Brian Sutherland as Sheridan, Diomargy Nuñez as Soledad, and Charlotte Cohn as Jane in the Premiere Stages production of Las Cruces by Vincent Delaney. Photo by Mike Peters.
Starting a new life with a secret you are protecting can be a rough way to live. How long can you keep that secret and what happens when that secret is revealed? Those concepts form the basis of a new play, Las Cruces, now playing through September 18 at the Premiere Stages at Kean University. The winner of the 2016 Premiere Stages Play Festival, Las Cruces was selected from over 400 submissions.
The play was written by Vincent Delaney who brings with him an impressive writing background including a number of awards such as recipient of the Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Heideman Award, McKnight and Bush fellowships, a Jerome Commission, the Reva Shiner Comedy Award, Core Membership at the Playwrights Center, and a residency at Seattle Rep. Las Cruces is directed by Premiere’s founding producing director John J. Wooten who is in his twelfth season as Producing Artistic Director of Premiere Stages. The combined experience and expertise of these two men has produced a show that provides suspense and a range of emotions intertwined with a superbly developed plot. It covers topics that are relevant in these turbulent times. As Playwright Delaney disclosed in the post show Talk Back, there is a basic question that surfaces: how well does a parent ever know their own child?
Brian Sutherland as Sheridan and Diomargy Nuñez as Soledad. Photo by Mike Peters.
The play opens when we watch a home video of a little boy playing and rolling on the grass of a home in a middle class looking neighborhood. It abruptly shuts off as the action begins with Sheridan sneaking into a parked trailer in the middle of the wilderness. The occupant inside, Soledad, manages to get out without his realizing that she was in there. The next day, the two meet and begin a series of encounters where they learn about each other. There is a bit of cat and mouse going on as neither one will tell their story to the other; and yet they get along and develop something resembling a friendship. A third person, Jane, furthers the plot by doing flashback scenes about her life as a mother and wife. We later learn that she is Sheridan’s wife and mother of the little boy who we later see as a teenager who appears to be a rather unhappy person. What is hiding below the surface is the death of Sheridan and Jane’s son. To say how or why their son died would be giving away too much of the plot. Suffice it to say that learning the circumstances will rivet you and leave you feeling a bit shaken. Unhappy circumstances also surround Soledad who is only 17 and yet living on her own earning money as a card player at a nearby casino. By the time Jane comes out to Las Cruces to find her husband, Sheridan, Soledad’s need to be included in a family is vividly showing. There appears to be hope for some future for these three together as the show closes.
Audiences are sure to appreciate the fine acting of the cast which includes Broadway veterans Brian Sutherland and Charlotte Cohn, and newcomer Diomargy Nuñez. They will also enjoy seeing the trailer that is parked onstage. It is an authentic 1960’s style mobile home equipped with original paneling, stove, and other era pieces.
Audience members are invited to further engage with the issues raised by Mr. Delaney’s thought-provoking play through Premiere Stages’ 2016 Talk-Back Series, which offers free post-show discussions with community leaders and local experts after select matinee performances. A featured topics yet to come is Grief and Bereavement with Dr. Norma Bowe, a professor in Kean University’s College of Education and co-founder of The Center for Grief Services (Sunday, September 11 following the 3:00 pm performance). Premiere will also offer a series of informal pre-show talks every Saturday evening 35 minutes prior to performance in the lobby of the theatre. Please call 908-737-4092 for information on additional talk-back speakers.
My friend who attended the performance with me said to mention that even after attending the Talk Back, we still had a lot we wanted to discuss about the play. It is both thought provoking and discussion generating. Rather than just jumping back onto to the Garden State Parkway to head home, we stopped at the Mark Twain Diner on Morris Avenue in Union. They have a lovely bar seating area where we sat and enjoyed a beverage, a marvelous appetizer of fried calamari, and a continued lengthy discussion about the show.
About the Show:
Running Time: 90 minutes (approx.) no intermission
Location: Zella Fry Theatre on the Kean University main campus, Morris Avenue, in Union, NJ.
Performances: September 1-18 – Thursdays and Fridays at 8:00 pm, Saturdays at 3:00 pm and 8:00 pm, and Sundays at 3:00 pm
Contact for Info and Tickets: Tickets are $30 standard, $20 for senior citizens and Kean alumni, and $15 for students and patrons with disabilities. Significant discounts for groups of 8 or more apply. To make reservations or to order a season brochure, please call the Kean Stage Box Office at 908-737-SHOW (7469) or visit Premiere Stages online at www.kean.edu/premierestages.
Suggested Audience: After seeing this show, I would suggest that mature theater goers will find this a good play to attend. Note: Subject matter might be difficult for younger children and early teens.
Additional Information: Premiere Stages offers affordable prices, air-conditioned facilities, and free parking close to the theatre. Premiere Stages also provides free or discounted tickets to patrons with disabilities. All Premiere Stages facilities are fully accessible spaces, and companion seating is available for patrons with disabilities. Assistive listening devices and large print programs are available at all times; publications in alternate formats are available with advanced notice. Please call 908-737-4092 for a list of sign-interpreted, audio-described or open-captioned performances. For more information, visit Premiere Stages online at www.kean.edu/premierestages.
Nicely written!