCT’s Executive Director Kirsten Brandt is an uncompromising, intimate, and spellbinding portrait of one of theatre’s most complex characters.
The Underpants
A play by Carl Sternheim
Adapted BY Steve Martin
Directed by Michael Lugering
Black Box Theatre
Previews Oct. 3
Runs Oct. 4-18, 2025
When Louise’s bloomers accidentally fall down in public, her husband Theo fears his reputation will be ruined forever. From the comic genius of Steve Martin (Only Murders in the Building, SNL), comes this hilarious satire about sex, fidelity, love, and underwear. Based on a classic play by Carl Sternheim, The Underpants is an uproarious and witty comedy.
Charles Dickens’s A CHRISTMAS CAROL 1941
Adapted by D.W. Jacobs
Directed by Kirsten Brandt
Judy Bayley Theatre
Previews Nov. 28
Runs Nov. 29-Dec. 14, 2025
Set in Chicago 1941, this jazz infused version follows the tightfisted Ebenezer Scrooge as he is visited by the Spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Future. A Christmas Carol reminds us that in the spirit of giving, we can find redemption, grace, and joy. Charles Dickens’s timeless holiday classic returns to NCT in a production sure to melt your heart.
SHORTS: THE WORKER
Paul Harris Theatre
Previews March 5
Runs March 6-15, 2026
The short play festival is back! This year’s theme “The Worker” is a contemporary and immediate snapshot of the American workforce - a compelling and fascinating look at work, jobs, and the people who do them. Join NCT as we bring you six World Premiere Short Plays written for Las Vegas by some of the most thrilling voices in American Theatre. Shorts is made possible by the David and Stephanie Vondrak Short Play Festival Fund.
Passage
By Christopher Chen
A Co-Production with A Public Fit Theatre
Directed by Ann-Marie Pereth and Joseph D. Kucan
Black Box Theatre
Previews March 26
Runs March 27-April 5, 2026
Inspired by E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India, Passage is a fantasia set in a neocolonial country where a local doctor’s and an expat teacher’s friendship is tested after a fateful trip to a local attraction. Obie Award winning Christopher Chen’s contemporary play offers us a provocative and engaging meditation on the imbalances of power.
GIANTS HAVE US IN THEIR BOOKS
Six Children’s Plays for Adults
By José Rivera
Judy Bayley Theatre
Previews April 30
Runs May 1-10, 2026
Master storyteller José Rivera was inspired by his young daughter when she asked: if we have giants in our fairy tales, do giants have people in theirs? These metaphorical and poetic fairy tales for adults brim with magical realism, overflow with imagination, and radiate with contemporary relevance making for a soulful evening of theatre.
About Nevada Conservatory Theatre
The Nevada Conservatory Theatre (NCT), founded by the theatre faculty in 2000 and housed in the Judy Bayley Theatre on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas stands as a model for the intersection of research, pedagogy, and professional practice. NCT produces a six-show season of theatrical events as well as other special events.
The NCT at UNLV is led by the Department of Theatre Executive Director/Artistic Director Kirsten Brandt and governed by the faculty of the Department of Theatre. Serving as the applied artistic and technical producing arm of the Department of Theatre, NCT is a national model for theatre training programs seeking to bridge the gap between academic practice and the professional theatre. NCT selectively engages working professionals in all aspects of the theatre to work alongside advanced students in the art and craft of playmaking.
NCT provides students with a professional working laboratory that transcends traditional internships or apprenticeships, placing students in artistic and technical leadership roles that most closely mirror their future professional careers. Simultaneously, the freedoms of the academy—its commitment to investigation, experimentation, exploration—provides professional guest artists with a creative space to take risks, dedicate themselves to new endeavors, and nurture their creative spirit unencumbered by the logistical restraints that are often present in the commercial theatre. This intersectionality between students in training, distinguished faculty members, and theatre professionals provides an ideal laboratory for training students and for advancing the discipline of the theatre arts.
Together, this synthesis of art and research, the academy, and the profession empowers the NCT to produce theatre of the highest quality. Built on a professional-oriented theatre model, NCT is committed to bringing to Las Vegas the highest quality theatre. With a spotlight on the integration of professional guest artists and advanced students, NCT is committed to creating “a vibrant theatre that inspires and entertains while providing a social, political, and ethical forum for Las Vegas artists and audiences.”
