Walter F. Rodriguez

Review of Playwrights Theatre of New Jer...

It's a professional theatre company (not community...

It's a professional theatre company (not community theatre) that specializes in new plays.

You get to see brand new work from some of the best playwrights in the country - Pulitzer Prize nominees like Joe Sutton or D.W. Gregory, Emmy winners like Hal Corley, important new playwrights like Chisa Hutchinson and Lia Romeo, etc. And the company uses all professional actors, directors, designers, etc. So you get to see the best of what's coming to Broadway and New York before it gets there. (And without paying ridiculous New York ticket prices.)

They produce full mainstage shows a few times a year, but my favorite program there is their Soundings Reading Series. The theatre does something like two straight weeks of staged readings of new plays - a new one every night - and brings the playwrights in so you can meet them and discuss the play with them afterwards. The playwrights are still looking for feedback at that point in its development so what you say to them could help shape how the final draft ends up. It's a really cool way to be a part of the creative process, no matter who you are.

Definitely my favorite theatre in NJ and one of my favorite in the country!