“As You Like It” at Wildcliff Mansion

As part of its Summer Sounds Concert Series the New Rochelle Council on the Arts (NRCA) will present two theater performances at the adjacent Wildcliff Mansion: On Saturday, June 21st at 6 pm the Red Monkey Theater Group will present Shakespeare’s As You Like It: All the world’s a stage as the characters in Shakespeare’s classic comedy navigate politics, injustice, love, and gender identity. Join us at historic Wildcliff Mansion overlooking the Long Island Sound to see if love really can conquer all! 

And on Saturday, July 19th at 4 pm the Rivertown Players will present What the Constitution Means to Me (rain date July 26th.) This 2019 play -– which won the NY Drama Critics Award for Best American Play –- “breathes new life into our Constitution.”

Wildcliff Mansion, also known as the Cyrus Lawton House, has a rich history dating back to 1852. It was designed by the renowned architect Alexander Jackson Davis in the Gothic Revival style and built on a hill with stunning views of Echo Bay.  In 1940, the Julius Prince family donated it to the city of New Rochelle, which through the years used it as a science museum, performing arts center and other uses. Unfortunately, on November 26, 2018, a fire destroyed the mansion. Today, Wildcliff Mansion stands as an open ruin that has been stabilized and reimagined for event rentals, which can be explored through the New Rochelle Parks & Recreation department.