To the Editor:

On the evening of August 24 the front lawn of McCarter was a sight to behold as more than 2,000 members of our community gathered to celebrate the beginning of our 2016-17 season. The 6th Annual Block party was a tremendous success as partygoers enjoyed the music of the Philadelphia Jazz Orchestra; took behind the scenes tours of our Matthews stage; enjoyed terrific food from the 11 restaurant vendors and food trucks or even had an ice cold craft beer in our beer garden. We can’t think of a better way to begin our season than by throwing open our doors and having a party on our front lawn!

Of course it takes many hands to make it all happen and I would like to thank the remarkable volunteers from Bloomberg L.P. who came out to lend a hand at our arts and crafts tables; and also offer thanks to the people at Art Sparks and Princeton Face and Body Art for donating their time, talent, and supplies. Thanks also to the members of the Princeton University Security staff who helped us with traffic flow and public safety. Thank you to our immediate neighbors who graciously accommodated the road closures needed around the theatre to make room for the food trucks and our other activities. Finally, I would like to thank and acknowledge the hardworking staff and volunteer team at McCarter. Everyone from our production crew to the education teaching artists look forward each year to the event and have a hand in making it a success.

Emily Mann and Bill Lockwood have put together another fantastically compelling artistic season at McCarter. Beginning on September 9 with our first play, the world premiere of Bathing in Moonlight by Nilo Cruz, McCarter will be the place to be for engaging entertainment this season. We have a new production of A Christmas Carol, a great line-up of dance and music performances and plans are in place for another spectacular gala in the spring featuring a concert by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. We are grateful to be a part of this engaging and wonderful community, to have the support of so many in the community, and are so proud to be a home for the arts here in Princeton.

Timothy J. Shields

Managing Director