New Jersey Stage logo
New Jersey Stage Menu


?>

 

New One Act Play to Have Reading at Bloomfield Pride Festival

originally published: 04/15/2018

(BLOOMFIELD, NJ) -- Playwright Gregory G. Allen will have the NJ premiere of his one act play Hiding In Daylight presented as part of the Take Pride, Bloomfield! festival happening in Bloomfield, NJ on Saturday, May 19th at 3:00pm. The dystopian LGBT tale tackles highly debated topics such as LGBT rights and politics as two couples come together to remember life before the gay purge and must decide if they can continue the risk of a weekly dinner together. The single evening and setting of the drama allows for layers to be unwrapped in real time as audiences learn more about the couples and what is driving the fears each of them carry. 

The event will be a semi-staged reading and members of Bloomfield’s professional theater company 4th Wall Theatre will perform and partake in a Q&A afterwards with the playwright. The piece features: Beth Baur (co-founder of New Jersey School of Dramatic Arts in Bloomfield), Ted Cancila, Bruce McCandless, and Gwen Ricks-Spencer (Executive Director of 4th Wall). The event is FREE and meant for mature audiences.

Allen is an award-winning author who has been in the entertainment industry for 30 years as a writer, actor, filmmaker, and director. His plays and musicals include: Well With My Soul (Seeing Place Theater Reading Series, NYC), Invisible Fences written with Stephen Kitsakos (4th Wall Theatre M.I.D. Stage Series), Ashokan: The Story of a Reservoir written with Stephen Kitsakos and Perdita Finn (commissioned by the Catskill Watershed Corporation), and three children's musical all produced by the Garland Children's Theatre in Garland, Texas. He is a member of the Dramatist Guild and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. He has been a vocal advocate for many groups from autism to arts advocacy to equality and has been featured and interviewed in The Advocate, Huffington Post, PBS One-on-One with Steve Adubato, Sirius Radio The Morning Jolt, and Next Magazine. 

“When I read Greg’s earlier draft last fall, I was grabbed by the story, but even more so now with the layers he has added,” says actor Bruce McCandless of North Haledon. “Sadly, what would have seemed like a science-fiction piece a few years ago now seems too much like reality. We only need to look back to the 80s when groups like ACT-UP were desperately needed to incite change. The LGBT community needs to be vocal again each time a gay person is fired, a company can deny service, or an act of hate is displayed on the community. Greg is being vocal with this play and I hope that people attending on the 19th with feel lead to join the conservation after seeing us read it.”

Take Pride, Bloomfield! is a program that runs January through June, 2018 at the Bloomfield Library and was made possible by an Incubation Grant from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities. The festival examines the LGBTQ community through literature, film, and other experiences while building upon the energy and initiative of the LGBTQ organization Bloomfield Pride. 




Reach New Jersey's largest arts & entertainment audience, click here for info on how to advertise at NJ Stage



Allen has shared his play with theaters and LGBT organizations around the country and more and more are using the play as a starting point for conversations in their own communities. There will be a reading and discussion of the play at The Studios of Key West, directed by Stephen Kitsakos, on Tuesday, May 22 in the Helmerich Theater at 6pm. Another is being planned for Dallas Texas this summer and several other states are looking at the play to choose a date.

The playwright looks forward to the discussion after the May 19th event which is open to the public. The reading takes place at the The Little Theater at the Bloomfield Library, 90 Broadway Street in Bloomfield, NJ.  





Reach New Jersey's largest arts & entertainment audience, click here for info on how to advertise at NJ Stage


FEATURED EVENTS

ART | COMEDY | DANCE | FILM | MUSIC | THEATRE | COMMUNITY

To narrow results by date range, categories,
or region of New Jersey
click here for our advanced search.


1776

1776

Friday, May 09, 2025 @ 8:00pm
Algonquin Arts Theatre
60 Abe Voorhees, Manasquan, NJ 08736
category: theatre


 

"How

"How The Light Gets In" by E. M. Lewis

Friday, May 09, 2025 @ 8:00pm
South Camden Theatre Company
400 Jasper Street, Camden, NJ 08104
category: theatre


 

The

The Shining Stars- Broadway and Beyond!

Friday, May 09, 2025 @ 7:00pm
Union County Performing Arts Center (UCPAC) - Main Stage
1601 Irving Street, Rahway, NJ 07065
category: theatre


 

George

George Street Playhouse presents "The Shark is Broken"

Friday, May 09, 2025 @ 7:30pm
New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC)
11 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
category: theatre


 

Rock

Rock Of Ages

Friday, May 09, 2025 @ 7:00pm
Axelrod Performing Arts Center
100 Grant Avenue, Deal Park, NJ 07723
category: theatre


 



Advertise with NJ Stage for $50-$100 per month, click here for info





 

EVENT PREVIEWS

Crossroads

Crossroads Theatre Company presents VANGUARDS

(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- Crossroads Theatre Company presents VANGUARDS from May 23 - June 1, 2025. This is a celebration of some of the most treasured works from their archive with contemporary voices of today and new plays that reflect the promise of tomorrow. VANGUARDS features works by Ntozake Shange, Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis, James Anthony Tyler and Silma Sierra Berrada.



Middletown

Middletown Arts Center and Dunbar Repertory Company presents "Green Honey Love"

(MIDDLETOWN, NJ) -- The Middletown Arts Center, in conjunction with Dunbar Repertory Company, presents the Spring Comedy, Green Honey Love, across two weekends from May 16-25, 2025. The play, written by Gail Wynn Huland El and directed by Damien S. Berger, is a story about adultery, deceit, greed, and conspiracy of murder – your everyday comedy.



Spotlight

Spotlight Players to Hold Auditions for "Freak Friday, the Musical"

​​​​​​​(MATAWAN, NJ) -- Calling all adults, teens, and an outgoing 9 to 11 year old boy who loves to act, sing and dance. Spotlight Players is thrilled to announce auditions for Freaky Friday: The Musical – the hilarious, heartfelt body-swap comedy from Disney with libretto by Bridget Carpenter, the co-executive producer and writer on the beloved TV hits, "Friday Night Lights" and "Parenthood", with music by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning team behind Next to Normal and If/Then.



Magnolia

Magnolia Productions presents James Cougar Canfield's "Ladies in Waiting: The Judgement of Henry VIII"

(ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS, NJ) -- Magnolia Productions presents the North East United States premiere of James Cougar Canfield's Ladies in Waiting: The Judgement of Henry VIII across two weekends from May 30 - June 7, 2025. The play finds the infamous king in a strange afterlife where he is confronted by the six women he married. Truths are revealed, scores are settled, and legacies are challenged.



Stony

Stony Hill Players presents "Grandma Sylvia's Funeral"

(SUMMIT, NJ) -- Stony Hill Players presents Grandma Sylvia's Funeral from May 29 through June 1, 2025. This is the same kind of interactive theater experience as Tony N' Tina's Wedding and puts the audience in the center of the action among 21 actors. The production is directed by Peter Curley. The Executive Producer is Jayne Myers.