The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey welcomes its 2025 season with five very innovative and promising productions, guaranteeing a journey for its patrons. At its core, STNJ’s mission is to share William Shakespeare’s works as well as other classics while also try to fulfill three different factors: 1) A reflection of what is happening in the world, 2) A counterpoint or alternative view of what is happening in the world, and/or 3) an escape from things, whether it be drama or comedy. 

According to Artistic Director Brian B. Crowe, the concept that ties all of this season’s plays together is “violent delights.”

“We always look at quotes from the plays,” he explains. “The one quote that really kind of struck me from all the plays is this great quote from Romeo & Juliet that the Friar has, and he refers to these ‘violent delights’ and this crazy juxtapositions of violent, which doesn’t always mean like aggression and pain and that sort of thing, but these extremes and delights. So these extreme delights, whether they be actual violence, as you would see in Romeo & Juliet, to giddy and over the top, like you would see in Earnest. We’re looking at these violent delights that all these plays kind of bring to life. And there’s so many of these extreme delights you get in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged, these delights about rebirth and who you are and finding out your true value in the world in It’s A Wonderful Life: The Radio Play. Obviously the passions that ripple through Frankenstein are certainly clear on that.”

Kicking things off is the Oscar Wilde classic The Importance of Being Earnest, considered one of the funniest plays ever written, playing May 14 to June 1. In the midst of a crazy world, why not escape with a bit of humor?

“I think we all need a healthy dose of laughter on occasion, and that certainly will provide it,” says Crowe. “What’s nice about Oscar Wilde is in the deliciousness of his wit and eccentric characters, he also still gives us a little bit of social commentary, which is kind of fun there.”

Following that is the Shakespearean section of the season, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised] [again] (July 9-27) and Romeo & Juliet (September 10-October 5). Usually performed and maybe remembered by some on the theatre’s outdoor stage, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised] [again] returns, but now performed on the F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre stage for the very first time. It is performed by an acting trio that attempts to present all 37 of William Shakespeare’s plays in one evening.

“It is a hilarious romp. It is slapstick and silly. If you like Shakespeare, you’ll like this play. If you hate Shakespeare, you will LOVE this play,” Crowe says.

Romeo & Juliet is one of Shakespeare’s most recognizable and performed plays. The play had two recent well documented runs within this past year. There was the London production starring Tom Holland and Francesca Amewudah-Rivers and then the Broadway production starring Kit Connor and New Jersey’s own Rachel Zegler.

With so many renditions of this one Shakespeare play telling the story of the heartbreaking tragedy of two teenage star-crossed lovers, one may wonder how a theater company faces the challenge of giving it a fresh new take.

“We frequently get asked, as a Shakespeare theatre, how are we going to do it new? What’s going to be new about it? One thing I think is interesting is that every time we do it, or anybody does it, it is new because our worldview is different. Where we are in our own lives is different. The world is radically different now than it was back in the 70s and 80s when I first experienced it. I’m different, the world is different, but the play is the same. It just becomes different because it’s through a different lens.”

“We’re going to tell the story beautifully well and with a tremendous cast,” Crowe continues. “Bonnie Monte is directing the show. She’s the Artistic Director Emerita here who has a long history of just doing amazingly rich work with classics and making them feel fresh and new and alive and immediate, but really by just honing in on what is really happening in these epic stories that have been around for centuries because they still speak to us as individuals. We keep coming back to some of these because they still, in a more profound way, speak to us more regularly. Romeo & Juliet is one of those plays that with this deep shifting from disagreements to hatred going on in the world right now and finding another way around it is unfortunately continually relevant to us as a culture, as a world right now.”

Although it is a tragedy, Crowe adds that people often forget that Romeo & Juliet is also a hysterically funny love story, so depending on what audiences are looking for, this production has something for everyone.

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey has an intriguing calendar set up. While most theater companies hold their seasons from September through June, STNJ’s seasons begin in the spring and end in the winter, right before the new year. This is because originally they had to share space with Drew University throughout the school year when they first began during the early 70s. When they renovated and opened the F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre home space in 1998, this granted them the ability to operate throughout the year. Since audiences were so used to the summer programming, the schedule remained mostly unchanged, but this time starting things in May instead of June. They are also touring from February through May, therefore producing all year round.

This season, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey’s touring company actually features Romeo & Juliet, along with A Midsummer Night’s Dream, for this year’s Short Shakespeare, which will be presented at the F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre on April 19. As a result, the theatre offers not one, but two upcoming opportunities to see the play, the first a condensed version that appeals more to younger people and families and the second a mainstage production of the full play in all of its glory.

A third opportunity to embrace Romeo & Juliet, complete with out loud readings, group discussions, and guest speakers, presents itself through STNJ’s current Virtual Book Club – Romeo, Juliet, and More!, running on Tuesdays on Zoom now through April 15.

This season then comes to a close with holiday productions Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (October 22-November 16) for Halloween and It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play (December 3-28) for Christmas.

Crowe is particularly excited about Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, which will be directed by Crowe himself and making its The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey’s debut this season.

“It’s just a play I’ve been dying to do. It’s a story I’ve been dying to do. This particular script I’m very excited about. Not only are you getting the fantastically rich story of Frankenstein that many of us know, but I don’t think we necessarily really know the story. I think there’s so much about that, like some classics where you kind of go, ‘I know the general idea of Frankenstein. It’s the monster, and he’s scary and mean, and the mad scientist is also a little crazy and mean.’ But there’s so much more to that story and what I love about this play is that it brings that out. And it also focuses a bit on Mary Shelley, so you get a little bit about her life woven into this, which is a beautiful, beautiful piece. We’ll have some special events around it as we gear into Halloween.”

It’s A Wonderful Life, best known from Frank Capra’s 1946 film, on the other hand, is a little bit more well known and familiar to many, full of nostalgia and hope during the festive holiday season. 

“It’s just such a beautiful, beautiful story and reminds us of the importance of our own humanity and how much we as individuals affect and touch and are part of the communities we are in, even if we don’t realize it, and looking for the betterment in the people around us, and also in ourselves and that we are valuable and important parts of the world,” says Crowe.

The difference here, however, is that this version of the story is told through a 1940s style live radio recording, complete with a Foley artist providing the sound effects.

“All these kind of things all come alive in this very fun visual feast as you get to hear what’s happening as he’s creating them, because they’re not the way you think a lot of these are created. The last time we did the show, many, many years ago, the kids especially were just in awe. Not only of the story and all the voices that all the actors do, but also the fun element of Foley, the sound creation in the show.”

Speaking of these younger audience members, this season also offers Classics for Kids! Tanglewood Marionettes presents Hansel and Gretel (April 5) and Perseus and Medusa (September 27). Also featured will be the scripts-in-hand presentations of UNEXPECTED: The Stories of Hans Christian Andersen (June 14) and Merry, Merry Mischief!: Holiday Classics (December 13). 

The theatre’s educational programs will also be underway this summer. The Summer Professional Training Programs will take place with the Acting Apprenticeship from May 27 to June 30 and the Internship from June 30 to August 11. The Summer Shakespeare Junior Corps (ages 10-14) will take place from July 28 to August 8 and the Senior Corps (ages 14-18) from July 7 to July 25.

Other events coming up include Volunteer Night on April 7, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey’s Annual Gala at The Thomas H. Kean Theatre Factory on April 26, and the Thomas H. Kean Theatre Factory Tour on May 3. Also at the theatre factory will be the live reading of Shakespeare “Out Loud” – Troilus and Cressida on April 29 and May 6. Later on in the year they will also hold the Something Wicked Trivia Night Fundraiser on October 18 and a Costume & Prop Sale on October 25. Another chance to join the Virtual Book Club this fall, this theme being The Monsters We Make!, will take place on Tuesdays from October 21 through November 25.  

These many aspects and more aim to make The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey and the classic works they produce more accessible for audience members from all walks of life.

“It’s stories that have been around for centuries and are still around because they still talk to us at the core of who we are as a society. They still speak to us,” says Crowe. “It is imperative for is as a community of artists and us as an institution to provide every opportunity we can to get every individual and family and community member that is in our circle of reach here to have the ability to come see these shows. All these things were written and made for every single one of us as human beings and I think the more we get into a theatre and a shared space and one shared story we get to experience and laugh together and cry together and be shocked together, that’s building community. It’s more of what the world needs right now. This watching entertainment on small screens, not only is bad for your eyes, it’s bad for your soul. Getting in with other people in your community is the best way to get us all back on the same page, which we desperately need to do right now.”

For more details, please visit shakespearenj.org.