Citing a lack of consistent written accounts about community theater productions in the area, one local theater enthusiast took it upon herself to create a group dedicated to reviewing stage productions all around South Jersey.
Kristine Bonaventura grew up in Ocean City, and said she fell in love with theater while in high school there. She went on to study theater in college at DeSales University in Quakertown, Pa. and began working in the field after graduation.
But when COVID hit in 2020, and live performances became scarce, she took a job away from the theater.
“I now perform and do theater stuff for fun, and that’s how South Jersey Theatre Critics was born,” said Bonaventura, who now lives in Blackwood.
After the restrictions during the pandemic started to relax, Bonaventura said she wanted to get back to being involved in the local theater scene. She sought to build up her website to showcase her own work as an actor. She looked for reviews of her work for quotes to use in populating the site.
She said she was able to find write-ups on every production she was in while in Pennsylvania, but she couldn’t find similar reviews of shows she was involved with in South Jersey.
“Given how many years I performed here, that was upsetting,” she said.
She then asked people she knew in the local theater world if they knew of anyone doing that type of work in South Jersey, and found there was no one doing reviews consistently. But she said she also found everyone she asked wished that someone would.
“When I heard that, I said, ‘you know what? I’m going to give this a shot. Worst comes to worst, people hate it, and I stop it, but at least I can say I gave it a try,’” she said.
But people didn’t hate it.
“It kind of just took off,” she said.
“I started reaching out to people who I thought might be interested. I realized, not only is there a huge need for acknowledgement for all of the work that the people do in community theater in this area, because it is a lot, but also, there’s not a ton of opportunities for people who enjoy writing to just do it for fun.”
That was in May of 2023, and Bonaventura said she started the project with just herself and a couple of other reviewers.
The South Jersey Theatre Critics team now features more than 20 reviewers and she said they are in talks with other interested writers to add even more to the group.
Each year, the number of reviews written by the group has increased dramatically. From just 20 reviews written in their first year, the group produced 91 write-ups in 2025, and they’re off to a similar pace already this year.
Recent reviews include those on “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown,” at the Gateway Playhouse in Somers Point, and “Noises Off” from Haddonfield Plays & Players.
Interested reviewers need only reach out by email through the Critics’ website to provide some personal background information, detail what experience they have with theater productions, if any, and provide some type of writing sample.
The reviews are all written on a volunteer basis, though the writers are given complimentary tickets to attend the shows they review.
Bonaventura said she still acts in local productions and most recently finished up a show in January, when she performed in a run of “Company” at the Ritz Theatre Company in Haddon Township.
She said she finds the local theater community to be a supportive and dedicated one, and given her level of experience in the subject, we asked what advice she might give to people in the area who may not be familiar with local shows.
“You’d probably be surprised about the caliber of production you’ll receive if you visit your local community theater,” Bonaventura said. “That’s part of why we wanted to do this. We recognize what work is being put out there and they deserve to be complimented and rewarded and praised for all the work that they do. It’s phenomenal.”
To read reviews from The South Jersey Theatre Critics, scan the QR code below, find them on Facebook and Instagram, or visit them at www.sjtheatrecritics.com.
Leave a Reply