American Theatre<\/em> magazine, published by Theatre Communications Group (TCG), has released its annual Top 10 Most-Produced Plays<\/strong> and Top 20 Most-Produced Playwrights<\/strong> lists for the 2026\u201327 season. Drawn from programming at nearly 300 TCG Member Theatres as well as non-member and commercial venues, this year\u2019s lists offer a snapshot of what audiences across the country will encounter onstage in the season ahead.<\/p>\n John Proctor Is the Villain<\/em><\/strong> Tops<\/strong> American Theatre<\/em>\u2019s Most-Produced Plays List for 2026\u201327<\/strong><\/p>\n August Wilson Is the Most-Produced Playwright; Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Kimberly Belflower, Bess Wohl, and More Rank Among the Season\u2019s Most-Produced Writers<\/em><\/p>\n Kimberly Belflower<\/a>\u2019s John Proctor Is the Villain<\/em><\/strong> will be the most-produced play of the 2026\u201327 season, with 20 productions nationwide. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins\u2019s Purpose<\/em> follows with 14 productions, while Bess Wohl\u2019s Liberation<\/em> and Jonathan Spector\u2019s Eureka Day<\/em> each have 11 productions. (Productions of A Christmas Carol<\/em> are not counted for the purposes of this list.)<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m overwhelmed and overjoyed by this mind-blowing honor. I love writing plays more than anything in the world, and to know a play that came from my guts and my home will be in so many hands across the country makes me teary-eyed every time I think about it,\u201d said Kimberly Belflower<\/strong>, playwright of John Proctor Is the Villain<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The Top 10 list spans new and recent plays, contemporary musicals, adaptations, and landmark works of the American theatre, with productions ranging froTm Primary Trust<\/em> by Eboni Booth and Topdog\/Underdog<\/em> by Suzan-Lori Parks to Les Mis\u00e9rables<\/em>, Dear Evan Hansen<\/em>, and last year\u2019s most-produced title, Come From Away<\/em>.<\/p>\n August Wilson<\/strong> leads the field with 23 productions, followed by Kimberly Belflower with 21 and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins with 19. Lauren Gunderson ranks fourth with 17 productions, followed by Bess Wohl with 14. (Productions by Shakespeare are excluded for the purpose of this list.)<\/p>\n The 2026\u201327 Top 10 and 20 lists also feature a number of writers whose work has been published by TCG Books and in American Theatre<\/em>, reflecting the breadth of contemporary dramatic literature reaching stages nationwide.<\/p>\n \u201cThese annual lists remind us that there is no single story of the American theatre,\u201d said Emilya Cachapero<\/strong>, Co-Executive Director of National and Global Programming at TCG. \u201cAcross the country, theatres are choosing work that reflects different communities, generations, artistic traditions, and ways of seeing the world. The breadth of this season is a powerful reflection of the theatre ecology TCG is proud to serve.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The lists will be unveiled publicly on September 17 during a live episode of American Theatre<\/em>\u2019s Offscript<\/a> and will also appear in the Fall print issue of American Theatre<\/em> magazine.<\/p>\n *13 due to ties;<\/em> A Christmas Carol excluded<\/em><\/p>\n *28 due to ties and co-authorship; William Shakespeare excluded<\/p>\n As always, American Theatre<\/em> did not consider productions of A Christmas Carol<\/em>, of which there will be 30 in various adaptations, or productions by William Shakespeare, of which there will be 39 in the coming season. If composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim were counted as a playwright, his 17 productions would place him among this season\u2019s most-produced writers.<\/p>\n American Theatre<\/em> has been compiling its annual most-produced lists since 1994<\/a>, offering a season-by-season view of the writers and works shaping the American theatre.<\/p>\n American Theatre<\/a><\/em><\/strong> magazine<\/strong> is published daily online and quarterly in print by Theatre Communications Group. As the nation\u2019s essential magazine for professional not-for-profit theatre, American Theatre<\/em> has been providing theatre professionals, students, advocates, and audiences a comprehensive journal for almost 40 years. Quarterly print editions are published every October, January, April, and July, and include play scripts as well as special issues like the Season Preview and Training edition. American Theatre<\/em> is available online, at selected newsstands nationwide or through TCG Individual Membership<\/a>.<\/p>\n Theatre Communications Group (TCG)<\/a><\/strong>, the national organization for theatre, leads for a just and thriving theatre ecology. Since its founding in 1961, TCG\u2019s constituency has grown from a handful of groundbreaking theatres to over 750 organizations (including member theatres, affiliates, universities) and over 3,000 individual members. Through its programs and services, TCG reaches over one million students, audience members, and theatre professionals each year. <\/p>\n TCG offers networking and knowledge-building opportunities through research, communications, and events, including the annual TCG National Conference, one of the largest nationwide gatherings of theatre people; awards grants and scholarships to theatre companies and individual artists; advocates on the federal level; and through the Global Theater Initiative, TCG\u2019s partnership with the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics, serves as the U.S. Center of the International Theatre Institute. <\/p>\n TCG is North America\u2019s largest independent trade publisher of dramatic literature, with 21 Pulitzer Prizes for Drama on the TCG booklist. It also publishes the award-winning American Theatre<\/em> magazine and ARTSEARCH\u00ae<\/em>, the essential source for a career in the arts. TCG believes its vision of \u201ca better world for theatre, and a better world because of theatre\u201d can be achieved through individual and collective action, adaptive and responsive leadership, and equitable representation in all areas of practice. TCG is led by co-Executive Directors, Emilya Cachapero, LaTeshia Ellerson, and Alisha Tonsic<\/a>.<\/p>\n Photo: Left to right: Brianna Martinez, Jules Talbot, Victoria Omoregie, Haley Wong in John Proctor is the Villain; directed by Margot Bordelon; photo by T. Charles Erickson John Proctor is the Villain February 8 \u2013 March 10 at The Calderwood Pavilion\/BCA.<\/em><\/p>\nBy American Theatre<\/em>\u2019s count, <\/h6>\n
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On the most-produced playwrights list,<\/h6>\n
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Top 10 Most-Produced Plays of the 2026\u201327 Season*<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Top 20 Most-Produced Playwrights of the 2026\u201327 Season*<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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These lists were culled from 1,634 total productions: 1,283 productions at 298 TCG Member Theatres, plus 351 productions at non-member and commercial venues. <\/h6>\n