“The show must go on!” is part of Bonnie Monte’s DNA. As the artistic director of the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey for 30 years this season, shutting down was hard for her to do. But Monte found a way out, working with a group of eight actors originally employed as part of the theatre’s “Shakespeare Live!” company. The actors formed a new troupe (the Shrewd Mechanicals, in a nod to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”), and will present two evenings of classic comedies: “Verily, Madly Thine,” and a double bill featuring Molière’s farce “The Love Doctor” and Edna St. Vincent Millay’s “Aria Da Capo.” ... READ ON

(RED BANK, NJ) -- Starting July 26, Two River Theater will launch a series of benefit play readings. The selected readings reflect the past, present and future of the theater’s diverse range of programming including reimagined classics and world premieres by the industry’s most adventurous theater artists.... READ ON

A new series of play readings at Two River Theater in Red Bank is generating the kind of pre-show excitement that’s been in short supply since the pandemic began. There are big stars involved (Bebe Neuwirth, Phillipa Soo, Sam Waterston) and even a world premiere (“The Hombres” by Tony Meneses). The readings will take place live on Zoom, and require tickets. The series of five plays benefits both Two River Theater and five other non-profits, including The Actors Fund and The New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice. Plus, the plays themselves are timely.... READ ON

Every year, the Mile Square Theatre (MST) holds the 7th Inning Stretch. The fund raising event is named to honor the first official baseball game played in Hoboken back in 1840’s. The event has become a Hoboken tradition and is in its 17th year.... READ ON

(SUMMIT, NJ) -- Dreamcatcher Repertory Theatre, professional Theatre in Residence at Oakes Center in Summit will present the solo series Monologues on ZOOM on Thursdays from July 9 through 30 at 8:00pm on ZOOM. The series is usually performed at MONDO, a downtown Summit arts venue, but this year will be performed online. In its seventh year, the series provides audiences with an opportunity for entertainment at an affordable price, while also introducing them to highly personal works performed by professional actors. ... READ ON

Over the 23 years of New Jersey Repertory Company’s existence, the company has had the unique opportunity to work with wonderful actors, directors, playwrights and set designers. As a company that offers new works almost exclusively, they have built a unique bond among everyone involved in one of their shows. They’ve created a video series called Behind the Curtain which features friends of the theatre reflecting on their time with NJ Rep.... READ ON

Through the end of July, the United Kingdom’s National Theatre is running online viewing of some of their most popular plays. Because of my own scheduling conflicts, I missed several of their earlier productions. Finally, this week, the planets were all in alignment and I was ready to go. I went to the National Theatre’s You Tube Channel and was awed by Small Island.... READ ON

Surflight Theatre in Beach Haven may be one of the first theatres in America to reopen, tentatively as soon as early July. Known as “Broadway by the Beach,” this professional equity theatre depends on its summer season, when Long Beach Island – four to six blocks wide and 18 miles long - swells from 10,000 or so residents to 150,000 people. “It’s survival,” says Steve Steiner, the producing artistic director of Surflight. “If we do this, the theatre will lose about $100,000. But if we don’t do this, the theatre will lose a half-a-million dollars, and we can’t survive that.”... READ ON

​​​​​​​Mordy Barnett is a pretty typical 14-year-old Teaneck-based eighth grader who, thanks to an advertisement he and his parents saw, adds acting to his list of cultural pursuits.... READ ON

Chris O'Connor is the founder and Artistic Director of Mile Square Theatre in Hoboken.  Adam F. Cohen spoke with him about the theatre company's history, how it is dealing with the COVID-19 situation, and whether the situation might affect how the company chooses work or presents online programming in the future. ... READ ON