McCarter Theatre Center

An explosive dialogue about education, history, and race in ‘The Niceties’ from MTC

There’s nothing nice about The Niceties – it’s angry, combative, and explosive, and far from the eponymous suggestion of politeness in social behavior and etiquette. Originally presented as part of...

Review: ‘A Christmas Carol’ at McCarter Theatre Center

A snowy Princeton afternoon may be the most festive of conditions in which to see the great McCarter Theatre holiday tradition of A Christmas Carol. Add to that a host of Dickensian characters...

Review: ‘A Night with Janis Joplin’ at McCarter Theatre Center

Janis Joplin was a true original. But as the musical/tribute concert A Night with Janis Joplin proves, she didn’t just come out of nowhere. Joplin became a top star during the psychedelic rock era of...

Review: ‘Intimate Apparel’ at McCarter Theatre Center

It was as though God kissed my hands when I first pulled the fabric through the sewing machine and held up a finished garment. That’s how the main character of Intimate Apparel describes her work....

Review: ‘Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express’ at McCarter Theatre Center

One afternoon in 1979 or 1980, I saw Orson Welles on The Merv Griffin Show discussing his love of mystery stories. One of his favorites, he said, was Murder on the Orient Express. I was young, and I...

Review: ‘A Christmas Carol’ at McCarter Theatre Center

I cried while watching Adam Immerwahr’s revamped production of A Christmas Carol for McCarter Theatre Center. Immerwahr’s redo is less opulent, more spare, and aims for more intimacy and realism, but...

Review: ‘Disgraced’ at McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, NJ

It is sometimes difficult to imagine what theater might be able to further contribute to an already contentious national conversation about tolerance and devisiveness in America. An unconventional...

Review: ‘Bathing in Moonlight’ at McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, NJ

Bathing in Moonlight opens subtly with the hum of gentle organ music, a stained glass window looming high above, and Father Monroe (Raúl Méndez) warmly greeting his congregation as he takes center...

Review: ‘All the Days’ at McCarter Theatre in Princeton, NJ

Ruth Zweigman is not a pleasant person to be around. She’s so negative that when she says “I’m in a bad mood,” her sister responds, “How can you tell?” After making a typically harsh wisecrack about...

Review: ‘The Mousetrap’ at McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, NJ

The queen of mystery, Agatha Christie, is alive and well in a new production of one of her most famous stories, The Mousetrap, now playing at McCarter Theatre Center. Directed by Adam Immerwahr, her...

Review: ‘The Piano Lesson’ at McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, NJ

August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson is, on its surface, just a story about a brother and sister who argue over whether to sell a family heirloom. What makes the play so special is that the piano in...

‘A Christmas Carol’ at McCarter Theatre Center

As McCarter Theatre’s A Christmas Carol opens, the streets of London are bustling. Snow is falling lightly, and good will is in the air. A group of carolers gathers around a brightly decorated...

‘A Comedy of Tenors’ at McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, NJ

Is A Comedy of Tenors, Ken Ludwig’s newest comedy, a worthy successor to Lend Me a Tenor, his knockabout farce that opened on Broadway in 1989 and has been produced in hundreds of theatres around the...

‘Baby Doll’ at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, NJ

You can cut the air – and the tension – with a knife in Princeton these days. The McCarter Theatre’s new production of Baby Doll, adapted from Tennessee Williams’ 1956 screenplay (and his short play...