(HACKETTSTOWN, NJ) -- Following a successful opening weekend, Centenary Stage Company continues their run of The Weir by Conor McPherson with performances from October 9–20, 2024 in the Sitnik Theatre. The Weir is set in a bar in Sligo, Ireland, where local men swap spooky stories in an attempt to impress a young woman from Dublin who recently moved into a nearby "haunted" house, and then she spins a yarn of her own.

The play won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play of 1997–98. In addition, McPherson won the Critics' Circle Award as the most promising playwright in 1998 as a direct result of the success of The Weir. The play was also voted one of the 100 most significant plays of the 20th Century in a poll conducted by the Royal National Theatre, London. It tied at 40th place with Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh, Samuel Beckett's Endgame and Arthur Miller's A View From The Bridge. The Guardian critic, Michael Billington, listed The Weir as one of the 101 greatest plays of all time in his 2015 book The 101 Greatest Plays: From Antiquity to the Present.

“With bewitching fluency allied with a gift for locating the greatest emotions in the smallest details, and a faultless ear for idiom, McPherson achieves something remarkable.” —Times Literary Supplement (London)

The small cast features: Derek Egidio as Jim, Mark Byrne as Brendan, Campbell Symes as Valerie, Pat Cogan as Finbar, and John Little as Jack. The Weir will be Derek Egidio’s Centenary Stage Company debut, but he most recently has been seen in Macbeth (Macbeth) at Pax Amicus Castle Theatre and Peter and the Star Catcher (Boy) at Studio Players. Mark Byrne is appearing at CSC for the second time having previously been seen on the CSC mainstage in 2013 in The Cripple of Inishmaan (Babybobby). Campbell Symes is returning to the Sitnik stage, after having previously appeared in CSC’s 2019 production of Ghost Train (Elsie Winthrop). Pat Cogan also makes his return to Centenary Stage Company, having most recently been seen as King Triton in CSC’s Holiday production of Disney’s: The little Mermaid last year, and as Fezziwig/Ghost of Christmas Present in Stephen Temperley’s Adaptation of A Christmas Carol in 2020. John Little was last seen on the CSC stage in Harvey (William R. Chumley, M.D) in 2014 and Light up the Sky (Tyler Rayburn) in 2012.

Directing the production is Centenary Stage Company’s own Artistic Director, Carl Wallnau. Wallnau has directed and starred in countless productions regionally and at Centenary Stage, most recently seen on stage as the titular character in Tartuffe, and before that directing and appearing in The Ladykillers. He has worked at numerous regional theatres including Paper Mill Playhouse, Second Stage in NYC, York Theatre in NYC, People’s Light, The Lark Theatre, The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Hartford Stage, Forum Theatre, Bristol Riverside Premiere Stages, Orlando Shakespeare Company, Theatre 1812, Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, Foothills Playhouse and 14 months on the road with the First National Tour of TITANIC. He has directed over sixty productions including The English Bride, which had its NY premiere at 59e59 and the world premieres of Poetry of Pizza, Inventing Montana and The Tillie Project and New Jersey premieres of Below the Belt, Square One and Marvin's Room. He has been cited for outstanding direction in productions of Springtime for Henry, Engaged, The Ladies Man, Deathtrap and Pygmalion and has directed in numerous regional theatres including Hartford Theatre Works and Musical Theatre Works. He received his MFA from Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts and is married to his favorite actress Colleen Smith Wallnau for who he wrote the play MARY TODD A WOMAN APART that had a successful off Broadway run in 2004.

Performance dates and times for The Weir are Wednesdays, October 9 and 16 at 2:00pm; Thursdays, October 10 and 17 at 7:00pm; Fridays, October 11, and 18 at 8:00pm; Saturdays, October 12 and 19 at 8:00pm; and Sundays, October 13 and 20 at 2:00pm. 

Tickets range from $25.00 - $30.00 for adults depending on the performance, with discounts available for students, Seniors (65+), and Children (12 and under) on select performances. Thursday evening performances will feature BOGO tickets at the box office window beginning at 5:00pm on the day of that performance.

For more information, visit centenarystageco.org or call the Centenary Stage Company box office at (908) 979-0900. The Centenary Stage Company box office is open Monday through Friday from 1:00-5:00 pm and two hours prior to performances. The box office is located in the Lackland Performing Arts Center on the campus of Centenary University at 715 Grand Ave. Hackettstown, NJ. Centenary Stage Company can also be found across social media platforms; Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter. Like and follow to receive the latest in CSC news and special offers. 

The Weir is presented with special agreement with Dramatists Play Service.

The 2024-25 Season of Performing Arts events at the Centenary Stage Company is made possible through the generous support of our sponsors and grantors like the NJ State Council on the Arts, the Shubert Foundation, the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, the Sandra Kupperman Foundation, the John and Margaret Post Foundation, the CSC corporate sponsors, including Explore Warren, the House of the Good Shepherd, Hackettstown Medical Center Atlantic Health System, Heath Village, Visions Federal Credit Union, and Fulton Bank, and Centenary Stage Company members and supporters.

PHOTOS BY Trevor Callahan