Times Square Chronicles: John Mellencamp’s Small Town Gets Its World Premiere With Dillon Klena and Morgan Higgins
John Mellencamp’s America is heading to the stage. Ogunquit Playhouse will present the world premiere of Small Town: A John Mellencamp Musical, a new musical built around 24 songs from Mellencamp’s unmistakably American catalog, running October 1 through November 1, 2026.
With a book by Obie Award-winning playwright Naomi Wallace and direction by Lisa Peterson, Small Town isn’t being positioned as simply another greatest-hits jukebox musical. Instead, Mellencamp’s songs become the vocabulary for a multigenerational story about a community in free-fall and the people trying to hold onto love, hope and one another when the promise of a better life begins slipping away.
At its center are Jack and Diane—yes, those Jack and Diane—played by Dillon Klena and Morgan Higgins. Klena, who appeared in the national tour of Jagged Little Pill, stars as Jack opposite Bad Cinderella‘s Higgins as Diane, two young lovers refusing to allow the circumstances surrounding them to extinguish whatever youthful fire they still possess.
And there is some serious Broadway pedigree surrounding them. Ron Bohmer, whose Broadway credits include Les Misérables, plays Jack’s father Sean, while the always-wonderful Annie Golden takes on Lou. The Great Gatsby‘s Matt Saldívar plays Diane’s father Sergio, with Dale Soules as Jack’s Aunt Box and Luna Lauren Velez as Diane’s mother Maria.
The ensemble features Angela Chatelain Avila, Mayelah Barrera, Zach Cossman, Mollie Diaz, Louis Jannuzzi III, Noah LaPook, Victoria Lourdes, Kaitlyn O’Leary, Sam O’Neill, Alex Paez, Kendall Rivera, Lionna Romans, Deandre Sevon and Ariana Valdes.
The score reaches across Mellencamp’s career, including “Hurts So Good,” “Lonely Ol’ Night,” “Small Town” and, naturally, “Jack & Diane.” That last song alone gives Wallace an intriguing theatrical foundation. Mellencamp’s 1982 hit was never simply a catchy story about two teenagers. Beneath its irresistible chorus was something more melancholy: youth disappearing almost before we realize we had it and the uncomfortable knowledge that life doesn’t necessarily turn out the way we imagined.
That tension could make Small Town considerably more interesting than the standard jukebox formula. Mellencamp’s songs have always been populated by working people, restless young people, disappointed people and Americans attempting to reconcile the country they were promised with the one in which they actually live. Put those songs into the hands of a playwright like Wallace, and there is plenty of dramatic territory waiting underneath them.
Peterson, whose Broadway credits include Good Night, Oscar, directs, with choreography by Richard J. Hinds. Andy York serves as music supervisor, with Jason Hart as music director. The design team includes Klara Zieglerova on scenic design, Haydee Zelideth on costumes, Richard Latta on lighting, Kevin Heard on sound and Roxanne De Luna on wig, hair and makeup design.
Executive Artistic Director Bradford Kenney has made clear that Small Town is also part of Ogunquit Playhouse’s expanding commitment to developing new work. That makes this October engagement particularly worth watching. Ogunquit has increasingly become a place where ambitious commercial theatre can develop outside New York while still drawing heavily from Broadway’s creative and performing community.
And Small Town arrives with something many new musicals spend years trying to acquire: an instantly recognizable musical identity. Mellencamp’s songs aren’t merely familiar; they belong to a particular portrait of America. The real test will be whether Wallace, Peterson and company can make us hear those songs differently by giving the people inside them lives beyond the three or four minutes we’ve known them.
If they can, that little pink house in Ogunquit may eventually find itself considerably closer to Broadway.
Small Town: A John Mellencamp Musical begins performances October 1 and runs through November 1 at Ogunquit Playhouse.