About Us

We’re Central New Jersey’s Tony Award-winning home for the performing arts.

McCarter is one of the country's flagship theatres and a cultural asset for all of Central New Jersey. A nationally renowned, independent performing arts center located on the campus of Princeton University, the company is a multi-disciplinary creative hub of arts and ideas offering theater, music, dance, spoken word, and educational programs for all ages.

Known for its commitment to creativity and excellence, as well as its thoughtful and engaged audience, McCarter has provided a home for artists since its incorporation as an independent nonprofit theatre in 1963, inheriting a legacy of artistic excellence going back to the building’s opening in 1930. Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, Kaufmann & Hart’s You Can’t Take It with You and William Inge’s Bus Stop, all had their premieres on McCarter’s stage, paving the way for a long history of collaborations with playwrights to premiere remarkable plays that have gone on to hundreds of productions across the world. The company is the recipient of the Regional Theatre Tony Award, and won again for Best Play for Christopher Durang’s Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.

McCarter is co-led today by Artistic Director Sarah Rasmussen and Executive Director Martin Miller. Learn more >

Our Mission

McCarter creates stories and experiences that enliven minds, expand imaginations, and entertain and engage our community.

Living our values

  • We bring together varied perspectives, voices and generations. Whether it’s onstage, behind the scenes and with audiences, we’re championing a fairer future for all of us.

  • The way we work together is as important as the work we make. We center generosity in all we say and do with each other to create life-affirming experiences that celebrate our shared humanity and help us make meaning of our world.

  • We value the multitudes of lived experiences and histories and pursue art that is expansive, essential, and exhilarating. Participating in that which is infused with beauty makes us feel more alive and more deeply connected to one another.

  • We strive to bring out the artist in all of us by opening minds and opportunities through the performing arts. We listen to, learn, and create spaces, places and programs that empower everyone to be part of our creative community.

Our Commitment to New Work.

The Emily Mann Lab

Named for former Artistic Director and Resident Playwright Emily Mann, the Lab is the home for new work development at McCarter. Commissioning programs encompass bold new plays, adaptations, musicals, and fresh takes on the classics. The Lab is a year-round creative playground supporting writers at every stage of their projects, empowering creators to take risks in artist-driven workshops, readings, and retreats. Highlights of Lab-developed projects include Eclipsed by Danai Gurira (Tony nomination); Anna in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz (Pulitzer Prize for Drama); Crowns by Regina Taylor; The Brother/Sister Plays by Tarell Alvin McCraney; I & You: the Musical (a McCarter commission) by Lauren Gunderson and Ari Afsar.

Bringing new work to our stages requires boldness, vulnerability, and collaboration. McCarter is grateful to Emily and to its long-time supporters for the gift of the Lab, where artists can flourish.