Keszthely’s Balaton Theater (Balaton Színház) lines up a busy 2025/2026 season with crowd-pleasing musicals, sharp-tongued comedies, and a classic drama that still stings. As a receiving theater, it draws thousands of season-pass regulars every year and doubles as a hub for concerts by acclaimed Hungarian and international acts. It’s also the recurring home of Dumaszínház stand-up shows. The venue: 8360 Keszthely, Main Square (Fő tér) 3. Ticket sales start October 1, 2025; season passes from September 1.
Cat City gets claws, chorus, and cult status
Cat City (Macskafogó) – Musical in two acts
2025.10.28. 18:00
Venue: Balaton Theater (Balaton Színház), Main Auditorium
Tickets: $16, $18, $20
The animated cult phenomenon Cat City (Macskafogó), directed by Béla Ternovszky and adored since 1986, storms the stage as a musical, rebooted by composer-lyricist Róbert Szikora. Expect magical earworms, tear-jerking humor, and a slick, action-heavy caper bringing back Mr. Squeezewell (Mr. Tájföl), Safranek, Lazy Dick (Lusta Dick), and the ultimate burnout hero mouse, Grabowski. The mouse world teeters on collapse amid a feline–rodent gang war, and only Grabowski, returning from self-imposed exile, dares head to Pokyo (Pokió) to rescue society—and the president’s kidnapped daughter. The cat syndicate sends a rat commando after him, cue friendships, romances, and relentless chases.
Cast highlights: Grabowski – Tamás Mészáros; Mr. Squeezewell (Mr. Tájföl) – Attila Csengeri/Zsolt Kósa; President – János Ondrik; Safranek – Csaba Gieler; Holly – Gabriella Tar; Miss Gatto (Chanteuse) – Ágnes Kuczmann; Lazy Dick (Lusta Dick) – Csaba Papp. Directed by Csaba Vizeli; choreography by Gábor Bakó; costumes by Annamária Húros and Anita Másikné Vizeli; sets by Csaba Vizeli.
Paris, lies, and Easter eggs the size of egos
Jean Poiret: Rendezvous in Paris, or Happy Easter! (Randevú Párizsban, avagy Kellemes Húsvéti Ünnepeket!) – Comedy in two parts
2025.11.13. 19:00 – Pesti Művész Theater (Pesti Művész Színház)
Venue: Balaton Theater (Balaton Színház), Main Auditorium
Tickets: $18, $21
Set in a chic Paris neighborhood, the story that became a 1984 French blockbuster starring Sophie Marceau and Jean-Paul Belmondo plays out during Easter break. Industrial mogul Stéphane Margelle lives with his beautiful wife, Sophie—and lives like a Casanova. After dropping her at the airport, he tumbles into the orbit of an 18-year-old and whisks her through dinner, a night bar, and finally home. Cue the worst timing: Sophie’s flight is canceled. She walks in on her husband and the girl; he blurts the only cover he can invent—that the young woman is his daughter. Cast: Stéphane – Géza Egyházi; Sophie – Bernadett Fogarassy; Julie – Éva Czető; Walter – Sándor Várfi; directed by András Márton; sets by János Katona Koós; translation by József Vinkó.
On a hot tin roof, everyone burns
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Macska a forró bádogtetőn) – Drama in two acts
Planned: 2025.11.18. (TBC) – Ferenc Zenthe Theater (Zenthe Ferenc Színház)
Season pass: $61–$72 for 4 shows (Festetics pass, Tuesday 19:00)
Single tickets: $18, $21
Tennessee Williams’ Pulitzer-winning classic cuts deep. Big Daddy, a raging old millionaire, realizes at the edge of agony that he lived it wrong, while favorite son Brick numbs himself as relatives brawl over the inheritance. Only Margaret, the cat dancing on that hot tin roof, claws for a way out of bitterness. The play’s stage version earned four Tony nods; the famed 1958 film starred Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman, and a 1984 TV remake featured Jessica Lange and Tommy Lee Jones. Directed by Ferenc Susán; dramaturgy by Boglárka Debreceni; sets and costumes by Nelli Pallós; music by Levente Romhányi. Cast includes Veronika Hege (Maggie), Krisztián Máté (Brick), Imre Harmath (Big Daddy), Éva Vándor (Big Mama).
Kids, a tree, and the knock-on effects
The Secret of the Old Walnut Tree (A vén diófa titka) – One-act children’s musical
Planned: 2025.12.01. 10:00 (Babóca pass); 2025.12.02. 10:00 (Pom Pom pass); 2025.12.02. 14:00 (Dr. Bubó pass)
Ferenc Zenthe Theater (Zenthe Ferenc Színház) – Venue: Balaton Theater (Balaton Színház), Main Auditorium
Pass: $20 for 3 shows – Single ticket: $10
Forest dwellers live inside a big tree—the Old Good One (Vén De Jó)—until a fly named Lili turns their world upside down. Does the tree really talk? By the end, the truth—and their new home—emerges. This playful but thought-provoking show nudges kids toward eco-awareness: every creature matters, and we’re responsible for the world we share. Runtime: 60 minutes, no intermission.
Trying to quit free money. Yes, really
Michael Cooney: Look Who’s Living Here?! (Nicsak, ki lakik itt?!) – Comedy in two acts
2025.12.09. 19:00 – Bánfalvy Studio (Bánfalvy Stúdió)
Venue: Balaton Theater (Balaton Színház)
Tickets: $23, $26
A London-based Hungarian, Róbert Szűcs, has it all: unemployment benefits, old-age pension, sick pay, family allowance, disability stipend, and, naturally, free cow’s milk—plus a side hustle involving nursing bras that drives his wife mad. Afraid of getting caught, he decides it’s easier to ditch the illegitimate handouts than his freedom or his marriage. Problem: benefits don’t let go easily. Cast includes Iza Varga/Zsófia Kondákor, Ferenc Hujber, Zolee Ganxsta; directed by Csaba Horváth. Translation and dramaturgy by Albert Benedek; revamped for this production by Benedek, Oliver W. Horvath, and HCS.
Scrooge, thawed by ghosts and a choir
Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol (Karácsonyi ének) – Family musical
2025.12.19. 18:00 – Körúti Theater (Körúti Színház)
Venue: Balaton Theater (Balaton Színház), Main Auditorium
Tickets: $25
A warm, witty, and visually lively retelling for all ages. Ebenezer Scrooge thinks Christmas is just the world’s sillier half dancing around a tree. But on Christmas Eve, the ghost of his late partner, Marley, drags him through past, present, and future, and that ice-cold heart starts to melt. Cast: Attila Barát (Scrooge), Kristóf Szabó (Marley), Tamás Oroszi (Cratchit/Fezziwig), Diána Karap (Mrs. Dilber), Lilla Karaivanov/Emese Placskó (Mrs. Cratchit), Édua Malik (Belle), Dominik Mak (Fred), plus a large youth ensemble from Kiskörúti Acting School (Kiskörúti Színisuli) and a cameo from Gábor Koncz as Scrooge’s father (on recording). Two acts.
Season pass sales begin September 1, 2025; single tickets from October 1 at the Balaton Theater (Balaton Színház) box office. And one more teaser blinking on the horizon: Husbands in a Jam (Férjek a slamasztikában) is coming.
