(MADISON, NJ) -- The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey (STNJ) continues its 60th anniversary season with one of Harold Pinter’s greatest works, The Caretaker, starting on September 21st. This taut, riveting tale of a homeless man and two brothers who give him shelter, makes for a gripping night of provocative theater. It draws the audience into a compelling and mysterious world, where an unsettling and ever-shifting power struggle plays out amidst a strange, domestic scenario within the walls of a “home” that is as threatening as it is fragile. The Caretaker will be on the Main Stage from September 21 to October 9.
Artistic Director, Bonnie J. Monte, who is directing the piece, continues her exploration of Pinter’s universe, having previously staged both The Homecoming and No Man’s Land to extraordinary acclaim. Ms. Monte said, “I’ve been directing Pinter plays since I was a sophomore in college and The Caretaker has long been on my 'want to direct' list. We’d been trying to acquire the rights to produce the play for a number of years, and ironically, they became available during the pandemic when all the theatres were forced to shut down. We grabbed the opportunity to attain the rights as soon as we knew we’d be able to produce again. I am so excited to have a stellar cast – three of our most prodigious leading men – including the incomparable Paul Mullins who returns to the stage as an actor for the first time in over a decade. Paul has been solely focused on his directing career for so long, but I am thrilled that he has returned to do this show, especially as he is my 'go to' Pinter actor, having performed in all of my Pinter productions here at STNJ.”
The cast: Leading the three-man ensemble is Paul Mullins, who marks his 32nd year as a company member, both as an actor and director. He plays the role of Davies, the homeless man who finds shelter in an old home in West London. Jon Barker, another long-time STNJ veteran, returns to play Mick, one of the two brothers in the story; Jon was last seen at STNJ playing Leontes in Shakepeare’s The Winter’s Tale. The Caretaker marks Jon’s 25th production at The Shakespeare Theatre over the course of 12 seasons with the company. One of the Theatre’s youngest leading men, Isaac Hickox-Young, plays Aston, the brother who rescues Davies from the streets. Isaac has had a meteoric rise at STNJ, first performing here in 2018, and most recently appearing as Dylan Thomas in last season’s A Child’s Christmas in Wales.
The Director: Bonnie J. Monte is in her 32nd season as the company’s Artistic Director. Under her leadership for over three decades, the Theatre has evolved into one of the most respected classical theatres in the nation. Since 1990, she has directed almost 100 productions for The Shakespeare Theatre.
The Creative Team: The design team for The Caretaker includes the creative talents of Set Designer Sarah Beth Hall, Lighting Designer Matthew Adelson, Sound Designer Karin Graybash, and Ms. Monte is designing the costumes. Julie Foh is the Dialect Coach and the Production Stage Manager is Denise Cardarelli.
Tickets: Single tickets for The Caretaker range in price from $39 to $69. The Theatre offers various cost-saving opportunities, including $15 student rush tickets, which are available 30 minutes prior to each performance, with a valid student ID, and a limited number of Pay What You Can tickets for every performance on a first-come, first-serve basis. STNJ also has a $30 Under 30 ticket option, which offers $30 tickets for patrons aged 30 and under, with valid ID. Other discounts are available including a 10% discount for Bank of America customers and employees, members of television’s THIRTEEN, AAA members, and others. For more information or to purchase tickets, patrons can call the Box Office at 973-408-5600 or visit ShakespeareNJ.org.
Special Performances: For the same price as a regular ticket, the Symposium Series performances offer a post-show discussion with the cast and artistic staff. For The Caretaker, Symposium performances will be held on Tuesday, September 27 at 7:30pm, Saturday, October 1 at 2:00pm, and Saturday, October 8 at 2:00pm. For this particular production, Ms. Monte and her cast will be conducting a talk-back after almost every other performance during the run as well as the three definite dates listed above. Patrons can call the Box Office to confirm whether their performance will feature a post-show discussion.
The Know-the-Show pre-show talks are offered free of cost with the purchase of a performance ticket. Prior to the Thursday, September 29th performance, at 7:00pm, Ms. Monte will conduct a pre-show talk and Q&A for interested patrons. The performance that night follows at 8:00pm.
The Shakespeare Theatre also offers Closed-Caption performances and Audio-Described performances throughout the season. The captioned performance for The Caretaker will be on Thursday, September 29th at 8:00pm. The Audio-Described performance will be on Thursday, October 6th at 8:00pm. For more information, please contact the Box Office.
