By Gary Wien
originally published: 04/20/2015
Tar Beach revolves around sixteen year old Mary Claire and her best friend Mary Francis as they begin the day sunning themselves on the roof of an Ozone Park row house. Claire’s younger sister Reenie is searching for her lost Greek Mythology class project, while their parents are consumed by the battles of their troubled marriage. The boy crazy girls hatch a plan to stay out all night, but an overstressed electrical grid leads to a city-wide blackout and a sudden loss of innocence.
Ryan says the play is based on events that happened around that summer, but it is not autobiographical. She previously took a look at the summer of 1977 in her play, Dark Part of the Forest, which was seen through the point of view of the mother; Tar Beach, however, is seen through the experience of the young girls.
“It was the late seventies, which was a weird time in New York,” recalled Ryan. “Financially, there was crisis; socially, there was upheaval. It was a time of people unmooring, I think. Children weren’t supervised. Parents were going wild too. It was just a crazy, crazy time.”
It was also a very dangerous period of time. The Son of Sam began killing people in 1976 and wasn’t caught until August the next year. He is famous for using a .44 caliber Bulldog revolver and believed he was merely following the orders of a demon that took the form of a neighbor’s dog. And those orders were to kill young women.
Ryan describes the play as a coming-of-age story for two young girls in a society where sometimes it is dangerous to be a female. The time period forms the perfect setting for her with the blackout and the Son of Sam serving as the ultimate predators.
“It was this pressure cooker,” recalled Ryan. “You knew something was going to blow.”
Fear of the dark is seen in the play as a primal experience, something that has been with humans since the dawn of time. Mary’s father is afraid because he thinks the only thing keeping society from anarchy is electricity. As looting spreads across the city, his fears are somewhat realized.
The play also focuses on the relationship of the two siblings. In fact, the original concept for the play came from a writing workshop at Premiere Stages which utilized an exercise called “On the Roof.” The instructor had the class write very quickly with constant stops and restarts. The idea was to write without even thinking about what was being written. For Ryan, the exercise led to the teenagers on the roof. The early stages of the play was entirely focused on the relationship of the family.
“I don’t know exactly when the Son of Sam came in, but if I’m going back to the seventies with the point of view of a teenager, I’m going to think of the Son of Sam,” said Ryan. “It was that impactful in my life. Growing up in Queens and being that age — sort of sexually coming of age at a time when he was killing young girls making out in cars — there was that connection that it was dangerous to be a young girl. That connection is what always pulls me back there.”
In the back of her mind, she may have been thinking about her own girls. Her youngest is entering her teenage years. She wonders what lessons from the Summer of 1977 she might be passing on to her own children.
“The girls in the play think Son of Sam is what they all need to be afraid of, but it actually turns out to be closer to home,” add Ryan.
Tar Beach was named a finalist for the Terrence McNally Playwriting Award, The Source Theater Festival and a Jane Chambers Playwriting Award honoree. The play was included in the 2014 edition of The List compiled by The Kilroys as “one of the most excellent new plays by female-identified authors of last year.”
Since moving to Pittsburgh 25 years ago, where her work is often performed, Ryan’s plays have been staged all across the United States and she’s found something of a second home in New Jersey. It began in 2006 when Premiere Stages presented one of her works. In the years to follow, her work has debuted at Premiere Stages, the Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey, and now Luna Stage.
“The connection with New Jersey probably stems from my voice sounding familiar being from New York,” said Ryan. “It’s nice to kind of have two homes.”
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
Be Amazed by the Golden Age of Radio at the Toms River Branch of the Ocean County Library
(TOMS RIVER, NJ) -- Return to the era when families gathered around the wireless set for "theater of the imagination." The Toms River Branch of the Ocean County Library will host a live presentation by WREP: When Radio Entertained People on Wednesday, April 15, 2026 from 7:00pm to 8:30pm. A trivia game will take place before the show at 6:30pm. The performance will begin at 7:00pm. Join them for an evening "broadcast" of skits from the Golden Age of radio, performed live by WREP's veteran actors.
Centenary Stage Company's Women Playwrights Series presents "Not It!" by Kathleen Coudle-King
(HACKETTSTOWN, NJ) -- Centenary Stage Company brings its acclaimed Women Playwrights Series to a powerful close on Wednesday, April 15, 2026 at 7:00pm with a staged reading of Not It! by playwright Kathleen Coudle-King. The performance will take place in the Sitnik Theatre of the Lackland Performing Arts Center on the campus of Centenary University. Admission is free, with donations welcomed.
RVCC to Present Student Theatre Production of "The Wolves"
(BRANCHBURG, NJ) -- Raritan Valley Community College's Arts & Design department will present The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe, April 15-17, 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.
Bridgewater-Raritan High School Theatre Arts presents "Little Shop of Horrors"
(BRIDGEWATER, NJ) -- Bridgewater-Raritan High School Theatre Arts presents Little Shop of Horrors from April 16–18, 2026, in the Bridgewater-Raritan High School Auditorium. This cult-favorite musical comedy features a book and lyrics by Howard Ashman and music by Alan Menken, and tells the delightfully dark story of a shy flower shop assistant who discovers a mysterious plant with an insatiable appetite.
Kean University Theatre Department presents "The Bald Soprano" by Eugène Ionesco
(UNION, NJ) -- Kean University Theatre Department presents The Bald Soprano by Eugène Ionesco from April 10-18, 2026 in the Bauer Boucher Theatre Center. Has your day-to-day life begun to feel like some surreal hallucination?
NJIT's Theatre Arts and Technology Program presents "Curtains"
(NEWARK, NJ) -- New Jersey Institute of Technology's Theatre Arts and Technology Program presents the musical comedy, Curtains, from April 16-18, 2026 in the Jim Wise Theater.
County College of Morris presents "Yankee Doodle Dandy"
(RANDOLPH, NJ) -- As the nation commemorates the Semiquincentennial, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, County College of Morris (CCM) invites theatergoers to be entertained and experience the life of American composer, playwright, actor, producer and showman George M. Cohan, in the high-energy musical Yankee Doodle Dandy. Presented by the Marielaine Mammon School of Music, Performing Arts, and Music Technologies, performances will take place on Wednesday through Saturday, April 15–18, 2026 at 7:30pm in Dragonetti Auditorium.
Villagers Theatre presents "The Cottage" by Sandy Rustin
(SOMERSET, NJ) -- Villagers Theatre presents The Cottage by Sandy Rustin across two weekends from April 10-19, 2026. This a romantic and (not quite) murderous comedy of manners. Fate, identity and marriage are called into question as a surprising, hilarious web of secrets unravels.
Gateway Playhouse To Hold Auditions For The Classic Musical Comedy "Guys And Dolls" on April 18th and April 22nd
(SOMERS POINT, NJ) -- Gateway Playhouse will hold auditions for Frank Loesser's Tony Award-winning musical comedy Guys and Dolls on April 18 and April 22, 2026. Anyone age 16 and older, with any theatrical background or experience, is welcome to try out for this much-adored show. No appointments are necessary; all roles are open. Phil Pallitto, artistic director of the Gateway, will direct the musical.
Literature to Life Announces Second Series of Books Unite, Free Community Events in Paterson Supported by NJEDA A.R.T. Phase II Grant
(PATERSON, NJ) -- Literature to Life (LTL) has announced their second series of Books Unite: Literature to Life in Paterson, consisting of a book club, two live performances, and an interactive workshop all centered around The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Crossroads Theatre Company: Genesis Festival - "The Gypsy Code: A Love Letter to New York"Friday, April 10, 2026 @ 7:00pmNew Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC) New Brunswick, NJ
