Shakespeare Theatre Gears Up For Milestone Season

Editor's Note: This is the third in a four-part look at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey . Come back each day through Saturday to read more, including a timeline of five decades of theater. Part 2 took a look back through the eyes of the theater's founders.

When referring to the as a company, it’s fair to consider that company to be a family business.

Artistic Director Bonnie Monte credits her staff for much of the company’s success, but among her many talents is not merely nurturing great actors and directors, but keeping them with the company.

Several of her protégés, including associate artistic director and Madison native Joe Discher, have developed fan bases of their own in Madison. Other company “stars” include actor-director Paul Mullins and Brian B. Crowe, who directs the educational program when he’s not directing plays.

Actors, too, speak glowingly of their experience working in Madison and frequently return. They include Robert Cuccioli, who won awards for originating the two lead roles in Broadway’s “Jekyll and Hyde” and has starred in several big-budget musicals at Paper Mill Playhouse.

“ ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ (2002) was my first Shakespeare role and Bonnie Monte gave that to me,” he said.

Cuccioli has gone on to play more starring roles in Madison, including Brutus in “Julius Caesar” and Iago in last year’s production of “Othello.” The 2004 production of “Macbeth,” with Cuccioli and Robins in the leading roles, was the company’s box-office champion until last year, when an extended run of “To Kill a Mockingbird” broke all records.

“Bonnie and her company respect the pieces and do them with integrity and honor,” Cuccioli said. “Even when they push the envelope, they are respectful.”

Cuccioli also enjoys playing to an audience that he knows is intelligent and supportive.

“You get a bit of a safety net in that regard,” he said. “It gives you the freedom to explore more, and express more. I enjoy working there very much.”

Audiences will no doubt enjoy his 2012 return to Madison to star in “Man of La Mancha,” which Monte will direct and will run from Oct. 17 to Nov. 18.

The 50th season also includes “Henry IV, Part 1” (May 30 to June 4), Pierre Corneille’s French farce “The Liar” (July 4 to 29), Shakespeare’s "Measure for Measure" (Aug. 8 to 26), “Oliver Twist” (Sept. 12 to Oct. 7) and Arthur Wing Pinero’s rarely seen romantic comedy “Trelawny of the Wells” (Dec. 5 to 30). “The Comedy of Errors,” a natural for the outdoor stage, will play at the Greek Theatre from June 20 to July 29.

“This season was very difficult to put together because of that darn 50 thing,” Monte said. “And you still have all the constraints, finances, time, people, that you always have. But I think it’s going to be a special season. I’m especially excited that I will be finally doing a play I’ve been holding onto for a really special season (‘Trelawney of the Wells’). It’s such a beautiful piece and a love letter to theater people.”

Then, no doubt, she’ll take a day or two off and get to work on the next 50 years and hopefully grab the overdue regional Tony Award that Laila Robins, a frequent leading lady in Madison, is calling for.

“I’ve certainly heard that before,” Monte said of the Tony. “It is frustrating at times that more people don’t seem to realize what we are doing.”

Monte, though, doesn’t need a Tony to validate the accomplishment of her company and fellow artists. When asked how she feels the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey stacks up against other classic theater companies in the United States, she did not hold back.

“Well, I know what I think, and I’ll probably get in trouble for this, but I think we’re the best,” she said. “That may sound arrogant, and it’s not to say I’m not highly critical of everything that goes on here. But I don’t know of another theater in the country that can rival the consistency of excellence we have achieved. There’s no question we rival some of the best in the world.”

Tickets for the gala, which begins at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 24, at the Hilton Short Hills, are $295 to $1,000. For more information on the gala or the season, call 973-408-3164 or visit www.ShakespeareNJ.org.