New Jersey’s Halloween Theater Treats

Halloween 3Halloween is being celebrated in a variety of ways by the theater community in New Jersey beginning this weekend.  Here are a few ideas for those who are looking to get that spooky Halloweeny feel through the theater.

North Jersey

William Paterson University in Wayne, NJ will present a Halloween Spooktacular Concert by the William Paterson University Symphony on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 8:00 p.m. at the Shea Center for the Performing Arts on their campus.  A Halloween costume parade is also being planned.  For more information and tickets, check this area of their website: www.wp-presents.org.

Central Jersey

The State Theatre in New Brunswick is showing “The Addams Family,” a musical comedy direct from Broadway on Friday, Oct. 25 and Saturday, Oct. 26.  Two performances will take place on Saturday.  More information and ticket sales are available at http://www.statetheatrenj.org/addams_family

West Jersey

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey in Madison will present “Something Wicked This Way Comes” on Monday, Oct. 28.  It is billed as an “evening of delightfully chilling readings from classic ghost and horror tales presented by our esteemed company of actors – a great way to kick off the Halloween week!”  Check this page of www.shakespearenj.org for tickets and more information.

Note: Article was originally published on my Newark Theater Examiner column.

Posted in New Jersey Theater | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Rattlestick Opens ‘How to Make Friends and then Kill Them’

rattlestickRattlestick Playwrights Theatre will be running the show How to Make Friends and then Kill Them beginning October 23 – December 8, 2013.  The show is described as follows:

Left to their own devices by their alcoholic mother, Ada and Sam cultivate an insular world into which they soon draw a third wheel – a pockmarked, limping wallflower named Dorrie. In the years spanning childhood to young adulthood, these three troubled girls learn to lean on each other completely, finding ways to fill each other up and to tear each other down. But when a horrible accident turns their reality upside down, they find they must decide whether they will continue to foster their familiar, codependent cycle, or whether they will break free, with or without each other’s aid.
Rattlesticks is now selling tickets from their web connection to OvationTix at https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/924977.  Check out their discounts including special rates for under 30 year olds and students which is right on the ticket payment form.
This show will be playing at the Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, 224 Waverly Place, NYC.
Posted in Off-Broadway | Tagged | Leave a comment

‘Our Town’ Opens Oct. 17 at Shakespeare Theatre of NJ

2013_OurTown_ShowBanner

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey begins its run of the play Our Town on October 17, 2013.  The show will run through November 17, 2013.  This presentation of the classic play will celebrate 75th anniversary of the playwright Thornton Wilder’s great dramatic homage to small-town American life and the greater universal experience of life,

When I read Our Town in high school, I was not aware of the fact that it was originally produced at The McCarter Theatre in Princeton and that it went on to Broadway in 1938.  But I do remember being impressed by the easy storytelling that took place and that it won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (1938).  Active theater goers might have seen a production somewhere along the way as it has been produced all over the world because of the universal connection this play makes.

Here is some information about Special Performances for Our Town:

October 17 and 18 at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday at 2:00 p.m. – Discount preview performances.  As always, the first Preview performance is Pay What You Can night.  Visit The Shakespeare Theatre Box Office between noon and curtain on October 17th and purchase a ticket for that evening’s preview performance for what you are able to pay (offer subject to availability).

Symposium Series – For no more than the cost of a regular ticket, three Symposium Series performances are offered for each show and include a post-play discussion with the cast and artistic staff.   Symposium performances for Our Town will be Tuesday, October 22nd at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, October 26th and November 2nd at 2 p.m.

October 24thKnow the Show – From 7:00 to 7:30 p.m., an artist from The Shakespeare Theatre will present a pre-performance talk that provides background information and an insider’s perspective on the production. General admission is $5 for the general public, $4 for ticket package holders and subscribers. Tickets to that evening’s 8:00 p.m. performance may be purchased separately.

November 2nd – The 2:00 p.m. performance on  will be audio described for those who are blind or have visual impairments. Audio description enables patrons with visual impairments to hear, through an FM transmitter, a live description of the action on the stage. A pre-performance sensory seminar is offered that allows patrons to feel props, costumes and set pieces to further enhance their live theatrical experience. The service is offered free of charge.

November 10th – An exclusive open-captioned performance will be offered at 2:00 p.m. Captioning will be provided by c2 (caption coalition) inc, a 501(c)(3) non-profit company which utilizes Live Performance Captioning (sm) for Hard of Hearing and Deaf patrons at live theatrical and cultural events.

Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased by calling the Box Office at 973-408-5600 or by visiting www.ShakespeareNJ.org.

Posted in New Jersey Theater | Tagged , | Leave a comment