(LONG BRANCH, NJ) -- New Jersey Repertory Company (NJ Rep) will present Sins of the Mother by acclaimed playwright Israel Horovitz, directed by Evan Bergman, weekends from April 10 through May 3, 2026. Set in the tight-knit fishing town of Gloucester, Massachusetts, this play follows Douggie, a young man returning home to prove his roots among a group of rugged, fiercely loyal locals who live by their hands—and sometimes by violence.
In a place where everyone knows everyone, belonging must be earned. As Douggie attempts to confirm his past, he is pulled into a web of long-buried secrets tied to his mother and the town itself. What unfolds is a gripping, darkly humorous exploration of identity, loyalty, and the lingering scars of unfinished wars.
The cast features John Adams, Michael Bakkensen, Rudy Galvan, and Edward James Hyland.
"Sins of the Mother is a powerful reminder of Israel Horovitz's extraordinary ability to capture the raw, complicated ties that bind us to our past. This play is at once intimate and explosive, and we're thrilled to bring it to our stage with such a remarkable cast and creative team." NJ Rep's Artistic Director, SuzAnne Barabas.
Performances take place Thursdays at 7:00pm; Fridays and Saturdays at 2:00pm & 7:00pm; and Sundays at 2:00pm. Tickets are available for purchase online or by calling 732-229-3166. The theater is located at 179 Broadway in Long Branch, New Jersey.
John Adams is pleased to be back at NJ Rep after appearing in Gregg Henry's Can't Run Can't Dance last season. He is a NYC actor, Wynn Handman student and Boston native. TV credits include "Jessica Jones," "Inventing Anna," "FBI," "Mister Robot," "The Blacklist," "Law & Order: Organized Crime," and Netflix's upcoming "The Beast in Me". NYC and regional theater include The Late Henry Moss, Much Ado About Nothing, Blizzard, and Holiday, among others, as well as the upcoming musical 44 Lights by Tim Tuttle. Eternal gratitude to the Harkness Center for Dance Injuries; boundless love to my favorite acupuncturist.
Michael Bakkensen has appeared on Broadway in Noises Off, The Man Who Came to Dinner, Festen, and the pre-Broadway production of The King's Speech. His extensive Off-Broadway and regional credits include Ava: The Secret Conversations, Rx, and productions at The Guthrie, Mark Taper Forum, and Shakespeare Theatre Company. His television work includes "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel", "The Americans", and "Law & Order".
Rudy Galvan returns to NJ Rep after appearing in Comfort and the salon reading of Wipeout. His credits include work with Steppenwolf Theatre, Asolo Rep, and The House Theatre of Chicago, as well as film and television appearances in "His Three Daughters" (Netflix), "Chicago P.D.", and "Shameless".
Edward James Hyland makes his NJ Rep debut as Bobby Maloney. His Broadway credits include Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (originating the roles of Dumbledore and Amos Diggory), Machinal, Arcadia, and The Price. His extensive stage career includes work at Shakespeare in the Park, Arena Stage, and Huntington Theatre Company. His television credits include "Boardwalk Empire", "The Leftovers", and "Law & Order".
Director Evan Bergman has helmed more than 15 productions for NJ Rep, many of them world premieres. His work has also been seen at Ensemble Studio Theatre, Barrington Stage Company, Playwrights Horizons, and 59E59 Theaters. His film work includes the award-winning short Day Zero, and he is currently in pre-production for the feature film Life on the Flats.
Israel Horovitz is one of the most prolific and widely produced American playwrights, with more than 70 plays translated into over 30 languages and performed worldwide. His work is known for its raw humanity, sharp dialogue, and deeply personal storytelling.
NEW JERSEY REPERTORY COMPANY (NJRep) was founded in 1997 by SuzAnne and Gabor Barabas. Its current central headquarters is the Lumia Theater, located on lower Broadway in Long Branch. The theater's mission is to develop and produce new plays and to make a lasting contribution to the American Stage. Over two decades, NJ Rep has produced 152 plays, of which 128 have been world premieres. The theater has the additional distinction of having had many of its plays produced by other theaters around the country, totaling over 200 subsequent productions in the US and overseas.
In 2012 and 2018, NJ Rep received a National Theater Company Grant from the American Theater Wing that sponsors the annual Tony Awards for Broadway in recognition of its contribution to the repertoire of the American Stage. Only seven theaters have had this distinction. In addition, the theater has presented over 400 developmental readings as well as introduced 136 new works through its Theatre Brut Short-Play Festivals that focus on visionary and avant-garde works.
NJRep acquired a new property, a 28,000 square foot school situated on 2 ½ acres and located just five minutes from its Main Stage Lumia Theater and two blocks from the Jersey Shore. The theater plans on gradually transforming the school in stages into a cultural center that will house additional performance spaces, an art cinema, an art museum, a rooftop café, an arts education wing, and residences for out-of-town actors and playwrights. When completed, the center will present a wide array of programs in acting, playwriting, art, sculpture, poetry, music, and photography and will serve as a catalyst for economic development and as the foundation for the cultural renaissance of the community.
NJ Rep thanks the following for their support: Shubert Foundation, Stone Foundation of New Jersey, Community Foundation of New Jersey and New Jersey State Council in the Arts.
