(HACKETTSTOWN, NJ) -- Centenary Stage Company will continue its run of the dark comedy, The Receptionist by Adam Bock this weekend with more performances following a successful opening weekend. The play shifts from lighthearted office banter to unsettling suspense, exploring themes of power, complicity, and the unseen forces that shape our lives.The production continues its full run from February 26 – March 9, 2025 in the Sitnik Theatre.
The team at Centenary Stage Company has added an additional performance on Wednesday, March 5th at 7:00pm which will highlight performances from the Centenary University students who are serving as understudies for the leading roles. Tickets for this performance are only $5 and if any ticketholders who have seen another performance of The Receptionist they may bring their ticket to the door and see the understudy performance for free.
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.
The Receptionist by Adam Bock, focuses on a seemingly ordinary office. Beverly, the cheerful and efficient receptionist, keeps things running smoothly—answering phones, gossiping, and managing daily tasks. But as the day unfolds, subtle cracks appear in the routine, hinting at something far more sinister lurking beneath the surface. The New York Times called it, “Mr. Bock's poisoned Post-it note of a play."
"Bock's intense initial focus on the routine goes to the heart of The Receptionist's pointed, painfully timely allegory...elliptical, provocative play..." - Time Out New York
The small cast stars: Mary McLain as Beverly Wilkins, Gemma Berg as Lorraine Taylor, Eli Ganias as Edward Raymond, and Christopher J. Young as Martin Dart.
Directing the production is Centenary Stage Company’s own Artistic Director, Carl Wallnau. Carl 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.
Wallnau 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 Receptionist are Wednesdays, February 26 and March 5 at 2:00pm; Thursday, March 6 at 7:00pm; Fridays, February 28 and March 7 at 8:00 pm; Saturdays, March 1, and 8 at 8:00pm; and Sundays, March 2, and 9 at 2:00pm. An additional special understudy performance will take place on Wednesday, March 5th at 7:00pm. Tickets range from $25.00 - $30.00 for adults with discounts available for seniors, students, and children under 12 for select performances with special Buy One Get One tickets available for Thursday evening performances.
BOGO tickets can be purchased on the day of the performance at the box office in person beginning at 5:00pm. The special preview performance at 2:00pm on Friday, February 21, will also feature special tickets for Hackettstown Residents available for $10 at the door.
The Receptionist is presented with special agreement with Concord Theatrical / Samuel French Inc.
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 Avenue in Hackettstown, New Jersey.
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
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