The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey — The F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre — Attraction in Madison

we purchased 4 tickets ( two tickets/2 shows) as a special treat for each other. At the time of the purchase, there were two special options for cost, $30 under 30 and pay what you can. We chose seats for $30 per ticket. Unfortunately, the website was not explicit as to under 30s meaning (the first 30 tix purchased?). today, we drove 45 minutes to the show to be told that our tickets were not valid because we were not 30 years old. Unfortunately, when we purchased the tickets, the information on the webpage was not as apparent as it now is written. We were told that we would have to pay a $50 up charge for each of the four tickets equaling 200 extra dollars! Unfortunately, we were unable to pay such a high price for tickets. The theater will not refund our $136 for four tickets, nor would they work with us to find a solution for our “invalid tickets “.

When purchasing tickets through their webpage, be certain that the Shakespeare theater in Madison clearly states how much each ticket will be charged. It’s unfortunate that they would not work with us as they did have “pay what you can “tickets available. We would gladly have paid a little more money to enter the theater today, however, at $50 up charge per ticket, it was just not feasible for us.

Unfortunately, there were 150 empty seats for the 2 PM show of a gentleman‘s guide to love and murder on May 19 in the Orchestra alone. We would love to have seen the show. Perhaps lowering all the ticket prices would bring in more customers. Perhaps, Brianna Martinez, the assistant box office manager, could have helped us come up with a fair solution for both parties. Unfortunately, she told us that all tickets are non-refundable even though there was a misunderstanding. $136 for two shows seemed a fair price for this local theater. We wish we had the opportunity to have seen the matinee. Perhaps Brianna Martinez could have been given the power to assist customers more thoroughly and thus, bring in more patrons.

We will reach out to Karen Haskel in hopes of obtaining a refund or solution for our second set of tickets…fingers crossed 🤞🏼

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You might think Ben Jonson doesn’t have anything to say to modern audiences, and that whatever he did have to say, he said 400 years ago. In the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey’s production of his “satiric masterwork” The Alchemist, the audience finds, as director Bonnie Monte says, “the one thing that hasn’t changed is human nature.” In a talkback after the show, a director who’d put on this rarely-produced play free outdoors in Manhattan in 2008 said it made an almost painfully apt commentary on 21st century greed in the midst of the economic crisis. Every variation on wanting something for nothing is displayed by the Londoners who visit the den of the Alchemist and his confederates. The marks are blinded by their fantasies, their lust for gold and, while they’re at it, the favors of one particularly comely young widow. We laugh out loud at their ridiculous and sybaritic pretensions, mainly because we recognize them. For this production, much of the language was updated so modern ears could catch the lightning-fast and witty dialog, and the whole play was cut in about half by eliminating secondary characters and scenes, for modern attention spans (and bladders). It’s still two and a half fast-moving hours. All the acting is excellent, but special mention should be made of the three principal actors: Jon Barker (Face), Bruce Cromer (Subtle: the Alchemist), and Aedin Moloney (Dol Common). Brilliant. In Madison...

This regional theater presents very good productions of plays of Shakespeare and some of his contemporaries. Their stage is unfortunately a bit small, so they have to be very creative in their set design. Usually, they do a great job with the space available.

There is plenty of free parking just outside of the theater. It is located on the campus of Drew University.

It seems to me that every seat in the theater has excellent sight lines. I normally choose to sit in the balcony and every seat there has a great view. There are no pillars to dodge.

Here's a hint: for discount prices, go the first week during previews. The ticket price is less than half. AND, order your tickets early because...