By Gary Wien
originally published: 02/01/2005
What do you think Touch of Rapture is about?
I think it's about love and loss. It's the idea of possessing a gift and passing it on. I've actually have always been fascinated by genetics and the idea that people will be customizing their babies and someday they may find the genetic marker for gifts such as being a musician or a painter or mathematician; someone's destiny will be completely figured out for them before they're even born. So I thought, what if a gift could be passed through shear will? And that's the impetus of the play. Also there's a red cloth that goes from scene to scene and it's about how we perceive an object. They've discovered that the person perceiving the object actually affects the object at a subatomic level. All of these ideas coalesced in my mind - my demented mind - and became this play.
Was there a particular reason that you have the play set in London?
Well, one of the characteristics of the English people is eccentricity, so I thought it would be more fun to have it take place there. There's also a big sculpture movement in England; a very active art world. And I'm allowed a lot more liberties with regards to language. I can use words like bullocks. It's a wonderful language that I couldn't use if it took place in New York.
The other thing I like is a heightened passion that takes me to unfamiliar worlds. If the characters have English accents and a kind of slanted speech it asks the audience to listen in a different way. And maybe they'll enter the whole fantastical world... Or maybe they'll resist but it's more fun for me.
The laughs in Touch Of Rapture seem to grow larger as the play moves on.
I think people need to get comfortable with the play and each other and give themselves permission to laugh. It is a comic drama.
The play is very much based in fantasy but plot driven as well.
Aristotle said the essence of drama is story and I think he means plot. I have to admit I do love plot. Look at the shows on tv that are successful - shows like Law & Order - and they're plot driven. So, because I love story I do put the story element in my plays. And sometimes it takes me a long time to figure out what the story exactly is but the characters are clear and they help write the story.
I'm just grateful when anybody agrees to my run with my perversions. I don't think I write in the normal, more conventional-linear-sequential- domestic-realism style. I prefer a more fantastical theatre and not everyone's willing to enter my demented world.
Gary Wien has been covering the arts since 2001 and has had work published with Jersey Arts, Upstage Magazine, Elmore Magazine, Princeton Magazine, Backstreets and other publications. He is a three-time winner of the Asbury Music Award for Top Music Journalist and the author of
Beyond the Palace (the first book on the history of rock and roll in Asbury Park) and
Are You Listening? The Top 100 Albums of 2001-2010 by New Jersey Artists. In addition, he runs New Jersey Stage and the online radio station
The Penguin Rocks. His personal website is at
lightyscorner.com. He can be contacted at
[email protected].
EVENT PREVIEWS
bergenPAC's Performing Arts School to Hold Auditions for "Annie"
(ENGLEWOOD, NJ) -- This summer, bergenPAC's Performing Arts School will light up the Taub Stage with the beloved Broadway classic Annie, running July 31 through August 2, 2026. Auditions for the production will be held on Wednesday, May 13th from 4:00pm to 9:00pm. Digital audition submissions will also be accepted now through May 13th. Callbacks will be on May 20th from 4:00pm to 9:00pm.
The Theater Project presents a Staged Reading of "House Rules" by Jack McGrath on May 16th
(CRANFORD, NJ) -- The Theater Project's 2026 New Play Readings series will present a staged reading of Jack McGrath's House Rules on Saturday, May 16, 2026 at Cranford Community Center's 110-seat theater. The play tells the story of Bobby Ray – a man who has walked across America to return "home" to try and avert a family tragedy. The problem is that the family he returns to refuses to recognize him, and his homecoming has come 10 years too late.
Stage Players presents "Alice By Heart"
(HADDONFIELD, NJ) -- Stage Players (ages 13-17) at Haddonfield Plays and Players presents Alice By Heart from May 14-16, 2026 at Haddonfield Methodist Church. From the Tony® and Grammy® award-winning creators of Spring Awakening, Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik, and co-written by Jessie Nelson (Waitress), Alice by Heart is a touching musical inspired by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
American Theater Group presents "The Unwitting Magician"
(UNION, NJ) -- American Theater Group (ATG) will once again present The Unwitting Magician, a special work in development by Jeremy Dobrish, May 16-17, 2026 at the DMK Black Box Theater at the Union Arts Center. The piece was successfully presented last December as part of ATG's Free Monday Night Play Reading Series.
The Levoy Theatre presents "Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Musical"
(MILLVILLE, NJ) -- The Levoy Theatre presents Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Musical from May 15-17, 2026. Based on the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" Book Series by Jeff Kinney and the 20th Century Studios Films, the musical contains a Book by Kevin del Aguila; Music and Lyrics by Michael Mahler and Alan Schmuckler.
Red Bull Theater presents a reading of "Cymbeline, Refinished" on May 18th
(NEW YORK, NY) -- The award-winning Red Bull Theater will conclude their spring Revelation Readings Series on Monday, May 18, 2026 at 7:30pm with Cymbeline, Refinished by William Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw and directed by Michael Sexton.
The Maplewood Strollers presents "Much Ado About Nothing"
(MAPLEWOOD, NJ) -- The Maplewood Strollers presents Much Ado About Nothing across two weekends from May 15-24, 2026. Wit flies, sparks ignite, and love is anything but simple in this classic by William Shakespeare.
Classic American Tales celebrates Louisa May Alcott, Mark Twain, Paul Robeson, and the American Revolution in May
(CAPE MAY, NJ) -- In May alone, Classic American Tales performs on a farm, in two different libraries, and at historic Peachfield.
Mainstage Center for the Arts presents "Game of Tiaras"
(BLACKWOOD, NJ) -- Mainstage Center for the Arts presents Game of Tiaras on May 29-30, 2026 at Harmony Hall at Gloucester Township. Showtime is 7:00pm each night. Prepare for a hilarious royal showdown in Game of Tiaras!
First Avenue Playhouse presents "Old Love"
(ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS, NJ) -- First Avenue Playhouse presents Old Love by Norm Foster across three weekends from May 15-30, 2026. This love story spans three decades with half a dozen meetings between Bud, a salesman, and Molly, his boss's wife.
UPCOMING EVENTS
George Street Playhouse presents "My Lord, What A Night"Sunday, May 10, 2026 @ 2:00pmNew Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC) New Brunswick, NJ
