(EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- Thes 2024-2025 season at Playhouse 22 will bring a variety of musicals, thought-provoking dramas and laugh out-loud comedies to the award winning community-based theatre. The season includes "Grand Horizons", "School of Rock: The Musical", "Winter Wonderettes", "Perfect Arrangement" and "Nine". Plus the "On the Edge Black Box Series" and "Creative Ink Play Reading Series".
"Our upcoming season shows that in challenging times, there's a place for entertainment," said Adam Neary, Vice President. "And Playhouse 22 continues its legacy of making live entertainment accessible and affordable to the community. It is no wonder why Playhouse 22 should be your destination for live theater."
When the curtain opens on the Playhouse 22 season in September, the theater troupe will be staging "Grand Horizons". The comedy by Bess Wohl features a modern story of a couple married for years when Nancy, the wife, decides she wants out. Follow their story as their adult children grapple with the news in the show that will be directed by Bill Fikaris.
Then, in November, prepare to rock out at Playhouse 22 with Dewey Finn, a burned out failed rocker, as he becomes a school teacher and the journey he takes with his students as they become the hottest rock-n-roll band to come out of middle school in "School of Rock: The Musical". Based on the 2003 film by the same name, the musical is by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by East Brunswick's own Glenn Slater and a book by Julian Fellowes. It will be directed at the Playhouse by Devin Massih.
New this holiday season to Playhouse 22, "Winter Wonderettes" is a sequel to our wildly popular "Marvellous Wonderettes" brings us back to the 1960s with memorable versions of holiday classics such as “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town,” “Jingle Bell Rock,” “Run, Rudolph, Run,” and “Winter Wonderland”. This holiday show will be directed by Matthew Muccigrossi.
When the calendar rolls over to 2025, Playhouse 22 brings back its popular "On the Edge Black Box Series" featuring thought-provoking, little-known works set in an intimate environment, where the audience is seated on stage with the cast right in front of them.
The first of the three pieces in the series will be "American Son" that will be directed by Mimi B. Francis. A riveting play by Christopher Demos-Brown, it is a story about an estranged bi-racial couple that must confront their feelings about race and bias after their son is detained by the local police following a traffic stop incident. Their disparate histories and backgrounds inform their assumptions as they try to find out what happened to their son.
Directed by Christian Confalone in February, the second of the three "On the Edge" pieces is a bit of a comedy with A.R. Gurney's "Sylvia". The story focuses on Greg, a man of middle age, a restless empty-nester, tired of his job in finance, looking for meaning in his life. Sylvia is an exuberant and beautiful lab/poodle mix, astray in Central Park, looking for a new home. When they meet, it is love at first sight.
Returning back to the mainstage, "Perfect Arrangement" opens in March, and will be directed by Jack Bathke, is about two married couples working for the CIA in the 1950s, where their relationships are not what they seem. While the Red Scare is gripping the nation, behind the walls of their Georgetown homes, the real scare is more colorful.
The last of the three "On the Edge" plays comes to the stage next April with Margaret Edson's "Wit" which will be directed by Ed Faver. Focused on Dr. Vivian Bearing, a university professor of English, who is dying of ovarian cancer. Follow her journey in this drama as she recalls key moments of her life and how she has come to accept her mortality.
Playhouse 22's season wraps up in June with the musical "Nine" which will be directed by Tina Barone. Guido Contini is a famous Italian film director and a real ladies man. His last couple of movies have been panned by the critics, and Guido is under pressure to make a return to form with his latest film. However, there is one major problem: he hasn’t written a line of the script and has lost all inspiration. Guido’s professional and personal lives become intertwined as he attempts to save both his career and his marriage.
Returning again this season to Playhouse 22 is the "Creative Ink Play Reading Series" where local and regional playwrights will have their works presented for the first time in front of a live audience. Guests will have the opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback to the playwright. These will be presented on September 23, November 11, March 3 and May 5.
Located at the Elliott Taubenslag Theater in the East Brunswick Community Arts Center located at 721 Cranbury Road in East Brunswick, Playhouse 22 is the region's one of the most established and one of the longest running active performing arts groups. With more than 65 years of history, Playhouse 22 has garnered hundreds of nominations for excellence in community theater by the New Jersey Association of Community Theatres, including 11 nominations in 2024 alone.
Tickets, season subscriptions, and information about Playhouse 22 are available at Playhouse22.org or by calling (732) 254-3939.
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