Theatre Horizon, a professional theater company located in Montgomery County, will be presenting two exciting musicals for their 2025-26 season: Wishing to Grow Up Brightly, a world-premiere co-created by Amanda Morton (Broadway’s Gutenberg! The Musical, KPOP) and Matthew Decker (Broadway’s upcoming La La Land); plus the wildly popular musical revue Ain’t Misbehavin’, the Fats Waller Musical Show. Additional titles for the 2025-26 season will be revealed at a later date.

“Theatre Horizon is bringing our audiences the best in musical theater for our upcoming season,” said Decker, Interim Artistic Director and Theatre Horizon Co-Founder. “From the sounds of the Cotton Club and Fats Waller in Ain’t Misbehavin’ to the electrifying world premiere of Wishing to Grow Up Brightly, Horizon’s 2025-26 season celebrates the musical and the incredible artists who have created the uniquely American art form.”

Theatre Horizon’s 2025-26 Season

November 2025: World Premiere of Wishing to Grow Up Brightly

• Created by Amanda Morton, Matthew Decker, Josh Totora, and Brenson Thomas.
• Book by Matthew Decker, Amanda Morton, and Brenson Thomas.
• Lyrics by Amanda Morton and Josh Totora.
• Music by Josh Totora.
• Directed by Matthew Decker.

In this auto-fictional musical, South Korean adoptee Amanda Newton returns to her white childhood home after her father’s death, tasked with packing up the house alongside her mother. What begins as a difficult task soon spirals into a whirlwind of grief, identity, and unanswered questions about her adoption when Amanda discovers that her father’s memories have been digitized by reMemorex, a corporate service designed to preserve the voices of the departed. She embarks on a surreal and deeply personal quest to discover the truth about her adoption story.

This genre-defying show mashes up all sorts of musical styles with a touch of Black Mirror and 90s sitcom antics to tell a story that is simultaneously as humorous as it is touching, and as joyful as it is provocative. 

Wishing to Grow Up Brightly has been supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage and is presented through the support of the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.

May 2026: Ain’t Misbehavin’ — the Fats Waller Musical Show

• Created and originally directed by Richard Maltby, Jr.
• Conceived by Richard Maltby, Jr. and Murray Horowitz.

“…a stompin’, struttin’, high-hattin’ smash” – TIME Magazine

Step into the electrifying world of the Harlem Renaissance, where the music was hot, the nights were alive, and every spotlight shined with possibility.

Ain’t Misbehavin’, the Tony Award-winning celebration of Fats Waller, brings the era’s jazz houses and juke joints to life with an unforgettable evening of romance, humor, dance, and pure Black joy. Featuring timeless hits like “Honeysuckle Rose,” “It’s a Sin to Tell a Lie,” “I Can’t Give You Anything but Love,” and the iconic “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” this dazzling revue honors a musical genius who forever changed the sound of American music.

The inimitable Thomas “Fats” Waller rose to international fame during the Golden Age of the Cotton Club and that jumpin’ new beat, swing music. Although not quite a biography, Ain’t Misbehavin’ evokes the delightful humor and infectious energy of this American original as a versatile cast struts, strums, and sings the songs that he made famous in a career that ranged from uptown clubs to downtown Tin Pan Alley to Hollywood and concert stages in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.

Ticket Information

Beginning Mar. 21, Theatre Horizon will offer the company’s first-ever Leap of Faith Subscription, an opportunity for audiences to lock in the best value to see every show in the season before the entire lineup is announced. Patrons who commit to the Leap of Faith Subscription will have the opportunity to secure seats to the world premiere of the musical Wishing to Grow Up Brightly as well as Ain’t Misbehavin’ before anyone else. 

Every Leap of Faith Subscription includes 1 Concessions Voucher, good at any point during the 2025-26 season, and 1 Broadening Horizons Pass, which allows guests to bring a companion to any one production in the season for 20 percent off the price of a regular ticket. As with other Theatre Horizon subscriptions, Leap of Faith Subscribers can exchange their seats or dates for no extra charge at any point in the season.

Once the other two plays in the season are announced on May 9, Leap of Faith Subscribers will have the opportunity to upgrade to an Early Bird Subscription or Theatre Horizon’s new Membership Program, the details of which will also be announced on May 9. Individual tickets for every show in the season will be available starting Sept. 2. More information is available at Theatre Horizon.

Learn more at VFTCB.