Shakespeare Theatre Presents 'Our Town'

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is presenting "Our Town" through Nov. 17 in Madison.

The production is "in celebration of the 75th anniversary of Thornton Wilder’s great dramatic homage to small-town American life and the greater universal experience of life," the theater has announced.

Performances are Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays at 7:30 p.m.; Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.; and Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m., at the F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre, 36 Madison Ave. (at Lancaster Road) in Madison. 

Individual tickets range from $35 to $70; student rush tickets are available 30 minutes prior to curtain for $15.

"Our Town" premiered on Broadway in 1938 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

For more information visit www.ShakespeareNJ.org or call the box office at 973-408-5600.

Additional information about the cast and special performances of "Our Town," provided by the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, is below.

The Cast

Philip Goodwin, in his fourth season with the company, plays the enigmatic Stage Manager. His company credits include A Christmas Carol, Accidental Death of an Anarchist, and The Little Foxes. He has appeared on Broadway in Tartuffe, The Diary of Anne Frank, and The School for Scandal and Off-Broadway at The Public, MCC, Atlantic Theatre Company, Signature Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop, and Theater for a New Audience where he received a Drama Desk nomination for the title role in Henry VI. As a company member of the Shakespeare Theatre Company of Washington, D.C. he received Helen Hayes Awards for Twelfth Night, Timon of Athens, and An Enemy of the People. His film and television credits include The Pink Panther, The Pink Panther 2, Men in Black II, and Law & Order.

 In her sixth Shakespeare Theatre production, Nisi Sturgis plays Emily Webb.  She has appeared at the Theatre inTrelawny of the Wells, To Kill a Mockingbird, I Capture the Castle, Arms and the Man, and A Streetcar Named Desire. Her Broadway/New York City credits include The 39 Steps, The Pretty Trap, Intimate Apparel, Dsyphoria, and The Less We Talk with Hoi Polloi. Sturgis has the recurring role of June Thompson on Boardwalk Empire.

 Jordan Coughtry, who plays George Gibbs, is in his eighth season with The Shakespeare Theatre. An alumnus of Shakespeare LIVE! and the Next Stage Ensemble, Coughtry appeared on the Main Stage in last season’sTrelawny of the Wells and as Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, among others. His regional credits include productions at Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Theatreworks, Arkansas Shakespeare Festival, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and The Shakespeare Theatre/RSC.  

 Malachy Cleary makes his Shakespeare Theatre debut as Doc Gibbs. Cleary has worked at Centerstage, World’s End Theatre, Theatreworks, Olney Theatre, Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, Long Wharf Theatre, Irish Rep, Williamstown Theatre Festival, The Westport Playhouse (with Paul Newman), and Manhattan Theatre Club. On television, he plays Warren Harding on Boardwalk Empire and has appeared on White Collar, The Sopranos, andRescue Me.

 Marion Adler, who plays Mrs. Gibbs, in her third season with The Shakespeare Theatre where she has appeared in The Winter's Tale, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. In 1998, her musical Enter the Guardsman, for which she wrote the lyrics, made its American premiere at The Shakespeare Theatre. A native of Canada, Adler’s vast classical theatre experience includes productions at The Stratford Festival and Shakespeare Santa Cruz.

 Shakespeare Theatre veteran James Michael Reilly, in his twenty-first season, portrays Charles Webb. Notable Shakespeare Theatre credits include To Kill a Mockingbird, The Grapes of Wrath, The Comedy of Errors, The Rivals, Compleat Wrks of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged), Arms and the Man, The Tempest on the Main Stage, and That Scoundrel Scapin on the Outdoor Stage. In addition to extensive Broadway, off-Broadway, and regional credits, Reilly has recently appeared on television in Boardwalk Empire, Elementary, Person of Interest, and Louie.

 Allison Daugherty returns to The Shakespeare Theatre for her seventh season to play Myrtle Webb.  She has appeared on the Main Stage in The Time of Your Life, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Comedy of Errors, Henry IV, Part One, and Macbeth among others. In New York, she has appeared on Broadway in Holiday and An Ideal Husband (directed by Sir Peter Hall) and Off-Broadway in Change, Play with a Penguin, As Bees in Honey Drownand The Country Club.

 Mark H. Dold plays Simon Stimson. Dold appeared in The Shakespeare Theatre’s productions of Cymbeline andAmadeus, both directed by Mr. Discher. He has worked extensively on and off-Broadway, notably appearing as C.S. Lewis in Freud’s Last Stand at New World Stages and in The Seagull with Meryl Streep at the New York Shakespeare Festival’s Delacorte Theatre. Regionally, he served as Associate Artist at Barrington Stage Company for eight seasons.

 Rounding out the population of Grover’s Corners are Rebecca Davis, Isaac Allen Miller, Jeff Gonzalez, Jake Berger, Glenn Beatty, Eileen Glenn, Terence Gleeson, Joseph Hamel, Justin Waldo, Jean Walker, and Edward McEneaney.

 The Director      

Director Joseph Discher is in his twenty-third season with The Shakespeare Theatre where he has directed Henry IV Part One, To Kill A Mockingbird, Arms and the Man (The Star-Ledger’s Top Ten in 2010), The Grapes of Wrath (The Star-Ledger’s Best Director), Of Mice and Men (The Star-Ledger’s Best Revival of the Year), A Midwinter Night’s Dream, The Fantasticks (The Star-Ledger’s Best Director of a Musical) and Twelfth Night on the Main Stage; That Scoundrel Scapin on the Outdoor Stage; Travels With My Aunt, Much Ado About Nothing and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) on the Other Stage, Romeo and Juliet for Shakespeare LIVE! and Brecht’s The Visions of Simone Machard for the Next Stage Ensemble. He has appeared at The Shakespeare Theatre as an actor in Blood & Roses and As You Like It on the Main Stage and in The Grouch on the Outdoor Stage. Most recently, Mr. Discher directed John Logan’s Red at Theatreworks in Colorado Springs and will return to direct Conor McPherson’s The Weir this January. Other recent work includes directing Macbeth for the Stella Adler Conservatory in Manhattan, performing the role of Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Rome and Milan and playing Pisanio in the Theatreworks production of Cymbeline.

 The Artistic Staff

Creating the world of Our Town are set designer Charlie Calvert, costume designer Candida Nichols, lighting designer Matthew Adelson. Dee Dee Katchen serves as production stage manager.     

 Special Performances

 For no more than the cost of a regular ticket, three Symposium Series performances are offered for each show and include a post-play discussion with the cast and artistic staff. Symposium performances for Our Town will be Tuesday, October 22nd at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, October 26th and November 2nd at 2 p.m.

For each production, The Shakespeare Theatre presents the popular education program Know the Show. From 7:00 to 7:30 p.m., an artist from The Shakespeare Theatre will present a pre-performance talk that provides background information and an insider’s perspective on the production. The Know the Show performance will be held on October 24th at 7:00 p.m. General admission is $5 for the general public, $4 for ticket package holders and subscribers. Tickets to that evening’s 8:00 p.m. performance may be purchased separately.

The 2:00 p.m. performance on November 2nd will be audio described for those who are blind or have visual impairments. Audio description enables patrons with visual impairments to hear, through an FM transmitter, a live description of the action on the stage. A pre-performance sensory seminar is offered that allows patrons to feel props, costumes and set pieces to further enhance their live theatrical experience. The service is offered free of charge.  

 An exclusive open-captioned performance will be offered Sunday, November 10th at 2 p.m. Captioning will be provided by c2 (caption coalition) inc, a 501(c)(3) non-profit company which utilizes Live Performance Captioning (sm) for Hard of Hearing and Deaf patrons at live theatrical and cultural events. 

 The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey’s Main Stage, the 308-seat F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre, is located in Madison at 36 Madison Avenue (Route 124) at Lancaster Road (on the Drew University campus). Parking is free. The F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre is barrier free with access into the Theatre via a ramp and elevator access to all floors. Wheelchair seating and transfer seating is available. Braille and large print programs are available. Infrared listening devices are available free of charge.