The Northeast premiere of a new play based on the Academy Award-winning film “Shakespeare in Love” and an outdoor production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” will be among the offerings of the 2017 season of the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.
The outdoor stage, at the College of Saint Elizabeth in Morristown, will begin previews for “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” on June 14. According to a press release, this production “will feature a set and costumes made largely with items that would normally end up in a landfill but will instead be transformed into beautiful and magical creations.”
The five indoor plays at the Main Stage at Drew University in Madison will be:
• Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice,” beginning previews May 17
• Molière “The Bungler” (translated by Richard Wilbur), beginning previews July 5
• Joe Orton’s “What the Butler Saw,” beginning previews Sept. 6
• “Shakespeare in Love” (based on the screenplay by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard, adapted for the stage by Lee Hall), beginning previews Oct. 11
• “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” (adapted from the screenplay by Joe Landry), beginning previews Nov. 30.
Single tickets to all shows will go on sale on March 27; visit ShakespeareNJ.org.
In addition, the theater will add a night of St. Patrick’s Day-themed readings on that day, titled “Something Lucky This Way Comes,” to its usual Halloween- and Christmas-themed presentations, “Something Wicked This Way Comes” and “Something Merry This Way Comes,” on Oct. 30 and Dec. 11, respectively.