OUR HISTORY

Since its inception over forty years ago, Princeton Summer Theater has provided the Princeton community with great works of theater produced by the stars of tomorrow. Dedicated to training the up-and-coming leaders of the theater world, Princeton Summer Theater offers students and young professionals experience working in every area of theater production, from performance, to design, to marketing-and everything in between.

PST has a long history of providing the Princeton community with professional-quality live theatre at affordable prices. Housed in the charmingly intimate Hamilton Murray Theater, it has helped launch the careers of hundreds of young artists. Some of PST's notable alumni include Tony Award-winning actress Bebe Neuwirth (Chicago), Tony award-winning producer Geoff Rich (Avenue Q), and Hollywood veteran William Hootkins (Star Wars, Batman.)

In 1968, seeking to continue their theatrical endeavors into the summer months, Princeton University students and Theatre Intime members Charles Bernstein, Geoff Peterson and Jon Lorrain founded the organization that we now call Princeton Summer Theater. Unfortunately for these intrepid Princetonians, the Hamilton Murray Theater had been dark and vacant for many summers prior to 1968. Not to be deterred, the young theater enthusiasts organized a company, and Summer Intime was born. It was a huge success, prompting Princeton University to install a much needed air conditioning system in the Hamilton Murray Theater.

Summer Intime prospered for many years, and soon a board of theater- and community-savvy trustees was assembled to advise students involved. Eventually, the company's name was changed to Princeton Summer Theater. Currently, the Princeton Summer Theater board of trustees counts among its members William Lockwood, Special Programming Director of McCarter Theater; Michael Cadden, Chairman of Princeton University's Program in Theatre and Dance; Geoff Rich, Executive Director of The New Group Theater; and Geoff Peterson, founding member of Summer Intime.

A one-million-dollar renovation of the Hamilton Murray Theater halted PST's production for two seasons in 1999 and 2000. But in 2001, a group of devoted students led by Amanda Brandes (currently Director of Internal Affairs for the Dorset Theatre Festival and a PST trustee) revived the company and reintroduced Princeton Summer Theater to the community. The newly renovated theater has seen improved attendance and great critical success every year since. PST 2004's production of Proof was hailed by Stuart Duncan (Princeton Packet) as one of New Jersey's twelve best shows of the year, and Princeton University President Shirley Tilghman called the production "every bit as good as the one I saw on Broadway."

As Princeton Summer Theater continues to grow-- this summer presenting perhaps its most adventurous season to date-- it remains constant in it's commitment to delighting and suprising its audiences, as it hopes to do for years to come.