Our production program is an integral part of our overall educational process—co-curricular rather than extra-curricular—where students in all areas of the theatre get to test in practice what they are learning in the classroom. To provide our students with as many practical opportunities as we can and to focus on the learning experience of the process of creating theatre and dance as well as the product of performance, we have a wide range of performances, from the staged reading to the fully-realized production.

Showtimes

All evening performances are at 7:30 p.m., except where noted.

Ticket Prices

Tickets for live on-stage productions are $10 for the general public and $5 for Drew students with ID (unless otherwise noted-cash or check).

Reservations

Ticket reservations can be made by emailing keanboxoffice@drew.edu.  Your tickets will be available to pick up at the box office prior to the performance.

Reservations made after 5 p.m. on the day of your selected show are not guaranteed to be processed by showtime.

Facilities

Most live performances are held in the Dorothy Young Center for the Arts, which houses The Concert Hall and the Thomas H. Kean theatre. Others may be held at the free-standing F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre. Learn more about our arts facilities.

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DEVELOPMENT SET

The development set is a playwright-driven process.  A promising play is selected annually for further development as the playwright works with a mentor/dramaturg, a director, and a cast. 

THE GAME SHOW

a new play by Faith Sirdashney C’ 2024

The Game Show illustrates parodies of reality TV “characters” entering and interacting in one room together, in a parodied gameshow/ reality TV show fashion.  Once in “The Room” they begin to cause chaos while becoming “real people’ along the way.

Wednesday, September 27, 2023, and Saturday, September 30, 2023

Performances each night at 7:30 p.m in the Directing Lab

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SHE KILLS MONSTERS

Written by Qui Nguyen

Directed by Barb Pitts McAdams (faculty)

She Kills Monsters is a dramatic comedy that tells the story of Agnes Evans as she comes to terms with the death of her teenage sister, Tilly. When she finds Tilly’s Dungeons & Dragons notebook, she embarks on an adventure in the imaginary world that was Tilly’s refuge.

Thursday, October 19, 2023, through Saturday, October 21, 2023

Performances each night at 7:30 p.m in the Thomas H. Kean Theatre

Special 2:00 p.m. matinee on Saturday, October 21, 2023

OUT OF THE BOX FESTIVAL

The Out of the Box festival offers theatre & dance students an opportunity to experiment: to take a risk and try something new.  This experimentation could be setting (e.g. site-specific), the creation of a devised piece, the adaption of a canonical work, or its interdisciplinarity (e.g. combining dance and theatre), and working with minimal resources.  This year’s festival features dance, musical theatre, performance art, original plays, and interdisciplinary collaborations.

Tuesday, December 5, 2023, through Saturday, December 9, 2023

Details to follow.

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RODNEY M. GILBERT MEMORIAL SALON

A special performance/lecture in memory of the late Rodney M. Gilbert

Saturday, February 3, 2024, at 3:00 p.m .in the Directing Lab

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DEBUT SET

Student-Directed Shows-One Acts

This set is devoted to plays directed by students in the THEA 345 Advanced Directing class.  The immersive experience allows Drew students to direct a short play for a public audience outside the classroom.

THE CUBAN SWIMMER by Milcha Sancez-Scott

Directed by  Vicky Fuentes C’2025

The Cuban Swimmer involves an endurance swimmer who races from San Pedro to Catalina Island while her family follows her in a leaky boat.  As they both bicker and praise her, she grows tired and strays off course–until a spiritual and magical intervention reinvigorates her.

SOME KIND OF HOLIDAY  by D.W. Gregory

Directed by  Shane Korneck C’2024

Years in captivity strain perceptions of time and metaphors for a long-married couple, but an unexpected delivery triggers a calendar–as well as an attitude adjustment.  Post-pandemic, it’s easy to relate to this 10-minute comedy about stir-crazy.

POST-IT NOTES (NOTES ON A MARRIAGE) by Winnie Holzman & Paul Dooley

Directed by Ella Snyder C’2024

In this homage to the full-length play Love Letters, two actors read the Post-It Notes between a couple that spans the duration of their lives together.  Both humorous and moving, Post-It Notes explores the ups and downs of a relationship captured on scraps of paper.

Thursday, February 15, 2024, through Saturday, February 19, 2024

Performances each night at 7:30 p.m in the Directing Lab

Special 2:00 p.m. matinee on Saturday, February 19, 2024

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MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION

A CHORUS LINE

Music by Marvin Hamlisch, Lyrics by Edward Keban

Book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante

Directed by Suzanne Agins (Guest Director)

A Chorus Line examines a day in the lives of seventeen performers, all vying for a spot in the “chorus line” of a Broadway musical. 

This beloved show won nine Tony Awards, including “Best Musical.”

Thursday, March 28, 2024, through Saturday, March 30, 2024

Performances each night at 7:30 p.m. in the F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre

Special 2:00 p.m. matinee on Saturday, March 30, 2024

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VARSITY SET

THE MINOTAUR

by Anna Ziegler

directed by Kris Perez C’ 24

With the Varsity set, eligible students are given the opportunity to direct a full-length play. Here, directors further their craft by focusing on character development, acting objectives, staging, and composition within a longer work.

A present-day version of a classic Greek myth, The Minotaur is a contemporary take on love, honor, and human connection.  With refreshing originality and wit, it explores how we break out of history to shape new stories for ourselves.

Thursday, April 18, 2024, through Saturday, April 20, 2024

Performances each night at 7:30 p.m. in the Directing Lab

Special 2:00 p.m. matinee on Saturday, April 20, 2024

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DANCE IN THE COMMUNITY

Directed by  Kimani Fowlin (faculty)

The “raw’ dance show focuses on choreography and includes performances in a partnering community.

Thursday, April 25, 2024, at 7:30.m.

Friday, April 26, 2024, at 3:00 p.m.

Saturday, April 27, 2024, at 2:00 PM

Location to be determined

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The Drew Performing Arts Access Coordinators can provide assisted listening devices, reserve wheelchair seating, provide sensory seminars, captioned performances, and audio-described performances. Please reach out to keanboxoffice@drew.edu with any questions about assisted listening devices and wheelchair seating. Performances with sensory seminars, captions, and audio descriptions are detailed below: