originally published: 04/05/2016

(UNION, NJ) -- “Pop-Up” theater -- entertainment in unexpected places – is returning to Unity Bank in Union’s downtown business district, presented by The Theater Project, an award-winning professional company based in Maplewood. The comedy You Make My Frame Shake by New Jersey playwright Luigi Jannuzzi will be presented as a script-in-hand performance Saturday, April 30 at 8:00pm, and Sunday, May 1 at 2:00pm, at Unity Bank’s 952 Stuyvesant Avenue Branch, Union.

Since the play is about the back stories, secret thoughts and hidden desires of the paintings and sculptures in the Metropolitan Museum of Art -– how would YOU like to be stared at all day? -– The Theater Project decided to stage the play in a “pop-up” museum. Cranford artist Theodosia A. G. Tamborlane will exhibit her work in the performance space, available for viewing one hour before and after each performance. Jannuzzi and Tamborlane will both be on hand to chat with patrons. POP-UP THEATER meets POP-UP ART GALLERY.

But you gotta eat, right? One of the reasons for bringing Pop-Up Theater to Union’s downtown is to create foot traffic for local business; The Theater Project is setting up a guide to neighborhood restaurants on its website, TheTheaterProject.org, to encourage play-goers to round out their theater/art show experience with a meal or snack. Within walking distance of the performance, patrons can choose from vegetarian, Tapas, Italian, Sushi, Thai, Chinese, African, Portuguese, Brazilian, and Philippine menus, as well as pub grub and pizza. Lighter fare -- coffee, tea, dessert -- is also available at neighborhood bakeries, coffee shops, and cafes.

Luigi Jannuzzi of Hillsborough is an award-winning playwright, whose romantic comedies have received critical acclaim from major publications in the US and abroad. His full-length plays include Night Of The Foolish Moon and For The Love of Juliet! His many awards include a Walt Whitman Cultural Arts Center Grant and a Perry Award. A member of The Theater Project’s playwright’s workshop, his plays are published by Samuel French. Mr. Jannuzzi holds a BA in Philosophy and Theology from Salem University in West Virginia and an MA in Ethics from the University of Notre Dame.

Theodosia A. G. Tamborlane of Cranford is an award-winning abstract artist. Her paintings and collages have been in 91 solo and group exhibitions in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Florida. She has been featured in art magazines and the Manhattan International Art Online Gallery, and her paintings are in many private and public collections. Ms. Tamborlane is a member of the New Jersey Contemporary Art Group. She has studied at the Art Students League and the School of Visual Arts in New York City, and holds degrees in Fine Arts and Law from Drew University, Fairleigh Dickinson, and Seton Hall Law School.

You Make My Frame Shake is part of a series of pop-up Theater Project performances designed to draw foot traffic to the Union Center, supported by Union’s Downtown Improvement District, a Union County HEART grant, and the hospitality of Unity Bank. In December, both performances of It's A Wonderful Life: The Radio Play sold out. Tickets are $15 regular admission, $10 for students. For more information visit TheTheaterProject.org.

PHOTO OF Luigi Jannuzzi