2025-2026 National Tour

Great Expectations and

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Great Expectations

By Nikki Massoud

From the novel by Charles Dickens

Directed by Devin Brain

The Acting Company reinvigorates Charles Dickens’ timeless novel with an effervescent stage adaptation brimming with unexpected hilarity and romantic heart. Great Expectations follows the harrowing journey of working-class orphan Pip as he navigates a challenging upbringing at the hands of his abusive sister, encounters an escaped prisoner, and meets the wealthy and eccentric Miss Havisham and her daughter Estella, a stunning, young heiress of ruthless intelligence. When Pip receives a sizable fortune from a mystery donor and enters the ranks of high-society London, his life is forever changed, learning hard truths about integrity, loyalty, and love. Akin to a bingeable dramedy carved with the beautiful prose that made Dickens popular, Nikki Massoud’s take on this uproarious, thrilling, and surprisingly relatable story will keep audiences of all ages on the edge of their seats.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Written by William Shakespeare

Directed by Risa Brainin

A rapturous, fresh take on one of William Shakespeare’s most popular and widely performed plays, The Acting Company’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a captivating, coming-of-age story that will surprise and delight! In this fast-paced, crowd-pleasing comedy, a pair of young lovers flee to an enchanted forest where a troupe of amateur actors rehearse a play. With the help of a mystical flower, the fairy king and queen’s mischievous servant Puck creates chaos for these unsuspecting humans, leading to mistaken identities, romantic entanglements, and comical transformations. Bursting with mirth, music, magic, and mayhem, this uplifting tale of illusion and love comes to life with an electric cast of New York-based artists.



CREATIVE TEAM

Nikki Massoud (Playwright)
Great Expectations

Nikki is an Iranian-Canadian-American writer and performer based in New York City.  Her work has been developed and produced through Bard at the Gate, The Lark, The Coop, CUNY, and a City Artist Corps Grant. She holds commissions from Atlantic Theater, The Acting Company, and Noor Theater. Her television work as a performer includes roles on “Succession” (HBO), “Love Life” (HBO Max), and “Mozart in the Jungle” (Amazon). Her acting stage credits include Sanaz Toossi's Wish You Were Here at Playwrights Horizons and Othello at New York Theatre Workshop, directed by Sam Gold. Nikki has also acted regionally all over the country, including at The Old Globe, South Coast Rep, Berkeley Rep, and Huntington Theatre Company. Nikki is the Audie Award-winning narrator of over 50 audiobooks, currently available on Audible. She is a graduate of the Brown University/Trinity Rep MFA Program, Georgetown University and BADA. “Woman, Life, Freedom.”

Devin Brain (Director)


Great Expectations

Devin is the Producing Director of The Acting Company, a national touring repertory company founded by John Houseman and Margot Harley.  As a director, his work focuses on contemporary productions of classical texts, as well as original work.  Select productions include: Othello, Julius Caesar, My Antonia (an adaptation of the Willa Cather novel), Macbeth, You / Emma (an adaptation of Madame Bovary), Exposure (an exploration of the life and work of Francesca Woodman), Bones in the Basket (an original adaptation of Russian Fairy Tales), Middletown by Will Eno, Breath of Kings (his adaptation of Richard II, Henry IV, and Henry V), Rose Mark’d (his adaptation of Henry V, Henry VI, and Richard III), Blacktop Sky by Christina Anderson, and The Droll {or, a play about the END of theatre} by Meg Miroshnik.

Risa Brainin (Director)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Risa Brainin is a freelance director and Founder/Artistic Director of LAUNCH PAD at UC Santa Barbara featured in American Theatre magazine for its innovative contribution to new play development. Brainin served as Artistic Director of Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Associate Artistic Director for both Kansas City Repertory Theatre and Indiana Repertory Theatre, and Resident Director and Associate Company Director at the Guthrie Theater. Other directorial credits include plays at American Players Theatre, Actors' Theatre of Louisville, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Clarence Brown Theatre, Denver Center Theatre, Great Lakes Theater, Gulfshore Playhouse, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Mixed Blood, Pittsburgh Public Theater, Red Bull Theatre, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Syracuse Stage, and the United Solo Festival among others. A graduate of the Carnegie Mellon University Drama Program, Brainin is a member of the National Theatre Conference and the College of Fellows of the American Theatre.

DESIGN TEAM

Scenic Design by Tanya Orellana†

Costume Design, Great Expectations by Valérie Thérèse Bart†

Costume Design, A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Devon Painter†

Lighting Design by Alan C. Edwards†

Sound Design by Sharath Patel†

Composer Lindsay Jones†

Props Lead Alex Choate

Voice and Text Coach Duane Boutté

Choreographer, A Midsummer Night’s Dream Christina McCarthy

Fight Choreographer, Great Expectations Eli Lynn

Intimacy Coordinator, A Midsummer Night’s Dream Eli Lynn

Dramaturg, Great Expectations Kristin Leahey

Associate Director Kate Pitt

Casting Director Claire Yenson, CSA

Assistant Casting Director Dorie Magowan

Production Stage Manager Jessica Forella*

Assistant Stage Manager Liz Hetzel 

°The Director is a member of the STAGE DIRECTORS AND CHOREOGRAPHERS SOCIETY, a national theatrical labor union. 

†Designers represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees 

 *Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.


MEET THE CAST


REPERTORY STAFF

Tour Production Manager Neil Goleta

Associate Scenic Designer Danielle DeLaFuente

Associate Costume Designer, Great Expectations Charlie Ko

Associate Costume Designer, A Midsummer Night’s Dream CK Zaki

Associate Lighting Designer Conor Mulligan†

Associate Sound Designer Joshua Nguyen

Associate Props Lead Ying-Syuan Zeng

People, Culture, & Belonging Consultant Ann James

Production Assistants Mya Piccione and Taylor Bray

Key Art Illustration Anne Benjamin

 

TOUR STAFF

Tour Company Manager Kleo Mitrokostas

Tour Technical Director Chris Grainer

Tour Wardrobe Supervisor Krista Grevas

Tour Lighting Supervisor Devan Kelty

Tour Sound Supervisor Elena Martin

Tour Lighting Drafter Jessica Neill

Tour Production Manager Kevin Pendergast

 

PERFORMANCE DATES

December 3-21, 2025† Rubicon Theatre Company, Ventura, CA

January 13, 2026† State Theatre New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ

January 15-16, 2026† Virginia Arts Festival, Norfolk, VA

January 21, 2026 Radford University, Radford, VA

January 23-24, 2026† Wortham Center for the Arts, Asheville, NC

January 27-28, 2026 The Library Theatre, Hoover Public Library, Hoover, AL

January 30-31, 2026† University of Georgia, Athens, GA

February 3, 2026 Weidner Center for the Performing Arts, Green Bay, WI

February 5-7, 2026† Great Lakes Center for the Arts, Bay Harbor, MI

February 11-12, 2026 Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN

February 14-17, 2026† Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, KS

February 19, 2026† Wayne State College, Wayne, NE

February 25-March 1, 2026† Queens Theatre, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, NY

subject to change — with more venues added throughout the tour!

†Includes Student and School Group matinées