UP Next: Christianna as Queen Elizabeth in Richard III with The Curtain

UP NEXT: Christianna will play Queen Elizabeth in Richard III with The Curtain at Nimbus Arts Center in Jersey City.

William Shakespeare’s RICHARD III
Directed & Adapted by Sean Hagerty

This spring, THE CURTAIN presents a bold new adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Richard III at the Nimbus Arts Center in Jersey City.

A morbidly comic, blood-soaked political thriller, Richard III follows Shakespeare’s most notorious king as he manipulates, murders, and schemes his way to the crown. Ruthless, darkly funny, and unsettlingly timely, this limited engagement offers a gripping exploration of ambition, power, and the devastating cost of tyranny.

Dates & Times
March 5–29, 2026
Thursday, Friday & Saturday evenings at 7:30 PM
Sunday matinees at 3:00 PM

Opening Night: Sunday, March 8
Strictly limited engagement

Location
Nimbus Arts Center
329 Warren Street
Jersey City, NJ 07302
(Just steps from the PATH train)

Wheelchair accessible venue

Tickets
$40 — Thursday & Sunday
$55 — Friday & Saturday

Tickets are on sale now:
https://www.ticketsource.com/thecurtain/richard-iii/e-xpxdqd

Broadway World offers a sneak peek at rehearsals:

https://www.broadwayworld.com/off-broadway/article/Photos-Inside-Rehearsals-for-RICHARD-III-at-The-Curtain-20260217

CHRISTIANNA NELSON STARS AS LADY MACBETH IN MACBETH FOR THE CURTAIN

"Lady Macbeth, (is) played with lethal intensity, icy grace, and flashes of ironic humor by the excellent Christianna Nelson, who returns to The Curtain after a strong turn as the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet. Often misunderstood as an orchestrator forcing her husband’s hand, she and he are like-minded seditionists from the start. They are a Highlander power couple seizing initiative in Lowland society; they’re accomplices straight through the play, egging each other on and absolving each other’s heinous acts.

The truest tragedy for the audience is that Lady Macbeth practically vanishes from the back half of the play, robbing Macbeth of its most compelling character — an ambitious, wounded woman navigating a man’s world with every trick at her limited disposal. The real bubbling cauldron is the Lady’s ferocious desire for more than what she has, and Nelson knows when to stir it, when to let it simmer and when to turn up the heat until the poisonous mixture spills over the sides."

-Tris McCall, Jersey City Times

“In a cast of solid performances, Jamie Ballard, as Macbeth, and Christianna Nelson, as Lady Macbeth, completely dominate.”

“Nelson conveys a woman still reeling from emotional trauma but capable of deep connection with her husband, before giving up on managing his guilt-plagued hallucinations and retreating into a largely offstage world of her own.” 

“The candle-girded set is necessarily minimalist, making the inclusion of a black-draped bassinet a striking addition. The staging further emphasizes its importance by kicking off the play with Lady Macbeth onstage, dressed in mourning, sadly gazing into the empty vessel. “Out, out!” she cries to a servant delivering Macbeth’s news from the front, calling forward both to her “damned spot” and her husband’s “brief candle.” The freshness of this loss informs both their character arcs, from her immediate brutal nihilism to his fury at the “fruitless crown” and “barren scepter” handed to him by the weird sisters, as well as a shocking act of onstage violence he commits late in the play.”

-Elise Nussbaum, Theaterpizzaz.com

"Ballard’s performance is ably matched… by the imposing Christianna Nelson as Lady Macbeth. Following on the heels of her excellent performance as the Nurse in “Romeo & Juliet,” Nelson commands the stage in all of her scenes. She is icy and pragmatic and, when Macbeth starts seeing ghosts, more than his equal."

-Jim Testa, NJArts.net

In an inspired bit of casting, The Curtain brings Christianna Nelson back to Jersey City for a turn as the manipulative, conflicted anti-hero of Shakespeare’s most tumultuous tragedy. Those who’ve followed the theater company’s successful (and, at $40 a seat, relatively affordable) attempts to produce quality Shakespeare plays on our side of the Hudson will surely remember Nelson for her alternately hilarious and horrifying take on the Nurse, a supporting part in last year’s sharp, muscular staging of Romeo And Juliet. Hers was a standout performance, and it’s gratifying to see that she’s been rewarded for it with a chance to play one of the flashier parts in the Western theatrical canon. 

Tris McCall, Jersey City Times

Photo by Will O’Hare

Photo by Will O’Hare

Photo by Will O’Hare

Photo by Will O’Hare

CHRISTIANNA NELSON AS THE NURSE IN ROMEO & JULIET AT THE CURTAIN

"…The most valuable player on Hagerty’s team: Christianna Nelson, whose turn as Juliet’s earthy, amiable Nurse enlivened every scene she was in. Not merely did she pivot nimbly from elation to horror and motherly affection to utter abjection. She did it all with absolute clarity and careful handling of the rhythms of the poetry she was animating." 

-Tris McCall, Jersey City Times

"Christianna Nelson makes worthy use of the dramatic opportunities afforded her part as Juliet’s Nurse."

-Jim Testa, NJArts.net

“HIGHLY RECOMMENDED THEATER: ROMEO & JULIET (THE CURTAIN IN JERSEY CITY)”

-Gregory Bernard, stageandcinema.com

“Romeo and Juliet: Worth a Trip to New Jersey”

-JK Clarke, theaterpizazz.com


Photo by Will O’Hare

Photo by Will O’Hare

Photo by Will O’Hare

CHRISTIANNA NELSON AS MRS VAN BUREN IN INTIMATE APPAREL AT SHAKESPEARE & COMPANY

"Ms. Varon has well chosen supporting players... and the modest scale of the staging lets the members of the cast underplay their parts to quietly devastating effect... Everything they do pierces the heart."

-Terry Teachout, The Wall Street Journal

"Mrs. Van Buren, is played by Christianna Nelson, who gives the role more sensuality than anyone else onstage brings to their roles. In peignoir and undergarments, she is a subtle seductress without a man to seduce–the wife of a disinterested man, we eventually learn, a woman with curious propensities. Nelson is lovely in this role, beautiful to behold and to listen to as she rambles through her personal stories. The role suits her talents wonderfully."

-J. Peter Bergman, The Berkshire Edge

"Opening this week at S&Co is my most-anticipated show of the summer: Lynn Notage’s Intimate Apparel, about two incongruous friendships. It’s directed by Daniela Varon and stars Nehassaiu deGannes and Christianna Nelson, both of whom shone in spotlight roles last season."

"Christiannna Nelson returns, in a role diametrical to the battered and bitter combat veteran in last summer’s Ugly Lies the Bone. Here she’s stylish Mrs. Van Buren, easing the boredom of her plush but empty life with costly undergarments and expensive cognac." 

-Chris Rohmann, Valley Advocate

"Esther's most reliable client is Mrs. Van Buren (Christianna Nelson), a Fifth Avenue housewife who is locked in a loveless marriage. She is not southern but in Nelson's portrayal, one catches a suggestion of faded wisteria; a Tennessee Williams heroine who has reached a tipping point.

-Jeffrey Borak, The Berkshire Eagle

"Mrs. Van Buren's condescension toward Esther is played by Nelson with nuance and subtlety."

-Macy Levin, A Curtain Up Berkshire Review

“Christianna Nelson’s portrayal of a Southern Belle marrying a rich Northerner only to be disillusioned, is affecting.”

-Maria Reverly, Berkshire Fine Arts



Christianna in Ugly Lies the Bone: June - August 2016 at Shakespeare and Company

Nominated for a Berkshire Theater Award

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor – Intimate Theatre:
* Kate Baldwin in “Constellations” (Berkshire Theatre Group)
* Tara Franklin in “Sister Play” (Chester Theatre Company)
* Annie Golden in “Broadway Bounty Hunter” (Barrington Stage Company)
* Jane Kaczmarek in “And No More Shall We Part” (Williamstown Theatre Festival)
* Maddie Jo Landers in “The Taming” (Shakespeare & Company)
* Christiana Nelson in “Ugly Lies The Bone” (Shakespeare & Company)
* Debra Jo Rupp in “Kimberly Akimbo” (Barrington Stage Company)

 

"Williamstown deserves credit for casting disabled actors, of course, but I wouldn’t go so far as others have and say it’s crucial to do so. For one thing that would deprive Lenox theatergoers of seeing Christianna Nelson’s tough but lovely performance as an Afghanistan veteran, also named Jess, who’s come back to her Florida home terribly burned and unable to move without a walker... The meat of the play is in Jess, her family and friends trying to adjust to her broken body and spirit... Ferrentino and director Daniela Varon provide a rich emotional tapestry for their characters’ lives. And then there’s Christianna Nelson who, no matter how bitter her character is, and deserves to be, Nelson always lets you know that there’s a life force there that isn’t going to give in to that bitterness."

- WBUR, Boston Public Radio review

"In just one of many extraordinary scenes from Christianna Nelson, who plays Jess, she changes from her usual outfit, sweatpants and T-shirt, into a sundress; she's finally starting to feel human again, to however small a degree, and so she powers through the agony of donning the dress. But bending her torso is akin to torture. She says, "When the bigger (skin) grafts stretch, it feels like I'm still on fire."
"You are not built to endure," the researcher tells Jess. "You are built to recover." It's a privilege to watch her doing it."

- Albany Times Union review

"Jess is the central character in Lindsey Ferrentino’s mesmerizing, scalding, moving play Ugly Lies the Bone, on stage now at the Shakespeare and Company Theater in Lenox, Massachusetts. Christianna Nelson gives a powerful performance as Jess, who in return for her service to her country has been given a miserable life that only gets worse as the weeks go by... a phenomenal performance from Nelson as Jess. You can feel her physical pain as she struggles with her walker, frowning all the time, and her emotional pain as she tears old photos down from a wall. You seethe as she seethes. It is a titanic performance."

- History News Network

"And above all, there’s Christianna Nelson’s complex, heartrending performance as Jess, a turmoil of aching limbs and heart, every bitter sarcasm a cry of loneliness and confusion."

- Valley Advocate

"This is challenging theater and well worth seeing."

- The Arts Fuse Quick Picks--Berkshire Theater Best Bets

"To the editor:

That was fun, wasn't it? The flags and fireworks, the beer and barbecues, the parades and picnics, and everybody's a patriot for a rollicking weekend. Then we fold the flags, return the empties and get our nickels back, and it's same-old time again.

Did we forget anything? Yes, we did. We forgot those who cannot forget, the men and women who fought for us and now fight for a same-old that they will never know again.

No, don't turn the page. You need to see this. We all do. Go down to Shakespeare & Company in Lenox and meet one of those people. She's Jess, the lead character in a play called "Ugly Lies the Bone." And yes, she's ugly, made up as a burn victim so expertly that a woman veteran in the audience said she could almost smell the burns.

Surprisingly, it's a funny play. A stay-at-home boyfriend says "IUD" instead of "IED;" "That's birth control," Jess snorts. And the audience guffaws. We laugh a lot, and the people at Shakespeare & Company are experts at making us do it.

We watch Christianna Nelson play Jess — no, become Jess — as she struggles to find a life that fits, now that the old one has been blown to shreds. And then we go home, knowing a lot more about the Fourth of July than we did before. It will never be same-old again."

David Robinson, Lanesborough
Ugly Lies the Bone' forces focus on veterans

- Berkshire Eagle Letter to the Editor

Christianna in Imagining the Imaginary Invalid - January & February 2016 in NYC

"In its most affecting scene, performed on Monday night to pin-drop silence, Ms. Burke, Ms. Galilee — who looks so very much like her mother — and Christianna Nelson have scripts in hand as they re-enact a visit Ms. Maleczech paid to a doctor. They sit in a little square of white light (by Burke Brown), and nothing is imaginary, except who’s playing whom."

Laura Collins-Hughes, NYTimes, *Critics Pick*

 

 

Christianna in Red Velvet; August 2015 at Shakespeare and Company

"Shakespeare & Co’s excellent cast in the Berkshire Premiere of ‘Red Velvet’ by Anglo-Indian playwright Lolita Chakrabarti... Standouts were... Christianna Nelson whose transformation in acting three roles was unrecognizable from role to role. An amazingly talented actress Ms Nelson. "

Berkshire Record Best of Edition 2015
Best Ensemble Acting
Cast of “Red Velvet ‘
Shakespeare and Company

"Christianna Nelson plays three very different women and she is vitally different in each of them. She is Margaret Aldridge, wife of the actor, whose Scottish burr is delicate and affirmative. She shows devotion with complete sincerity. As actress Betty Lovell she is pert, pretty and petite, blond in the good ways and a darling in every way possible. Her first and final appearance as a Polish reporter adds nuance and humanity to her work in this show. She is a peach."

J. Peter Bergman, The Berkshire Edge

"Christianna Nelson plays three roles, each better than the other."

Bob Goepfert, The Troy Record

"Inspired direction... Prepare to discover your heart lurching into your throat."

Sandy MacDonald, Boston Globe

"Exquisitely conceived and performed... a production that stands as prime example of theater as a fully integrated form that provokes, stimulates, engages, transforms."

Jeffrey Borak, The Berkshire Eagle

 

Christianna in Wickets- January 2009 in NYC

"A creeping strangeness takes hold, as does an affection for these women, muddling perkily through their sometimes terribly circumscribed existences. Their secret lives, in the end, are not so different from our own."

Claudia La Rocco, NYTimes

"Dealing with, among other things, the management of emotions, Wickets has a heady intellectual side; but it also develops an intense, sometimes unsettling intimacy between the actors and the audience, which is necessarily small... 'You’re not watching something on a stage over there, you’re in it.' 

Elisabeth Vincentelli, Time Out NY

"...an intriguing and creative piece in its own right, Wickets is faux-site-specific performance at its best."

Garrett Eisler, Village Voice

"Now that 'Boeing-Boe ing' has flown the coop, the sexiest stewardesses in the theater these days are at 'Wickets' – an inventive and immersing theatrical experience that’s a lot cheaper (and more fun) than an actual flight to Paris... Get your boarding pass now."

Frank Scheck, NY Post

"The cast was uniformly excellent, but standouts were Christianna Nelson's Emma: "Do you think about genitals all the time?"..."

Lisa del Rosso, theateronline.com

 

 

 

Christianna in Dread Awakening, "Bloody Mary" - April 2006 in NYC

"Nelson... prove(s) adept at catching the dual tone of excitement and fear in the voices of characters who are having fun working themselves into a pleasurable state of terror--and passing it on to the audience."

Marilyn Stasio, Variety

"Ben... makes the case to his blond, ditsy girlfriend (Christianna Nelson channeling Sarah Michelle Gellar) that getting scared is better than sex: 'I believe that it's when you're scared that you feel most alive.' And during the best moments of this show, he is proved absolutely right."

Jason Zinoman, NYTimes