Cape May Stage makes its home here at Bank and Lafayette Streets, inside the Robert Shackleton Playhouse in downtown Cape May, New Jersey. This is a living theatre company that has presented professional Actors Equity productions since 1988, founded by Michael Laird, a Cape May resident and professional actor and director. For the first five seasons the company performed only in the summer months, and by 1992 programming had grown into a 70 night season.
In 1995 Cape May Stage established a lease of the former Welcome Center, a city owned historical landmark building, and that 1853 structure is considered one of the key buildings in the Historic Landmark district by the Historic Preservation Commission. Grant funding from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts was awarded in 1996, allowing further improvements to productions, and the company continues to provide intimate, professional theatre to residents and visitors of Cape May and surrounding areas while fostering arts education in academic and non-traditional venues. Notice this 1853 Welcome Center, once a city landmark, now sheltering the Robert Shackleton Playhouse and Cape May Stage's productions.