ANDREW MURAD
The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey will return to its usual outdoor stage this summer.
The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey will return to its usual outdoor summer stage — the amphitheater at St. Elizabeth University in Florham Park — this year, presenting two shows in repertory from July 8 to Aug. 1: Shakespeare’s “The Comedy of Errors” in rotation with “Snug,” a new play written by the theater’s artistic director, Bonne J. Monte.
“Snug” was “inspired by the company of actors with whom I have had the great privilege of working beside throughout the pandemic,” wrote Monte in a group email to the theater’s patrons, volunteers and artists. “It is an homage to them and to Shakespeare’s ever-popular band of Mechanicals from his masterpiece ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’
“While I have stolen those characters (and a few of their original lines) from the Bard, the rest is all new invention. Snug follows the adventures of the Mechanicals ‘after hours’ and adds several new characters to the mix, while dispensing with most of the others from ‘Midsummer.’ It finishes up with a kind of Elizabethan-‘Noises-Off’-type finale.”
Audience sizes will be limited to about 200 a night, with assigned seats for social distancing purposes.
Tickets will go on sale later this month, though the specific on-sale date has not been announced yet. As usual, free tickets will be available for those 17 and younger.
Monte wrote in the letter that she hopes to start doing indoor plays again, in Madison, in the fall.
The theater has not presented indoor plays since 2019, and did not use the amphitheater in 2020.
“I’m overflowing with excitement about our upcoming shows and the prospect of welcoming you all back. I hope to see you all soon!,” wrote Monte in the email.
For information and updates, visit shakespearenj.org.
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