Cape May Stage presents our 2026 Reading Series at the Robert Shackleton Playhouse. We invite you to attend these free events that showcase new and interesting works on our stage. Donations are accepted.
SHORT NEW PLAYS
Young Playwrights Awards Readings
Written by Various Playwrights
Directed by Roy Steinberg
Saturday, May 9, at 7 pm
In-Person Reading at the Robert Shackleton Playhouse
No Tickets Required – Free to Attend – Donations Accepted
Cape May Stage proudly presents an evening of short play readings featuring the winners of our inaugural Young Playwrights Awards. These original short works by New Jersey high school students spotlight the creativity, insight, and bold voices of the next generation of storytellers. Join us as we celebrate emerging talent and bring these exciting new plays to life on our stage.
SHORT NEW PLAYS
National Playwrights Symposium Readings
Written by Various Playwrights
Directed by Various Directors
Thursday, May 14, at 7 pm
In-Person Reading at the Robert Shackleton Playhouse
No Tickets Required – Free to Attend – Donations Accepted
The National Playwrights Symposium was created by Roy Steinberg and Shawn Fisher to bring Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning playwrights to work with mid-career writers each May in Cape May. The readings of work will be creations that did not exist prior to the week-long event. Sometimes, the readings you will hear were written that morning. It is a stunning and exciting event.
DRAMATIC READING
What Would Meryl Do?
Written by Neal Lerner
Directed by Roy Steinberg
Monday, June 22, at 7 pm
In-Person Reading at the Robert Shackleton Playhouse
No Tickets Required – Free to Attend – Donations Accepted
What Would Meryl Do? is a one-man comic whirlwind about a desperate man in a small upstate town who decides to teach a class on how to live like Meryl Streep — because why not? Playing every character, he delivers a wildly funny, slightly unhinged story that’s part masterclass, part meltdown, and entirely heartfelt. Based on a true story (except for the parts that are completely made up), this sharp and surprising comedy explores identity, survival, and the courage to take center stage in your own life.
DRAMATIC READING
U.S.A.
By Paul Shyre and John Dos Passos
Monday, July 20, at 7 pm
In-Person Reading at the Robert Shackleton Playhouse
No Tickets Required – Free to Attend – Donations Accepted
Experience a bold theatrical portrait of a nation in motion as we celebrate America’s 250th anniversary. Presented as part of our Reading Series, U.S.A., adapted by Paul Shyre from the groundbreaking trilogy by John Dos Passos, captures the energy, ambition, and upheaval of early 20th-century America through a tapestry of voices, headlines, songs, and personal stories. Fast-moving and strikingly relevant, the play offers a vivid reflection on the American experiment — its promise, its contradictions, and its enduring search for identity.
DRAMATIC READING
Appendage
By Derek Murphy
Directed by Roy Steinberg
Monday, August 10, at 7 pm
In-Person Reading at the Robert Shackleton Playhouse
No Tickets Required – Free to Attend – Donations Accepted
A darkly comic and psychologically sharp two-hander, Appendage by Derek Murphy explores grief, masculinity, and the messy ways we cope with loss. Set in a modest New York apartment, two men bound by the same sorrow—mourning the same woman—grapple with unresolved pain, clumsy communication, and escalating tension that’s part black comedy, part emotional reckoning. At once unsettling, funny, and deeply human, Appendage examines how grief can shape identity and the fierce, often flawed ways we try to move past it.
Additional live readings for 2026 will be announced soon! We look forward to sharing more new works and contemporary plays on our stage this season.
To see the complete 2026 season schedule for all Cape May Stage events, just click on the “2026 Season Schedule” button below.