The People Before The Park tells the story of Seneca Village, the 19th-century African-American community removed by eminent domain to create New York City’s world-renowned Central Park.  Written by Keith Josef Adkins, the play was the winner of the 2015 Play Festival by Premiere Stages at Kean University and will be staged by the company this September.

Selected from over 440 submissions as the winner of the Play Festival, an annual competition for unproduced scripts by area playwrights, The People Before the Park received a developmental reading in March, and immediately struck a chord with audiences unfamiliar with the plight of Seneca Village.

“The People Before the Park is a fascinating play about the original melting pot of Manhattan,” stated John J. Wooten, Premiere Stages’ Producing Artistic Director who is directing the production. “After seeing the play, a patron’s visit to Central Park should be significantly more intriguing.”

The production runs September 3-20 in Kean University’s Zella Fry Theatre (Vaughn Eames Hall, 1000 Morris Avenue, Union, NJ).  The People Before the Park runs Thursdays and Fridays at 8:00 pm, Saturdays at 3:00 and 8:00 pm, and Sundays at 3:00 pm.  Tickets are $30 standard, $20 for senior citizens and Kean alumni, and $15 for students and patrons with disabilities.  

The cast includes W. Tré Davis, recently seen Off-Broadway in Hamlet (The Public), Zooman And The Sign (Signature Theatre Co.), and Airborne (EST); Bridget Gabbe, seen on television in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix), The Following (FOX), and Blue Bloods (CBS); Billy Eugene Jones, who has appeared in the Broadway productions of The Trip to Bountiful, The Big Knife, The Mountaintop, Passing Strange, Radio Golf, Gem of the Ocean, and A Raisin in the Sun; Shane Taylor, whose distinguished regional credits include the Williamstown Theatre Festival, Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, and Luna Stage in West Orange; Andy Truschinski, recently seen in the Broadway production of The Heidi Chronicles and the National Tour of War Horse; and Michelle Wilson, who was in Follow Me to Nellie’s at Premiere Stages, and whose New York credits include A Raisin in the Sun (Broadway) and Detroit ‘67 (Public Theater/Classical Theatre of Harlem).

Playwright Keith Josef Adkins is the co-founder of The New Black Fest, a theater organization dedicated to new and provocative playwriting, music and discussion from the African Diaspora. His works have also been produced and/or developed at the Public Theater, LaMaMa, Lark Play Development Center, Epic Theatre Ensemble, New York Theater Workshop, Alliance Theater, Hansberry Project, and the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, among others.

In conjunction with Premiere’s 2015 Talk-Back Series, the theatre will offer several free post-show discussions for audience members after select matinee performances. Current guest speakers include playwright Keith Josef Adkins (Sunday, September 6 at 3:00 pm), and Jim Picinich, docent for The New-York Historical Society (Saturday, September 19 at 3:00 pm).