(RAHWAY, NJ) -- American Theater Group (ATG), a professional theater company in Central New Jersey, will present the endearing new comedy Larry: The Big Time Broadway Producer as part of its free Monday Night Play Reading Series on April 29, 2024 at Hamilton Stage in Rahway, NJ. Showtime is 7:00pm.
Written by Broadway insider and veteran theater critic Peter Filichia, the play centers around Larry Greenstein, a young Bostonian who wants to invest in Broadway shows. He attends a backers’ audition and falls so head over heels in love with an actress cast in the play that he pledges $10,000 — money he doesn’t have. The heartwarming comedy explores the lengths he’ll go through to get it.
“This delightful play unlocks the dreamer in all of us and we are pleased to provide a platform for this new work to be shared,” noted ATG Producing Artistic Director Jim Vagias. “Peter Filichia has been a long-time supporter of ATG and we are happy to be able to support his work as well.”
Mr. Filichia appears on the “Broadway Radio” podcast and has a weekly column for Masterworks Broadway. He served as the state’s theatre critic for the NJ Star-Ledger for 20 years and wrote a regular column, "Peter Filichia's Diary," for Playbill.com and TheaterMania.com. He 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.
The reading will be directed by Joe Mancuso, who has more than 40 years’ experience as an artist, educator and arts/business administrator, and was one of ATG’s Founders, along with Rick Sordelet and James Vagias. Mr. Mancuso recently retired from both Rutgers University after 31 years of introducing thousands of students to live theater, and Somerset County Performing Arts High School, after 22 years as the Theater Arts Program Coordinator and Head Acting Instructor for the Honors Program. He has also served as producer and/or director for several regional and New York productions, and internationally he has produced 11 shows over six seasons at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland, winning the prestigious Fringe First Award in 1992.
A Q&A discussion with the playwright and the cast will follow the reading. While the event is free, donations will be gratefully accepted. Hamilton Stage is located at 360 Hamilton Street in Rahway and is independently operated under the governance of Union County Performing Arts Center.
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. The company also focuses on offering quality arts-in-education programming. 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.
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