Our Organization & Mission
Our Mission
State Theatre New Jersey exists to enrich the lives of people from diverse backgrounds in New Jersey and to contribute to a vital urban environment by:
- Presenting the finest national and international performing artists
- Providing arts education programs to inform and build future audiences
- Providing a major performing arts venue in central New Jersey that encourages and enables members of the community to have a life-long association with the performing arts
State Theatre New Jersey is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, a publicly supported charity.
About State Theatre New Jersey
Central New Jersey’s largest nonprofit arts presenter, the historic State Theatre New Jersey, is a magnificently renovated silent-film palace that flourishes today as a premier nonprofit venue of the Northeast.
Built in 1921 and designed by renowned architect Thomas Lamb, the historic State Theatre thrived well into the 1960s. Transformed back into a handsome facility for live performance after a period of neglect, the venue reopened as a nonprofit performing arts center in April 1988, and the press and public raved about its visual and acoustical splendors.
Our robust season of mainstage programs features high-caliber performing artists across a variety of genres. Pillars of our programming include four Series: Orchestra, Family, Broadway, and Dance. In addition, we present comedy, rock/pop, orchestral pops with New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, jazz, international programming, Performances for Schools, a free Summer Movies Series, and Sensory-Friendly Performances.
In addition to offering exceptional artistry in every genre we present, we have an ongoing commitment to making world-class arts programming affordable and accessible to individuals from all ages and backgrounds. Each year thousands of members of our diverse community benefit from free and greatly-subsidized admissions to live performances and education programs through our work with community partners. Gifts and grants underwrite more than one-third of the costs of tickets, making it affordable for children and families to experience the joys of the performing arts.
State Theatre New Jersey has experienced tremendous growth in recent years, serving as a pillar of renewal and urban vitality across the region. We were profiled in NJTV’s documentary Treasures of New Jersey: State Theatre New Jersey; we have been recognized as a Major Presenting and Service Organization by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts; and concert industry publication Venues Today ranked us the #5 theatre in the world (and #1 in NJ) for theaters of 2,000-and-fewer seats, based on gross revenue over the last 15 years. Our audiences are drawn from nearly all 21 counties of NJ, extending to NY, PA, and as far as Canada, Florida, and England.
Under the leadership of President & CEO Sarah K. Chaplin, State Theatre New Jersey continues to build on its legacy as a leading performing arts center in the Northeast. Looking ahead, we are enthusiastic about expanding our arts education and community outreach and and continuing to broaden and diversifying our audiences.
