On Stage: Chances to Perform In, Or Just Watch, Some Great Productions

Ever been bitten by the theater bug? The folks who take part in local community theaters can tell you—it's an addictive hobby. You make great friends, get to flex your artistic muscles and develop talents you never knew you had.

If that sounds appealing, check out the On Stage Scoop below. Coming up are auditions for several plays, including "The Cocktail Hour," "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" and "On Golden Pond." You'll also find there are classes and workshops for those just starting out, or for those who want to take their talents to a new level.

But if you're more comfortable in a theater's seat than on its stage, don't worry—we've got everything from Shakespeare to Lyle Lovett to "Goatboy" coming up. Read on for more info.

ON STAGE SCOOP
Get Schooled in the Performing Arts: ’s Brightest Star School of Performing Arts, in Morristown, is offering fall classes in singing, public speaking, dancing, cabaret and production. Private lessons available for voice, piano and guitar. All ages. For information, call 973-971-3726 or click here. 

Registration for Fall Semester at Playwrights Theatre: Registration is open for the 26th annual Madison Young Playwrights Program, with classes starting in September and October and continuing through December at the . The program is offered to students in Grades 4 through 8. Information about classes and enrollment can be found here.

Death and Laughter: ’s “Accidental Death of an Anarchist” continues through Aug. 28 at the F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre in Madison. The 1970 play was written by Nobel Prize winner Dario Fo and is described by the theater as a  “hysterically sly and caustic slapstick farce inspired by a real-life event involving a man accused of a crime who ‘fell’ from the window of a police station.” For tickets and information, call 973-408-5600 or go to ShakespeareNJ.org.   

Don’t Jaywalk When You Go See Leno: “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno is coming to on Aug. 26 for an 8 p.m. show. The opening act is The Essentials. Tickets cost $100 to $150. The Mayo Performing Arts Center is located at 100 South St. in Morristown. For tickets and information, call 973-539-8008 or go to MayoArts.org.

Laugh Along With Goatboy: Jim Breuer will bring an evening of laughter to on Aug. 27 at 8 p.m. Breuer will talk about family and friends in a non-vulgar show for everyone ages 18 to 80. Vinnie Brand is the opening act. Tickets cost $32 to $67. The Mayo Performing Arts Center is located at 100 South St. in Morristown. For tickets and information, call 973-539-8008 or go to MayoArts.org. .

Audition Alert, “The Cocktail Hour:” The Chester Theatre Group is holding auditions for A.R. Gurney’s “The Cocktail Hour” on Aug. 28 at 2 p.m. and Aug. 30 at 7 p.m. Auditions will be held at the Black River Playhouse at the corner of Grove Street and Maple Avenue in Chester. Needed are two male actors and two female actors. Readings will be from the script. Performances are Nov. 4 through Nov. 20. For information, including a character breakdown, go to ChesterTheatreGroup.org.

It’s Not a Big Band, It’s a Large Band: Lyle Lovett and His Large Band will take stage at on Aug. 29 at 8 p.m. Lovett has released 14 albums and has sold 4 million records. His songs combine elements of country, swing, jazz, folk, gospel and blues. Tickets cost $57 to $97. The Mayo Performing Arts Center is located at 100 South St. in Morristown. For tickets and information, call 973-539-8008 or go to MayoArts.org.

Audition Alert, “On Golden Pond:” Somerset Valley Players is holding auditions for “On Golden Pond” at the Players’ Playhouse, located at 689 Amwell Road in Hillsborough on Sept. 6 and at Neshanic Reformed Church, 715 Amwell Road, on Sept. 7. Auditions start at 7:30 p.m. on both dates. Performances are Oct. 18 through Nov. 13, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays, 2 p.m. A synopsis and character breakdown can be found here. For further information, call 908-369-7469.

Audition Alert, “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels:”  theater group will host auditions for “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at the Burgdorff Center for the Performing Arts, 10 Durand Road, Maplewood, Sept. 6 and 8, 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Callbacks will be held Sept. 10 at 1 p.m. For information, go to TheStrollers.org.

Who Wants Some Moor? The  will present Shakespeare’s “Othello” Sept. 7 through Oct. The production marks the theater’s first production of the classic tale since 2003. The cast includes Lindsay Smiling as the title character, the Moorish general who is deceived into a jealous rage by the villainess Iago, played by Robert Cuccioli. Bonnie J. Monte—artistic director at the Shakespeare Theatre—directs.

Celebrating the Playwrights Theatre:  will host a benefit titled “25 Years of Creativity and Community” on Sept. 17, from 6 to 9 p.m. The benefit will be held at Hartley-Dodge Memorial, 30 Kings Road in Madison. Honorees include Lawrence S. Feinsod, executive county superintendent for Essex County, Jeanni Tsukamoto, a member of the Madison Borough Council and Arthur Wilson, poet/playwright/teaching artist. New plays written by Jon M. Bramnick, New Jersey State assemblyman, and Mary-Anna Holde, mayor of Madison, will be presented. There will be live music, a silent auction, a collaborative play written by attendees and a menu of Hors d’oeuvres, wine, refreshments, dessert and coffee. Dress is business casual. Tickets cost $75. Call 973-514-1787, ext. 10. You can also book online at PTNJ25.eventbrite.com.

Musical Legends at the Mayo Center: Tickets for Jackson Browne’s Oct. 17 concert at the  are on sale now. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee will perform an acoustic solo set, with tickets priced from $65 to $100. Tickets for Loretta Lynn’s March 30 are also on sale with tickets priced from $47 to $97. The Mayo Performing Arts Center is located at 100 South St. in Morristown. For tickets and information about the entire season, call 973-539-8008 or go to MayoArts.org.

Next Season at Growing Stage: Season ticket plans for the 30th anniversary season at The Growing Stage Theatre in Netcong are on sale, with individual performance sales beginning Sept. 1. The season begins with “The Code Breaker” by Pauline C. Conley, Oct. 1 through 23, recommended for ages 8 and up. “Babes in Toyland” will run Nov. 25 through Dec. 18. Recommended for all ages, the original adaptation by The Growing Stage is loosely based on the operetta by Victor Herbert and the Laurel and Hardy film. Next up is “Mother Hicks,” for ages 7 and up, running Jan. 13 through Feb. 5, followed by the all-ages appropriate “Seussical” March 9 through April 1. The season will wrap up with “Diary of a Worm, A Spider, A Fly,” April 27 through May 20. Go to GrowingStage.com for more information.

Submissions for Villagers’ VIP Series: The Villagers Theatre in Somerset is seeking submissions for its 2011-12 Villagers Independent Producers (VIP) Series. Writers, directors and performers are encouraged to take creative control of their productions to a far greater extent than a more traditional setting might allow. The theater’s goal is to select a season of three shows to be performed in October 2011, January 2012 and May 2012. Please submit the titles and authors of the productions you would like to mount. Also include any and all staff you have on board or would like to ask to be on board. Include a brief description of the production, including number of cast members, and a brief concept or vision of production. It is always helpful if you submit a copy of the script (and cast recording for musicals) in electronic format with your submission, however, it is not required with your initial submission. All submissions for consideration must be received in the Villagers Main Office at 475 DeMott Lane, Somerset, NJ 08873 no later than Aug. 10 or e-mailed toVIP@villagerstheatre.com.

New Season at the Barn Theatre:  in Montville has announced its 2011-12 season, which will open with Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons,” Sept. 9 through Oct. 1. Musical favorite “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” will take stage Nov. 11 through Dec. 3. Next up is Scott McPherson’s “Marvin’s Room” from Jan. 13 through Feb. 4. Ken Ludwig’s comedy “Lend Me a Tenor” is after that, March 16 through April 7. Stephen Sondheim’s musical, “Assassins” will wrap up the season from May 18 through June 9. For information, go to BarnTheatre.org.

Dover Little Theatre’s Season Announcement: “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)” will open Dover Little Theatre’s new season, starting Sept. 10 and continuing through Sept. 24. Next will be the world premiere of “An Act of Will” by Grace Wessbecher, Nov. 11 through 20. Ken Ludwing’s “Moon Over Buffalo” will take stage from March 4 through 11. Stephen Sondheim’s “Company” will close out the season, May 5 through 20. For information, go to DoverLittleTheatre.org.

Chatham Community Players Announce 2011-12 Season: Tracey Letts’ “Bug” will kick off  new season with a run starting Oct. 14 and continuing through Oct. 29. The play from the writer of “August: Osage County” follows a middle-aged waitress with a terrible past and a Gulf War veteran who enters her life. Next up is Frank Galati’s adaptation of John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath,” March 2 through 17. The season will conclude with a run of the classic musical “Cabaret” May 4 through 19. For more information, go to ChathamPlayers.org.

Some upcoming productions for later this fall

Here are some productions being planned that look especially enticing.

1. “E-Mail, 9/12” at , Sept. 10. This one-night only event is a presentation of an original play by Hillsborough resident Midge Guerrera. The play is influenced by Guerrera’s experiences following 9/11, when she found herself sharing stories and thoughts about that tragic day via e-mail with friends and family. The play features stories, some fictional, some based on fact, and may include stories submitted by Hillsborough residents. The play is also being performed in Philadelphia and Atlantic City. Donations will be accepted. SVPTheatre.org.
2. “Newsies” at the , Sept. 15 through Oct. 16. Disney’s 1992 movie “Newsies” wasn’t a box office hit and got awful reviews, so why get excited about the musical adaptation coming to Paper Mill Playhouse? Because it features music by Alan Menken and a book by Harvey Fierstein. The show will also see Kara Lindsay—who did a terrific job playing Laura in “Little House on the Prairie: The Musical” a few years ago—return to the Paper Mill stage. PaperMill.org.
3. “The Last Days of Mickey and Jean” at the Bickford Theatre, Sept. 22 through Oct. 19. This co-production between the ,  and Old Castle Theatre Company in Bennington, Vt., will mark the New Jersey premiere of the newest play by Richard Dresser, author of “Rounding Third.” According to the Bickford, the play is about a retired mobster and his girlfriend who end up in “hilarious” situations and discover secrets about each other. The show got good reviews during its August run in Bennington, so a night of laughter just might be in the works. Click here to go the Bickford’s website for information.
4. “The Wars of the Roses: Henry VI, Part I” at Brundage Park Playhouse, Sept. 30 through Oct. 9. Talk about ambitious! This adaptation by The Shakespeare Initiative combines “Henry VI Part I” with the first three acts of “Part II.” The Initiative promises drama on par with “Game of Thrones” in this story of power, battles and politics as Henry tries to maintain the power achieved by his father. BrundageParkPlayhouse.org. 
5. “Bug” at , Oct. 14 through 23. This play from Tracy Letts (“August: Osage County”) is about a waitress hiding from an abusive ex-husband and whose son was kidnapped 10 years ago. She struggles with alcohol and drugs until a paranoid gulf war veteran enters her life. The Players describe the play as “raw and fun,” so you’ve got to wonder how that fits in with such heavy subject matter. Maybe it has something to do with the bugs.ChathamPlayers.org.
6. “The Cocktail Hour” at Chester Theatre Group, Nov. 4 to 20. This comedy by A.R. Gurney premiered in New York in 1988, got good reviews, and won a few Tonys, but isn’t often performed. It takes place in the 1970s as a playwright returns to his home in upstate New York, seeking his family’s permission to produce a play he’s written about them. The drama happens during the family’s cocktail hour, a very formal affair, which becomes particularly interesting on this evening. ChesterTheatreGroup.org.
7. “An Act of Will” at Dover Little Theatre, Nov. 11 through 20. It's not easy for a community group to stage a world premier. It’s so much easier to draw audiences with the tried and true, so offering a stage to a new work is gutsy. According to the theater, this play by Grace Wessbecher is about a Fay Johansen, a sculptor who takes in her teenaged niece, whose grandmother has died and whose father has left her. She’s not eating and losing weight at a troubling rate and it’s up Fay the save the girl. DoverLittleTheatre.org.
8. Babes in Toyland at the Growing Stage Theatre of New Jersey, Nov. 25 through Dec. 18.The children’s theater group in Netcong is marking its 30th anniversary season and this original adaptation looks like a great way to introduce kids to theater. Perry Arthur Kroeger and Growing Stage Artistic Director Stephen L. Fredericks wrote the book, while Victor Herbert, Glen Macdonough and Kroeger wrote the music. The Christmas story features characters like Bo Peep, Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum and the Three Little Pigs as Mother Goose is threatened with eviction during the holidays. GrowingStage.com.
9. A Christmas Carol at the , Dec. 1 through Jan.1.There’ll be no shortage of Scrooges on area stages at holiday time but the one at the Shakespeare Theatre in Madison should be one to treasure. The adaptation is by Neil Bartlett and is faithful to the story and spirit of Dickens’ story. The Shakespeare Theatre first staged it in 2007. It was a must-see then and is certain to be again this time around. ShakespeareNJ.org.