Like live theater? Here are 3 options for this weekend and beyond in Columbus
As ARTSFEST 2026 continues in Columbus, live theater takes center stage this weekend, giving theater fans the opportunity to see up to three live theatrical productions from three organizations.
ARTSFEST is a month-long festival in April celebrating Columbus’ rich creative talent and varied arts organizations that concludes with a community-wide celebration April 26 from noon-5 p.m. at Arts in the Park in Lakebottom, according to The Columbusite.
“Chicken & Biscuits”
“Chicken & Biscuits” opens April 17 in the McClure Theatre at the Springer Opera House. It runs through April 26 and is appropriate for only ages 16 and older due to adult language and themes.
Keith McCoy, artistic director at the Springer Opera House, said it’s a comedy that revolves around two sisters, Baneatta and Beverly, on the day of their father’s funeral and how they try to get through the day without killing each other.
“It deals with sibling rivalry, acceptance,” he said. “There’s some family secrets, and you learn about forgiveness and the true meaning of unconditional love.”
“Chicken & Biscuits” is sponsored by Charles E. Huff’s International Funeral Home
“Anne of Green Gables: The Musical”
“Anne of Green Gables: The Musical” opens April 17 at Family Theatre and runs through May 2. It’s a family show and appropriate for all ages.
The musical is based on the 1908 novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery and tells the story of Anne Shirley, a spirited and imaginative orphan mistakenly sent to an elderly brother and sister on Prince Edward Island, off the eastern coast of Canada.
Cheryl Palmour, the artistic director at Family Theatre, is directing the show. She told the Ledger-Enquirer the story is one people can relate to.
“You know, you’ve got this girl who has an imagination, and she sees things that other people don’t see, and she kind of awakens them to the fact that there’s more than just getting out there and working,” Palmour said.
Ella Townsend, a high school freshman, portrays Anne Shirley. She said this is the 11th production she has acted in.
“I think before theater, I had a lot of things to do, like dance or cheerleading or book club or just all these things,” she said, “but I don’t think I ever really found anything that I truly enjoyed or loved doing.”
Townsend said she is unsure why she tried theater for the first time, but now she is glad she did.
“I love it, and it makes me feel like I’m good at something and everything else kind of just goes away,” she said. “I get to be a whole new person on stage.”
“The Three Musketeers”
The Columbus State University Department of Theatre and Dance’s production of “The Three Musketeers” by Ken Ludwig concludes this weekend. The show opened April 10. The final two shows are scheduled for April 17 and 18 at 7:30 pm at CSU’s Riverside Theatre Complex.
“The Three Musketeers” contains scenes of violence, very brief nudity and gunshots, according to a description emailed to the Ledger-Enquirer by Timothy Artz, instructor in the CSU Department of Theatre & Dance.
Here’s the description of “The Three Musketeers” Artz provided:
“Ken Ludwig’s ‘The Three Musketeers’ is a retelling of the Alexandre Dumas’ tale of D’Artagnan and the Three Musketeers: Aramis, Porthos and Athos. Ludwig has added the role of D’Artagnan’s sister, Sabine to the tale as she accompanies her brother to Paris as he attempts to join the King’s Musketeer’s, led by the captain of the Musketeer’s, Monieur de Treville. Once in France, D’Artagnan is caught up in the intrigue of the court when he saves Constance, the Queen’s ladies in waiting, from Cardinal Richelieu’s henchmen, while she is attempting to take an important letter to the Queen, making him an immediate enemy of the ‘Machiavellian’ Cardinal. Thus, the race is on for the Musketeers and D’Artagnan to help save the Queen, foil the Cardinal’s plans to draw the King into an unwanted war with England, all the while trying to keep up with the Cardinal’s hand-picked assassin, the beautiful and lethal, Lady de Winter, a.k.a., Milady.”
