(RAHWAY, NJ) -- American Theater Group (ATG), a  professional theater company in Central NJ, will launch a series of Monday night play readings beginning December 4th with An American Tree by Di Shawn J. Gandy. The performance will take place at the newly-reopened Hamilton Stage in Rahway, NJ at 7:00pm and is free, with donations gratefully accepted.

This new play is set in the scorching summer of 1889 where deep in Alabama's unforgiving Jim Crow South, the Bonner family's legacy, a woven tapestry of two generations grappling with their painful history, teeters on the brink of revelation. Amid a nation scarred by history, An American Tree delves into deep emotions and hidden secrets, where choices can save or shatter. As tension mounts, the heart-wrenching decision between preserving the fragile family and embracing the untold story unfolds, where past and present collide.

The reading will be directed by Diane L. Parker. The cast includes: Carmen Balentine, Andrea LaTrell, Michael Maurice, Sandra Ward, Felicia Russell, Derek Simmons, and Peter Reimann. A Q&A discussion with the playwright and the cast will follow the reading.

“ATG’s mission it to present new works and undeservedly neglected ones,” said Jim Vagias, ATG’s Producing Artistic Director, “and we are always pleased for the opportunity to expose our audiences to provocative new works and playwrights.”

Hamilton Stage is located at 360 Hamilton Street in Rahway and is independently operated under the governance of Union County Performing Arts Center.

American Theater Group (ATG), founded in 2012, produces new and classic works primarily by American playwrights with an emphasis on the development of new works and the rediscovery of undeservedly neglected older ones. The company also focuses on offering quality arts-in-education programming. ATG programming is made possible in part by funds from the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission, a partner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.