The Newport Playhouse & Cabaret Restaurant at 102 Connell Highway has a little more than nine weeks left. The theater opened in August 1983, and in August its president, Jonathan Perry, said it would close on Dec. 31, 2026. That leaves two plays, one holiday variety night and a closing performance on New Year's Eve.
By late October, a dozen performances of the final play were marked sold out on the theater's ticketing page. Nearly all of the listed sell-outs were matinees with seatings at 10:45 or 11 a.m. The Friday and Saturday evening seatings at 6 p.m. still showed as open. If you've been telling yourself you'll go back to the Playhouse one more time, plan on a weekend dinner.
Two plays and one variety night left
The last calendar is short. Here is the full remaining lineup from the Playhouse's own schedule:
| Show | Dates | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Beau Jest | Through Nov. 11 | A comedy about a woman who hires an actor to play a doctor boyfriend for her parents |
| Social Security | Nov. 15 to Dec. 31 | A Broadway comedy about two Manhattan art dealers whose family arrives uninvited |
| Jimmy Mazz Holiday Legends Variety Show | Dec. 6 | A touring singer covering Neil Diamond, Sinatra, Elvis and dozens more |
Social Security will be the last play on this stage. The ticketing page lists it as "Social Security (For Christmas)," which puts the holiday season and the final run in the same weeks. The last listed performance is Thursday, Dec. 31, at 7 p.m.
The theater's New Year's Eve page still shows last year's production and price. Use the ticketing listing for the 2026 date, and call the box office for any details about closing night.
The sold-out dates read like a daytime calendar
On the Social Security ticketing page, these dates were marked sold out in late October:
- Sunday, Nov. 15, 10:45 a.m.
- Wednesday, Nov. 18, 10:45 a.m.
- Thursday, Nov. 19, 10:45 a.m.
- Sunday, Nov. 22, 10:45 a.m.
- Wednesday, Dec. 2, 10:45 a.m.
- Thursday, Dec. 3, 10:45 a.m.
- Monday, Dec. 7, 11 a.m.
- Tuesday, Dec. 8, 10:45 a.m.
- Wednesday, Dec. 9, 10:45 a.m.
- Thursday, Dec. 10, 10:45 a.m.
- Sunday, Dec. 13, 10:45 a.m.
- Wednesday, Dec. 16, 10:45 a.m.
Here's what was still listed as open at the same time. Friday, Nov. 20, at 6 p.m. Both Saturday, Nov. 21, seatings. Saturday, Nov. 28, at 6 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 29, at 10:45 a.m. Monday, Nov. 30, at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4, at 6 p.m. Both Saturday seatings on Dec. 5 and Dec. 12. Friday, Dec. 11, at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17, at 10:45 a.m. Friday, Dec. 18, and Saturday, Dec. 19, at 6 p.m. Closing night, Dec. 31, at 7 p.m. In practice, a weekday afternoon in early December is mostly gone, while a Friday or Saturday evening in late November or December still had room.
This changes by the day, and the ticketing page is the place to check. The first sell-out came on opening day, Nov. 15, even though that run started more than a month after the closing announcement.
How an evening at the Playhouse runs
If you haven't been in years, or ever, the format is the same one the theater has used all along. The box office lays out the evening sequence:
- Doors open at 5:45 p.m.
- The buffet opens at 6:15 p.m.
- The play starts at about 7:30 p.m. in the theater, a short walk from the dining room.
- You go back to your table, or to the bar, for the cabaret, which follows the play in the same dining room.
Matinees follow the same order earlier in the day. The box office's standard schedule has doors at 11 a.m., the buffet at 11:30 a.m. and the play at 1 p.m. The ticketing page lists the 10:45 or 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. seating times. Either way, curtain times are approximate. The box office says the show doesn't start "until everyone has finished their meal."
The buffet is cooked on site. The theater describes main entrees, side dishes, fresh-baked breads and homemade desserts, with a full bar served at your table or at the bar. Regular admission for dinner, the play and the cabaret is $80 per person, gratuity not included. A theater-only ticket is $32. Because of some mature material, the box office recommends that guests be over 12.
The location makes it easy. The theater sits at the foot of the Newport Bridge, has plenty of parking and is air-conditioned and handicapped accessible. For a dinner that runs from the buffet through a full play and a cabaret, that matters.
Why this run carries more weight than most
The Playhouse has always been a family business, and Perry's letter to patrons explained the closing in those terms. What'sUpNewp reported that he was 18 when the theater opened, and thought a small theater "might be a fun hobby until I figured out what I wanted to do when I grew up." It became, he wrote, virtually his entire adult life.
He worked alongside his father, Matt Siravo, for 32 years. Siravo was a performer, director, producer and mentor at the Playhouse. According to the same What'sUpNewp account, Perry introduced each of his five children to the Playhouse family by holding them up on the stage. He also tallied the theater's four decades: hundreds of sets, thousands of performances, thousands of cabaret skits and, by his estimate, "probably rolled millions of meatballs."
"For more than four decades, people walked through our doors, shared a meal, laughed together and left feeling a little better than when they arrived. Very few small theaters get to tell a story that lasts more than four decades. We did."
That is Perry's letter as quoted by What'sUpNewp. The Providence Journal reported that Perry called the closing a personal decision to spend time with family and said no single cause drove it.
The letter also asked something of the audience. Perry wrote that there were "several months of performances ahead of us, audiences to entertain, stories to tell and laughter to fill this building," and asked longtime patrons to come back for a show in the final months. The sold-out matinees suggest many already have. Over 43 years, What'sUpNewp noted, the theater's guests came back with their children and grandchildren. These last weeks are the final chance to do that.
Getting a table before Dec. 31
The quickest routes:
- By phone. The box office number is (401) 848-PLAY, or 848-7529.
- By email. Write to [email protected]. The theater says email gets a quicker response.
- Online. Seats for Social Security and Beau Jest are sold through the theater's ticketing pages. Jimmy Mazz tickets are linked from the Playhouse homepage.
- For a crowd. Groups of 15 or more get discounted rates through the theater's groups page. Mary Budlong is listed as the contact for groups.
The box office also says not every weekday has a matinee, so call before you plan around a particular afternoon. A holiday office party, a family dinner with visiting relatives or a standing date with old friends will be easiest to book on a Friday or Saturday night, since that's where the open seatings were.
The Playhouse has been at the foot of the Newport Bridge since 1983. If you'd like to talk about Newport, from the bridge end of town to the harbor, Libby Kirwin has been doing it for more than 30 years and would be glad to hear your own Playhouse memories along the way. Speak With a Local Agent.
