In a world where theater companies can flame out faster than a Fourth of July sparkler, Ellenville’s Shadowland Stages has somehow not only survived but thrived. Now, in 2025, the company celebrates its 40th anniversary with a lineup that’s less a season and more a victory lap. “Shadowland Stages is celebrating 40 years of theatre in Ellenville,” says Executive Director Brendan Burke. “Against the odds, we’ve made it and thrived, so we’ve put together a gift of a season for ourselves and for our community. How better to kick it off than with a classic comedy that premiered on Broadway 40 years ago, starring the actor that won a Tony Award for it, Judd Hirsch, and directed by Tony nominee Neil Pepe.”
And kick it off they shall. Beginning May 30, Hirsch himself—yes, that Judd Hirsch—is back on the park bench in “I’m Not Rappaport,” Herb Gardner’s rambunctiously funny meditation on aging, independence, and unlikely friendship. Directed by Pepe, this reboot promises to be as fierce, funny, and deeply human as it was in 1985.
If Hirsch and Gardner are the first act of Shadowland’s love letter to live theater, Rajiv Joseph’s “King James” is the second. Running July 5–20 at The Studio, this two-hander follows an unlikely bromance built around a shared obsession with LeBron James. It’s about sports, sure, but it’s also about connection, identity, and the weird alchemy of friendship—proving once again that Shadowland has a nose for work that punches above its premise.
The Mainstage roars back to life in late July with “Waitress,” the smash-hit musical from Sara Bareilles and Jessie Nelson. Directed by Brittany Proia, it serves up pie, pluck, and a pinch of feminist rebellion—proving that you can, in fact, bake your way out of a dead-end life.
Then things turn starry (literally) with the New York premiere of John Cariani’s “Darker the Night, Brighter the Stars” (August 29–September 14). Cariani, best known for “Almost, Maine,” crafts another bittersweet love letter to the resilience of small-town weirdness under the Perseid meteor showers.
Next up: history, heartbreak, and heroism collide in “Becoming Dr. Ruth” (September 19–October 5). This one-woman show chronicles the improbable journey of America’s favorite sex therapist—from escaping the Nazis to becoming a household name.
In October, Shadowland returns to math and madness with David Auburn’s Pulitzer-winning “Proof “(October 10–26), directed by Burke himself. A meditation on genius, grief, and trust, it’s a taut psychological drama disguised as a whodunit.
The season wraps up under the mistletoe with “Georgiana & Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley” (December 5–21), the final installment in Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon’s Austen-verse trilogy. Come for the corsets, stay for the sisterhood.
Throughout it all, performances are split between Shadowland’s lovingly restored Art Deco Mainstage and the nimble black box Studio Theatre. And because it’s Shadowland, tickets remain stubbornly affordable, parking is free, and Ellenville’s post-show dining scene is ready and waiting.
Four decades in, Shadowland Stages isn’t just marking time. It’s making magic—and handing out a season that’s truly a gift. Tickets are available now.
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This article appears in April 2025.
