Premiere Stages at Kean University (Union, NJ) presents a dynamic mix of original plays. The professional theatre’s season includes a powerful new drama, an important new play in a co-production with Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey, and the development of a speedy new comedy. Family-friendly musical theatre productions and special initiatives for children and students make the season enjoyable for all audiences.
The Good Counselor is Kathryn Grant’s drama about a chosen son’s quest for truth. A bright, young public defender struggles to represent two neglectful mothers, one his client, the other his own. A thought-provoking and beautifully written new play, The Good Counselor literally prompts the audience to serve as the jury in determining what it means to be a good parent. This Premiere Stages Festival Winner, selected from over three hundred submissions, opens Thursday, July 15, in the Zella Fry Theatre and continues through Sunday, August 1.
Collaborating with Playwrights’ Theatre of New Jersey, Premiere Stages presents Tammy Ryan’s Lost Boy Found in Whole Foods (September 2 trough 19). In this timely new work, Gabriel, an optimistic former “lost boy” from Sudan meets Christine, a suburban mother in desperate need of attention and adventure. What begins as an unlikely friendship becomes an unbreakable bond that changes the pair and leads them to a better understanding of their place in the world.
“We workshopped the play in staged readings,” stated John Wooten, Premiere Stages’ Artistic Director. “The response was incredible. It was clear that this was not a story that should be told, it was one that had to be told.”
The campus community agrees. The Human Rights Institute at Kean University, the Darfur Rehabilitation Project, and the Kean Department of Theatre are collaborating with Premiere Stages to bring this important story to the stage. A special opening night pre-show reception for donors will be held on September 3rd in Kean University’s new Human Rights Institute and a champagne toast with the cast follows the performance.
“I am pleased to have these important partners working with us to bring the play to life. It’s an amazing story and another example of how the arts often bring important issues to the forefront.”
In a similar developmental process, Premiere Stages will advance Gino Dilorio’s The Jag. In this evolving new comedy, a father and son struggle to find missing parts as they reconstruct a car that was never meant to be finished. Through an intensive one-week process, interactive staged readings are presented to the public (June 25 through 27).
Premiere Stages’ Musical Fun Series features two of New Jersey’s finest Actors’ Equity Association theatre companies for young audiences. Running Rabbit Family Theatre presents Pinocchio and Pushcart Players offers Stone Soup and Other Stories and Cuentos Del Arbol .
Premiere Stages launches the brand new Premiere’s Holiday Workshop. A special holiday treat for the entire family, the Workshop features readings of three holiday-themed plays and includes hot cider and treats for everyone. Admission is free; patrons need only to bring a new, unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots.
All performances take place on the Kean University campus, located at 1000 Morris Avenue, Union, N.J. Premiere Stages offers affordable prices, air-conditioned facilities and free parking close to the theatres. Premiere Stages provides free or discounted tickets to patrons with disabilities. All Premiere Stages facilities are fully accessible spaces. Please call for a list of sign-interpreted, audio-described or open-captioned performances. Assistive listening devices and large print programs are available at all times. Publications are available with advanced notice in alternate formats.
Tickets for productions range from $15 to $25, with discounts for groups (Musical Fun tickets are $12 with discounts for groups). The Premiere Package (a new subscription series) saves patrons up to $30.00 and includes free admission to staged readings and other special events. For more information, call 908-737-4092 or visit www.kean.edu/premierestages .
Premiere Stages is made possible in part through funding from The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Kean’s Quality First Initiative, The Westfield Foundation, The Gleason Family Foundation, The Provident Bank Foundation, and through the generous support of individual patrons.
_______________________________________________
Schedule of Events:
The Jag
FREE staged readings in the Murphy Dunn Theatre (Vaughn Eames Fine Arts Building)
Friday, June 25, 7 p.m.
Saturday, June 26, 7 p.m.
Sunday, June 27, 3 p.m.
The Good Counselor
Zella Fry Theatre (Vaughn Eames Fine Arts Building)
Thursday, July 15 – Sunday, August 1
Thursday – Saturday performances begin at 8 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday matinee performances begin at 3 p.m.
Lost Boy Found in Whole Foods
Zella Fry Theatre (Vaughn Eames Fine Arts Building)
Friday, September 2 – Sunday, September 19
Fridays and Saturday performances begin at 8 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday matinee performances begin at 3 p.m.
“Pizza Preview” Performance on Thursday, September 2 at 8pm
VIP Opening Night Fundraiser and Performance on Friday, September 3 at 8pm
Special “Early Curtain” performances on Weds, September 8, at 10 a.m. and Thursday, September 16 at 5 p.m.
Premiere’s Holiday Workshop
December 9 – 11, 2010 time(s) to be announced
Musical Fun Series
All Musical Fun performances will be presented in the Little Theatre, with ticket prices ranging from $10 to $12.
PINOCCHIO
Tuesday, July 13 at 11:00 am and 1:30 pm..
Wednesday, July 14 at 11:00 am and 1:30 pm..
CUENTOS del ARBOL
Thursday, July 15 at 11:00 am
STONE SOUP…and other stories
Wednesday, July 21 at 11:00 am and 1:00 pm
CUENTOS del ARBOL
Wednesday, July 28 at 11:00 am
This press release is also available online at:
http://www.kean.edu/about_press.html
Contact Information:
To order tickets, join our mailing list, and/or to request a season brochure, please call the Kean Stage Box Office at 908-737-SHOW (7469).
For groups, call Paul Whelihan at 908-737-4077.
For Camp and the Premiere Residency Program, please call Erica Nagel at 908-737-4092, or visit Premiere Stages online at www.kean.edu/premierestages.
For specifics of the season, please contact Artistic Director John Wooten at jwooten@kean.edu or 908-737-4360.
