Main Auditorium of McCarter Theatre CenterFoyers of McCarter Theatre Center
McCarter Theatre Center is a not-for-profit, professional company on the campus of Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey. It was incorporated as a nonprofit in 1963. A two-time Tony Award winner, the McCarter’s legacy traces back to the theatre’s first performances in 1930. Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, Kaufmann and Hart’s You Can't Take It With You, and William Inge’s Bus Stop all had their premieres on the McCarter stage.
History
Built as a permanent home for the Princeton University Triangle Club (who continue to perform at McCarter) with funds from Thomas N. McCarter, class of 1888, McCarter Theatre opened on February 21, 1930, with a special performance of the 40th annual Triangle show, The Golden Dog.[1] One of its stars was Joshua Logan, then a junior, and sophomore James Stewart was in the chorus; both went on to international fame.
The first dancer to perform there was Ruth St. Denis, who appeared in a solo evening on March 7, 1930, and returned that same fall with Ted Shawn and the full troupe of the pioneering Denishawn dancers. Few others of significance followed, except for a single performance in 1935 by the American Ballet"– the first troupe of dancers assembled in this country by an émigré Russian choreographer named George Balanchine.
In the post World War II years, Broadway dropped out-of-town try-outs, so that the theatre could no longer be self-supporting. In 1950, Princeton University and the Triangle Club agreed that the university should take acquire the building and assume responsibility for its operating costs. The season 1960–1961 saw the establishment of a new company producing original work under the artistic direction of Ellis Rabb. Actors in the new company included Rosemary Harris, Donald Moffat, Frances Sternhagen, and Edward Asner.
In 1963, Princeton University transferred its direct operation of McCarter to the McCarter Theatre Company, which was separately incorporated at that time. Executive Director Milton Lyon was followed most notably by Arthur Lithgow, Michael Kahn, and, in the role of artistic director, Nagle Jackson and Emily Mann. Mann's tenure as artistic director was notable for its emphasis on new work with playwrights including Athol Fugard. McCarter commissioned the production and premiered the performance of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike by Christopher Durang, which went on to win the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play.[2][3]
In the 1990s and early 2000s McCarter underwent major renovations and expansions including construction of a smaller second theater adjacent to the main auditorium (the Roger S. Berlind Theater, named for the Princeton graduate and producer), allowing two productions to be mounted simultaneously.[4]
Artistic Director Sarah Rasmussen was appointed in late 2020; Executive Director Martin Miller joined the theatre in 2023. McCarter publicity claims that 100,000 community members participate in the company’s work every year, among them 6,000 students.
