(HOBOKEN, NJ) -- Mile Square Theatre will present their first Theatre for Family and Young Audiences Production since the pandemic shutdowns of 2023: Balloonacy, directed by Andrew Baldwin. Balloonacy will play a four-week limited engagement at Mile Square Theatre from Wednesday, April 26 through Sunday, May 21. Balloonacy is a wordless comedy about the power of friendship.
An ornery, lonely Old Man, a misbehaved balloon, beautiful music, and Paris all come together for 45 minutes of heartfelt hilarity. Says Kevin R. Free of his choice to produce the show in his first season, “This show was scheduled for 2020, and was postponed because of Covid. I am so happy to be able to produce the show now, just to snub our noses at the pandemic!”
The production stars founder and former Artistic Director of Mile Square Theatre, Chris O’Connor* as The Old Man. *Performing courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association.
The production features scenic design by Matthew J Fick, sound design and original composition by Carl Riehl, Properties Design by Emmett Grosland, costume design by Peter Fogel, and lighting design by Jennifer Fok. Arielle Legere* is the Production Stage Manager.
Balloonacy plays the following regular schedule through Sunday, May 21: Saturdays at 2:00pm & 5:00pm Sundays at 11:00am & 2:00pm. Tickets are $24-35 and are now available online at www.MileSquareTheatre.org. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the theater a half hour before the performance. The theatre is offering a special “Pay-What-You-Will” performance on April 29 at 2:00pm and a Sensory Sensitive performance for neurodiverse audiences and their families on May 21 at 11:00am. Running Time: 45 Minutes.
CHRIS O’CONNOR (The Old Man) is Mile Square Theatre’s founder and former Artistic Director. He is an Associate Professor and the Chair of the Molloy University/CAP21 BFA program. Recent directing projects include Billy Bishop Goes to War and Two Gentlemen of Verona at Franklin Stage Company. As Founding Artistic Director of MST he received an Award of Excellence from the New Jersey Theatre Alliance 2017. Chris produced 19 seasons for MST, including the Off-Broadway transfer of Erin Mallon’s The Net Will Appear. He directed over 30 plays at MST and has directed at theatres and universities across the country. As an actor he has performed Off-Broadway and regionally in such theatres as Seattle’s A Contemporary Theatre, The Culture Project, Soho Rep, The Ahmanson, Gloucester Stage, Provisional Theatre of Los Angeles, Maltz Jupiter Theatre, The Ohio Theatre, The Bathhouse Theatre, Seattle Children's Theatre, and at City Theatre in Pittsburgh. TV credits include Magic City and Burn Notice, and he appears in the indie thriller Depraved. Upcoming projects; He will direct Good People at FSC this summer. Chris holds a BFA from Carnegie-Mellon University and an MFA from Rutgers University.
ANDREW BALDWIN (Director) is the Managing Director at Mile Square Theatre, where he has aided in the production of dozens of plays since 2013. His acting credits at MST include The Garden of Rikki Tikki Tavi, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 12fth Night, A Year with Frog and Toad and Core Values. Other regional/national tour: Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Musical. New York credits: Scraps (The Flea), Romeo and Juliet (Columbia Stages), Dex!: A Killer Musical (FringeNYC), What We're Up Against, Bull (New Wave Theater Collective), Taming of the Cats (The Brick), O Walter, My Walter (COW Theatre), and 54: The Musical (Emerging Artists Theatre). Television: Law and Order: SVU, Wu-Tang: An American Saga, The Food That Built America. Education: BFA University of Miami.
Mile Square Theatre is located at 1400 Clinton Street in Hoboken, New Jersey. The company was founded in 2003 as a non-profit professional theatre. MST’s mission is to enrich and engage the region through the production of professional theatre and innovative arts education. MST produces professional theatre year round, including shows for young audiences and our annual festival of plays about baseball, 7th Inning Stretch.
