Princeton Summer Theater was founded in 1968 by a group of Princeton University undergraduates under the name 'Summer Intime' as a high grade summer stock theater company. [1]
Organizational history
In the 1930s, members of student-run Theater Intime, initiated summer theater at Princeton. From the late 1920s until the 50s students called the summer company the University Players. [2] The University Players operated from Hamilton Murray Theater for years. In 1968, the group became semi-independent from the University under the name "Summer Intime",and in the late 70s it was renamed Princeton Summer Theater. Every summer a new company of Princeton students forms to present a season of four main stage shows and a children's show.
Dedicated to training future leaders of the theater world, Princeton Summer Theater offers students and young professionals experience working in every area of theatre production, from performance, to design, to marketing, to theater management. [3] In recent years the company has also included members from the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, Rutgers University and Rider University. Notable alumni include John Lithgow, Bebe Neuwirth, William Hootkins, Geoff Rich, Mark Nelson, Winnie Holzman, Bretaigne Windust and Henry Fonda.
Hamilton Murray Theater was dubbed a "jewel box of a theater" [4] by Stuart Duncan of the " Princeton Packet".
Princeton Summer Theater celebrated its half-centennial along with Theatre Intime's centennial in November 2022, after delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Current season
- 2023
- Pride and Prejudice by Kate Hammill, based on the novel by Jane Austen
- Ghost Quartet by Dave Malloy
- Peerless by Jiehae Park
Past seasons
University Players
1928
- The Dover Road by A. A. Milne
- Beyond the Horizon by Eugene O'Neill
- The Torch-Bearers by George Kelly
- The Jest by Sam Benelli
- In the Next Room by Eleanor Belmont and Harriet Ford
- The New Way by Annie Nathan Meyer
- Is Zat So
- The Thirteenth Chair by Bayard Veiller
1929
- The Devil in the Cheese by Tom Cushing
- The Donovan Affair by Owen Davis (directed by Henry Fonda)
- Outward Bound by Sutton Vane
- The Last Warning by Thomas F. Fallon (directed by Bretaigne Windust '28)
- Merton of the Movies by George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly
- Crime by Kent Smith
- The Bad Man by Porter Emerson Browne
- The Czarina by Melchior Lengyel and Ludwig Biro
- The Constant Nymph by Margaret Kennedy and Basil Dean (directed by Charles Leatherbee)
1930
- Murray Hill by Leslie Howard
- The Wooden Kimono by Bretaigne Windust
- The Watched Pot by Saki and Charles Maude
- Thunder on the Left by Jean Ferguson Black
- The Makropulos Affair by Karel Čapek
- The Firebrand by Edwin Justus Mayer
- Hell-Bent Fer Heaven by Hatcher Hughes
- The Marquise by Noël Coward
- A Kiss for Cinderella by J.M. Barrie
1931
- Paris Found by Philip Barry
- Interference by Roland Pertwee and Harold Dearden
- Mr. Pim Passes By by A. A. Milne
- Coquette by Ann Preston Bridgers and George Abbott
- Her Cardboard Lover by Jacques Deval (Dans sa candeur naïve, translated by Valerie Wyngate and P. G. Wodehouse)
- The Trial of Mary Dugan by Bayard Veiller
- The Guardsman by Ferenc Molnár (original title: Testőr)
- Juno and the Paycock by Seán O'Casey
- The Silent House by John G. Brandon and George Pickett
- The Italian Straw Hat (Un chapeau de paille d'Italie) by Eugène Marin Labiche and Marc Michel
In July 1933 a fire devastated the theater, starting in the basement and burning up the entire stage. It was renovated over the summer.
1948
- No Exit (Huis clos) by Jean-Paul Sartre
- How He Lied to Her Husband by George Bernard Shaw
- The Beautiful People by William Saroyan
- Yes Is for a Very Young Man by Gertrude Stein [5]
1949
- The Vegetable by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Cathleen ni Houlihan by W. B. Yeats
- Purgatory by W. B. Yeats
- The End of the Beginning by Seán O'Casey
- The Streets of New York by Dion Boucicault
In 1951 and 1952, no productions were staged due to the Korean War. [6]
1953
- The Rose Tattoo by Tennessee Williams
- The Devil's Disciple by George Bernard Shaw
- The Infernal Machine by Jean Cocteau
- Hello Out There by William Saroyan
- The Apollo of Bellac by Jean Giraudoux
- Red Peppers by Noël Coward
- The Italian Straw Hat (Un chapeau de paille d'Italie) by Eugène Marin Labiche and Marc Michel
- The Tempest by William Shakespeare
1954
- Camino Real by Tennessee Williams
- Right You Are (If you think so) (Così è (se vi pare)) by Luigi Pirandello
- A Penny for a Song by John Whiting (American première)
- Theatre of the Soul by Nikolai Evreinov
- Queens of France by Thornton Wilder
- Village Wooing by George Bernard Shaw
- Ghosts (original Danish title: Gengangere) by Henrik Ibsen
- Show Loves Me Not by Howard Lindsay
- Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll adapted by Mario Siletti
- Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
1956
- Saint Joan by George Bernard Shaw
- Charley's Aunt by Brandon Thomas
- Blood Wedding by García Lorca
- The Grass Harp by Truman Capote
- The Father (Swedish: Fadren) by August Strindberg
- Ring Round the Moon by Christopher Fry (adapted from L'Invitation au Château by Jean Anouilh)
- The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden by Thornton Wilder
- Bedtime Story by Seán O'Casey
- As You Like It by William Shakespeare
1957
- A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
- The Skin of Our Teeth by Thornton Wilder
- Heartbreak House by George Bernard Shaw
- The Enchanted by Jean Giraudoux
- The Love of Don Perlimplín and Belisa in the Garden (original title: Amor de Don Perlimplín con Belisa en su jardín) by García Lorca
- The Tinker's Wedding by J. M. Synge
- The Shadow of a Gunman by Seán O'Casey
- Love's Labour's Lost by William Shakespeare
- Lord Byron's Love Letter by Tennessee Williams
1958
- A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller
- The Matchmaker by Thornton Wilder
- Legends of Lovers by Jean Anouilh (original title Eurydice, translated by Kitty Black as Point of Departure and republished as Legend of Lovers)
- The Burnt Flower Bed (L'aiuola bruciata) by Ugo Betti
- An Evening of Tennessee Williams: Auto Da Fé, The Case of the Crushed Petunias, The Unsatisfactory Supper
- Misalliance by George Bernard Shaw
- Purple Dust by Seán O'Casey
- The Two Gentlemen of Verona by William Shakespeare
Summer Intime
- 1968
- The Night of the Iguana by Tennessee Williams
- Amphitryon 38 by Jean Giraudoux
- The Trial (Le Procès) by André Gide and Jean-Louis Barrault (after the book by Franz Kafka)
- Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw
- 1969
- The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman
- L'Idiote (or A Shot in the Dark) by Marcel Achard
- Anne of the Thousand Days by Maxwell Anderson
- Heartbreak House by George Bernard Shaw
- 1970
- The Eccentricities of a Nightingale by Tennessee Williams
- The Playboy of the Western World by J. M. Synge
- The Homecoming by Harold Pinter
- Misalliance by George Bernard Shaw
- 1971
- The Rainmaker by N. Richard Nash
- Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
- A Day in the Death of Joe Egg by Peter Nichols
- Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov
- 1972
- Billy Liar by Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall
- Happy Birthday, Wanda June by Kurt Vonnegut
- A Flea in Her Ear (La Puce à l'oreille) by Georges Feydeau
- What the Butler Saw by Joe Orton
- 1973
- The Philanthropist by Christopher Hampton
- The Birthday Party by Harold Pinter
- The Beaux' Stratagem by George Farquhar
- Tango by Sławomir Mrożek
- George Washington Crossing the Delaware by Koch
- 1974
- Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw
- Luv by Murray Schisgal
- Baby Want a Kiss by James Costigan
- The Lion in Winter by James Goldman
- 1975
- Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad by Arthur Kopit
- Charley's Aunt by Brandon Thomas
- The Voice of the Turtle by John Van Druten
- U.T.B.U. (Unhealthy To Be Unpleasant) by James Kirkwood, Jr.
- 1976
- Fallen Angels by Noël Coward
- The Imaginary Invalid (Le malade imaginaire) by Molière
- Two for the Seesaw by William Gibson
- Picnic by William Inge
- 1977
- Cox and Box by F. C. Burnand and Arthur Sullivan
- Candida by George Bernard Shaw
- The Creation of the World and Other Business by Arthur Miller
- 110 in the Shade by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt
- Alice Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll, Florida Friebus and Eva Le Gallienne
- 1978
- Tartuffe by Molière
- Holiday by Philip Barry
- Match Play by McCleery
- The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie
- 1979
- Last of the Red Hot Lovers by Neil Simon
- Towards Zero by Agatha Christie
- The Matchmaker by Thornton Wilder
- After the Fall by Arthur Miller
Princeton Summer Theater
- 1980
- The Devil's Disciple by George Bernard Shaw
- The Sorcerer by Gilbert and Sullivan
- The Mound Builders by Lanford Wilson
- Night Watch by Lucille Fletcher
In 1981 the theater was dark.
In 1982 and 1983 the summer company was known as Newstage at Intime
- 1982
- Scapino! by Jim Dale and Frank Dunlop (an adaptation of Molière's Les Fourberies de Scapin)
- The Belle of Amherst by William Luce
- Happy End by Kurt Weill, Elisabeth Hauptmann, and Bertolt Brecht
- The Freedom of the City by Brian Friel
- 1983
- Bus Stop by William Inge
- Talking With... by Jane Martin
- March of the Falsettos by William Finn
- Betrayal by Harold Pinter
- 1984
- Sly Fox by Larry Gelbart
- Angels Fall by Lanford Wilson
- Say Goodnight, Gracie by Rupert Holmes
- Side By Side By Sondheim by Stephen Sondheim
- 1985
- Beyond Therapy by Christopher Durang
- The Skin of Our Teeth by Thornton Wilder
- A Coupla White Chicks Sitting Around Talking by John Ford Noonan
- Starting Here, Starting Now by Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire
In 1986, a company from outside PST occupied The Hamilton Murray Theater.
- 1987
- Noises Off by Michael Frayn
- Don Juan in Hell by George Bernard Shaw
- Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw
- A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
The theater was dark in 1988 and 1989.
- 1990
- The Nerd by Larry Shue
- Three Postcards by Craig Lucas
- Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
- 1991
- The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie
- Same Time, Next Year by Bernard Slade
- Much Ado about Nothing by William Shakespeare
- Drinking in America by Eric Bogosian
- 1992
- Dial M for Murder by Frederick Knott
- Barefoot in the Park by Neil Simon
- Run for Your Wife by Ray Cooney
- 1993
- Sleuth by Anthony Shaffer
- Little Shop of Horrors by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman
- The Good Doctor by Neil Simon
- 1994
- Speed-the-Plow by David Mamet
- Private Lives by Noël Coward
- A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
- It's Only a Play
- 1995
- The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
- The Real Inspector Hound by Tom Stoppard
- Much Ado about Nothing by William Shakespeare
- Wait Until Dark by Frederick Knott
- 1996
- The Fantastiks [7] by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones
- The Crucible by Arthur Miller
- Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
- Lend Me a Tenor by Ken Ludwig
- 1997
- Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring
- Camelot by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe
- The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
- Our Town by Thornton Wilder
- 1998
- Harvey by Mary Chase
- She Loves Me by Joe Masteroff, Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock
- The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare
- The Seagull by Anton Chekhov
During 1999 and 2000 extensive renovations carried out to the theater leaving it "dark".
- 2001
- Barefoot in the Park by Neil Simon
- Much Ado about Nothing by William Shakespeare
- Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber
- The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds by Paul Zindel
- 2002
- Direct from Moscow [8]
- Baby with the Bathwater by Christopher Durang
- A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
- The Fantasticks by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones
- How I Learned to Drive by Paula Vogel
- 2003
- The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
- You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown by Clark Gesner
- Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard
- The Star-Spangled Girl by Neil Simon
- 2004
- The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) [9] by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield
- Scenes From American Life [10]
- Private Lives by Noël Coward
- Proof by David Auburn
- 2005
- The Voice of the Turtle by John Van Druten
- Godspell by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak
- Dial M for Murder by Frederick Knott
- Picasso at the Lapin Agile by Steve Martin
- 2006
- Wait Until Dark by Frederick Knott
- Black Comedy by Peter Shaffer
- Little Shop of Horrors by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman
- Betrayal by Harold Pinter
- 2007
- Bell, Book and Candle by John Van Druten
- Biloxi Blues by Neil Simon
- 10 Little Indians by Agatha Christie
- 'Art' by Yasmina Reza
- 2008
- Arcadia by Tom Stoppard
- Bus Stop by William Inge
- An Inspector Calls by J. B. Priestley
- Blithe Spirit by Noël Coward
- 2009
- Urinetown by Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis
- The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
- No Time for Comedy by S. N. Behrman
- The Underpants adapted by Steve Martin from Die Hose by Carl Sternheim
- 2010
- The Heidi Chronicles by Wendy Wasserstein
- The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher
- Misalliance by George Bernard Shaw
- Fifth of July by Lanford Wilson
- 2011
- Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine
- Barefoot in the Park by Neil Simon
- Beyond Therapy by Christopher Durang
- A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen
- 2012
- A Little Night Music by Hugh Wheeler, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
- Gaslight by Patrick Hamilton
- Boeing-Boeing by Marc Camoletti
- The American Plan by Richard Greenberg
- 2013
- She Loves Me by Joe Masteroff, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and music by Jerry Bock.
- Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley
- The 39 Steps by Patrick Barlow
- Time Stands Still by Donald Margulies
Princeton Summer Theater took a hiatus during the 2014 summer in order to make renovations to the theater.
- 2015
- Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman
- Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
- The Real Inspector Hound by Tom Stoppard, paired with " The Actor's Nightmare" by Christopher Durang
- Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl
- 2016
- Assassins by John Weidman, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
- God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza, translated by Christopher Hampton
- Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard
- Fool for Love by Sam Shepard
- 2017
- Pippin by Roger O. Hirson, music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
- The Crucible by Arthur Miller
- Spider's Web by Agatha Christie
- Appropriate by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
- 2018
- Tick, Tick... Boom! by Jonathan Larson
- Uncommon Women and Others by Wendy Wasserstein
- The Children's Hour by Lillian Hellman
- The Baltimore Waltz by Paula Vogel
- 2019
- Falsettos music and lyrics by William Finn and book by James Lapine
- Deathtrap (play) by Ira Levin
- A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
- Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks
- 2020
- Due to the pandemic of covid-19, the original season was unable to proceed as planned. Instead, the PST board curated a series of virtual events, including a virtual production of the show Night Vision by Dominique Morisseau and directed by Chamari White-Mink. The season also included a virtual production of a new children's play, A Curious Tea Party by Annika Bennett.
Princeton Summer Theater took a hiatus in 2021 due to the covid-19 pandemic.
- 2022
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, adapted by Simon Levy
- The Fox on the Fairway by Ken Ludwig
- Detroit '67 by Dominique Morisseau
Company name timeline
| Company Name | Years |
|---|---|
| University Players | 1928 - 1967 |
| Summer Intime | 1968 - 1980 |
| Princeton Summer Theater | 1981 |
| Newstage at Intime | 1982 - 1983 |
| Princeton Summer Theater | 1984 to present |
References
- ^ Theatre Intime, Princeton University, "Princeton Summer Theater Records, 1968-2008: Finding Aid." Princeton University Library: Mudd Manuscript Library. Princeton University, 2007. Web. 23 Jun 2012.
- ^ University Players, Princeton University, "University Players Collection, 1948-1961: Finding Aid." Princeton University Library: Mudd Manuscript Library. Princeton University, 1998. Web. 24 Jun 2012.
- ^ "Princeton Summer Theater builds community for its artistic 'voyages'." News at Princeton. Princeton University, 06 2012. Web. Web. 21 Jul. 2012. < http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S34/01/18C84/index.xml>.
- ^ http://www.centraljersey.com/articles/2008/06/18/time_off/theater_reviews/doc4857d297cd540705084533.txt [ dead link]
- ^ "STEIN PLAY DUE TONIGHT; Princeton Troupe to Give 'Yes Is for a Very Young Man'." New York Times, 26 July 1948, 15. Print.
- ^ University Players, Princeton University, "University Players Collection, 1948-1961: Finding Aid." Princeton University Library: Mudd Manuscript Library. Princeton University, 1998. Web. 24 June 2012.
- ^ "On the Towns". The New York Times. 30 June 1996.
- ^ etu . "Princeton Summer Theater presents 'Direct From Moscow,' Aug. 6-7 ." News at Princeton. Princeton University, 6 August 2002. Web. 27 June 2012. < https://web.archive.org/web/20170105112828/https://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S01/03/16O60/index.xml>.
- ^ Gilpin, Donald. "Princeton Summer Theater Opens With ." Town Topics [Princeton] 23 june 2004, Web Edition Vol. LVIII, No. 25. Web. 27 Jun. 2012. < http://www.towntopics.com/jun2304/theater1.html>.
- ^ Gilpin, Donald. "Princeton Summer Theater Presents A.R. Gurne'ys WASP World In Tragi-Comic Ensemble Piece, "Scenes From American Life" ." Town Topics [Princeton] 18 August 2004, Web Edition Vol. LVIII, No. 32. Web. 27 June 2012. < http://www.towntopics.com/aug1804/theater2.html>.