Finding ‘Home,’ Both Old and New, with Little Lake Theatre Co.
The storied company will bring shows to a new space during its 2026 season, while still performing at its beloved lakeside venue.
LITTLE LAKE THEATRE CO.’S PRODUCTION OF “REEFER MADNESS” | COURTESY LITTLE LAKE THEATRE CO.
The theme for Little Lake Theatre Co.’s 2026 season is “home is where the heart is.” That’s a timely message as the company itself adds a second home.
Since 1949, the organization has presented intimate performances at their lakeside barn space, a theater-in-the-round setup with audiences sitting on all four sides of the stage — with no theatergoer sitting more than 25 feet from the action. In 2026, Little Lake will expand to also become the resident and anchor theater company at the Canonsburg Educational and Cultural Institute (CECI).
CECI was created in 2023 as a multifaceted community center — consisting of classrooms, a cafeteria, a gymnasium, a theater and related spaces — to support Canonsburg and surrounding areas.
Most of Little Lake’s 10 productions this season will be performed at the same familiar location overlooking Canonsburg Lake. Due to increasing demand, however, select productions and educational programming will take place in a newly restored, 580-seat theater on CECI’s campus.
Patrick Cannon, Little Lake’s artistic director, says that as they make this transition, it is especially important to remember what home means to the historic company.
“Home isn’t in a building — it’s relationships. And it’s the bond between our audiences and our artists, between our volunteers and the people they greet at the door,” Cannon says. “When I think about where the Lake is right now after 77 years, and back-to-back record-breaking seasons, it feels like the right moment to celebrate what makes our theater more than a theater.”
The productions chosen for next year provide a wide range of genres and styles, from modern musicals to timeless classics. Each in some way delves into themes of home or community.
The season will begin in April with a classic home-themed show, “The Wizard of Oz,” and end in December with the holiday favorite “White Christmas.”
Little Lake also will collaborate with Highmark Stadium to present the second annual Broadway at the Ballpark event, as well as an additional performance of “The Wolves” at the South Shore stadium.
Tickets and subscriptions for next season’s shows are on sale via Little Lake’s website.
The company also will launch the Little Lake Theatre Academy, where classes and workshops will be hosted both at Little Lake’s home base in Canonsburg and in CECI’s classrooms.
Little Lake has been offering theatre classes for decades, but with the help of their new partnership, education will come to the forefront of their mission. Cannon says that by 2027, the organization hopes to run full-time educational programming with the new academy.
He believes that the new partnership with CECI will afford an opportunity to have their initiative reach a larger audience.
“We’re small, and we’re intimate, but CECI offers us a space to dream bigger while saying true to who we are,” Cannon says. “The best partnerships are built on shared mission and CECI believes, as do we, that the art should be rooted in communities.”
