The famed Princeton Triangle Club, now in its 122nd year, returns to McCarter Theater with the world premiere of “Tree’s Company (Forest’s a Crowd)” for three performances from Friday to Sunday, November 16 to 18. Kirsten Parratt, who is on the tech crew, is from West Windsor. A senior at Princeton University, she is majoring in chemical and biological engineering.
“I became a triangle techie as a sophomore because I saw their shows freshman year, and thought they were hilarious and impressive,” she says. “Tech is great because I get to see the show so many times because of rehearsals.”
Triangle Club, the oldest collegiate musical-comedy troupe in the nation, creates an original, student-written musical each year that is presented on national tour. It is the largest student performing arts organization on the Princeton campus and the only student group to perform on the Matthews stage of McCarter Theater, the permanent home for Triangle Club since 1930.
“I attend a lot of the other shows at Princeton; sometimes student groups like PUO, Quipfire, and Triple 8, and sometimes outside shows at McCarter Theater,” Parratt says. “Triangle is just so fun and different.” Parratt, who has not worked on any other theater productions, describes herself as a techie/run crew/build crew member.
Born in Ithaca, New York, Parratt moved to West Windsor with her family when she was in the second grade. “My parents chose it because it was a nice town, with a good school system, lots of activities for kids, and my dad could commute to New York for work,” she says. Her father, Steffen, is a software entrepreneur. Her mother, Susan, is not working outside the home now.
Parratt attended Maurice Hawk School, Upper Elementary (now Millstone River), and Grover Middle School. She graduated from Lawrenceville School. Her brother, Justin, has gone to all the same schools and is currently a junior at Lawrenceville.
“My parents are not involved in theater, but we love seeing Broadway musicals as a family,” she says. Parratt’s first Broadway show was “Beauty and the Beast” — but her favorites are “Book of Mormon” and “Spam-a-Lot.”
This year’s production is set in the great outdoors — into the woods. “The only limits are your imagination and how well you can outrun a bear,” according to the press release. Be prepared for a raucous night of punch lines, puns, and a kickline.
Triangle Show: Tree’s Company (Forest’s a Crowd), McCarter Theater (Matthews), 91 University Place, Princeton. Friday and Saturday, November 16 and 17, 8 p.m.; and Sunday, November 18, 2 p.m. World premiere of “Tree’s Company (Forest’s a Crowd).” $25 to $50. 609-258-2787 or www.mccarter.org.
