(RAHWAY, NJ) -- American Theater Group (ATG), a professional regional theater company in Central NJ, presents an evening with veteran theater critic and Broadway insider Peter Filichia during the grand re-opening celebration of the newly-renovated Hamilton Stage in Rahway on Saturday, February 3, 2024 at 7:00pm.

Filichia, who has seen over 12,500 shows in 47 states and 17 foreign countries, will present “A Personal History of The American Theater” complete with anecdotes, gossip and entertaining tales of his life on the aisle, including his 30 years as the state’s top critic for the NJ Star-Ledger. There will be stories about memorable audience members, ranging from Richard Rodgers’ daughter Mary to the young black man and elderly white woman who buttressed Filichia at The Wiz. Filichia will discuss when he began theatergoing as a teen, and how many a play changed his life, be it as serious as A Raisin in the Sun or as light hearted as Damn Yankees. There’s a poignant story about the time Filichia took Yugoslavians to a musical, as well as funny ones involving theater disasters.

Filichia appears on the “Broadway Radio” podcast and has a weekly column for Masterworks Broadway. He wrote a regular column, "Peter Filichia's Diary," for Playbill.com and TheaterMania.com for many years and is also the author of several books, including Let's Put on a Musical!: How to Choose the Right Show for Your School, Community or Professional Theater and Broadway Musicals: the Biggest Hit and the Biggest Flop of the Season, 1959 to 2009. In addition, he served four terms as president and chairman of the nominating committee of the Drama Desk Awards.

“We are thrilled to present Peter Filichia at this exciting event heralding ATG’s return to the beautiful Hamilton Stage,” noted ATG Producing Artistic Director Jim Vagias. “He is a true theater raconteur and promises to regale the audience with entertaining, insider tales.”

The grand re-opening event is free, but reservations are required and can be made at ucpac.org or by calling the box office at 732-499-8226. The event marks ATG’s return to Hamilton Stage, where the company first performed when founded in 2012.

ATG’s upcoming 2024 season includes Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music, which was awarded six 1973 Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Original Score.   Based on Ingmar Bergman's comedy of manners, Smiles of a Summer Night, it explores the tangled web of hidden (and not-so-hidden) affairs, desires and deceits and features one of Sondheim’s most cherished songs, Send in The Clowns. It will be performed March 7-10^th at the Sieminski Theater in Basking Ridge and March 14-24 at the Hamilton Stage. Following A Little Night Music will be the world premiere of Canned Goods, by Erik Kahn, which brings to life Hitler’s staging of a fake attack on Germany to justify his invasion of Poland in 1939. This tense historical drama tells the story of the human beings forced to play leading roles in a drama they want no part of, and one that launched World War II.  The play will run May 9-12 at Hamilton Stage and May 16-19 at the Sieminski Theater.

The Sieminski Theater is located on the scenic campus of Fellowship Village at 8000 Fellowship Road in Basking Ridge, NJ. Tickets are available at www.sieminskitheater.org.  Additional information about casting will be announced shortly.

Built by the City of Rahway Redevelopment Agency, the Hamilton Stage is located at 360 Hamilton Street in Rahway and is independently operated under the governance of Union County Performing Arts Center. The 199-seat theater is within the heart of the Rahway Arts District, with parking available in the Hamilton Street lot. Tickets will soon be available for purchase online or by calling 732-499-8226.

A Little Night Music is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI.

American Theater Group (ATG), founded in 2012, produces new and classic works primarily by American playwrights with an emphasis on the development of new works and the rediscovery of undeservedly neglected older ones. It also provides quality arts-in-education initiatives, including its annual DramaFest for students and its PlayLab program for BIPOC and queer playwrights. ATG programming is made possible in part by an American Rescue Plan Act grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support general operating expenses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Made possible by the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission, a partner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.