For 94 years, The Stagecrafters has been producing plays at its historic venue, serving Philadelphia and the surrounding area at 8130 Germantown Ave. Currently, the theater stages five theatrical productions per season which encompass a wide range of styles from classics to edgy contemporary fare, choosing plays that are artistically challenging and relevant for today’s audiences. 

From its 1929 founding by the Germantown Women’s Club, which presented one-act plays, the organization has modernized and evolved to its current status as a full-fledged theatrical production company accommodating audiences of 180 in a fully-equipped auditorium.

Past seasons have included a variety of works ranging from Shakespeare to Chekhov to modern plays by Lynn Nottage and Lauren Gunderson.

The 2023-2024 season features plays by three Pulitzer Prize winners. 

The season opened with “Doubt: A Parable,” John Patrick Shanley’s Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning play. Shanley’s drama tells the riveting story of Sister Aloysius, a tradition-bound nun who suspects a young, progressive priest, Father Flynn, of inappropriate behavior with a young male student. The play raises many questions and answers none. As Hugh Hunter of The Chestnut Hill Local said in his review, “The Stagecrafters show is a strong, imaginative production that succeeds on multiple levels.”

Lauren Gunderson’s “Silent Sky” was the second production, telling a story based on the life of Henrietta Leavitt, an American astronomer who worked at the Harvard College Observatory as a “computer.” Leavitt reviewed data about the skies in a male-dominated field and was not allowed access to a telescope. She nevertheless made groundbreaking discoveries that resonate today. 

More great theater is on the way during the second half of the season. Now in rehearsal and opening on Feb. 9 is “God of Carnage" by Yazmina Raza, with a translation by Christopher Hampton. Two couples meet to discuss their sons’ playground brawl and end up in a brawl themselves - men against men, then men against women, with some spouse switching thrown in. Societal civility completely breaks down and chaotic scenes ensue. 

Lynn Nottage’s acclaimed play “Sweat” about working-class America is next on the schedule. A group of friends working at a steel factory in Reading, Pennsylvania, is threatened with layoffs because of corporate cost-cutting.  Lifelong friends soon come into conflict over work issues. The play won the Pulitzer Prize in 2017.

Last on the schedule is the hilarious “The Last Days of Judas Iscariot" by Stephen Adly Guirgis. Set in a courtroom in purgatory, the infamous Judas is on trial to decide his ultimate fate. Witnesses include Mother Teresa, Sigmund Freud and Satan. The Village Voice has said of the play “This Isn’t your grandmother’s gospel.”

Visit the Stagecrafters’ website for tickets and the latest Information at TheStagecrafters.org.