Welcome To Matteson

For immediate release:

New Jersey Repertory Company presents
WELCOME TO MATTESON

by JAMES HINDMAN
Starring JAMES HINDMAN & TOM SOUHRADA
Directed by ROSE RICCARDI
JANUARY 12 – FEBRUARY 12, 2023

Long Branch, NJ) New Jersey Repertory Company (N.J. Rep) is proud to end its successful season with the World Premiere of Welcome To Matteson! written by Inda Craig-Galván and directed by Dawn Monique Williams. It will begin performances on September 28 before its opening night on Saturday, September 30, and run through October 29, 2023.

To purchase tickets, visit www.njrep.org or call 732.229.3166.

A suburban couple hosts a welcome-to-the-neighborhood dinner party for their new neighbors — a couple recently relocated from Cabrini Green, Chicago’s roughest housing project — and it’s anything but welcoming. A dark comedy about reverse gentrification and how we deal with the “other” when the other looks just like us. 

“Welcome to Matteson!  brilliantly exposes the layers of reverse gentrification with a dark comedic touch. Inda Craig-Galvan’s thought-provoking play challenges us to confront our notions of ‘otherness’ when it’s cloaked in familiarity. A compelling exploration of human connections that resonate deeply. We are so happy to provide this play with its World Premiere.”

– SuzAnne Barabas, Artistic Director of NJREP

The creative team includes set design by Jessica Parks, lighting design by Jill Nagle, sound design by Nick Simone, costume design by Patricia E. Doherty, technical director Brian Snyder, and production stage manager is ???, and assistant stage manager is Rachael Malloy.

Tickets are NOW on sale for N.J. Rep subscribers and will be available for General Public beginning June 28, 2023.  

They can be purchased by visiting njrep.org/plays or by phone at 732-229-3166. N.J. Rep is located at 179 Broadway, Long Branch, New Jersey, 07740. A TAILOR NEAR ME will play Thursdays and Fridays at 8 pm, Saturdays at 3 pm and 8 pm, and Sundays at 2 pm.

The cast and creative team are available for interviews.

For interview requests and to arrange press seats,  

please contact J.T. Public Relations at joe@jt-pr.net / 973-568 – 8236

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INDA CRAIG-GALVÁN (Playwright) Inda Craig-Galván writes stuff – mostly plays and T.V. Her work often explores intra-racial conflicts and politics within the African-American community. Grounded in reality with a touch of magical realism that fucks with time & memories. Inda’s currently developing new works of theatre on commission with The Old Globe and Round House Theatre. Produced plays include a hit dog holler (Skylight Theatre & Playwrights’ Arena co-production, Los Angeles), Black Super Hero Magic Mama (Geffen Playhouse, Los Angeles) I Go Somewhere Else (Playwrights’ Arena, Los Angeles). Inda is the recipient of the Kesselring Prize, Jeffry Melnick New Playwright Award, Blue Ink Playwriting Prize, Jane Chambers Student Award for Feminist Playwriting, and Stage Raw Best Playwright Award. Inda’s plays have been included on the Kilroys List (twice) and Steppenwolf Theatre’s The Mix. Inda has developed & presented work at Bay Area Playwrights Festival, NNPN Showcase, Ashland New Play Festival, Orlando Shakes, Ojai Playwrights Conference, Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Black Swan Lab, The Old Globe Powers New Voices Festival, Kitchen Dog Theatre New Works Festival, Black & Latino Playwrights Conference, WomenWorks, Humanitas, Chalk Repertory Theatre, Skylight Theatre, San Francisco Playhouse, Trustus Theatre Playwrights Festival, Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, Intiman, and others. Aside from theatre, Inda is a T.V. writer on the upcoming series: “Will Trent” (ABC). She previously wrote on the JJ Abrams series “Demimonde” (HBO), the upcoming “Happy Face” (Paramount+), “How to Get Away with Murder” (ABC), and “The Rookie” (ABC). She is in development with Universal T.V. Studios to write, and executive produce “Cotton Club Princess,” adapted from the novel by Karla Diggs. a hit dog will holler, Inda’s 4-episode fiction podcast adapted from her play, was produced by Radiotopia.fm and is available now wherever you get your podcasts. 

POPCORN FALLS
New Jersey Repertory Company: 179 Broadway, Long Branch, NJ 07740

Performance Schedule January 12 – February 12, 2023
Thursdays 8:00pm, Fridays 8:00pm, Saturday 3:00pm & 8:00pm, Sundays 2:00pm

Ticket Price: $35 – $60
Visit njrep.org or call 732.229.3166 for tickets
For more information about New Jersey Repertory Company, visit njrep.org

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

JAMES HINDMAN

JAMES HINDMAN (Playwright, Cast) After premiering his one-man show, What Doesn’t Kill You, here at NJ Rep, the show was recently produced at The International Gay Dublin Theatre Festival where it received a 5-Star review in the Irish Times and was nominated for three Oscar Wilde Awards. He was co- creator and director of NJRep’s recent musical, The Pin Up Girls and his play Multiple Family Dwelling was produced here in 2018. As a writer, Off-Broadway credits include: Popcorn Falls directed by Tony Award Winner Christian Borle, Pete ‘n’ Keely (Outer Critics Award nomination, two Drama Desk nominations), The Audience (Drama Desk nomination), Being Audrey (Transport Group, NEA Grant recipient), The Gorges Motel (NY Fringe Festival). A Terrance McNally Award finalist, his plays have been performed and developed at The Vineyard Theatre, Second Stage, Long Wharf, Walnut Street, Goodspeed, Denver Theatre Center, New Jersey Rep and Papermill Playhouse. Co-Writer: A Christmas Survival Guide, The Rat Pack Lounge (Carbonell nomination), The Bikinis, and most recently, Now Comes The Fun Part at Penguin Rep. As an actor he’s performed on Broadway in: Mary Poppins, The Scarlet Pimpernel, 1776, City Of Angels, A Grand Night For Singing and Once Upon A Mattress. Some film and television: HBO’s “The Gilded Age”, “The Time Traveler’s Wife”, Marvel’s “Iron Fist”, “The Report”, “Oceans 8”, “The Americans”, Steven Spielberg’s “Public Morals”, “Madam Secretary” and “The Sopranos”. He is thrilled to be working with this wonderful team at New Jersey Rep! IG: James_Hindman_nyc

TOM SOUHRADA

TOM SOUHRADA (Cast) Broadway & National Tours: Mary Poppins, Kinky Boots, Evita, My Fair Lady, The King & I, CS Lewis’ The Great Divorce and The Boy Friend (Directed by Julie Andrews) Off-B’way: Popcorn Falls (Directed by Christian Borle), Desperate Measures (New World Stages), Liberty (Theatre 80), The Kid Who Would Be Pope (Ars Nova), Mardi Gras/The Last Word (York), Broken Hands (NY Fringe Festival Award of Excellence), The Mystery of Irma Vep, Tony and Tina’s Wedding. Regionally, Tom has performed at many of the top theatres across the country, such as Goodspeed, St. Louis Rep, Gateway, Ogunquit, Cincinnati Playhouse, FL Rep, etc. TV & Film: “Law & Order,” “The Good Fight,” “Submissions Only,” “Marry Me” and as Prof. Ed M. Ology and Mimi on the children’s YouTube series “The Hello You! Show.” Graduate of NYU/Tisch School of the Arts.

ROSE RICCARDI

ROSE RICCARDI (Director) has been a NJRep Company member since 1998. She has worked on over a hundred productions for the Rep including: The Housewives of Mannheim (Alan Brody), The Little Hours (David Bucknam), Fern Hill (Michael Tucker), Dead Ringer (Gino Dilorio), Naked By The River (Michael Folie), Adult Fiction (Brian Mori), Bookends (Katharine Houghton, Dianne Adams, James McDowell), Whores (Lee Blessing), Donna Orbits The Moon (Ian August), Find Me A Voice (SuzAnne Barabas, Gabor Barabas). Some Off-Broadway credits include: Songbird by Michael Kimmel and Lauren Pritchard, Butler by Richard Strand, The Violin (Dan McCormick), The Road to Damascus (Tom Dulack), Terms of New Jersey Repertory Company 4 Endearment (Dan Gordon), Poetic License (Jack Canfora), On A Stool At The End Of The Bar (Robert Callely), A Better Place (Wendy Beckett), Murder In The First (Dan Gordon), Martin Luther on Trial (Chris Cragin-Day), Phoenix (Scott Organ), In The Pocket: A Sideman’s Tale (James Manos Jr. and Mark Rivera). Recently, she was delighted to be a part of IDGTF – The International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival with Jim Hindman’s What Doesn’t Kill You. Rose has also been a proud member of Actors’ Equity since 1999.

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