Published by New Jersey Stage
originally published: 04/24/2018
The award-winning playwright and New Jersey native, Christopher Durang, is back with Turning Off The Morning News - his third World Premiere commission for McCarter Theatre in Princeton. It serves as a follow up to his Tony Award-winning play Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, and runs from May 4th through June 3rd.
This time around, Durang is back with a new cast of eccentric characters - starting with Cliff and Salena, whose across-the-street neighbors are somewhere between peculiar and stark raving mad. This decidedly dark and daring comedy takes aim at today’s absurd and dangerous world.
The cast includes Jenn Harris, Rachel Nicks, Nicholas Podany, Krisine Neilsen, Robert Sella, and John Pankow. McCarter Theatre’s Artistic Director and Resident Playwright Emily Mann directs the production.
Mann and Durang have known each other for a long time and the story of their professional collaboration and friendship will be told before each performance via a 20-minute talk led by a member of McCarter’s artistic staff. The Inside Story, as it is called, takes place 45 minutes prior to each performance. It reveals what inspired Durang to write the play and the hallmarks of “Durangian comedy”; Mann’s directorial vision for the play; and offers a few things to look for during the performance.
In a letter to McCarter subscribers, Emily Mann detailed the origins of her relationship with Durang and her thoughts on Turning Off The Morning News.
“I first met Chris when we were students in William Alfred’s playwriting seminar at Harvard, and I remember Alfred predicting that Chris was going to be a new voice for his generation,” recalled Mann. “Chris’s writing was unlike anything I had ever heard before, and I was amazed by his brilliance. It was a delight when we were reconnected many years later by fellow playwright and mutual friend, Wendy Wasserstein.”
“With this reconnection, my professional collaboration and close friendship with Chris began. McCarter commissioned him to write the play that would become Miss Witherspoon, which I had the pleasure of directing here and at Playwrights Horizons in New York City in 2005. On the opening night of Miss Witherspoon, I gave Chris another commission, which brought us his enormously successful Tony Award®-winning play Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. Now, I am thrilled to be directing his latest world premiere and McCarter commission: Turning Off the Morning News.”
“I love working with Chris Durang. He is clear sighted and generous. An absolutely unique voice in the American theatre, Chris is able to take on disturbing questions and issues that in another writer’s hands would take the form of tragedy and spin it into comedy. This is his own particular alchemy, his singular sense of humor and extraordinary craft as a playwright and a theater maker. I am honored that McCarter is an artistic home for Chris, and it is an exciting event to bring his newest play to life on our stage.”
“At its heart, Turning Off the Morning News explores the absurdity of our modern world. A fierce exposure of the ways that our personal and societal anxieties can bring out the worst in us, it also gently reveals the antidote—reaching out beyond ourselves to find connection with others. In the end, isn’t the desire for this kind of connection why we all go to the theater? Gloria Steinem once said: 'laughter breaks out when two thoughts come together and suddenly make a third, when we understand or learn something, when we recognize a truth.' Chris’s talent for dark comedy shows us recognizable truths of modern society, while keeping us laughing throughout.”
Director Emily Mann and Playwright Christopher Durang (center) with the cast of Turning Off The Morning News. Photo by Matt Pilsner. The play runs from May 4th through June 3rd in the Berlind Theatre.
George Street Playhouse Presents Vicki Lawrence & Mama: A Two-woman Show
Friday, November 13, 2026 @ 7:30pm
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"
Friday, November 13, 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
Friday, November 13, 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!
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
EVENT PREVIEWS
Theater League of Clifton presents "1776" in November
(WAYNE, NJ) -- Two hundred and fifty years ago, a group of opinionated, stubborn and deeply divided delegates gathered in Philadelphia and somehow managed to create a new nation. This November, the Theater League of Clifton brings their story to the stage with 1776, the Tony Award-winning musical about the tumultuous days leading to the Declaration of Independence. Directed by Maren Sugarman, the production will be presented November 13–15, 2026, at the Wayne Community Center.
Lomotion Live presents "Etiquette" by David Lee White
(BOONTON, NJ) -- Lomotion Live presents Etiquette, a timely and biting comedy by playwright David Lee White, directed by Lauren Moran. The production will run November 13–15, 2026 at Lomotion Live at Parsippany Arts Center in Boonton.
NJ Rep presents Theatre Brut Short Play Festival 2026: "Through The Window"
(LONG BRANCH, NJ) -- What happens when we look through a window? Do we see the world as it really is, the world as we wish it could be, or something we never expected? New Jersey Repertory Company (NJ Rep) invites audiences to discover the unexpected with NJ Rep presents Theatre Brut Short Play Festival 2026: "Through The Window" a festival of eight original short plays presented over two weekends, November 13–15 and November 20–22, 2026 at the West End Arts Center in Long Branch.
Bridge Players Theatre Company presents "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever: The Musical"
(BURLINGTON, NJ) -- Bridge Players Theatre Company presents The Best Christmas Pageant Ever: The Musical weekends from November 13-28, 2026. In this musical adaptation of the funny and touching holiday classic, The Herdmans – widely known as the "worst kids in the history of the world" – crash Sunday School lured by the promise of free snacks and end up hijacking the annual church Christmas pageant!
For the Whim Productions presents William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
(BRIDGETON, NJ) -- For the Whim Productions presents William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream from November 13-20, 2026 at the Ashley McCormick Theatre in the Hopeloft in Bridgeton. A whimsical comedy where fairies, lovers, actors, and our audience collide in an enchanted forest, blending magic, romance, and mischief. The production is directed by Heidi Dugan.
The Maplewood Strollers presents "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"
(MAPLEWOOD, NJ) -- The Maplewood Strollers present Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street weekends from November 13-22, 2026. Attend the dark, witty and Tony Award-winning tale of love, murder and revenge set against the backdrop of 19th century London.
Readington Community Theatre presents "Anatomy of a Murder"
(WHITEHOUSE STATION, NJ) -- Readington Community Theatre presents Anatomy of a Murder by Elihu Winer across two weekends from November 13-22, 2026 at Rockaway Reformed Church. In a quiet town in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, a small-time lawyer is pulled into a sensational case that quickly grips the entire community.
The Barn Theatre presents Roald Dahl's "Matilda, the Musical"
(MONTVILLE, NJ) -- The Barn Theatre presents Roald Dahl's Matilda, the Musical weekends from November 13 to December 5, 2026. The story of an extraordinary girl who dares to take a stand and change her own destiny.
Villagers Theatre presents "The Last Days of Judas Iscariot"
(SOMERSET, NJ) -- Villagers Theatre presents The Last Days of Judas Iscariot in The Andrew Russoniello Black Box weekends from November 13-21, 2026. Set in a time-bending, darkly comic world between heaven and hell, the play reexamines the plight and fate of the New Testament’s most infamous and unexplained sinner.
Holmdel Theatre Company presents "Love, Loss, and What I Wore"
(HOLMDEL, NJ) -- Holmdel Theatre Company presents Love, Loss, and What I Wore from November 13-15, 2026. Told through a series of personal stories and monologues, Love, Loss, and What I Wore reveals how the clothes we wear often become intertwined with who we are and the moments we never forget. The show celebrates the humor and heartbreak of everyday life, reminding audiences that while fashion trends may come and go, the experiences that connect us are timeless.
