By Gary Wien
originally published: 09/21/2015
Imagine a world in which you could do whatever you wanted, including satisfying every desire, without any consequences? That’s the premise behind The Nether by Jennifer Haley, which opens the season for Centenary Stage Company in October.
The Nether is an intricate crime drama and a haunting sci-fi thriller set in the year 2050 that explores the consequences of living out private dreams and fantasies. It’s a time period in which a new virtual wonderland called The Hideaway provides an ultra realistic sensory experience. Just log in, choose an identity, and indulge your every whim. But when a young detective uncovers a disturbing brand of entertainment, she triggers a dark battle over technology and human desire.
The play, which was first produced in Los Angeles in 2013, was the winner of the 2012 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. It’s a challenging work that has garnered critical praise, but is not the sort of play that Centenary Stage usually chooses to kick off its season.
“I had a conversation a year ago with another artistic director,” recalled Carl Wallnau, the Artistic Director for Centenary Stage Company. “We were talking about seasons. The last thing he said as he got up to leave was, ‘All I know is we’re not giving audiences the kind of plays they deserve.’ And I thought about that. I think at a certain point you have to run the risk with new work and quality work that asks important questions. You take a chance in hopefully finding an audience and getting your audience to come out.”
This play certainly asks questions of the audience and of society. The question is not simply whether or not all actions (whether real or virtual) should have consequences, the play raises the issue of whether or not satisfying an appetite in a virtual world (like violence or sexual activities) might awaken an appetite in the real world that did not exist before. Desire is like a drug. The more you satisfy it, the more you desire to do it more often, and over time you need to do it longer to get the same satisfying effect. Will people be able to satisfy their cravings solely in the virtual realm or will their cravings get stronger and stronger? Cravings were suppressed before because the people knew they were wrong and would lead to consequences. Does a virtual world like this where anything can happen desensitize people and make their actions more acceptable in the real world?
“I think there are a lot of moral and ethical questions here,” said Wallnau. “Do people have control over imagination? Should your imagination be a place where you can experience and do anything and not have somebody monitoring what your fantasy is? Isn’t that what the point of a fantasy is all about?”
Wallnau also brings up the role of theatre, noting that the actors on stage are both real and virtual as they portray characters. The situation is not unlike a scene in The Nether in which one character states, “We are engaged in consensual role play and what’s wrong with that?”
“Here you are watching a play where actors are playing the characters who are engaged in playing characters — there’s a kind of Pirendello effect in the whole thing,” explained Wallnau. “There’s a constant sense of disconnect as you’re watching the play, which makes it a meta-theatrical experience even beyond the play itself. And the play itself is a real “whodunnit.” This is a play that deals with a lot of hot button issues. It deals with computers and virtual reality as an entity and as a concept. It deals with people as people and people as avatars. At the same time, it’s wrapped around a mystery — an investigation that’s filled with twists and surprises. I remember when I saw it. It just takes your breath away. You keep thinking to yourself, ‘I hadn’t even thought of that.’ Yet, if you think about it, it makes perfect sense. It’s a brilliantly written play and it lends itself to every kind of production.”
Bob Phillips, the Emmy Award winning designer best known for his work on Sesame Street returns to Centenary Stage to create the set. He’s retiring after this show, so this will be the last set design of his career. He’s creating a brilliantly complex set that utilizes sliding panels, screens, and projections to bring virtual worlds to life.
The New York Times once described The Nether as “Imagine an episode of Law & Order: SVU, written by a futurist fiction writer like Ray Bradbury or Iain Banks.”
Wallnau says the closest comparison he can make is the acclaimed British television show Black Mirror, which is available on Netflix.
In the end, Wallnau hopes the audience leaves thinking about the moral and ethical questions presented in the play. But he also hopes they simply enjoy the ride. “It’s a mystery with twists and surprises and things that happen that you don’t anticipate happening,” said Wallnau. “I think it’s very satisfying as a mystery, but also as a play that leaves you with some questions about not only what you’ve just seen but how you feel about what you’ve just seen.”
About the author:
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].
George Street Playhouse Presents Vicki Lawrence & Mama: A Two-woman Show
Saturday, November 14, 2026 @ 2:00pm
New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC)
11 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJWritten by and starring
Vicki Lawrence Two Performances Only
Vicki Lawrence, the legendary actress, comedian, and singer, brings her signature wit and charm to the stage in Vicki Lawrence and Mama: A Two-Woman Show. Best known for her iconic role as Thelma Harper, or "Mama," from The Carol Burnett Show and Mama’s Family, Lawrence delivers a hilarious and heartfelt performance that takes audiences on a journey through her extraordinary career. From her Emmy-winning years alongside Carol Burnett to her chart-topping hit, “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia,” she shares behind-the-scenes stories, comedy, and music—all with her trademark humor. Whether reminiscing about her Hollywood adventures or embodying the feisty Mama, Lawrence proves that laughter is timeless.
Kean Department Of Theatre Presents "the Drowsy Chaperone"
Saturday, November 14, 2026 @ 2:00pm
Kean Stage - Bauer Boucher Theatre Center
1000 Morris Avenue, Union, NJMusic and lyrics by
Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison
Kean Department Of Theatre Presents "the Drowsy Chaperone"
Saturday, November 14, 2026 @ 7:30pm
Kean Stage - Bauer Boucher Theatre Center
1000 Morris Avenue, Union, NJMusic and lyrics by
Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison
Princeton’s Famous Triangle Show: Roswell That Ends Well
Saturday, November 14, 2026 @ 8:00pm
McCarter Theatre Center (Matthews Theatre)
91 University Place, Princeton, NJIf you’re feeling all alone in the universe – or even if you’re not – Triangle’s newest musical comedy is for you! Join us as Triangle explores what it means to have friends in high – or should we say “sky”? – places. Extraterrestrial visitors, crazy conspiracy theories, and intergalactic shenanigans power this year’s annual laugh-fest of witty jokes, lavish production numbers, and, of course, Triangle’s famous kickline. Can interplanetary goodwill blossom in the dystopian desert of our current times? Get your Triangle tickets now and learn if
Roswell That Ends Well!
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/when The Rainbow Is Enuf,
Saturday, November 14, 2026 @ 3:00pm
Middletown Arts Center
36 Church Street, Middletown, NJDunbar Repertory Company presents Ntozake Shange’s
FOR COLORED GIRLS Who have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf, the groundbreaking “choreopoem” – a spellbinding collection of vivid prose and free verse narratives about and performed by Black women. Directed by Darrell Lawrence Willis, SR.
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/when The Rainbow Is Enuf,
Saturday, November 14, 2026 @ 8:00pm
Middletown Arts Center
36 Church Street, Middletown, NJDunbar Repertory Company presents Ntozake Shange’s
FOR COLORED GIRLS Who have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf, the groundbreaking “choreopoem” – a spellbinding collection of vivid prose and free verse narratives about and performed by Black women. Directed by Darrell Lawrence Willis, SR.
Murder At The Palace
Saturday, November 14, 2026 @ 7:00pm
The Historic Palace Theatre
7 Ledgewood Avenue, Netcong, NJSave the date for an adults-only night out set in the Roaring ’20s, as the Historic Palace Theatre plays host to a Murder Mystery event that’s truly to die for!
EVENT PREVIEWS
The Growing Stage presents Murder at the Palace
(NETCONG, NJ) -- The Growing Stage presents Murder at the Palace - a roaring 20's murder mystery - on Saturday, November 14, 2026 from 7:00pm to 10:00pm. All proceeds benefit the artistic and educational programming of The Growing Stage.
SPQR Stage Co. presents "Pumpin' the Chihuahua"
(SOMERS POINT, NJ) -- SPQR Stage Co. presents Bill Sterritt's "Pumpin' the Chihuahua," an imaginative dark comedy running two weekends from November 14–22, 2026 at studio;space in Somers Point.
Moorestown Theater Company presents "9 to 5, the Musical"
(MOORESTOWN, NJ) -- Moorestown Theater Company presents 9 to 5, the Musical from November 18-22 at First Methodist Church. Three unlikely friends take control of their office and learn there is nothing they can't do, even in a man's world.
Raritan Valley Community College's Arts & Design department presents "The Laramie Project"
(BRANCHBURG, NJ) -- Raritan Valley Community College's Arts & Design department will present a student theatre production of The Laramie Project by Moises Kaufman and the members of the Tectonic Theater Project, November 18-20, 2026 at 7:00pm each night. The performances, which are free of charge and open to the public, will be held in the Welpe Theatre at the College's Branchburg campus.
Offbook Productions present "The Women of Congress 1776"
(MOUNTAINSIDE, NJ) -- Offbook Productions presents The Women of Congress 1776 on Wednesday, November 18, 2026 at the Trailside Nature & Science Center in Mountainside. Showtime is 6:30pm.
Cape May Stage presents "Murder For Two - The Holiday Edition"
(CAPE MAY, NJ) -- Cape May Stage presents Murder For Two - The Holiday Edition from November 18 through December 27, 2026. Directed by Roy Steinberg, it's a merry and musical whodunit!
Paper Mill Playhouse to open season with "Mary Poppins"
(MILLBURN, NJ) -- Paper Mill Playhouse presents Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s Mary Poppins to open the company's 88th season. Performances begin Wednesday, November 18 ahead of a Sunday, November 22 opening night for a run that continues through Sunday, January 3, 2027. This is a spectacular musical filled with wonder, wit, and unforgettable songs.
Somerset County Vocational Technical High School Theater Arts Department presents "Come From Away"
(BRIDGEWATER, NJ) -- In a story about strangers becoming family and tragedy giving way to unexpected hope, one real-life couple's love story has given students at Somerset County Vocational Technical High School a personal connection to the musical they are bringing to the stage.
Centenary Stage Company to Close Out 2026 Fringe Festival with "Unseen"
(HACKETTSTOWN, NJ) -- Centenary Stage Company will conclude its 2026 Fringe Festival with Unseen, written and performed by Kimberly Prentice, November 19–22, 2026, in the Kutz Theatre. Blending physical comedy, rapid-fire character changes, and heartfelt storytelling, Unseen takes audiences backstage into the demanding, unpredictable world of Broadway's wardrobe crew, celebrating the people whose essential work often goes unnoticed.
The Road Company presents "Solid Gold: A Show-Stopping Cabaret"
(WILLIAMSTOWN, NJ) -- The Road Company presents Solid Gold: A Show-Stopping Cabaret, an original retrospective revue, from November 19 to December 5, 2026 at the Grand Theatre.
