Princeton Summer Theater Launches “Season Of Love”

In an airy rehearsal room on the Princeton University campus, a group of students and recent graduates stare down a baseball diamond they leap, cheer, and curse the umpire-or at least that's what they're pretending to do as they conclude the fourth day of rehearsals for William Finn and James Lapine's Falsettos, the opening production of Princeton Summer Theater's 2019 Season.

Finn and Lapine's story of Marvin, a New York yuppie whose recent coming-out has created unforeseen (and hilarious) complications for his tight-knit family, was particularly resonant for PST Artistic Director Daniel Krane, who also directs the show. When selecting the season, both he and Executive Director Hannah Semmelhack, a Princeton native, were drawn to its poignant representation of an unconventional family whose personal struggles take place against the backdrop of the rapid social changes of the early 1980s.

Falsettos is just the first production in what Krane and Semmelhack have dubbed PST's "Season of Love," which includes four productions that will explore the concept in all its many permutations. Ira Levin's Deathtrap, an American classic, exposes the hideous lengths one artist will go to indulge his love of fame; director Maeli Goren's gender-bending and eco-conscious new adaptation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream will introduce fresh twists into the time-honored story of misplaced attraction; and Suzan-Lori Parks' Topdog/Underdog digs into the rewards and resentments of brotherly love.

Named "New Jersey's Favorite Small Theater" in 2018, Princeton Summer Theater has b

een providing top-notch productions to Central New Jersey since its founding by three Princeton undergraduates in 1968. Each year it employs over thirty young artists who represent the next generation of American theater luminaries; notable PST alumni include Tony Award-winning actress Bebe Neuwirth (Chicago), Tony award-winning producer Geoff Rich (Avenue Q), and Hollywood veteran William Hootkins (Star Wars, Batman). Committed to its dual goals of training young professionals and achieving theatrical excellence, PST is summer stock with a Princeton pedigree, and utterly unique and unmissable part of every New Jersey summer.

Four-show subscriptions to Princeton Summer Theater are available for $79, and Three-show subscriptions are available for $65. Single tickets are $29.50 general admission or $24.50 for students and matinee performances. Call (732) 997-0205 or visit princetonsummertheater.com to subscribe.