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THIS WEEK IN THEATRE



2026 Jersey Shore Young Playwrights Festival to Take Place April 25th

(TOMS RIVER, NJ) -- Stargazer Performing Arts is proud to announce the plays and playwrights for the 2026 Jersey Shore Young Playwrights Festival. This is the second year for the festival which showcases original plays written by students ages 13 to 18. Staged reading of the plays will premiere on Saturday, April 25 in the Gia Maione Prima Black Box Theatre at the Grunin Performing Arts Academy in Toms River.





 




bergenPAC's Performing Arts School to Hold Auditions for "Annie"

(ENGLEWOOD, NJ) -- This summer, bergenPAC's Performing Arts School will light up the Taub Stage with the beloved Broadway classic Annie, running July 31 through August 2, 2026. Auditions for the production will be held on Wednesday, May 13th from 4:00pm to 9:00pm. Digital audition submissions will also be accepted now through May 13th. Callbacks will be on May 20th from 4:00pm to 9:00pm.




Art House Productions presents the 8th Annual INKubator New Play Festival

(JERSEY CITY, NJ) -- Art House Productions presents the 2026 INKubator New Play Festival from May 4-6 & May 11-13, 2026. This year's playwrights are Oded Gross, Erin Mallon, Kyle Mazer, Ferdinand Moscat, Allyson Dwyer, and Cristina Luzárraga. Audiences who attend the festival will have the opportunity to participate in conversations with the writers, directors, and actors following each performance. All readings are free to attend, but advanced registration is required at www.arthouseproductions.org.




Centenary Stage Company's NEXTstage Repertory presents "Little Women: The Broadway Musical"

(HACKETTSTOWN, NJ) -- Centenary Stage Company's NEXTstage Repertory presents Little Women: The Broadway Musical, running April 23 through May 3, 2026 in the Sitnik Theatre. This beloved classic is reimagined in a heartfelt and inspiring musical adaptation.




Two River Theater Announces New Cohort of Theater Makers Under Commission

(RED BANK, NJ) -- The award-winning Two River Theater is proud to spotlight its ongoing commitment to new plays and musicals with more commissions supporting some of today's most compelling theater makers. Commissioned artists in 2026 are Tony® Award-nominee Joe Iconis (The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical at La Jolla Playhouse), whose TRT commission, Be More Chill, premiered at Two River prior to its Broadway run, and playwright Iraisa Ann Reilly (A Bodega Princess Remembers... at Ensemble Studio Theatre), whose work has been featured in Two River's Crossing Borders/Cruzando Fronteras Festival.










 

EVENT PREVIEWS

Megan Thee Stallion to make her Broadway debut in "Moulin Rouge! The Musical"

(NEW YORK, NY) -- Producers of the Tony Award®-winning, record-breaking Broadway hit Moulin Rouge! The Musical have announced that three-time Grammy Award-winning superstar and actress Megan Thee Stallion will make her Broadway debut in the production as "Zidler", impresario of the titular nightclub. Taking the stage for a strictly limited 8-week engagement, Megan will light up the Al Hirshfeld Theatre from Tuesday, March 24th to Sunday, May 17, 2026, promising an unmissable, moment in the show's legendary run.




Music Mountain Theatre presents "MAME"

(LAMBERTVILLE, NJ) -- Music Mountain Theatre presents MAME weekends from March 27 through April 19, 2026. The musical is based on the novel "Auntie Mame" by Patrick Dennis and the play by Lawrence and Lee.




Paper Mill Playhouse presents "1776"

(MILLBURN, NJ) -- Paper Mill Playhouse presents 1776, the Tony Award-winning musical, from April 1 through May 2, 2026. It brings the story behind the creation of the Declaration of Independence to the stage with witty satire, compelling drama, and a thrilling score. With music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards and book by Peter Stone, 1776 follows John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and their fellow delegates as they navigate fiery debates, political tensions, and personal conflicts in their struggle to unite thirteen colonies.




"The Startup" to have Workshop Production at The Flea Theater

(NEW YORK, NY) -- The Flea Theater hosts workshop productions of The Startup from April 1-19, 2026. The Startup is a comedic new musical that follows Chip Cooper, the optimistic CEO of a rising tech company, and his idealistic team as they scramble to save their business when funding runs dry. The show is in previews from April 1-4.




Chain Theatre presents the World Premiere of "The Pushover" by John Patrick Shanley

(NEW YORK, NY) -- Chain Theatre presents the world premiere production of ​John Patrick Shanley's The Pushover, directed by Kirk Gostkowski, from April 6-26, 2026. The Pushover is a play about three bad-ass women who collide and collude at a spa in New Mexico, and a bare-bones Asian restaurant in Queens.











FEATURES

McCarter presents Steven Mackey's "Memoir"

(PRINCETON, NJ) -- McCarter Theatre Center, in partnership with the Department of Music at Princeton, is thrilled to present MEMOIR, a theatrical musical work by GRAMMY Award-winning composer and William Shubael Conant Professor of Music Steven Mackey, and director Mark DeChiazza. Performances take place at the Berlind Theatre on Saturday, April 18 at 7:30pm and Sunday, April 19, 2026 at 2:00pm.




The Growing Stage presents their 2026 New Play-Reading Festival

(NETCONG, NJ) -- The Growing Stage presents their 2026 New Play-Reading Festival from April 23-25, 2026 at The Historic Palace Theatre. The festival presents four unpublished and unproduced Theatre for Young Audiences scripts. This year features works by Samara Siskind, Martin Follose, Grace Ward & Elke Myers, and Jeff Jenkins.




"1776" at Paper Mill Playhouse is Outstanding

​​​​​​​There are many celebrations setting up to commemorate the 250th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse joins in as they present the Tony Award winning show 1776. This is a perfect pick for the occasion because the show takes us back to the days of the Second Continental Congress as they write and approve the Declaration of Independence. Our school textbooks rarely went into any depth about what was going on inside the meeting room. This musical gives you an idea of what might have occurred as the human side of the events are presented.




McCarter Theatre Center presents "Mrs. Christie" - a new comedy-mystery by Heidi Armbruster

(PRINCETON, NJ) -- McCarter Theatre Center presents Mrs. Christie, a witty new comedy-mystery by Heidi Armbruster, from May 6–31, 2026. The production is directed by BOLD Associate Artistic Director Donya K. Washington in her McCarter directorial debut.




McCarter Theatre Center presents performances by John Malkovich in "The Music Critic" and The Improvised Shakespeare Company

(PRINCETON, NJ) -- McCarter Theatre Center presents a weekend of comedy and theatrical invention with John Malkovich in The Music Critic on Saturday, April 17 in the Matthews Theatre, and The Improvised Shakespeare Company® for three performances April 16–17, 2026 in the Berlind Theatre.









 

LINKS

* Community Theaters
* Equity Theater Companies









THIS WEEK IN THEATRE



UPCOMING EVENTS
 
 
 

Murder Mystery Dinner Theater: I Love the 80s to Death

Friday, April 24, 2026 @ 6:00pm
Carteret Performing Arts Center Carteret, NJ
 

The Growing Stage presents 2026 New Play-Reading Festival

Friday, April 24, 2026 @ 7:30pm
The Historic Palace Theatre Netcong, NJ
 



 



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