BWW Review: WOLF AT THE DOOR at NJ Rep is a Mystical and Mesmerizing New Play

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"Dream it all away, dream through this winter"
by Rocio in Wolf at the Door

A very distinctive production is now on stage at New Jersey Repertory Company (NJ Rep). The world premiere of Marisela Trevino Orta's Wolf at the Door, exquisitely directed by Daniel Jaquez, is now being presented through November 18. We attended one of the show's preview performances and the audience was wowed. Inspired by Latin folklore, this is a mesmerizing and mystical adult story that tells of struggle, devotion, and survival.

The play is set at a Mexico hacienda where Isadora lives with her once charismatic husband, Septimo and her loving childhood nurse, Rocio. Isadora is expecting her first child but injuries caused by Septimo's physical brutality leads to a premature birth. As the cold winter closes in, a young, pregnant and unclothed woman, Yolot mysteriously appears. Septimo offers Yolot shelter but treats her like a prisoner, while Isadora becomes protective of her. And it is the first time that Isadora defies her troublesome, unpredictable, and cruel husband. With the ominous sound of wolves howling in the distance, there is also danger looming in the hacienda. Like the finest myths and folk tales, the plot of the Wolf at the Door sparks the imagination.

The production stars an accomplished cast of four that include Desiree Pinol as Isadora; Oscar A. L. Cabrera as Septimo; Alexandra Lemus as Yolot; and Liz Zazzi as Rocio. This foursome brings the mysterious and magical story to life with all of its drama and intrigue. Scenes that include Rocio delivering Isadora's baby; Yolot's sudden appearance at the hacienda; Septimo's discourse on his troubled childhood; Isadora standing up to Septimo; and many other moments in the show will keep audiences captivated.

The Creative Team has done a fantastic job of creating the backdrop for Wolf at the Door. They include scenic design by Jessica Parks; lighting design by Jill Nagle; costume design by Patricia E. Doherty; sound design and webmaster, Merek Royce Press. The Production Stage Manager is Rose Riccardi; Adam von Pier is the Assistant Stage Manager/Company Manager.

Wolf at the Door is the 132nd production in New Jersey Rep's 20th season. It's premiere is part of the National New Play Network, an alliance of non-profit theaters that presents new works. We applaud New Jersey Rep's Artistic Director, Suzanne Barabas, Executive Producer Gabor Barabas, and their team on their many successes. They can certainly add Wolf at the Door to the Company's long list of new hit plays.

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The world premiere 'Wolf at the Door' at NJ Rep is an eerie wonder: review

Alexandra Lemus, Liz Zazzi, Desiree Pino and Oscar A.L. Cabrera star in the world premiere of Marisela Trevino Orta's "Wolf at the Door," now playing at NJ Rep in Long Branch (Photo by SuzAnne Barabas) (SuzAnne Barabas)

By Patrick Maley

The legend goes that a wolf may show up at the door disguised as a sheep to connive entrance into a house full of tasty living flesh. Marisela Trevino Orta's new play "Wolf at the Door," world premiering at the NJ Rep in Long Branch, ponders a complication to that familiar story: perhaps the wolf is already inside, and the visitor brings salvation rather than destruction.

A dark and moving folktale, "Wolf at the Door" explores the uneasy balance between the physical and spiritual world, creating a crucible of tension that can seemingly only be relieved by easing strict conditions of realism in order to exercise spirits of terror.

Isadora (Desiree Pinol) opens the play pregnant and in horrible pain. Her baby is on the way a month early as Isadora sports fresh bruises from her abusive husband, Septimo (Oscar A.L. Cabrera). Conditions in the Mexican home only worsen after the infant arrives stillborn. Septimo blames Isadora for failing to deliver him a son while, Isadora's grief and terror mingle into wretchedness that her faithful nurse, Rocio (Liz Zazzi), struggles to contain.

Into this cauldron enters the mysterious figure, Yolot (Alexandra Lemus), who wanders to the home in the winter night naked and pregnant. Septimo sees in her an opportunity to replace the son he lost, but Isadora and Rocio seem to recognize something more mystical and powerful about the stranger. Throughout the play, Lemus is affecting with her ability to embody a character that is ethereal and otherworldly while also beset by a very physical, earthly struggle.

In a taut ninety minutes, directed confidently by Daniel Jaquez, "Wolf at the Door" creates a tense environment of real danger. On stage, much of the credit for that goes to Cabrera and Pinol. Cabrera crafts a villainous Septimo who is at once monstrous and recognizably human. He is so frightening precisely because he is so believably real. Pinol captures a similar level of authenticity by giving us an Isadora who is justifiably woeful and frequently terrified, but not pathetic. Isadora is the character who will have to travel the greatest distance of development, a journey that Pinol navigates with significant nuance.

Moments of spiritual movement combine with Jessica Parks's delicate, suggestive set to capture an air of wonder and fantasy attending upon this play. Like Yolot, the play never seems either too real or too mystical, but rather a production that hangs delicately in the balance between those two worlds. It is a space rife for legend and folktale.

Out IN Jersey

"Wolf at the Door" is a scary, cautionary Mexican legend

By Allen Neuner

The New Jersey Repertory Company closes out its 2018 season with the world premiere of Wolf at the Door. This new play by Marisela Trevino Orta is the type of story designed to be told on a chilly night by a fire, a tale filled with magic -- and carrying a warning. It pulls the audience into a land of howling wolves, a mysterious woman who is not quite what she seems, and the thin borders separating this world from the next. It is a show whose characters display powerful emotions, and it has the best last line I've heard in a long time. See it you should, and see it you must.

It is a winter night at an isolated ranch in Mexico. Isadora (Desiree Pinol) is pregnant and her baby is coming prematurely. Alone save for her devoted servant Rocio (Liz Zazzi), Isadora gives birth to a stillborn son, to the disgust of her deceptive, cruel husband Septimo (Oscar A.L. Cabrera). After the baby is buried, the two women notice a naked, pregnant female (Alexandra Lemus) near the stables. Unfortunately, so does Septimo, who tries to dominate her as he has with Isadora and Rocio. The woman, who gives her name as Yolot, is given an ultimatum in the form of a bargain: In return for being fed, clothed, and sheltered, Yolot will give Septimo her baby and leave forever. Yolot, to the sound of the howls of the wolf pack she calls her brothers, does not agree. All three women desperately search for a way to prevent Septimo from acquiring Yolot's baby.

Under the firm direction of Daniel Jáquez, the actors lead us gently but inexorably deeper into the story with balances of power shifting and flowing organically. Things casually said early on become clues to the nature of Yolot and her brothers. By the time you discover the truth, it is both with satisfaction and a realization that what happens is inevitable -- the way things must be, the way they have always been. As much as the play is an adult legend in the vein of a Grimm's fairy tale, it is also a story of female power lost and regained, thus giving a timeless story resonance with modern audiences.

The look and feel of the show is a combination of the Mexico of the 1800's and "once upon a time". This is accomplished by Jessica Parks' hacienda set. While it is a far cry from the cozy farmhouse she created for NJ Rep's previous play, Fern Hill, together these two examples of her talent show a range of scenic artistry that should be putting her in demand all over the country. The scenic design is enhanced by the lighting design of Jill Nagle and the sound design by Merek Royce Press. As the lighting and sound enhance the set, Patricia E. Doherty's costumes enhance the look of the characters and ground them in a solid yet otherworldly time and place.

New Jersey Repertory Company is part of the National New Play Network, which does "rolling world premieres" of new plays in different cities. They have been honored to be the first of four theatres which will be premiering Wolf at the Door, and we are honored by this production. Theatregoers looking for something with a balance of both a solid story and elements of fantasy need look no further than Wolf at the Door. I strongly encourage you to see it.

BWW Interview: Playwright Marisela Trevino Orta and WOLF AT THE DOOR at NJ Rep

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New Jersey Repertory Company (NJ Rep) is proud to present the National New Play Network rolling world premiere of Marisela Treviño Orta's Wolf at the Door from October 18 to November 18. Inspired by Latino folklore, the play draws upon legend and mythology to tell an archetypal and magical story that navigates dangerous waters. It is about survival and the struggle to find the strength to achieve personal freedom by vanquishing a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Broadwayworld.com had the pleasure of interviewing Marisela about her career and the upcoming show at NJ Rep.

Marisela Treviño Orta is working on her grim Latinx fairytale cycle-plays which include The River Bride (2013 National Latino Playwriting Award Co-Winner, 2016 Oregon Shakespeare Festival world premiere), Wolf at the Door (2016 Kilroys List), and Alcira. Her other plays include: American Triage (2012 Repertorio Español Nuestras Voces Finalist); Ghost Limb (2017 Brava Theatre world premiere); Heart Shaped Nebula (2012 O'Neill National Playwrights Conference Semi-Finalist, 2015 Shotgun Players world premiere); Braided Sorrow (2006 Chicano/Latino Literary Prize in Drama, 2008 world premiere at Su Teatro in Denver, CO, 2009 Pen Center USA Literary Award in Drama); and Woman on Fire (2016 Camino Real Productions world premiere).

We'd love to know about your early interest in writing.

My parents were educators-they encouraged reading in our household and I remember reading a lot as a child. I think my interest in writing stems from that love of reading. We had an Apple IIGS desktop when I was a kid. On it I wrote short stories and was studiously working on my "novel"-it's somewhere in storage at my parents' home. In high school my writing shifted from fiction to poetry and I wrote a lot of bad, angst-y poems-which I think is a phase for all poets. We mimic really bad tropes, but while doing so we learn how to write and then how to break form and find our own voice. I was a poet for many years. My first MFA was in poetry at the University of San Francisco and that's where I found my way to theatre.

Who are a few of the people who have inspired or supported your career?

I found my way to playwriting quite haphazardly and if it hadn't been for a few key supporters, I might not have continued down this path. My first play was accepted into the Bay Area Playwrights Festival which is produced annually by the Playwrights Foundation. I felt immediately embraced by the Playwrights Foundation and its Artistic Director Amy Mueller. Their support early on made me rethink how I viewed myself as a writer. At first I would tell people I was a poet who had written a play. Then a poet and playwright. And now I tell people I'm a playwright who came from poetry. Other advocates I have to mention are playwright Christine Evans, theatremaker Travis Bedard, and playwright Octavio Solis.

I took a playwriting class with Christine while writing my first play. She was the one who encouraged me to submit my play to the Bay Area Playwrights Festival.

Travis Bedard is one of those individuals who connects others and is a champion of new artists in our field. Travis is also the person who convinced me to get on Twitter which had a profound effect on my career-I got my first big LORT production through Twitter.

Finally, fellow Texan and playwright Octavio Solis has been a wonderful and supportive unofficial mentor. There were so many early opportunities that came my way because Octavio recommended me to others in the field. I can't thank him enough.

Tell us a little about your "Latinx Fairy tale Cycle."

Wolf at the Door is actually the play that kicked off this cycle, even though it's the second play to be finished. I had originally set out to write a myth. I love Greek mythology and include quite a bit of it in my other plays. While I set out to write my own myth, I didn't feel like it was operating the way a myth does.

Then while re-watching Jim Henson's The Storyteller-a series that included people and puppets retelling the stories collected by The Brothers Grimm-I had a revelation. I was writing a fairy tale. With this new framework, the play made sense to me and I had familiar symbols and tropes from the Western fairy tale canon that I could use to inform the play.

I think of the plays in this cycle as cultural hybrids-like me. The plays find inspiration from Latin American mythology and are informed by Western fairy tales.

There are currently three plays in the cycle-poets like the rhythm of three's. There's The River Bride which had its premiere at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival,Wolf at the Door which is having its moment now with this National New Play Network rolling world premiere, and there's Alcira which I am still working on.

Do you have any advice for aspiring playwrights?

This isn't my advice, I read this on the website of playwright Adam Szymkowicz and I found it incredibly helpful. "It can take ten years before you see any movement [in your career]." Hearing that was very freeing. You don't have to feel like a failure because it's been three years and you haven't had a major production. Use those first ten years to develop your craft, to build a network of peers and collaborators, and I think you'll find that by the end of those ten years you'll see traction-you'll suddenly find yourself working more and more.

What inspired "Wolf at the Door?"

I had a nightmare. I retold it to my coworkers, explaining that in the dream I was being chased by a pack of wolves. They followed me into my house and I was in my bedroom holding the door closed-it wouldn't lock-and watching as wolf teeth were piercing the wood around the door handle. Then I woke up. When I said the phrase, "there was a wolf at the door," a coworker stopped me and said, "That would make a great name for a play." I don't usually work that way, titles usually come to me later. But that's how this play started.

How do you like working with NJ Rep?

New Jersey Repertory Company has been very welcoming. It's always great when you hear someone from the theatre say, "We want you to be happy."

The theatre has been very supportive throughout our process and I feel they are most definitely taking care of us-me, my cast, and my director.

And I love that they are major champion of new work-it's all they produce. I'd absolutely work with them again.

What would you like audiences to know about the show?

While it's a fairy tale, it is definitely not for children.

This is a dark and troubling narrative. Think of the original stories collected by The Brothers Grimm-those tales were often violent because they were for children navigating a dangerous world. Well, this play and the other plays in this cycle are for adults navigating their emotional lives.

For the future?

Well, this is the season of the wolf. After this production at New Jersey Rep, Wolf at the Door will go to Kitchen Dog Theater in Dallas, then Milagro in Portland, and finally finish the National New Play Network rolling world premiere at Halcyon Theatre in Chicago.

As for me, I'm working on two new plays. This season I'm a member of The Goodman Theatre's Playwrights Unit, so I'll be working on my new play Decemberas part of that residency. It's a love story that spans twenty years told in three scenes.

And as part of the incoming class of Core Writers at the Playwrights' Center, next summer I will workshop my adaptation of Charles Dickens' Little Dorrit. It's going to be an epic six-hour play. I've already written half of it and it's longer than anything I've ever written before. I'm excited to finish it and hear it out loud.

Anything else, absolutely anything you want BWW NJ readers to know!

I think your questions covered everything. Thanks!

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'Wolf at the Door' offers an onstage fairy tale for adults

From left, Alexandra Lemus, Liz Zazzi and Desiree Pinol star in a "Wolf at the Door" at New Jersey Repertory Company, premiering Oct. 18. (Courtesy of NJ Repertory Company)

By Natalie Pompilio

The stories of the Brothers Grimm were meant to teach children that the world is a dangerous place. "Wolf at the Door," playwright Marisela Trevino Orta's second in a series of fairy tale plays, is meant to do the same for adults.

"These are fairy tales for adults to help them navigate the deep emotional waters they're swimming in," Trevino Orta said. "This is the darkest and probably most dangerous of them all. This is not for children."

The play will premiere at New Jersey Repertory Company on Oct. 18, The production is part of the National New Play Network, an alliance of non-profit theaters that champions new works. After appearing at NJ Rep, the show will move onto Dallas, Portland and Chicago to premiere at other member theaters.

Trevino Orta calls herself an "accidental playwright," a poet who stumbled into the genre. Many of her works are inspired by growing up as a Mexican American in Texas."Wolf" is the second of three in her Latino fairy tale series.

The first play, "River Bride," pulls from a Brazilian myth that the pink dolphins who live in the Amazon River take human form for three days each year.

While the mythical dolphins are tricksters who come ashore to break hearts and cause trouble, the dolphin in human form featured in Trevino Orta's play is sincerely looking for love.

'Wolf' is in part inspired by the Mesoamerican belief that dogs accompany souls on their journeys to the afterlife. As a poet turned playwright, Trevino Orta brings imagery and a slightly heightened sense of reality to the stage. (Some have told her the work has a Federico Garcia Lorca-esque quality to it.)

The play is set in "Mexico, Once Upon a Time," roughly the 1840s. At its center are Isidora and Septimo, a newly married couple who are not living happily every after. Septimo is abusive. Isidora feels trapped, living far from her home with only a long-time domestic worker as company.

The worker, Rocio, provides "an opportunity to bring levity to a play about domestic violence," Trevino Orta said. "It's hard to be in that emotional space for that long. ... This character allows us to break free and laugh and take a needed rest."

Conflict arises when Yolot, a pregnant stranger, shows up at the couple's door as a pack of wolves make themselves loudly known outside the home. Septimo refuses to allow Yolot to leave the house. Isidora, until then beaten down and resigned, changes when the family dynamic is shaken.

"Now she has someone to protect and she regains her voice and her power and she stands up for herself for the first time," Trevino Orta said. "She regains her agency."

How the story ties into the Mesoamerican myth involving dogs carrying souls is something the audience will learn during the show. The audience will have multiple "a-ha" moments, Trevino Orta said, ones that will have them thinking, "So that's what that was about earlier in the play!"

"People will have a lot to talk about after the play," she promises, "particularly about the ending."

Gabor Barabas and NJ Rep's WEST END FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS from 9/20 to 9/30

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New Jersey Repertory Company (NJ Rep) will be presenting their Second Annual West End Festival of the Arts from September 20 to September 30. The festival's theme is "When the Circus Comes to Town." This expansive 10-day fundraising event is for the development of the Company's West End Arts Center. Once NJ Rep raises enough money, it is hoped that the Center will become a cultural hub for the community.

There are exciting events at the upcoming festival for all ages that encompass many different genres in the arts including some programs that are free to the public. Throughout the ten days there will be Theatre Brut (32 short plays), live music, an art show, a photography exhibit, poetry readings, and new this year, an afternoon of children's storytelling.

Broadwayworld.com learned more about the West End Arts Center from Gabor Barabas, the Executive Producer of NJ Rep. "We acquired the West End School two years ago and our dream is to gradually transform the school into a cultural center with two theaters, studios and classrooms, residences for out-of-town actors and playwrights, an art cinema, and galleries for art and sculpture."

Barabas told us a little bit about the fund raising process. "We are launching our Capital Campaign this year and our goal is to develop the property in phases with the first phase being the development of our Main Stage theater."

(Pictured: NJ Rep's Executive Producer, Gabor Barabas and Artistic Director, Suzanne Barabas)

Barabas is very pleased that the West End Arts Center is currently being utilized and he is also optimistic about its future. "The school itself is a wonderful space that we are able to use right now prior to renovations to hold our ten-day arts festival featuring 32 new plays, an art show, a photography exhibit, a poetry night, and local bands. Our goal is to develop the West End Arts Festival into a major annual cultural event that will serve as a fundraiser to help create West End Arts Center into a place that will be the home of many artistic endeavors to come."

BWW Review: FERN HILL by Michael Tucker at NJ Rep is the Ideal Blend of Comedy and Drama and Features a Stellar Cast

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"It's time to get right with ourselves before there's no time left."
By Sunny in Fern Hill

The World Premiere of Michael Tucker's Fern Hill, directed by Nadia Tass is now on stage at New Jersey Repertory Company (NJ Rep) through September 9. Tucker's wonderfully crafted play about the ups and downs of couples' relationships in their golden years is thoughtful and moving, yet humorous and entertaining. And the show's stellar cast is a veritable dream team. Get your tickets now. This is a remarkable production that will appeal to a vast audience. It speaks to experiences that encompass all age groups.

In Fern Hill, three aging couples, all close friends, have gathered at the farmhouse of Sunny and her husband, Jer to celebrate momentous birthdays. As Sunny proposes a toast, she also takes the opportunity to suggest that the six of them live together to develop a support system as they grow older. Her idea is well received, except by Jer, who thinks of it as a breach of his privacy. As the plot unfolds and Jer's adulterous affair is disclosed, the situation opens up spirited, revelatory conversations about relationships, the expectations of partners, and the bonds of marriage.

Michael Tucker's talent for creating sharp, witty dialogue and a diverse group of characters makes Fern Hill a relatable, fast moving play with just the right balance of comedy and drama. The accomplished cast of Broadway veterans includes Jill Eikenberry as Sunny; David Rasche as Jer; Tom McGowan as Billy; Jodi Long as Michiko; John Glover as Vincent; and Dee Hoty as Darla. The characters are so well portrayed, you feel an intimate connection to them. Scenes that include Billy describing his clam sauce recipe; Darla and Michiko planning an overseas excursion; Jer caring for Vincent after his hip replacement; and conversations between Sunny and Vincent about art are just some of the moments that will keep you captivated throughout the show.

Once again, NJ Rep's Design Team has created an authentic setting that brings Fern Hill to life on the Long Branch stage. They include scenic design by Jessica Parks; lighting design by Jill Nagle; costume design by Patricia Doherty; and sound design by Merek Royce Press. Rose Riccardi is the Production Stage Manager; Adam von Pier is the Assistant Stage Manager/Company Manager; Merek Royce Press is the Webmaster; and Brian P. Snyder is the Technical Director.

Fern Hill is the 128th new play that has been presented at New Jersey Repertory Company in their over 20 year history. It is a show that will certainly go far, so see it while you can. We compliment the theatre's Artistic Director, Suzanne Barabas and Executive Producer, Gabor Barabas for continuing to bring inviting new works to the metro area audiences.

REVIEW: "Fern Hill" at NJ Rep

(LONG BRANCH, NJ) — The latest World Premiere at New Jersey Repertory Company is Fern Hill by Michael Tucker. Wonderfully directed by Nadia Tass, the play features an all-star cast and a story about three couples in the latter half of their lives who come up with a rather intriguing way to avoid a retirement home.

Fern Hill is the name of a farmhouse owned by Jer (David Rasche) and his wife Sunny (Jill Eikenberry). While the play takes place in the present, the farmhouse contains a mix of appliances like a modern stereo alongside an old fridge and stove. The combination hits you immediately that this is a rather quaint place which is the perfect escape from city life.

Their long-time friends Vincent (John Glover) and Darla (Dee Hoty) and Billy (Tom McGowan) and Michiko (Jodi Long) are visiting. It's a combination of academics, artists, and an aging rock and roller who loves to smoke pot.

"You're not an addict, you just like to be high all of the time," Michiko says about Billy - a bass player who also loves to cook... and eat.

The trio of couples have gotten together to celebrate three special birthdays for the men. They're each entering different decades - 60s, 70s, and 80s, but Vincent (the eldest) doesn't want to be part of the celebration since his birthday isn't for another month and he's got a hip surgery on his mind.

"I will be only half a hippie," he states.

Vincent is a well known artist whose work has been shown around the world. Meanwhile, Sunny has been painting as well, but lately suffering from artist's block. She desperately wants to know what Vincent truly thinks about her work.

When the guests tell Sunny how much they love visiting Fern Hill, she surprises them by pitching the idea that they all move in and live together. She points out how this would be far better than moving into a retirement home with strangers and could be a great financial savings for them as well. But, most of all, it would mean having fun together, while they grow old together. She says they are all like orphans right now with no one to take care of them.

"The farm will be our orphanage," said Sunny.

Everyone in the group LOVES the idea of turning Fern Hill into something like a commune except for Jer.

"We all get along great," Sunny says, trying to pitch the idea.

"Yeah, that's because we don't live together," Jer replies.

At this point, it's clear that tensions between Jer and Sunny are getting a bit hot. Billy tries to help out by bringing the guys outside to smoke a little weed.

With the guys out of the room, the women begin talking among themselves - trying to see if the idea of everyone living together could actually happen or if it's just a fantasy.

"I think it's time for us to find three younger guys…"

"Where do you go for that?"

"Home Depot. They have everything!"

The women discover that they all could see the idea of a commune feasible. Now they have to sell it on the others. But Sunny doesn't seem to mind if her husband is part of it or not. And then she throws out the bombshell question. She asks if her husband is cheating on her. Based on the reactions she gets, she has her answer.

"What are you going to do? Are you done with him?" she's asked.

"I just might be."

Sunny isn't content to just let things be. She confronts her husband directly. When she asks him flat out if he's been having an affair, he remains silent.

The two go back and forth with the others watching on. He says that she changed, that somewhere down the line she stopped loving him.

"I wish I stopped loving you," said Sunny. "I stopped adoring you because you stopped being adorable. What happened to that guy? Where did that guy go?"

"Where did you go?" asks Jer.

And then the conversation turns to sex. The good, the bad, and the ugly of it.

"How is we could be married all of these years and have sex 50,000 times and still be so dumb about it?" asks Sunny.

Fern Hill is a very enjoyable play about adult issues - everything from growing older to intimacy and relationships to the difficulties of the myriad levels of love. It's about how couples change over time; how some face situations that bring them closer, while others drift farther apart. It offers fascinating insights into the conversations couples never want to have and the parts of our lives we strive to keep private - even hidden from our friends.

The second act features an interesting twist - one that could bring the friends closer or tear them apart. But the big questions remain: will Jer and Sunny stay together and will the commune idea actually happen? Fern Hill is a nice blend of comedy and drama within a very adult issue-oriented play.

The entire cast is outstanding, but I thought three performances truly stood out: Tom McGowan was absolutely terrific as the aging rock and roller; John Glover is brilliant as usual, portraying a character that has to showcase quite a bit of depth; and Jill Eikenberry shows strength as a woman whose world is threatened on many levels.

Fern Hill was developed during a residency at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's National Playwrights Conference in 2017. Executive Director, Preston Whiteway. Artistic Director, Wendy C. Goldberg.

NJ Rep's 'Fern Hill' is a Star Studded, Cozy Comedy that Raises the Bar

www.manhattandigest.com

Aren't the elderly hilarious? American media thinks so. Time and time again, they are portrayed as feeble, frail, cantankerous, incontinent, confused, faculty challenged or a combination of the like.

Michael Tucker has risen high above these stereotypes with his new comedy Fern Hill, now enjoying a world premiere at New Jersey Repertory Theatre in Long Branch. The actor, best known for his long running tv series L.A. Law, has turned his attention to playwriting in recent years. Wise choice.

Under Nadia Tass' gentle direction, Tucker has delivered a hearty dose of humanity that is every bit as delicious as the clam sauce recipe his character Billy (Tom McGowan) amusingly describes near the top of the show.

Billy's jovial jabs at Jer's (David Rasche) cooking is one of the many ways in which Tucker develops his richly layered ensemble. Billy and his wife Michiko (Jodi Long), Jer and his wife Sunny (Jill Eikenberry), Darla (Dee Hoty) and her husband Vincent (John Glover) have all converged at Fern Hill, the name of Sunny and Jer's beautiful farmhouse (a set so nicely designed by Jessica Parks that you may want to take up residency.) It is clear that this pack has been through thick and thin but the bonds of their friendship remains iron tough. Now in their senior years, Sunny proposes a toast, suggesting that they all live together and care for one another as they grow older. Darla shirks a bit, claiming that the sixties are over and that living in a commune like hippies isn't her vision of a utopia. Soon however, she adopts the idea. Jer on the other hand isn't so certain. In time we learn why.

Tucker's idea for the work was loosely based on his own long-term friendships with two couples. He and his wife Eikenberry have a house in Umbria, Italy. After a night of grappa with his group, inspiration struck. It's an idea that could potentially be pitched to television producers for a heartwarming sitcom. Like the groundbreaking series, The Golden Girls, this paints seniors in a positive light by tackling real issues and discussing tough topics that are frequently repressed even by those closest to us.

I could have spent more time with the company of Fern Hill. Every player in this top notch cast–most of whom are Broadway vets–are bringing their "A game" to the stage. Their chemistry is so palpable it's hard to believe that they haven't been life long friends off stage. Tucker's sensitive writing is clearly reflective of his enduring marriage. He and Eikenberry have been together for nearly 50 years. For them, listening and learning seem to be innate skills that translate well to their stagework.

By 2050,almost 20 percent of our population will be 65 or older. We're living longer but with healthcare in disarray, pensions dissolving, social security threatened and a general societal disregard for the infirm, the outlook for a comfortable lot is grim. Tucker's idea is a mighty fine one that brings hope and comfort. Like The Beatles, he's acutely aware that we'll age. But as the mop tops assured baby boomers, "We'll Get by with a Little Help from Our Friends." Let's all toast to that.

Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker discuss new play 'Fern Hill'

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Acclaimed actors Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker chatted with Digital Journal about "Fern Hill," a comedy that was written by Tucker, and directed by Nadia Tass.

Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker are both known for their acting work on L.A. Law. They have been married for over 45 years. "If you are lucky enough to get with a partner that is supportive of your dreams and vice versa, then you can have a wonderful time in life," Tucker said. "What we have learned over the years is that we have to allow each other to change, and grow. It is still really exciting to be married to each other at this point," Eikenberry said.

On the idea for Fern Hill, Tucker said, "It has been a three-year process. I started writing it when we were in the middle of the run of my first play down in New Jersey three years ago. Then, it went through a couple of different drafts. Last summer, it was accepted into the Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference, which was a real thrill, and we did it up there as a stage reading."

Eikenberry also co-stars in the play Fern Hill. "It is wonderful. I am actually having the time of my life, to tell you the truth," she admitted. "Mike has written me an incredible role. Great roles for women my age don't come along that often. The fact that he wrote it, over the last three years, and he has honed it and it has become an extraordinary role. We got this extraordinary cast of actors, most of which are Tony winners, together. It is a dream to have this wonderful ensemble. It is a beautiful set, and we are selling out. They are adding performances, and it's really good."

In September of 2018, one of Tucker's 10-minute plays will be featured in the annual "A Festival of the Arts" event at the New Jersey Repertory Company.

One week after the play, they will be in Los Angeles partaking in an L.A. Law reunion on CBS' The Talk. "We have all been back in touch with each other quite a bit," she said, referring to her former cast-mates. "We had nothing but good experiences with them," they acknowledged.

They defined the word success as "finding more and more about who you are." "There is a good chance that you will have more meaningful relationships that way, and that's where the success is, as opposed to the money and the fame," Eikenberry said.

Digital transformation of the entertainment business

Regarding the impact of technology on the entertainment business, Tucker said, "It is great for actors because there is more product, and there are more opportunities for jobs. Like it was before, there are some great shows and some shows that are not so good. It is always going to be like that. Some of the shows that are streaming are fantastic."

"Right when we were finishing L.A. Law was when cable was coming in. That's how long it was. We thought cable was going to be sort of a temporary thing. If we had any idea what was going to happen, we would have invested in it," Eikenberry said. "But no, we didn't do that," Tucker added.

For their fans, they concluded, "Hopefully, we will continue after September 9. There are no seats left in New Jersey. This is a play about relationship. It's about men and women, and what happens in a long-term marriage, and it's very relevant to the #MeToo movement, in a way. It is a comedy and it's very funny."

Out IN Jersey

"Fern Hill" delves into the nature of long-standing relationships

By Allen Neuner

"Fern Hill" with Jill Eikenberry, Jodi Long, Dee Hoty. Photo credit: SuzAnne Barabas

Fern Hill a world premiere at New Jersey Repertory Company

Michael Tucker's new play Fern Hill receives its world premiere production at Long Branch's New Jersey Repertory Company. It is a well-crafted play with a skillful director and a cast at the peak of their dramatic skills. It is practically perfect in every way. New Jersey Rep should take pride in their latest production.

"Fern Hill" with David Rasche and Tom McGowan pictured. Photo credit: SuzAnne Barabas

Fern Hill takes place at the farm home of painter Sunny and philosopher-author Jer (Jill Eikenberry and David Rasche) in upstate New York. During a celebration of Jer's and musician Billy's (Tom McGowan) shared birthday, Sunny raises the possibility of the celebrants — which include artist Vincent (John Glover), his photographer-wife Darla (Dee Hoty), and Billy's wife Michiko (Jodi Long) — moving to the spacious farm. By living together, they could provide mutual support, companionship, and caring as they navigate their senior years. The idea is opposed by Jer, who assumes his opposition will be sufficient to kill the idea, and is disagreeably surprised when it doesn't. During the course of the evening and the weeks that follow, secrets come to light leading to transformations and the possibility of healing taking place between and among the three couples.

Every part of this play is fresh and unexpected. Actor/playwright Michael Tucker's script is humorous without being gag-laden and serious without becoming maudlin. His dialog is full of reminiscences, long-running but not serious disagreements, common likes, and mutual appreciations that friends share. Thus he has written true-to-life characters that, under the guidance of director Nadia Tass, become a group that you easily accept as having been closely-knit for many years.

The actors are nothing short of outstanding

"Fern Hill" world premier with Jill Eikenberry and John Glover in photo by SuzAnne Barabas

As for the actors, they are nothing short of outstanding. Top among them is John Glover's portrayal of an older man undergoing hip replacement surgery. The way he moves around the stage, his every choice of gesture, movement, and facial expression, reveals an actor at the peak of his talent. David Rasche's skilled portrayal of an unlikeable, but not evil, character is fascinating to see. Tom McGowan and Jodi Long's couple provides a fair amount of humor but never fall into buffoonery or clownishness. Dee Hoty portrays a woman concerned for her husband's well-being, yet able to trust her friends enough to leave him in their care while she attends an important exhibition of her work in Europe. Last but not least, Jill Eikenberry (playwright Tucker's wife) delivers a strong portrayal of a soft-spoken woman with both a warm, generous heart and the focused determination of a laser beam. Together, this cast delivers more sheer acting power than many larger casts in much bigger productions can muster.

Jessica Parks' set, a large living room/dining room/kitchen, looks comfortable and gives the impression of being lived in for many years. Jill Nagel's lighting and Merek Royce Press' sound make major contributions to this impression as well as aiding the flow of the piece. As for Patricia E. Doherty's costumes, they are true to character, of the present without being trendy, and give visual confirmation of the characters' easy familiarity with each other.

Fern Hill is of a quality rare to find in any play

While New Jersey Repertory Company has been consistent in presenting outstanding works, many getting their world premieres here, Fern Hill is of a quality rare to find in any play. The writing, the direction, the technical work, and above all the acting talent unite to create a play that would be a must-see for any serious theatre lover in any season. I strongly encourage you to see Fern Hill before its all-too-brief run is over.

'Fern Hill' brings drama to the theater in Long Branch

LONG BRANCH - A new play in Long Branch is bringing some familiar faces to the Garden State.

"Fern Hill" is about three Baby Boomer couples gathered in a farmhouse suddenly contemplating the idea of becoming retirement roommates. The plot of the play originated from one of playwright Michael Tucker's real life conversations.

"And we got into a discussion of why don't we all find a place where we can all live together and take care of each other and have a jolly old time," Tucker said.

He says some people thought it was a terrible idea and in the "Fern Hill," the thought of friends moving in together drives a wedge between one of the couples.

The play is the latest collaboration between one of show businesses' most enduring marriages. Tucker and wife Jill Eikenberry have been married for 45 years. The two rose to fame on the TV drama "L.A. Law."

"We were surprised at how much we liked working together," Eikenberry said. "I likened it to a trapeze act. You know the catcher's going to catch you so you can try the triple."

'L.A. Law' Star Michael Tucker Brings World Premiere to NJ Repertory Company

www.manhattandigest.com

Italy. For centuries, this crown jewel of the Meditteranean has inspired great works of art that have reached celestial heights. For Da Vinci, it was–among other masterpieces–the Vitruvian Man. Michelangelo gave us David and the Sistine Chapel. Puccini filled our ears with lush scores of "La Boheme" and "Turandot." More recently, this scenic country encouraged actor-turned-playwright Michael Tucker to draft his latest work, Fern Hill. The world premiere drama-comedy opens this Thursday at NJ Rep in Long Branch, New Jersey.

A recent press release describes the show as follows:

Three couples in their golden years are gathered at Sunny and Jer's farmhouse to celebrate milestone birthdays that span three decades. The foundation of their long friendship is honesty and support – as well as a commitment to the enjoyment of food, wine, and laughter. They're so close that Sunny suggests they all move in together – to live and work and assist one another as they grow older. Their companionship is put to the test, however, when a marital betrayal is discovered. The bonds of loyalty and truth are explored in this mature comedy.

Tucker, best known for his long-running stint on television's L.A. Law recently spoke to Manhattan Digest at a press preview of the show. "The inspiration came on the occasion of my 70th birthday. Two other close friends of mine were turning 60 and 80 that year," he explained. "We all have houses in Umbria, Italy and one night, with each of our wives, we went to a village party and knocked back some shots of grappa. The thought of us all living together and taking care of each other in one villa occurred to me and provided the basis for the play." Tucker developed his play in 2017 at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's National Playwrights Conference. "This cast is beyond my wildest dreams," Tucker said.

Of course, it helps that the woman of his dreams is in the cast. Jill Eikenberry, who shared the small screen with her husband in L.A. Law (earning five Emmy awards for her role as lawyer Ann Kelsey) was on hand to reflect her thoughts. "It's so smart of Michael to be writing work like this," she said. "As I get older, the parts become fewer and fewer." Tucker and Eikenberry are somewhat of a unicorn in Hollywood, having been happily together for 47 years and married for 45 of them. Their secret to longevity? "If you can find someone who is game for your desires, and you're game for theirs, you can have so much fun- and we do!" Tucker said. Eikenberry added, "We've allowed each other to change. That is too scary for some people because they want to hold on to that thing that brought them together, but we've allowed that change in one another."

Tom McGowan, a familiar face from television's Everybody Loves Raymond and Frasier, also stars. "The characters in Fern Hill are very well drawn, not just in their couples but each individual character. It really jumped off the page." Although he hit the jackpot in two of tv's most popular and enduring sitcoms, McGowan's first love is the theatre. "Getting to rehearse for three and a half weeks and getting better and better with each try? There's really nothing like it," he said. "Plus, I grew up 15 miles from Long Branch, so my family and high school friends are going to come."

Three-time Tony Award winner Dee Hoty is another starry name who will grace the NJ Rep Stage for Tucker's play. Coincidentally, Hoty and McGowan were both nominated for Tonys in 1991 and would see each other at all of the press events. "We just really hit it off," McGowan said. "She's such a great, funny lady and we've run into each other from time to time but have never worked together. When I learned she would be in it, I was so excited." Hoty was cast in the show in a roundabout way. At the press preview, she explained, "I auditioned for a play that Nadia Tass (director of Fern Hill) was directing and I didn't get it. But, she went home, called Michael, and said that she had found an actress for him for the show. I met him for a drink, and I got the job! So, you just never know." Hoty said that she, "cut her teeth on Regional theater," having received her Equity card at Cleveland Playhouse. The busy actress, last seen on Broadway in Bright Star, has some yet to be announced projects up her sleeve. For now though, is thrilled to be working among such a talented cast.

Other familiar faces of stage and screen including John Glover, Jodi Long, and David Rasche will round out this top-shelf cast.

www.NJ.com

How working together makes the hard stuff easier: Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker talk partnerships

Jill Eikenberry and David Rasche star in "Fern Hill," which explores long-term relationships. (SuzAnne Barabas photo)

By Natalie Pompilio

Michael Tucker's "Fern Hill," which had its world premiere Thursday at New Jersey Repertory Company, explores relationships between men and women, particularly those that are long term.

It's something Tucker knows a bit about: He and wife, Jill Eikenberry, one of the play's stars, celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary in June.

"There are certain behaviors a woman wouldn't accept from a boss or co-worker that she'll accept from her husband because the stakes are so high," Tucker said. "That's a big issue in this play."

Tucker and Eikenberry are perhaps best known for their roles as married lawyers in "L.A. Law," the legal drama that ran for eight seasons on NBC. Both were nominated for Emmy Awards for their work on the series, and Eikenberry won a Golden Globe for best performance by an actress in a television series in 1989.

"In many ways, it was easy to do the hard stuff on 'L.A. Law,' " Eikenberry said. "I likened (working with Tucker) to a trapeze act: I knew he was going to catch me, so I could try the triple."

The couple continue to act opposite each other on film and on the stage.

They've also found new roles: Tucker has written a novel, multiple autobiographies and other plays. In September, one of his 10-minute plays will be featured in NJ Rep's annual A Festival of the Arts event.

Eikenberry directed one of Tucker's plays -- "Pittsburgh" -- and is returning to Feinstein's/54 Below with her one-woman show "Here I Go Again!" in 2019. She's also starred in other Tucker plays.

"It was so smart of me as I got older and parts got fewer to have my husband write roles for me," Eikenberry joked.

"Fern Hill" centers on three married couples, longtime friends, who meet up to celebrate three significant birthdays among them: a 60th, a 70th and an 80th. When the idea of the three couples moving in together to help each other as they age, a secret that could change their relationships forever is revealed.

"With the #MeToo movement and all the talk now about equity between men and women, this play is very relevant and resonant," said Eikenberry, whose character, Sunny, is the one who sets the mature comedy in motion by suggesting the communal living arrangement. "It tackles an area that's not much talked about: equity in a long-term marriage."

Tucker said he got the idea for the play from real life -- he and Eikenberry have talked with friends about living in a shared compound, perhaps in Italy.

But the dramatic twist is fictional.

"It doesn't come from real life," Eikenberry said. "In this play, I love the character, but she's not me."

Photo Coverage: Meet the Cast of New Jersey Repertory Company's FERN HILL

www.broadwayworld.com

New Jersey Repertory Company, located at 179 Broadway in Long Branch, will soon present the premiere of Fern Hill by Michael Tucker (L.A. Law, Radio Days), from August 9 through September 9, 2018.

Fern Hill is helmed by Australian director, Nadia Tass, and stars Jill Eikenberry (L.A. Law, Moonchildren), John Glover (Smallville, Waiting for Godot), Dee Hoty (Bright Star, Mamma Mia!), Jodi Long (Sullivan and Son, The Hot Chick, Splash), Tom McGowan (Frasier, Wicked, Chicago), and David Rasche (Speed-the-Plow, Veep, Burn After Reading).

Three couples in their golden years are gathered at Sunny and Jer's farmhouse to celebrate milestone birthdays that span three decades. The foundation of their long friendship is honesty and support - as well as a commitment to the enjoyment of food, wine, and laughter. They're so close that Sunny suggests they all move in together - to live and work and assist one another as they grow older. Their companionship is put to the test, however, when a marital betrayal is discovered. The bonds of loyalty and truth are explored in this mature comedy.

Director Nadia Tass and playwright Michael Tucker

Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker

Michael Tucker

Jill Eikenberry

David Rasche

Dee Hoty

John Glover

Jodi Long

Dee Hoty

Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker

Michael Tucker

Jodi Long

John Glover

Dee Hoty

Tom McGowan

Tom McGowan

Jill Eikenberry

Jill Eikenberry

Michael Tucker

John Glover

David Rasche

Dee Hoty, John Glover, Jodi Long, Michael Tucker, Tom McGowan, Jill Eikenberry and David Rasche

NEW JERSEY REP TO PRESENT MICHAEL TUCKER'S 'FERN HILL'

Sandi Durell's THEATER PIZZAZZ

The press met with the cast and creator of the new comedy Fern Hill written by Michael Tucker – actor turned playwright – and directed by Australian Nadia Tass. The ensemble cast is made up of many sought after and well known actors including his wife, Jill Eikenberry, along with John Glover, Dee Hoty, Jodi Long, Tom McGowan and David Rasche. The play will be presented from August 9 thru September 9, with an opening night on August 11.

Director Nadia Tass and playwright Michael Tucker

Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker

Michael Tucker

Jill Eikenberry

David Rasche

Dee Hoty

John Glover

Jodi Long

Dee Hoty

Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker

Michael Tucker

Jodi Long

John Glover

Dee Hoty

Tom McGowan

Tom McGowan

Jill Eikenberry

Jill Eikenberry

Michael Tucker

John Glover

David Rasche

Dee Hoty, John Glover, Jodi Long, Michael Tucker, Tom McGowan, Jill Eikenberry and David Rasche

Fern Hill is a story about three couples (largely based on the experiences of the playwright and his wife) in their golden years where they have gathered at one of the couple's farmhouse to celebrate their milestone birthdays spanning three decades. Honesty and support have been the foundation of their friendship, along with a commitment to food, wine and laughter. What happens when one of them suggests they all move in together . . . live, work and assist one another as they grow older? Their relationships are put to a test, a marital betrayal discovered as the bonds of loyalty and truth are explored in this mature comedy.

Meet the cast and playwright here in video interviews and more.

Rehearsal Scenes From the Play:

Husband and Wife Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker, John Glover and More Head to New Jersey Rep

Long Branch Theatrical Couple Uncovered Creative Potential of Artists with Disabilities

In the early 1990s Gabor Barabas, MD, was medical director of the Matheny School and Hospital, a special hospital and school in Peapack, NJ, for children and adults with medically complex developmental disabilities. His wife, SuzAnne, who was director of the Peanut Butter Theatre for children, couldn't help wondering about the creative potential that might reside inside the minds of her husband's patients if they were given the opportunity to express themselves.

SuzAnne Barabas, now artistic director of the Long Branch-based New Jersey Repertory Company, suggested to Dr. Barabas that the Matheny residents be paired with professional artists, who would act as their facilitators. "I felt it was important to bring in artists to establish the program, not therapists," she says. "We wanted instructors without any clinical knowledge, who had no preconceived ideas about potential limitations or about what a student could or could not do. Anything was possible. We viewed the participants not merely as students but as apprentices."

To get the program started, the couple first presented the idea to Robert Schonhorn, then Matheny's president, who encouraged them to move forward. They then obtained a $35,000 seed grant from the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation. "The artist instructors," SuzAnne Barabas explains, "were asked to focus on how they could facilitate each student's vision -- whether it was in painting or sculpture or photography or writing -- and never to influence that vision. The focus was always on process and facilitation, and then the outcome would follow. A primary goal was to foster independence and build confidence and to create an environment away from the classroom. When the first room was designated for the program (in 1993), it became, she says, "a studio away from the school and hospital."

The first project was called "wheelsizing". "We would put a large canvas on the floor," Dr. Barabas recalls, "and the artists would create paintings with their wheelchairs. We would ask them, 'What color did they want on the canvas?' And they started to paint." Some of those early paintings were exhibited at the Newark Museum and at a local gallery called the Garage. How did that happen? "We showed them the work," SuzAnne Barabas says, "and the work spoke for itself. Accommodations were not made because an artist had a disability. We entered various works into art contests and won various awards, and we never mentioned beforehand that the submitting artists had a physical disability."

Dr. Barabas, now executive producer of the New Jersey Repertory Company, remembers that one of the Matheny artists won an award from the New Jersey Lawyers Association. "The entries were anonymous," he says, "and, all of a sudden, we wheel in a wheelchair with augmentative communication devices at the awards dinner."

In addition to painting, another early success was sculpture. "The sculpture students," SuzAnne says, "made machetes out of clay, and then it became important to find a way to get to foundries and make molds of the machetes and, ultimately, to create bronze pieces. It was felt that it was important for the students to go through the whole process, and, so, the funds to do this were allocated by Bob Schonhorn. We wanted to emphasize the value of each sculptor's work, and we made sure also to frame all the paintings professionally."

After SuzAnne Barabas helped launch the program, the next step was building an arts center. Aided by a major fundraising campaign, the Robert Schonhorn Arts Center was constructed in 2000. "As the idea expanded to create an arts center," SuzAnne says, "the goal was to put the building as far from the school and hospital as architecturally possible so that the student artists would have to 'travel' to get there." As a result, the arts center is not attached to Matheny's main building.

This year, Matheny (now known as the Matheny Medical and Educational Center) will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Arts Access Program at Full Circle 2018: Then and Now, to be held on November 3 in the Robert Schonhorn Arts Center. Although the program, in its early stages, focused mainly on the visual arts, it has grown to include other disciplines such as dance, drama, and writing. Full Circle will feature a visual art gallery exhibition of paintings and digital art created by Arts Access artists and a stage presentation showcasing performance pieces by Arts Access choreographers, dramatists, and writers.

Eileen Murray, who has been director of Arts Access since 2011, explains the program's philosophy this way: "We provide the creative freedom for the artists to express themselves, but it is the artists who bring this work to life. The art you will see at Full Circle represents 25 years of creativity by a remarkable group of artists."

"From the get-go," Dr. Barabas points out, "we were convinced that we could build a model program that could be replicated, that had potential to not only serve the population at Matheny but could also serve the larger population." That goal has been achieved, as the Arts Access method has been adapted by other organizations for the disabled such as the Arc of Mercer County in Ewing, NJ, and the WAE Center of Jewish Services for the Developmentally Disabled in West Orange, NJ.

Through the years, the Arts Access Program has won many awards, and the work of Arts Access artists has been exhibited at several venues. In addition to the Newark Museum, they have included the New Jersey State Museum, ABC World Headquarters, and the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ. But the program's prestige was perhaps best described a few years ago by Nicholas Paleologos, executive director of the New Jersey State Council of the Arts, who, serving as honorary chair of Full Circle in 2015, said: "I am so very proud of the work being done here. No arts program is more unique than Matheny's."

BWW Review: MERCY at NJ Rep is a Poignant New Play Excellently Presented

www.broadwayworld.com

"We can't change the past, but we can work on the present."
By Walter in Mercy

New Jersey Repertory Company (NJ Rep) is now presenting the world premiere of Adam Szymkowicz's play, Mercy. With excellent direction by Gail Winar, the show features a cast that makes this dark comedy totally absorbing.

In Mercy, Orville's wife was a pedestrian killed by a drunk driver. Feeling lost and alone with his newborn daughter, Orville tries to get through his days at the office, while his father, Walter tends to the baby. Orville's workplace becomes uncomfortable when his boss, Brenda says she wants to comfort him, but certainly has something else in mind. The story takes an unexpected turn when Orville encounters Ian, the troubled man with addiction problems who is responsible for his wife's fatality. Orville becomes familiar with his wife's killer, while he considers a way to avenge her death. As Orville deals with grief, responsibility, and moving on with his life, he faces some serious, personal dilemmas.

The cast's compelling performances capture the drama, suspense, and humor in Szymkowicz's well-crafted play. Whether it's Walter patiently providing care to his adult son and granddaughter, Brenda subtly propositioning Orville, or Orville confronting Ian, the individual scenes are riveting. The troupe includes Christopher Daftsios as Ian Sanders; Dan Grimaldi as Walter Marks; Nandita Shenoy as Brenda James; and Jacob A. Ware as Orville Marks. Chris Price is the company's understudy.

The Production Staff has done a great job of bringing Mercy to the Long Branch stage with a flexible set that works well for each scene. They include scenic design by Jessica Parks; lighting design by Jill Nagle; sound design by Merek Royce Press; and costume design by Patricia E. Doherty. The Production Stage Manager is Kristin Pfeifer; Assistant Stage Manager is Adam von Pier; Technical Director is Brian P. Snyder; Master Electrician is James Lockhart; Assistant Director is Janey Huber.

Mercy has a significant story that brings to light important issues of our times that include the devastating problems caused by drunk drivers, the trials of single parenting, and the value of family support. Executive Producer, Gabor Barabas and Artistic Director, Suzanne Barabas are continuing to present the finest new theatre productions year-round to metro area audiences.

BWW Interview: Playwright Adam Szymkowicz and MERCY at NJ Rep 6/14 to 7/15

www.broadwayworld.com

New Jersey Repertory Company (NJ Rep) is proud to present the world premiere of Adam Szymkowicz's Mercy from June 14 through July 15. This surprisingly funny, dark comedy is directed by Gail Winar, and stars Christopher Daftsios, Dan Grimaldi, Nandita Shenoy, and Jacob A. Ware. After his wife is killed in a car accident, Orville attempts to move on with his life. His father takes on the responsibility of caring for his new granddaughter, while his boss at work, aggressively tries to comfort him. However, everything changes for Orville when he inadvertently meets Ian, the troubled man responsible for his wife's death. Will Orville choose redemption or revenge?

Broadwayworld.com had the pleasure of interviewing Adam Szymkowicz about his career and Mercy at NJ Rep.

Szymkowicz's plays have been produced throughout the U.S., and in Canada, England, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Greece, Mexico, Turkey, South Korea, Slovenia and Lithuania. Published plays include Deflowering Waldo, Pretty Theft, Food For Fish, Hearts Like Fists, Incendiary, Clown Bar, The Why Overhead, Adventures of Super Margaret, 7 Ways To Say I Love You, Rare Birds, Marian Or The True Tale of Robin Hood, and Nerve. Adam received a Playwright's Diploma from The Juilliard School's Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program and an MFA from Columbia University. He has interviewed 1000 playwrights on his blog.

When did you first realize your penchant for writing?

I was in plays starting in kindergarten through college and acting wasn't my thing exactly but I loved theater. My final year of college I wrote, directed and produced a play and when the audience responded to the play in real time, I was floored, and I've been chasing that feeling ever since.

What writers are you likely to read for relaxation or in your down time?

You know what I really loved recently? "The Night Circus." Have you read that? I read a lot of YA these days. I love anything by Rainbow Rowell. I just read a graphic novel called "Tricked" by Alex Robinson. I also just finished writing a play about a bookstore so I was reading a bunch of books about bookstores. I also just read a lot of plays.

Do you have any particular mentors?

Chris Durang and Marsha Norman were huge influences and later became my teachers and mentors.

You have interviewed an incredible number of playwrights for your blog. Are there any particular insights you'd like to share from the interview process?

I think my biggest takeaway is the scope of the American theater. People are coming from everywhere writing about everything and they are smart and dedicated and there are just a huge number of really talented people trying to do this weird thing. And I love that.

Tell us a little about the inspiration for Mercy.

I never know how to answer this question and it's the question I get the most. I'm not sure when plays come from. I guess I just get interested in telling a story and sometimes that's about a moment or a character or some words. I don't know where the jokes come from or why I have to write these things. And I'm not saying it's easy to write or anything. No muse dictates to me. But I can't usually point to a moment in my life or an article I read that explains why I wrote a play. So I guess that's my non-answer answer. It came from somewhere but I don't know where.

How do you like working with NJ Rep?

They're a great group of people. This is my first show and it's in process but I think I can say they are smart and supportive, take good care of the artists and are truly kind people. And it's very civilized to walk to the beach after rehearsal.

What are some of your plans for the future?

I have another premiere coming up from the NOLA Project in New Orleans early in the winter. It's about a TGIFridays type restaurant that gets taken hostage. It has a lot of songs. It might be a musical. Also probably a New York production that hasn't been announced yet. And I have a bunch of other productions of some of my other plays, including Marian Or The True Tale Of Robin Hood at Theater of Note in LA this summer.

Is there anything else you would like BWW NJ readers to know?

If you're interested in playwrights or writing, read some of the 1000 playwright interviews I posted on my blog. For more information about Adam Szymkowicz and to read his blog, please visit http://www.adamszymkowicz.com/.

www.NJ.com

Edna Ferber festival celebrates a little-known literary giant

N.J. Repertory Company celebrates writer Edna Ferber with "Five by Ferber" May 31 - June 3.

By Natalie Pompilio

While Edna Ferber may not be a household name, plays and movies based on he works certainly are. The author, who died in 1968 at age 82, penned the novel "Show Boat," which was adapted into the well-known musical by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein. Her take on the Texas oil business, "Giant," became the 1956 film starring James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson.

And the list of Ferber's successes goes on: She won a Pulitzer Prize for her 1924 novel "So Big"; "Dinner at Eight," her 1932 collaboration with playwright George S. Kaufman, was nominated for multiple Tony Awards when it was revived on Broadway in 2003; two other works - "Cimarron," published in 1929, and "Ice Palace," published in 1958 - were also silver screen successes.

"She was ahead of her time," said Julie Gilbert, Ferber's grand-niece, biographer and estate executor. "She was huge and most people don't know anything about her."

That may change after "Five by Ferber," May 31 to June 3 at West End Arts Center, a collaborative effort between Gilbert and New Jersey Repertory Company.

"She's a female pioneer in the arts and that's something we always want to celebrate," said Alli Angelou, N.J. Rep's box office manager, assistant to N.J. Rep artistic director SuzAnne Barabas and "festival wrangler." "She spent so much of her life and work giving voices to groups that didn't have them and I wouldn't have know that without this festival."

Ferber, a member of the Algonquin Round Table, was a prolific writer who began her career as a journalist. Scholars say she she was one of the most influential and widely read female authors of her time.

"Five by Ferber" refers to five new one-act plays based on Ferber short stories -- all will have salon readings during the festival. The five writers are female; Gilbert is one of them.

"I think people will be surprised at the breadth of her concerns and at the fact that she was not a one-trick pony," Gilbert said. "She not only wrote short stories, but novels -- and not only novels, but plays. Everything she touched had a Midas touch- feel to it, but that's because she was good."

The festival finale is a reading of a newly discovered Horton Foote play, "Selina Peake," based on Ferber's novel "So Big." Gilbert found the work, written on onion paper, in a box of her great-aunt's papers that she was sorting through before sending them to the University of Wisconsin, which maintains the Ferber archives.

"It was like, 'Oh my God. Look at this.' It was like finding a Degas or something," Gilbert said. "I never knew anything about this or how (Ferber and Foote) got together ... Nobody knows why this was never produced."

Gilbert, who was named after a "Show Boat" character, will open the four-day festival on May 31 with a talk centered on the differences between her great-aunt's novel and the Kern/Hammerstein musical.

"People know 'Ol Man River,' but that really wasn't her. The novel is much darker, much more harrowing, than the musical," Gilbert said. "I think her work is more relevant today than it ever was ... She spoke out against injustice like nobody's business."

www.NJ.com

'Issei, He Say' is a slow-burning drama with a huge payoff in Long Branch: review

Christina Liang, Stan Egi, Kathleen Kwan, Fenton Li in a scene from "Issei, He Say" at NJ Repertory Company in Long Branch. (SuzAnne Barabas)

By Patrick Maley

The characters in Chloe Hung's great new play, "Issei, He Say, or the Myth of the First," are doubly beset: on one hand by a painful history they cannot change, and on another by a frightful present condition that they struggle to control. In this tense terrain, Hung proves herself an exciting new playwriting voice by finding both explosive conflict and complex warmth.

Set in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, "Issei, He Say" focuses on two houses of Asian immigrants. The Chus--Lucy (Christina Liang), her mother (Kathleen Kwan), and father (Fenton Li)--have recently moved from China, next door to Mr. Yamamoto (Stan Egi), originally from Japan and living conspicuously alone with his garden. Jessica Parks's efficient set on the small Long Branch stage emphasizes the inescapable intimacy between the two homes, but from the start we understand that Mr. Chu wants very little to do with Mr. Yamamoto, despite the latter's overtures of neighborly friendship. It does not take long for us to learn that Mr. Chu has fled China with his family seeking refuge from the violence invading Japanese forces imposed prior to World War II, and despite the fact that Mr. Yamamoto has been in Canada since well before the war, Mr. Chu considers him implicated in the horrors that ripped apart his family and country. "Howdy neighbor" calls Mr. Yamamoto every morning, only to receive in response a grunt that is bound up with myriad layers of personal and cultural pain.

But Hung adds more richness to this tension by offering the play as the memories of Lucy, who serves as narrator. Twelve-years-old, in a new country, and the victim of constant xenophobic bullying, Lucy takes great cheer in the warmth of Mr. Yamamoto, despite her father's chastising. As narrator, an elder Lucy makes clear that her younger self bore very little of the cultural pain of her parents; she just wanted the kind of friendly face offered by her kind neighbor. It is Mr. Yamamoto who reveals the meaning of the play's title, telling Lucy that issei is a Japanese term for first-generation immigrants like her, comforting the girl by contextualizing her struggle.

For much of the first act, "Issei" threatens to be a one-note play about how the obstinate Chinese family refuses to see past the heritage of the Japanese man despite Lucy's admiration and Mr. Yamamoto's friendliness. Egi does fine work as the kindly neighbor, but we don't see much beyond that type.

But after intermission, the sly work by Hung and Egi emerges: that which seemed flat in act one shows to have just been a resting powder keg awaiting the ignition that comes in act two. A variety of factors offer the necessary spark, but when tension rises to outright conflict, Hung dives deeply and eagerly into the fraught psyches of her characters. The playwright is not interested in adjudicating the conflict, but rather in wrestling with the pain that rebuffs solace in each character. The explosive act-two clash rewrites and recontextualizes everything that comes before and after it, especially for Mr. Yamamoto and Mrs. Chu. Egi reveals how difficult it was for his character to perform the constant warmth that seemed to emanate from him earlier, and Kwan shows a side of Mrs. Chu suppressed almost entirely to this point. Here and elsewhere throughout the show, director Lisa James shows a confident hand in modulating the levels of animosity and strained cordiality between the characters.

Filtered though Lucy's lens, "Issei, He Say" takes on added depth and warmth because it is not only about how cultural baggage can render personal connection intractable, but also about a young girl struggling to reconcile that bewildering condition. In this, Hung shows herself a playwright interested in the difficulty of gazing through competing lenses, and "Issei, He Say" proves itself an evocative, challenging play.

BWW Review: ISSEI, HE SAY at NJ Rep is an Important Play Wonderfully Performed

www.broadwayworld.com

"We have more in common than you think."

By Mr. Yamamoto in Issei, He Say (Or the Myth of the First)

The New Jersey Repertory Company (NJ Rep) is now presenting the world premiere of Issei, He Say (Or the Myth of the First) through May 20. Written by Chloé Hung and directed by Lisa James, the play is the winner of an Edgerton New Play Award. With superb staging and an excellent cast, this compelling production reveals many of the challenges faced by first generation immigrants. This is a show that should be seen. Important and timely, it portrays themes that transcend ethnic and geographic boundaries.

Issei, He Say is set in a working class neighborhood in the community of Scarborough, Toronto. In the play, Lucy Chu is a 12 year-old girl who is torn between a valued friendship and the feelings of her parents. The Chu family has emigrated from Hong Kong to Ontario, where they have a Japanese neighbor, Mr. Yamamoto who has lived in Canada for a long time. Lucy is bullied at school and she feels like an outsider. Mr. Yamamoto offers her kindness and some very good advice. But Mr. and Mrs. Chu resent Mr. Yamamoto and the Japanese people because of the atrocities that occurred in China during the siege of Nanking. There is a constant tension between the adult neighbors and Lucy is caught in the middle. While the issues in the show are of a serious nature, there are plenty of light and funny moments.

The show stars accomplished actors who bring Issei, He Say to life on the Long Branch stage. The cast includes Stan Egi as Mr. Yamamoto; Kathleen Kwan as Mrs. Chu; Fenton Li as Mr. Chu; and Christina Liang as Lucy Chu. Memorable scenes are wonderfully portrayed including Mrs. Chu's impromptu dancing, thoughtful chats between Mr. Yamamoto and Lucy, Mr. Chu's television obsession, and clashes between the adults.

The Production Staff has done a top job of bringing Issei, He Say to the Long Branch stage. They include scenic design by Jessica Parks; lighting design by Jill Nagle; sound design by Merek Royce Press; costume design by Patricia Doherty; properties design by Marisa Procopio. The Stage Manager is Rebecca Kestel; Assistant Stage Managers are Adam von Pier and Heather Welsh; the Technical Director is Brian P. Snyder; Master Electrician is James Lockhart; and the Lighting Intern is Janey Huber.

We predict that Issei, He Say (Or the Myth of the First) is a show that will have a long life in the theatre. It is a revealing portrait of humankind at a time when immigration and the plight of refugees is a significant issue in our country and beyond. The show is the 124th play that NJ Rep has presented in their 24 seasons. We congratulate Executive Producer, Gabor Barabas and Artistic Director, SuzAnne Barabas for continuing to bring groundbreaking shows to the metro area.

A CurtainUp New Jersey Review - Issei, He Say, or The Myth of the First

Stan Egi and Kathleen Swan (photo credit: SuzAnne Barabas)

Mr. Yamamoto was the first Japanese man I had ever met. Well...that's not saying much because everyone in Canada was the first of whatever they were that I had ever met. Down on College Street were all the Italians, my cousins told me on the Danforth was where all the Greek people lived, and the Jewish people lived up Bathurst. — Lucy

Living the American dream in Scarborough (Toronto) Canada can be a challenge if not a nightmare, as it becomes for a Chinese family newly arrived from Hong Kong with the hopes of settling down comfortably in a working class neighborhood in 1969. As confidently directed by Lisa James, this heart-felt, if also problematic, fictional memory play by Chloeá Hung chronicles the unhappy experiences of the Chu family in an unwelcoming community. As if it isn't enough for Mr. Chu (Fenton Li) and his wife (Kathleen Kwan) to feel alienated when the small convenience store they run is vandalized, their 12 year-old daughter Lucy (Christina Liang) is made miserable every day at the public school she attends by racial taunts and bullying from the other girls.

An even more unexpected issue involves their next door neighbor Mr. Yamamoto (Stan Egi) who is Japanese and unwittingly brings back horrific memories of World War II to Mr. and Mrs. Chu. Mr. Chu is reluctant to let the past go and makes no attempt to be neighborly. On the other hand, Mr. Yamamoto, who earns his living as a gardener, is a first generation Japanese. He lived and worked as a fisherman in Vancouver until his wife and child chose to be repatriated and return to Japan. Alone, but willing to be a good neighbor ("Good day, neighbor") gets only a chilly nod from Mr. Chu on his way to work. He makes it clear that he holds Mr. Yamamoto personally responsible for the atrocities committed to members of his family by the Japanese.

Only Lucy, who likes to visit Mr. Yamamoto in his garden and Mrs. Chu who is willing to consider a truce create a bridge toward reconciliation. He empathizes with Lucy by small gestures while also trying to make her understand the difficulties of being Issei or first generation. He understands Mrs. Chu's difficulty being excluded by the Canadian ladies she meets who mock her attempts to pronounce certain words. In a lovely/funny scene Mrs. Chu practices Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog" moving in rhythm.

It isn't often that we get a play about Asian immigration and especially with Canada as a locale and playwright Hung makes no concessions on how difficult it is for people to start fresh and leave their emotional baggage. An up and coming playwright to watch, Chinese-American Hung lets us see how the lingering and bitter memories harbored by Lucy's parents and those of Mr. Yamamoto who has been sadly estranged from his family for an entire generation, contribute to their testy relationship.

A tumultuous confrontation between Mr. and Mrs. Chu and Mr. Yamamoto raises the play's emotional bar even above the anger that mostly propels the play. Stan Egi is excellent as the good-intentioned Japanese gardener who hopes to break down the wall of hostility that his neighbor has built. Although patriarchal in the extreme, Fenton Li nicely shades Mr. Chu's resistance to peaceful co-existence. Kathleen Kwan brings a disarming quality to Mrs. Chu, a talented woman ready and willing to start a new career.

Christina Lang is lovely as the young Lucy and also keeps a warmly intoned narrative flowing between 1969 and 1990 as her older self. Designer Jessica Park's setting that conjoins the two homes and features Yamamoto's beautiful, if small, flower garden, serves a play that makes a credible argument for racial empathy over societal apathy.

Out IN Jersey

"Issei, He Say" depicts the tragedy of losses kept alive

By Allen Neuner

"Issei, He Say" is being presented by the New Jersey Repertory Company

World premiere at New Jersey Repertory Company

Hatred can be passed down from generation to generation until its origin becomes lost in the mists of time. Hatred can be born as quickly as a sprouting weed from the pain of personal tragedy. Both of these forms of hatred are examined in Issei, He Say (or the Myth of the First), making its world premiere at the New Jersey Repertory Company in Long Branch.

"Issei, He Say" is being presented by the New Jersey Repertory Company "Issei, He Say" is being presented by the New Jersey Repertory Company Issei, He Say takes place in 1969 and follows 12-year-old Lucy Chu, a recent arrival in Canada from Hong Kong with her parents. The Chus struggle during this first year, running a failing store bought with their life savings and trying to assimilate into their Toronto neighborhood. Lucy, out of place and friendless, is bullied at school and can find no sympathy from her preoccupied parents. Their next-door neighbor, Mr. Yamamoto, is an issei, a first-generation Japanese-Canadian. Despite Mr. Yamamoto's unfailing kindness toward the Chus, Mr. Chu responds with abrasive condescension. The Chu women begin to respond to Yamamoto's advice and encouragement, but have to fend off Mr. Chu's disapproval. The arrival of a letter from Japan triggers revelations of past personal hurts on all sides, leading to a stunning conclusion.

The quartet of actors in Issei, He Say is outstanding

Playwright Chloé Hung, herself Chinese-Canadian, skillfully captures the pain of being the first in a new situation and the sympathy one newcomer can feel toward another. She and director Lisa James are well served by the outstanding cast. The remarkable Stan Egi is a benevolent Mr. Yamamoto, wanting to ease the transition for his new neighbors yet repressing his own emotional turmoil. Christina Liang captures in Lucy Chu the emotional mix of a young girl beginning to make the at-times difficult transition from child to adolescent, loving yet beginning to question her parents' ways. Kathleen Kwan and Fenton Li excel in illuminating such adult problems as dealing with a new language, a new culture, and a new country, struggling with hardships they never bargained on, and needing to blame someone — anyone — for their feelings of pain and loss.

The only quibble I found came in the play's final scene. An older Lucy addresses the audience, summing up the effects of that first year in Canada. A gesture made by one of the characters, its meaning left for the audience to decide, adds an unsettling final note to the story.

As usual, NJ Rep's scenic design is amazing and Jessica Parks' work, given the small playing space and budget restrictions, is wonderful. While the side-by-side houses of Yamamoto and the Chus mirror each other, their front yards have a visual impact capturing the differences between the neighbors. Parks' set is complimented by the lighting design of Jill Nagle.

This is a strong work, dealing with its characters honestly yet with a certain affection. Chloé Hung is a playwright worth following, and it will be interesting to see works by her in the future. As well, this show provides us with the pleasure of seeing an outstanding quartet of actors perform, both individually and as an ensemble. For these reasons, I suggest you visit the New Jersey Repertory Company's production of Issei, He Say.

www.NJ.com

At NJ Rep, a world premiere set in the past with relevance to the present

Chloe Hung's "Issei, He Say" has its world premiere run at NJ Repertory Company April 19 - May 20. In this scene, Christina Liang watches the interactions between her new neighbor played by Stan Egi, and her parents played by Kathleen Kwan and Fenton Li (SuzAnne Barabas)

By Natalie Pompilio

Playwright Chloe Hung's "Issei, He Say (or The Myth of the First)" explores how past events affect current day, the challenges of fitting in and how moving forward doesn't mean history is forgotten.

The drama, which will have its world premiere at New Jersey Repertory Theatre April 21, centers on two immigrant families -- "Issei" is a Japanese term meaning "first generation" -- and was inspired by Hung's grandparents' story.

"The myth of the first is that you go to a new country and it's the American dream: you're going to be working hard but it'll be glorious," Hung said. "The reality is it's a lot of really hard work, it'll be really tough and you can't anticipate it until you're there."

Hung has set her play in Canada, where she grew up. It's 1969 and the Chu family -- mother, father and 13-year-old Lucy (the central character) - has moved from China to a mostly white Toronto suburb. Their neighbor is elderly Mr. Yamamoto, who immigrated to Canada as a young man before the war. Their relationship is complicated by their pasts: Mr and Mrs. Chu, and their families, suffered greatly during the Japanese occupation of China during World War II. During the same conflict, Mr. Yamamoto and his family were sent to a Canadian internment camp.

"Plays are all about secrets and when they are revealed. For this play, the historical aspect is part of it," Hung said. "You're learning the history as the characters are learning it."

This is the writer's second play. It was developed at the National New Play Network MFA Playwrights Workshop and presented in a workshop at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. It won a 2017 Edgerton Foundation New Play Award.

Hung realizes that some in the audience won't be familiar with the history she's presenting, but the play will fill in the blanks. She also believes they'll feel a kinship with the characters. "We can all relate to the struggles the Chu family (goes) through. Everyone can relate to isolation and finding parental figures in unlikely places," she said. "There's also something about the immigrant experience that's very universal. With America being the land of immigrants, that's very important."

The nation's current immigration debate also weighed on Hung while she was writing. She found many uncomfortable similarities between modern day and the treatment of immigrants during World War II: There was a fear of a "foreign terror" and multiple instances during which anger over events that happened overseas led to violence domestically. She pointed to the January 2017 shooting at a mosque in Quebec City, during which a Canadian man, who'd professed anti-Muslim views online, killed six men and injured almost 20 more.

"Among the men who died were a shopkeeper, a college professor, people who fed the poor -- who were not remotely related to any ISIS movement," she said.

The play, she said, could lead to "conversations that have an unfortunate relevancy."

Hung's grandmother -- whose life inspired the play, particularly the character of Mrs. Chu -- will be attending the Long Branch premiere. In the production, Mrs. Chu needs to go out into the world to support the family. After Hung's grandfather had a heart attack, her grandmother went to college and learned a trade.

"I think there's a thread in his play about women finding their voices. Mrs. Chu is finding her ambition. Lucy is finding herself as an adolescent in Canada," Hung said. "She is the hope for the future, that there can be a reconciliation, that you can honor the past but not have it loom so heavily over you ... Lucy is asking, 'How do you move forward?' She is discovering the new world and all the possibilities."

Friday, March 2, 2018

THEATER

Hold your 'Horses' – and take in the story at NJ Rep

TOM CHESEK
Special to the Asbury Park Press
USA Today Network – New Jersey

Technically it's a "one-woman show" – albeit one whose stage is populated by a full house of humans. But if "Wild Horses" is the rare solo showcase that seeks to capture what it's like to be "alone in the crowd," it's also a reminder that the most confessional, revelatory, soul-searching monologues require an audience to happen.

The latest in a series of National New Play Network "rolling world premiere" productions at New Jersey Repertory Company in Long Branch, the script by Allison Gregory takes its title form the epic 1971 ballad by the Rolling Stones – and its peculiar rhythm from the novel setting of a little karaoke bar in 1990s "Anytown USA:" one whose jukebox is decidedly heavy on the sounds of the 1960s and '70s. Most of us have surely been there – or someplace very much like it – before, and the Jessica Parks set design presents a cozy comfort zone amid trappings that are alternately period-correct and partly crazy.

Into this dimly lit oasis walks "Woman" (Estelle Bajou) a mom who's apparently slipped away from the kids this evening under pretense of attending a book club. At first a bit wide-eyed, as if it had been a lifetime since she last set foot in such a place, the stranger quickly acclimates herself to her surroundings; chatting up the regulars and finding the liquid courage to take the tiny stage. It doesn't take many sips of her drink before she lapses into a long and winding soliloquy; a tale of lost innocence, freed spirits and pent-up desires that transforms the nameless bar into a place at the crossroads of confessional booth and spoken-word slam.

Equipped with her own special song to share (the folk-rock-drug anthem "Horse With No Name" by America), the newcomer is inspired to embark upon an epic recollection of an awkward youth; a saga of hard-fought freedoms, daring escapes and adolescent adventures with a circle of acquaintances that include Skinny Lynney and Mean Dean. NJ Rep returnee Bajou runs a storyteller's gamut in her animated recollections of underage drinking, underage driving, entirely un-romantic early sexual experiences, and a deep undercurrent of sadness that courses through a family life that's both suffocatingly oppressive and coming apart at the seams.

Working under the direction of company co-founder SuzAnne Barabas, the actress occupies all corners of the stage with a disarming energy; offering up a variety of voice characterizations, while maintaining a sense that this breakneck ramble through suburban bedrooms and dusty fields is going someplace fast. And you can bet that the last jukebox quarter that those wild horses of the title figure into the action.

Attendees at all performances of "Wild Horses" are strongly advised to arrive at the theater some 30 minutes before showtime – at which point they'll find the show already in progress, as a company of "bar patrons" takes turns at the mic, under the watchful eye of onstage "bartender" Carl Hoffman. The mostly-young mix of student players, community theater veterans and moonlighting NJ Rep staffers sets the scene courtesy of a shuffle-mix of classics that run from Elvis, The Beatles and Shirelles to Tom Petty, Eagles and Carole King. It's an entertaining interlude that lends a hind of backstory to those nameless ships-in-the-night who happen to share the same space.

As Bajou's Woman continues to spin her yarn, the patrons dwindle away to a hardy few souls who sit silently like ghosts while they take in the scene; the company drifting back in occasionally to act as a sort of solemn chorus, in the play that quickly transitions to a more mystical plan than that commonly occupied by one's neighborhood watering hole. Before long, it becomes clear that the visitor has not randomly chosen this place out of all the gin joints in the world – and that there remains a purpose, and a highly personal payoff, beyond the shared story and song.

BWW Review: See WILD HORSES at NJ Rep for a Charming and Compelling Show

www.broadwayworld.com

"We weren't freedom fighters, we were freedom takers."

by Woman in Wild Horses

New Jersey Repertory Company is now presenting the National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere of Allison Gregory's Wild Horses through March 25. This stunning, original one-woman show stars Estelle Bajou and is directed by NJ Rep's Artistic Director, Suzanne Barabas. There are so many reasons why theatergoers, young and old alike, will enjoy this production. Wonderfully performed and cleverly staged, it is a spirited coming of age story that is relatable, entertaining, yet very touching.

Wild Horses is set in a Tastee-Freeze turned karaoke bar that could be anywhere in the United States. The preshow is not to be missed. It sets the mood with an authentic bar scene as patrons step up to the mike and perform popular songs like "Desperado," "Yesterday" and "I Can't Help Falling in Love With You." Into this setting steps Woman, ready to share her memories of being thirteen years old. To portray numerous vignettes, she brings to life her friends Skinny Linny and Gabby, her sister, Carrie Ann dubbed "the favorite," along with locals that include Gabby's brothers Dono and Mean Dean. These characters and many more make the stories about adolescent adventures and misadventures stirring. Woman recounts with humor and verve her first big crush, family conflicts, and a daring feat to save horses on a ranch.

Estelle Bajou is outstanding in her role as Woman. She is the ideal actor to star in Allison Gregory's insightful, keenly crafted play. Bajou displays her diverse talents as she transitions to portray different parts seamlessly and captures the personality of each character.

Wild Horses also features the fine talents of local actors that include Alli Angelou, Jim Benner, Debbie Bernstein, Jessica Freeland, Danielle Grosso, Velda Harris, Carl Hoffman, A.J. Melnick, Chris Price, Amelia Vitale, and Heather Welsh who appear as patrons of the bar.

NJ Rep's Production Staff has excelled by creating the ideal setting for Wild Horses. They include scenic design by Jessica Parks; lighting design by Jill Nagle; sound design by Merek Royce Press; costume design by Patricia E. Doherty; properties design by Marisa Procopio. The Technical Director is Brian P. Snyder; Stage Manager is Kristin Pfeifer; Assistant Stage Manager is Adam von Pier; Assistant Director is Janey Huber.

Experience a charming, compelling story of youth with its pain and promise and see Wild Horses. It is a show that is sure to please. We applaud Executor Producer, Gabor Barabas and Artistic Director, Suzanne Barabas for continuing to bring new, relevant, and entertaining theatre to metro area audiences.

Scene on Stage, by Philip Dorian

March 6, 2018

It takes more than memorization to put across a solo play (although that element should not be minimized). Those sometimes deceptively crowded affairs require the establishing of unique personal connections to the audience and, in most, the enacting of multiple characters through variations of voice and demeanor in such a way that leaves no doubt as to who is whom when. High profile Broadway outings this season have included John Lithgow's "Stories By Heart" and John Leguizamo's "Latin History for Morons." (Solo Performance is a category at both Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards.)

No one has achieved more solo-show recognition than Eve Ensler, primarily for "The Vagina Monologues," which she wrote and performed solo. (It has morphed into a women's ensemble piece, not to its detriment.) Ensler's "In the Body of the World" is now running off-Broadway, while on the Broadway in Long Branch, New Jersey, the resourceful NJ Repertory Company is featuring "Wild Horses," written by Allison Gregory and performed by Estelle Bajou. Both pieces are also directed by women: "World" by Diane Paulus ("Waitress," etc. on B'way) and "Horses" by NJ Rep artistic director SuzAnne Barabas. Both actors deserve that memorization shout-out, but it is their rapport with the audience and their evocations of diverse persons (of both sexes) that most impress.

Ms. Ensler's play is a highly personal rumination on women's issues, centered on her own battle with uterine cancer. It is neither self-pitying nor an appeal for received pity, although a sad confessional it is in part, and it surely triggers the sympathy gene.

Ensler has long been passionate about the oppression of women – everywhere, but particularly in Africa's Congo region, where many suffer "unspeakable violence." (She does speak of it here, in arresting detail.) Spurred by the success of "The Vagina Monologues," Ensler founded V-Day and also One Billion Rising, a global effort to end violence against women in more than 200 countries. "World" centers on her personal diagnosis and treatment, but she expands the exploration of her affected body parts, her body of the world, into coverage of wider – and instructive – women's issues.

Some of "World" is not easy to take. If, like me, you are averse to hearing details of someone's medical symptoms, their surgical procedures and after-effects, there will be some trepidation going in. But Ensler's factual and brisk recitation jolts the senses, not the stomach. In a Why not? manner, she's also pretty funny about it, and winningly self-deprecating. (Upon learning that her vagina would be undergoing radiation: "Do you know who I am?") Backed by gorgeous environmentally themed projections, Eve Ensler commands the stage. "In the Body of the World" is alternately wrenching, lyrical, angry, funny and, throughout, highly personal and literate.

There are no similarly weighty issues in "Wild Horses," which is more a reminiscence than a memoir. In NJ Rep's "rolling world premier" (several simultaneous openings nationwide), Woman (Girl in flashbacks) recounts an episode from the twenty-year ago summer when she was thirteen. Unsurprisingly, there are examples of rebellion – against parental (and outside) authority and against the pressures of adolescent insecurity, set to a background of 1960s and 70s juke box favorites.

Estelle Bajou in the National New Play Network World Premiere of "Wild Horses" by Allison Gregory. (SuzAnne Barabas photo)

The plot thread about freeing penned-up horses from captivity is no less effective for being an obvious metaphor for the pent-up young characters, and Estelle Bajou is particularly effective at evoking the voices and attitudes of Girl's angsty cohort. Remember the sense of indestructibility that lingered until sometime between middle school and real life? That universal passage of youth permeates "Wild Horses."

As she has exhibited before, director Barabas has a knowing way with female actors and characters. Gregory's play is fragile. In at least this rolling premiere, it is handled with care.

While no one other than Woman/Girl has any lines, the playwright-decreed set is "a room where people are gathered…a bar or a food court" with an "ambient buzz" of conversation, illustrating the passage of twenty years since it was a Tastee Freeze. The point is well made, but NJ Rep doubles down, turning it into a Karaoke bar…on an amateur performance night no less. It's harmless enough, but you really have to be a fan. (Unfortunately, it's not a real bar.) Early-arrival is optional, however, and Ms. Bajou's sensitive performance in the reflective "Wild Horses" begins when the sing-in is over.

Out IN Jersey

"Wild Horses" is a different and powerful view of the start of growing up

By Allen Neuner

Estelle Bajou stars in "Wild Horses" at NJ Repertory

I have long said that the New Jersey Repertory Company in Long Branch consistently brings to its audiences outstanding new plays staged by directors of skill and performed by actors of consummate talent. Its latest production, Wild Horses, is no exception, and its playwright/director/actor team – all powerfully talented women – have created a play of such deep emotional impact that my opening-night companion was crying tears of joy at its conclusion.

Wild Horses is a one-woman show with a cast of twelve. That's no error: Director SuzAnne Barabas, artistic director of NJ Rep, has devised a prologue set in a Tastee-Freeze- turned-karaoke- bar, populated by a bartender and probably the most naturalistic group of habitués seen on stage in a long time. The diverse group sings, drinks, and mingles, forming and re-forming into small groups and couples, setting a perfect atmosphere for actress Estelle Bajou to begin the seventy minute monologue created by playwright Allison Gregory. Ms. Bajou, playing a middle-aged woman, relates the tale of the thirteen-year- old version of herself as she starts the transition from childhood to adulthood. During her performance she changes into not only her younger self but her two closest friends, her mother, and all the others who play a part in the beginning of her coming-of- age.

Texas-based playwright Gregory has created a work of such power and beauty, shining with its own inner truths, that you wonder why you haven't heard of her before now, and how you can see more of her work. Her creative artistry is matched by the deep understanding of the play shown in Barabas' skillful direction and the sheer talent of actress Bajou in her interpretation of the many characters she portrays. Together they make a strong theatrical triumvirate, one that make you want to see their work both separately and together in years to come. They are well served by NJ Rep's technical staff: scenic designer Jessica Parks' just-right local hangout; the light and sound designs of Jill Nagle and Merek Royce Press; and Patricia E. Doherty's costumes.

This is the kind of show you hope would go on to productions in larger venues in the region. It is touching and honest and presented with love and understanding affection. For an outstanding evening in the theatre, from the first karaoke song to the last call at the bar, I can't think of a better production than Wild Horses at the New Jersey Repertory Company in Long Branch. Go. See it.

Note: In addition to Wild Horses and last month's The Calling, the upcoming season at New Jersey Repertory Company includes: Chloe Hung's Issei, He Say, from April 19 thru May 20; Mercy by Adam Szymkowicz, June 14 thru July 15; Michael Tucker's Assisted Living, from August 9 thru September 9; and Wolf at the Door by Marisela Orta, October 18 thru November 18. I have never yet been disappointed at any play put on by New Jersey Repertory Company. It's simply the most consistently outstanding company in the state today. You owe it to yourself to be part of their audience.

Wild Horses making world premiere at the Shore

ILANA KELLER, CORRESPONDENT

(Photo: COURTESY OF SuzAnne Barabas)

You can be among the first to see a brand-new show, right here at the Shore.

New Jersey Repertory Company in Long Branch is presenting "Wild Horses" by Allison Gregory through March 25. "Wild Horses" is set in 1996 in a Tastee Freeze-turned-karaoke bar in "Anywhere, USA." It promises a "savagely funny play about a summer that changed an adolescent girl forever, told by her grown-up self."

"I'm going back to the place where I spent my early adolescence in the hopes of seeing a friend, who was part of the first big autonomous act (of my life)," says Estelle Bajou, who stars in the piece. "It jumps back and forth in time from me recounting the story to me reliving the story, so I play a bunch of characters from that time in my life, from age 13, from that event. It's about processing that time in order to better guide my own kids."

"Wild Horses" is a one-woman show, with a few twists.

Estelle Bajou stars in "Wild Horses," which is staging its world premiere at the Shore. (Photo: Courtesy of NJ Repertory Company)

"A lot of one-person shows are almost like a monologue, but this show is really unique because I'm diving into scenes, playing three, sometimes four characters all talking to each other as they would in a more traditional play. So it's a challenge to be able to flip back and forth between each person's perspective really rapid-fire. It's my first one-woman show and it's definitely the first time I've had to jump back and forth between characters really quickly."

Bajou says the sharply written characters help her really inhabit each one distinctly.

Another twist was added by director SuzAnne Barabas, N.J. Rep's artistic director, to help set the atmosphere. Local performers Alli Angelou, James Benner, Debbie Bernstein, Jessica Freeland, Danielle Grosso, Velda Harris, Carl Hoffman, A.J. Melnick, Chris Price, Amelia Vitale and Heather Welsh appear as bar patrons over the course of the show, and perform pre-show karaoke to welcome the audience.

"We've been joking that it's the biggest cast for a one-woman show ever," Bajou said.

Bajou grew up in North Carolina and turned to acting in college as a way to meld her interests and talents.

"When I got to college, I was interested in all of the humanities, history and anthropology and history and politics, sociology — all of it really interested me. Theater and film felt like a way to keep exploring all of that, how humans live and behave and interact with each other. It felt like I could keep learning in all of those different ways while connecting in real time," she said.

Bajou returns to N.J. Rep after appearing in last year's "The Jag," another new piece.

"I love working on new work because I love inhabiting someone without any preconceptions about how it's supposed to go and really finding the voice. You get to make discoveries. It's like detective work in a way."

Allison Gregory's "Wild Horses" will have its world premiere at the Shore. (Photo: Courtesy of NJ Repertory Company)

"Wild Horses" is presented as part of the National New Play Network's Rolling World Premiere program. Other theaters participating in the rolling premiere of "Wild Horses" are the Contemporary American Theater Festival in Shepherdstown, West Virgina, CenterStage Theater at the JCC in Rochester, New York and The VORTEX in Austin, Texas.

With 'Wild Horses," a N.J. theater grows closer to 100 world premieres in 20 years

Estelle Bajou performs in a scene during a rehearsal Feb. 15, 2018, for €œWild Horses€ at New Jersey Repertory Company in Long Branch, New Jersey.

When SuzAnne and Gabor Barabas founded the New Jersey Repertory Company more than 20 years ago, one of their aims was to introduce and grow local interest in theater arts, thus sparking positive community change.

But a second goal -- to develop and produce new plays with the hope of making a lasting contribution to the American stage - made the first all the more challenging.

"We've always felt that it's important to take chances and to support the work of new, young, and contemporary writers, perhaps introducing works that will become classics," admitted Suzanne Barabas, now the company's artistic director while Gabor Barabas is its executive producer. "Compared to doing established and well-known plays, it was not a pragmatic decision from a business stand point."

"It took us two or three seasons to gather momentum and develop our model of orchestrating an entire season around new works while at the same time maintaining our financial stability" Barabas said.

N.J. Rep's 98th world premiere and its second this season-- playwright Allison Gregory's "Wild Horses"-- opens Feb. 22 and will enjoy a month-long run. Barabas, who is directing the production, described it as a darkly comic one-woman show set in a Tastee-Freeze-turned karaoke bar in 1996 "Anywhere, U.S.A." Actress Estelle Bajou, who appeared last season in N.J Rep's The Jag and had principal roles in the film "The Post" and TV's "Boardwalk Empire," stars. About a dozen local actors will appear pre-show as karaoke-loving bar patrons to set the mood.

"'Wild Horses' is a compelling coming-of-age story about the vulnerabilities of adolescence," Barabas said. "The audience learns how an adventurous young girl transitioned to adulthood while facing the uncertainties and potential dangers of the grown-up world."

The production is a National New Play Network Rolling Premiere. The National New Play Network is a non-profit which partners theaters nationwide that then independently produce the same new work - in this case, Long Branch as well as Shepherdstown, W.V.; Rochester, N.Y.; and Austin, Tex. -- within one year.

"In this way, a completely unknown play receives tremendous exposure among the theater-going public and hopefully will go on to be produced by many other theaters in the future," Barabas said.

N.J. Rep began this season with "The Calling," an original psycological thriller with humorous overtones written by Joel Stone, N.J. Rep's literary manager. After "Wild Horses," which is also the company's 123rd production, the company will host four more world premieres before the end of the year: "Issei, He Say" by Chloe Hung; "Mercy" by Adam Szymkowicz; "Wolf at the Door" by Marisela Trevino Orta; and "Assisted Living" by Michael Tucker.

As the company has gained a reputation for the excellence of its productions, it's attracted many now-well-known theater professionals. A few who have taken the stage at N.J. Rep include Dan Lauria, (Broadway's "Lombardi", TV's "The Wonder Years"); Wendie Malick (TV's "Dream On" and "Just Shoot Me" ); Gary Cole, ("Office Space," TV's "Veep""and "The Good Wife"); Michael Tucker {TV's "L.A. Law" and "Law and Order"); Jill Eikenberry, (TV's L. A. Law), and the late Kim Hunter, who won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Stella in 1951's "A Streetcar Named Desire."

N.J. Rep has also seen plays that debuted on its Long Branch stage move up and away to subsequent productions off-Broadway, in Chicago, Detroit, Sarasota, Indianapolis, Sacramento, Buffalo, Seattle and Denver, as well as overseas in Austria, Estonia, Australia, and Turkey.

"More and more of the plays we first introduced to the public are produced by other theaters or are published, thereby making them widely available," Barabas said. "In this way, our relatively small stage and our work extends way beyond the physical confines of our building."

Speaking of that building, that's another way N.J. Rep hopes to expand its mission and its reach: After 20 years in a building donated to its cause by a young couple who wanted to revitalize the community, the company is hoping to move. Two years ago, N.J. Rep purchased a former school that is about a five minute drive from its current theater and just two blocks from the beach.

A new capital campaign aims to raise $12 million to begin work by 2020 on the first stage of its plan: a new main stage theater that will anchor a 50,000 square-foot arts complex with two theaters, an art cinema, galleries for the visual arts, classrooms, studios, and residences for out-of-town actors and playwrights.

"Our goal," Barabas said, "is to be a catalyst for the redevelopment and revitalization of our community and to ignite the cultural renaissance of our city."

A CurtainUp New Jersey Review - The Calling

L to R Ames Adamson and Jared Michael Delaney (photo credit: SuzAnne Barabas)

Father Dan, I think the world's lost its way. Good people suffer, while bad people prosper. And God just lets it happen. — Carl

Father Dan (Ames Adamson) has just concluded the funeral service for one of his parishioners. Believing the church and the pews are now empty, he begins to pick up the prayer books. He is startled to find that a man has evidently fallen asleep in a pew. Carl (Jared Michael Delaney) is awakened and explains that the deceased was under his care at the local hospital where he is a nurse in the I.C.U. (Intensive Care Unit.) Light chatter between the men quickly grows a bit testy as Father Dan bluntly asks Carl if he is plans to rob the church as he does not recognize him as a regular parishioner. Locking the door to the church, Carl assures Father Dan that he only wants privacy. It is Carl's intentions and Father Dan's response to them that provide the plot in The Calling by Joel Stone, now having its world premiere engagement.

Part thriller and part psychological inquiry, savvy New Jersey audiences will likely make the connection as the ensuing discourse and developing dilemma unfold between a man of faith with a medical practitioner. The play alludes to the 2005 case of a serial murderer, Charles Cullen, a nurse who was charged and convicted of murdering 29 patients in his care at various N.J. hospitals. At least three books and two TV specials delved into his personality and motivations.

Stone's play is not a replay of that case but it appears to be its inspiration. Stone, who is the literary manager for NJ Rep., was commissioned by NJPAC's Stage Exchange in Association with the New Jersey Theatre Alliance and NJ Rep to write a "a cutting edge work." As such, the play cuts to the core of Father Dan's belief in forgiveness, salvation, and redemption as he attempts to relieve the desperation of the apparently unhinged Carl who feels compelled to end the life of those terminally ill and without hope. The play deals with moral and ethical values that are clearly at stake. It directly considers the perspectives of the spiritually grounded Father Dan in contrast to Carl who wants to strike back at a God who can be so cruel.

The crux of the play turns on a twist that would be cruel to reveal.As a thriller should, the plot takes a few unexpected curves in order to confound us. These include both Father Dan and Carl challenging each other in a battle of wills, each facing the truth of their own callings. Not sure whether the digressions into song merely muddle the action or compliment it as the two seem to connect for a while recalling tunes both Christian and rock n' roll. Confessions surface as their pasts appear to be linked. Is Father Dan's life put in peril? Can Carl's soul be saved? Can Father Dan ever reveal what he learns about Carl?

Adamson has commendable grasp of Father Dan as a devout but conventional purveyor of God's words all the while confronting his own battle with health and faith. Playing the sociopath-provocateur, Delaney certainly captures our interest as he shifts his increasingly diabolical tactics so that Father Dan is forced to face his own demons. While credibility is stretched, the actors, under Evan Bergman's direction keep the tension taut throughout an eighty-minute play in which God's messenger is pitted against the Devil's executioner. The interior a small town church has been handsomely evoked by set designer Jessica Parks.

NJ Rep presents darkly confessional world premiere

TOM CHESEK, CORRESPONDENT

(Photo: COURTESY OF SuzAnne Barabas)

"Thank God for showing me my true calling," says Carl (Jared Michael Delaney), a possibly suicidal visitor who's made himself temporarily quite comfortable inside the church of longtime Catholic priest Father Dan (Ames Adamson).

It's a moment that takes place in "The Calling," the world-premiere show now playing at New Jersey Repertory Company in Long Branch —and, when taken out of context, that line of dialogue could suggest a heartwarming scenario of a couple of conflicted souls who help each other find their way back to faith, hope, and higher purpose.

But then again, we're dealing here with the ever-edgy NJ Rep, where no personal breakthroughs or epiphanies can ever occur onstage without an awesome backdraft of collateral damage.

Just as the priesthood represents a calling, so too does Carl's chosen path as a nurse to the terminally ill exist as a noble, if deeply exhausting, calling on its own. But there are other forces that call out to the self-proclaimed "lapsed Catholic" who's found sleeping in the nave, following the funeral service of one Mrs. Callahan.

Over the course of a fast-moving single act, the hospital worker who "prefers to fade into the background" takes the spotlight as a man with a history, a somewhat dubiously motivated plan, and a taste for games.

Ames Adamson, left, and Jared Michael Delaney in "The Calling." (Photo: COURTESY OF SUZANNE BARABAS)

The script by company literary manager Joel Stone plays out across a more or less real-time interlude of shifting power dynamics, and a tone that veers from the trappings of conventional stage thrillers, to a discussion of old hit records (complete with singalong snippets) that just might tempt some shout-out interaction from the audience.

Rested and ready for action at the outset, Carl — all curiously channeled energy, complete with a "girlfriend" who's almost certainly fictitious — sets the agenda here, and it's one that, given its source, doesn't need to make a whole world of sense.

Ames Adamson, left, and Jared Michael Delaney in "The Calling." (Photo: COURTESY OF SUZANNE BARABAS)

It falls upon the aging, ailing Father Dan to get to the nut of what his extended-stay guest is after — a task he takes on with a listen here, a lecture there, and an occasional reminder that this "calling" once meant something real to the "wild kid" once known as Daredevil Dan.

Although their characters can be said to inhabit different planes of reality, the Philly-based co-stars Adamson and Delaney work well together under the direction of Evan Bergman. In the process of exploring a play that doesn't necessarily go where you'd expect — and that isn't all as preachy as the setting would suggest — the three Rep returnees display the versatile stuff that's made them some of the company's finest frequent-flyer collaborators.

Working amid the pews of a no-nonsense set by resident designer Jessica Parks, the team conjures a claustrophobic little cosmos — sealed off like a confessional booth from the sunlight and passing sirens of the nearby outside world — where secrets run deep; where retribution doesn't necessarily wait until the afterlife; and where your role in the Lord's "master plan" might not be the one you tried out for.

Now While it was developed through a partnership with Newark-based NJPAC, this inaugural production of 2018 stands as a homegrown showcase for what NJ Rep can do with modest means and a generous tithing-box of talent.

BWW Review: THE CALLING at NJ Rep is an Outstanding and Poignant New Play

www.broadwayworld.com

"Do I seem like prodigal son material to you?"
by Carl in The Calling

New Jersey Repertory Company (NJ Rep) kicks off their 2018 season of new plays with the world premiere of The Calling written by Joel Stone, directed by Evan Bergman and starring Ames Adamson and Jared Michael Delaney. This is one to see. The stellar cast and meticulous direction bring Stone's well-crafted, poignant play to life on the Long Branch stage.

The Calling was originally commissioned by Stage Exchange (Stage X), a partnership formed between NJPAC and the New Jersey Theatre Alliance to develop cutting-edge works by notable New Jersey playwrights.

In the show, Father Dan, a Roman Catholic priest for 30 years, has just performed a funeral service for one of his parishioners, Mrs. Callahan. In the empty church, he is surprised to find Carl asleep in one of the church pews. Carl turns out to be an ICU Nurse who cared for Mrs. Callahan just before her death. As Father Dan and Carl discuss their respective professions, their communication becomes spirited and contentious. Carl is depressed and cynical about life as he deals with death everyday in his work while Father Dan ardently believes that people's fate lies in God's will. As the two men communicate, alarming truths are revealed and conflicting attitudes about faith, responsibility, and salvation define their brief encounter.

Ames Adamson as Father Dan and Jared Michael Delaney as Carl are superb in their roles. They master the play's intense, captivating dialogue along with the occasional humor. The actors bring such a sense of authenticity to their characters, audiences will feel they are part of the scene unfolding in the church.

The Creative Team has done a great job of bringing The Calling to the stage. They include scenic design by Jessica Parks; lighting design by Jill Nagle; costume design by Patricia E. Doherty; sound design by Merek Royce Press; properties design by Maris Procopio; Kristin Pfeifer is the Production Stage Manager; Adam von Pier is the Assistant Stage Manager/Company Manager; Brian P. Snyder is the Technical Director.

NJ Rep's Executive Producer, Gabor Barabas and Artistic Director, Suzanne Barabas are once again presenting metro area audiences with an outstanding new play. It is their 21st season and The Calling is the 124th show presented by the company. This production will inspire interesting conversations about the human condition. See it while you can.

'The Calling' is a Remarkable New Play

Ames Adamson and Jared Michael Delaney in a scene from "The Calling," a world premiere by Joel Stone playing at NJ Rep. Photo credit: SuzAnne Barabas

The New Jersey Repertory Company is starting the new year off right with the world premiere of a remarkable new play. The Calling by Joel Stone was commissioned by NJPAC's Stage Exchange in Association with the New Jersey Theatre Alliance and the NJRep. It was first introduced at an impressive initial reading at the NJPAC in April, 2017. Even then, there was a sense that the play had unique qualities about it that would deliver on a live stage. Now with it being performed on an well-designed set with two very strong actors, the promise from that reading has been realized. This play delivers a most unexpected series of events keeping its audience guessing until the very last minute of the show. Additionally, the marvelous development of the characters gives theater goers something to ponder as they leave the show.

Evan Bergman provides superb direction to this thriller. The story of The Calling is set in a Catholic church following the funeral of Mrs. Callahan. Father Dan is straightening up after the service when he finds Carl sleeping on one of the pews. They begin to talk and as they do, Carl reveals that he is an ICU nurse who works the night shift at a nearby hospital. Mrs. Callahan was one of his patients and Father Dan is impressed that Carl took time out of his busy life to come to the service. Just why he came to the service becomes the springboard of all the eventual revelations and actions.

Playwright Stone carefully constructs the conversations so that each level of revelation comes out slowly and carefully. This approach allows the layers of the plot to unfold in such a way that the audience on opening day gasped at certain points. That's how startled they were at several points.

It would not be right to reveal critical turning points in this story. So suffice it to say, just when you think you have it figured out, something else is revealed leading to more information about the characters which in turn feeds the plot. The background and actions of the characters are what makes this play such a thriller to sit through. Both Father Dan and Carl have many sides to them including some good and some very sinister.

"The Calling" demands a lot from the two actors. Both Ames Adamson as Father Dan and Jared Michael Delaney as Carl definitely deliver what is needed to bring these characters to life. As a priest, Mr. Adamson both looks and acts the part. He allows the very human side of the priest to come through which intensifies the action taking place. At first, Mr. Delaney shows the uncertainty bothering Carl with a light flair. This allows a more intense approach as the deeper, more complex part of the character emerges. Not an easy thing to do, but it is well done.

As you watch, you realize these are not people who Mr. Stone decided to create out of nothing. No, they could easily be people right in one's own community. The play demonstrates how people hide behind facades that relate to the work they do and how the community regards them. And that makes you feel a bit uncomfortable when the truth of what has happened comes out.

This play definitely lives up to the billing that NJ Rep is using: heart-pounding, mind-bending psychological thriller. Your own feelings about what each character does will determine how heart-pounding it is. But it is definitely mind-bending as the psychology of the characters becomes more exposed.

www.NJ.com

World premiere of 'The Calling,' a psychological thriller with comic undertones'

Jared Michael Delaney as Carl and Ames Adamson as Fr. Dan in Joel Stone's "The Calling," which has its world premiere Jan. 4 at NJ Repertory Company. (SuzAnne Barabas )

By Natalie Pompilio

As literary manager for New Jersey Repertory Company, Joel Stone wants the plays he chooses for the troupe's season to have certain qualities.

"I read hundreds of plays every year," Stone said. "I look to be excited. I look to be stimulated. I look for something thought-provoking. I look for something that won't put me to sleep."

Stone kept those qualities in mind while crafting his own play, "The Calling," which will have its world premiere at NJ Rep Thursday and run through Feb. 4. The piece was one of three commissioned this year by Stage Exchange (Stage X), a partnership between the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and the New Jersey Theatre Alliance that aims to promote local playwrights inspired by local subjects.

Stone's describes his play as "a psychological thriller with comic overtones," a battle of wits between two characters. The show is set in a church after a funeral when a priest, Father Dan, finds a stranger sleeping in a pew. During the interaction that follows, the men find they have a few things in common: Both felt "called" to their professions, one to the priesthood and the other, Carl, to the medical profession. Both are also questioning their choices.

"The priest is priestly, but also a bit street smart. He has a past," Stone said. "The stranger is quirky, mysterious and also mischievous."

This new play explores the complexities of a lifelong friendship The play runs 90 minutes without an intermission. That, combined with the intimacy of N.J. Rep's 80-person main stage, contributes to the tension.

"I love the claustrophobia-feel of it," Stone said. "Father Dan can't escape. The audience can't escape."

This is Stone's first full-length play in decades. In 1998, his play "Horrors of Doctor Moreau," was N.J. Rep's first script-in-hand reading. Stone then began focusing on shorter works. and producing short works show.

"I don't want to ramble on," he said. "Many plays, they should have been about 10 minutes long."

Stone teaches playwriting, most recently at Monmouth College. Many of his students come to class having not seen a play or, if they have, it was a Disney production on Broadway, he said.

But instead of feeling discouraged by that, Stone, who knows the future of the theater is in the hands of young people, is inspired. He's seen students transform in the course of one semester, he said.

"By the time 14 weeks are done, they are incredibly gifted critics of plays and they're pretty good playwrights," Stone said. "Now they love going to the theater."

Theater: NJ Rep, Two River offer world premieres

TOM CHESEK, CORRESPONDENT

(Photo: COURTESY OF SuzAnne Barabas)

The first weeks of the new year might represent something of a post-holiday chilling out period for most purveyors of live stage entertainments on and around the Shore — but theatergoers can take "cold comfort" in the fact that both of Monmouth County's professional companies offer ample reason to emerge from the burrow in the days to come.

It begins this weekend at New Jersey Repertory Company, with Joel Stone's two-hander play "The Calling." Visit njrep.org for tickets and schedule details — and check out our feature on the world premiere drama, at app.com.

Meanwhile at Two River Theater in Red Bank, the 2017-2018 mainstage season resumes this Saturday and Sunday, with the first previews of another world premiere exclusive — a "superhero play" with the intriguing title "El Coquí Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom." Emerging from the ranks of Two River's annual Crossing Borders festival of new Latino plays — and developed with a grant from Kevin Spacey — it's a tale of two Puerto Rican brothers: one a successful advertising exec, the other a unemployed comic book artist turned self-styled costumed crimefighter.

Jose Zayas directs the Matthew Barbot play that opens officially on Jan. 12 and runs through Feb. 4. Call 732-345-1400 or visit tworivertheater.org for tickets — and watch for more on "El Coquí" in the Asbury Park Press or app.com.

BWW Interview: Playwright Joel Stone and THE CALLING at NJ Rep

www.broadwayworld.com

New Jersey Repertory Company (NJ Rep) opens its 2018 season of new plays with the world premiere of The Calling directed by Evan Bergman and starring Ames Adamson and Jared Michael Delaney. Joel Stone's thought-provoking and delightfully quick-witted thriller was commissioned by Stage Exchange (Stage X), a partnership formed between NJPAC and the New Jersey Theatre Alliance to develop cutting-edge works by notable New Jersey playwrights.

In The Calling, Father Dan is preparing to lock up after Mrs. Callahan's funeral. Having dispatched his parishioner's soul to its eternal reward and her mourners to their next stops, his work is done for the day. Or so he assumes, unaware that an epic and life-changing test of his faith and convictions lies ahead and, in fact, lies asleep at that moment in one of the pews. Carl is an ICU nurse who cared for the deceased during her final days. He's burned out and desperately searching for something: answers, relief, absolution? Maybe even revenge on a God that would choose to be so cruel. The front-row seat on suffering that comes with Carl's job has put him at odds with Father Dan's more transcendent views on the subject. Each deeply devoted to his calling, a comfortable man of the cloth and a troubled man of medicine take on life's biggest questions in a heart-pounding, mind-bending battle of wits that arrives at a shocking conclusion.

Broadwayworld.com had the pleasure of interviewing Joel Stone about his career and The Calling.

Joel Stone is the Literary Manager for New Jersey Repertory Company. He was formerly the artistic director of Off-Off Broadway's The Theatre Asylum. On May 17, 1998, his play Horrors of Doctor Moreau (published by Samuel French, Inc.) became the first script-in-hand reading to debut at New Jersey Repertory Company. The following year, his short play The Age of Miracles premiered at NJ Rep and went on to be a finalist at the Samuel French Short Play Festival. Also in 1999, NJ Rep presented "Written in Stone", an evening of Joel's short plays, including The Speck of Dust in Bugsy's Eye (featuring the late Kim Hunter). In 2001, he co-produced "One Night With You", a collection of six short plays about Elvis, created exclusively by NJ Rep playwrights. From 2000-2002, he was the Theatre Education Coordinator for the New York City Board/Department of Education. He has written and directed for all four NJ Rep Theatre Brut Festivals, including Prairie Dogs (2004), Abilene (2004), Trouble on the PATH (2005), Seven4Seven (2006), and The Purgatory of Charlie Hustle (2008). In 2012, Joel directed the acclaimed MainStage production of Gino DiIorio's Release Point. In 2014, Joel was the Director/Mentor of the award-winning NJ Rep Young Playwrights Project, "Shelter From The Storm", in which local high school students wrote short plays about Hurricane Sandy. For the past three years, he has been an adjunct professor of playwriting at Monmouth University and recently taught the initial playwriting class for New Jersey Repertory Company's West End Arts Center. Currently, he is the literary manager for NJ Rep. The Calling is his first full-length play in decades.

Tell us a little about your early interest in literature.

Growing up in Brooklyn in the 1950's, it seemed that the world revolved around sports. Football, baseball, basketball-it didn't matter-nonstop sports blared from our TV on the weekends. I was a bit of a loner and took solace in drawing and reading. I enjoyed hanging out at the neighborhood library and loved the smell of books. I was fascinated by non-fiction books about movies and UFO's and really liked being transported to new worlds via the works of H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, and Edgar Allen Poe. In my early teens, I wrote plays, short stories, and 'screenplays' for 8mm movies that I made with my friends. Do you have any go-to authors or playwrights that you like to read? The older I get, the more I appreciate the nuances of playwrights like Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter. Their command of language and ideas can be breathtaking. But, to be truly honest, I most enjoy reading new translations of Greek tragedies, especially the plays of Sophocles. And re-visiting the works of Shakespeare isn't so shabby either. Call me old fashioned!

We'd love to know a little about your education.

I went through the New York City school system, like so many others. (Decades later, I became the Theatre Education coordinator for the New York City Board/Department of Education, evaluating arts education programs throughout the five boroughs.) It was at Meyer Levin Junior High School that I first met and befriended the future artistic director of New Jersey Repertory Company--Suzanne Barabas! We've been friends ever since. I went to Brooklyn College and got involved with its excellent theater department. I acted, directed, wrote plays. In 1970, one of the plays I directed, Arrabal's Picnic on the Battlefield, represented our school at the Yale Drama Festival. For the first time in my school career, I really felt like I belonged.

How does teaching complement your work as a playwright?

My role as an adjunct professor at Monmouth University has been very fulfilling these past four years. Each semester, a new set of students show up-a bit scared and very unsure of themselves. They've rarely seen much live theater and most have never considered writing a play. But by the time the 14-week semester is over, they are accomplished playwrights and critics. For me as a playwright, it's fascinating to view the development process through their eyes. It gives me a fresh perspective. And, during the writing of The Calling, I suspect that the adjunct professor in me was subtly guiding my efforts.

What inspired The Calling?

The Calling was a commissioned work from the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, in partnership with New Jersey Repertory Company and the New Jersey Theater Alliance. One of the entry requirements was that the play be based or inspired by a New Jersey subject. I started researching and discovered a news item about a troubled male nurse. It inspired me to write a totally fictionalized version. During the writing process, I discovered several similar news stories that took place in the U.S. and Canada. Many drafts later, I can safely say that The Calling spins its own unique tale.

What would you like audiences to know about the show?

I'd like audiences to know that The Calling is a two-character play that takes place in a small church in an old part of town. A priest discovers a stranger sleeping among the pews, long after a funeral service he presided over. Why is the man there? What does he want? What happened in the past that links them? Probably, the less said, the better. The play is a battle of wits and wills between a man of faith and a man of medicine. It is both surprisingly funny and edge-of-your-seat suspenseful, with some unexpected twists and turns. We've got an exceptionally talented cast and crew and it's been exciting to watch the play develop and come to life during rehearsals.

What do you want our readers to know about NJ Rep and it's mission?

In its 20-year history, New Jersey Repertory Company's mission has been to exclusively produce new plays and, in the process, nurture emerging playwrights. It has presented countless world premieres and is a core member of the National New Play Network, a nationwide organization consisting of theaters committed to presenting new works. I have been NJ Rep's literary manager for the past three years, receiving and reviewing hundreds of play submissions. I help to choose plays for our script-in-hand reading series, some of which eventually get chosen for main-stage productions. With its new West End Arts Center, NJ Rep has broadened its scope and is serving the community with classes, art exhibits, and various special events.

Anything else, absolutely anything you want our readers to know.

I directed the first script-in-hand reading at NJ Rep on May 17, 1998-a reworked, revised version of my play Horrors of Doctor Moreau. The Calling is my first full-length play in 44 years. In all that time, I'd been relatively content to write and direct short plays. Gabe and Suzanne Barabas had been trying to get me to write a new full-length play for decades. With The Calling, I've finally achieved that milestone. And now that the genie is out of the bottle, I'm planning on writing several more.

"The Calling" An Interview With Playwright Joel Stone

New Jersey Repertory Company presents the World Premiere of The Calling by Joel Stone from January 4th through February 4th in Long Branch. This play was commissioned by NJPAC's Stage Exchange in Association with the New Jersey Theatre Alliance and NJRep.

Stone, who was formerly the artistic director of Off-Off Broadway's The Theatre Asylum, has written many short plays in the past 40 years, including several which have been presented at NJ Rep over the years. For the past four years, he has been an adjunct professor of playwriting at Monmouth University and also taught the initial playwriting classes for New Jersey Repertory Company's West End Arts Center. Currently, he is the literary manager for NJ Rep.

New Jersey Stage spoke with Stone about his new play and about his long-standing relationship with NJ Rep which dates back almost to the beginning of the company.

The Calling is billed as a heart-pounding, mind-bending psychological thriller, peppered with comic relief. What can you tell us about the play without giving away too much?

Well, that's the problem. With thrillers, the less you know the better. It's hard to describe, but I'd say it's pretty much a comic psychological thriller about a priest who finds a man sleeping amongst his Church pews after a funeral service. It turns out that this man is in need of spiritual guidance and things turn into a dangerous battle of wits between the priest and the man who is an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurse.

Was it difficult to find places for comic relief? Or did they sort of reveal themselves on their own?

The humor arose quite naturally from the interplay between my two characters. So many thrillers are just grim and without a little bit of comic relief they can be hard going. The comic relief is also a way of providing the audience with temporary release from the suspense.

I actually found it quite easy to do and pleasant. I was so happy that I found those moments or maybe they found me! Either way, it was wonderful.

This play is part of the NJPAC Stage Exchange series. What is it like to have a setup like this with a staged reading at NJPAC and a guaranteed production at a theatre later on?

It's fantastic! First of all, you have to be at the top of your game. Second, they require that the play be about a New Jersey subject. That was one of the only qualifications. It's fantastic that you know, at some point, you come into a production.

The initial reading was wonderful. We had a different cast, but the same director - Evan Bergman. We learned so much from that reading. Currently, it's been a constant process of re-evaluating, rewriting, adapting to new actors, adapting to the set, and adapting to the reality of actually getting it on its feet.

When we applied they asked for three story ideas. I submitted three and the one I least expected them to choose was the one they chose! It's funny, I recently reread what I had proposed and although the subject matter is the same, my approach was totally different.

Did the audience at NJPAC know that it was meant to be a little funny at points?

I don't know, probably not. The subject matter is not funny, but I needed comic relief because the subject matter can be very difficult. When I look back at great thrillers, one of my favorites was Wait Until Dark by Frederick Knott - a play that also distracted you from what was going on with humor and warmth. Those are wonderful ways of keeping audiences distracted.

This was your first full-length play in quite a while.

Yes, this was my first full-length play in about 44 years.

Did you find it difficult to move back to a full-length after writing so many short plays?

I thought I would, but I didn't. For years, Gabor and SuzAnne Barabas (of NJ Rep) have been waiting for me to write a full-length play. Whenever anyone asked me, "Why aren't you writing full length plays?" I would always answer, "I just don't have that much to say!" For me, a 10-minute play is fine; I have it all in there.

I love the short play format, but The Calling, in a funny way, almost wrote itself. I did three months of research, three months on the first act, and I believe the second act took me two weeks to finish. It just flowed; it was a pleasure.

How did you first get involved with NJ Rep? You've been with them since the 90s.

Well, I've known SuzAnne since junior high school. I've known her longer than Gabe has! I love them. They're dear friends. Twenty years ago, I directed their first script-in-hand reading, which was Horrors of Doctor Moreau - one of my plays that I had rewritten. I've been their literary manager since late 2014.

What do you do in that role?

I'm a reader. I evaluate whether or not a script would be appropriate for a script-in-hand reading for our subscription audience. Sometimes the plays wind up being produced.

You've been with them long enough to see the West End Arts Center open. What do you think about that facility and its potential?

I think the potential is unlimited. It's a wonderful space. We had the Theatre Brut festival there and it was fantastic. It could become a very vital part of the community.