West Windsor – Theatergoers will enjoy a season full of entertainment as Mercer County Community College’s Kelsey Theatre celebrates its 50th anniversary with 17 exciting full-length adult and family productions and 10 productions for children in addition to a myriad of music concerts and dance performances for the 2022-2023 season.

M. Kitty Getlik, artistic director of Kelsey Theatre, is celebrating the theatre’s 50th anniversary season with a plethora of shows that will run from September 23, 2022 through August 6, 2023. The theatre, which was recently voted “Best Local Theater and Best Playhouse,” in the Trentonian newspaper’s 2022 Readers’ Choice Awards, will offer a blockbuster schedule of live, in-person performances as well as online streaming of several mainstage events for 2022-2023. In addition to musicals, mysteries, dramas and comedies, the series will spotlight concert events, dance productions and children’s shows. Kelsey Theatre is located on MCCC’s West Windsor campus, 1200 Old Trenton Road. Tickets can be be purchased at  the Kelsey Theatre Box Office (609-570-3333) or online at www.kelseytheatre.org.

Getlik, who has been artistic director at the Kelsey for 33 years commented, “This is Kelsey Theatre’s 50th anniversary which is quite a milestone. It is amazing to see how far we have come since I started as artistic director in 1989. Today, Kelsey Theatre is home to 10 regional theatre companies, as well as the Kelsey Players and the Academic Theatre and Dance Program; and each and every one of our companies is committed to delivering quality shows.”

According to Getlik, the 50th anniversary season will offer something for everyone.

“We continue to offer top-notch performances at a fraction of the cost of other larger venues,” explained Getlik, “As always, season ticket holders will enjoy substantial discounts when they subscribe for the entire series.”

She continued, “We are proud to show off Kelsey’s new amenities which include new curtains, new restrooms, new carpeting and new seats.” “And,” Getlik noted, “Kelsey Theatre now has a state-of-the-art T-Coil Assisted Listening System for a more robust experience for our patrons.”

The curtain goes up on Kelsey’s 50th season in September with the award-winning musical “Once, A Musical,” presented by Playful Theatre. Theatergoers will fall in love with this beautiful story of an Irish musician and a Czech immigrant who connect over their shared passion for music on the streets of Dublin. The show is noted for its inviting, emotional score that earned an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Olivier Award and a Tony Award. The show runs weekends from September 23 through October 2.

Maurer Productions OnStage presents its production of “Something Rotten” October 21 to 30. The scene is set in the 1590s where two brothers (who just happen to be the nemeses of that Renaissance rock star, Mr. William Shakespeare) are desperate to write a hit play. A local soothsayer foretells that the future of theatre will involve singing, dancing and acting, all at the same time so the brothers embark on writing the world's very first musical.

Yardley Player’s production of Neil Simon’s first Broadway comedy “Come Blow Your Horn” follows November 4 - 13 which centers around family and all the crazy, hilarious and wonderful things that happen when parents and their adult children get together.

The holidays go into full swing in November with Theatre to Go’s “White Christmas Movie Sing Along” November 18 - 20 followed by the hilarious comedy “The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge”  from MTM Players December 9 - 11 where a year after his miraculous transformation, Ebenezer Scrooge reverts to his old ways. Amidst plenty of mayhem and laughter, Scrooge indignantly files suit against Jacob Marley and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future.

Pierrot Productions presents the “The Children’s Hour” January 6 to 15. Penned in 1934 by American playwright Lillian Hellman, the story revolves around lifelong friends at a prestigious all-girls boarding school in a small New England town. When a vengeful pupil whispers a rumor that the two women are having an affair, it triggers a devastating chain of consequences.  

“An Ideal Husband” presented by Shakespeare ’70 runs January 20 - 29.  Written in 1895, the play features countless elements of today’s turbulent times: feminism, blackmail, political corruption, morality and mistrust, love and forgiveness, all served up with the effervescent Oscar Wilde wit.

From February 3 - 12 Theater to Go serves up “The Fantasticks” -- the poetic and comic musical and timeless story about two young lovers, their meddling parents and the journey everyone must take through the highs of adolescent passions, the agonies of heartbreak and the hurts of betrayal.

Hilarity moves to center stage at the Kelsey when MTM Players presents “Sordid Lives”which runs February 17 - 26. Things get a little crazy when three generations of family converge on a small Texas town to mourn the death of their matriarch which causes many skeletons to shake loose from the closet. This unique menagerie of family and friends wallows in riotous feuding, resentment, remorse, and reconciliation. (Leave the kids at home for this one.)

The month of March features the modern musical “A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder,” which had been previously postponed due to the pandemic. Set in the elegant Edwardian era, this delightful trio of music, merriment and murder traces the trajectory of a charmer, seducer and avenger on his quest for recognition and family fortune. (Be advised! M. Kitty Getlik could be making a cameo appearance!)

Other must-see productions include the Mercer Dance Ensemble's “Collaborations,” “The Parental Advisory Comedy Show,” “Hello Dolly,” “Romeo & Juliet,” “Bye Bye Birdie,” as well as a full schedule of concerts and amazing kids shows including “The Emperor's New Clothes,” “Winnie-the-Pooh’s Christmas Tail,” “Nutcracker,” “Disney's Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along” and many more shows that are sure to please the entire family.

For a full schedule visit Kelsey.mccc.edu.

Tickets

Tickets may be purchased online at KelseyTheatre.org or by calling the Kelsey Box Office at 609-570-3333.

Kelsey Theatre is wheelchair accessible and free parking is available next to the building. Assisted listening devices are available upon request. For a complete listing of events, visit the Kelsey website at www.KelseyTheatre.org.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“At Kelsey Theatre, we have pledged to take active steps in creating true diversity, equity and inclusion in our productions through systemic policy change and individual accountability -- aiming to foster an inclusive environment for people of all races, genders, nationalities, creeds, sexual orientation, socio-economic status and abilities.” –The Kelsey Team

 

Visit Kelsey Theatre 

Current News

MCCC Home Page

M. Kitty Getlik, artistic director of Kelsey Theatre recently announced that tickets will go on sale September 6 for the 50th Anniversary blockbuster lineup of shows and concerts for the upcoming 2022-2023 season. Kelsey Theatre is located on the Mercer County Community College campus, 1200 Old Trenton Road in West Windsor. Tickets may be purchased online at KelseyTheatre.org or by calling the Kelsey Box Office at 609-570-3333. (Above: M. Kitty Getlik, artistic director, enjoys the plush seating at Mercer County Community College’s Kelsey Theatre. Photo credit: Marcya Roberts)