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NJRep presents PRIDE 2023 in June

originally published: 04/29/2023 

(LONG BRANCH, NJ) -- New Jersey Repertory Company (NJRep) will present PRIDE 2023 from June 3-25, 2023. This month long celebration includes an Art Gallery Show, a Photography Exhibit, and five one-act plays running throughout the month.

FREE OPENING RECEPTION (Saturday, June 3 from 4:00pm – 7:00pm)

“OUR WAY” (June 3 – June 25) Curated by Mare Akana, artists from the LGBTQ+ community share their views on life, love and the world they live in. 

“OUT” (June 3 – June 25) A collection of portraits from Andrea Phox Photography showcasing members of the queer community.

Back by Popular Demand for One Week Only - “WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU” (June 8 – June 11) Written and performed by James Hindman. Thursday; Friday 7:00pm; Saturday 3:00pm & 7:00pm; Sunday 2:00pm. A heart attack, an obsession with Cher, and a trip to a concentration camp. So, yes, it’s a comedy.

 

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US PREMIERE - “THE SILVER BELL” by Alan Flanagan (June 8 – June 18). Directed by Dan Hutton, with Alan Flanagan & Brendan O’Rourke. Thursday; Friday 8:30pm; Saturday 4:30pm & 8:30pm; Sunday 3:30pm. It’s a tale as old as time: boy meets boy, boy loses boy, boy punches hole in universe to get boy back. Join Mico and James as they tell you their reality-bending story of love, loss and trying to find decent sausage rolls in a universe that never invented Greggs British bakery chain.

“MISS DELTA TOWNSHIP” (June 15 – 18) Written and performed by Joanne Callum Powers , directed by Gail Winar. Thursday; Friday 7:00pm; Saturday 3:00pm & 7:00pm; Sunday 2:00pm. From a shocking opening that grabs both your attention and your nervous system from the moment the stage lights come up, “Miss Delta Township” locks on and never let's go, kicking off in the 1960’s and then moving at warp speed through several decades of life and longing in a “typical” suburban American family. Except that this family, as it turns out, is anything but typical.

“DEMOCRACY SUCKS” (June 22 – 25) Written by Monica Bauer, directed by John FitzGibbon, starring John Fico. Thursday; Friday 7:00pm; Saturday 3:00pm & 7:00pm; Sunday 2:00pm. Professor B has been teaching Political Philosophy 101 at Upper Michigan State for ten years, but now, he drinks during class and uses sock puppets of Plato and Socrates to convince his students that democracy sucks. There’s an online petition to have him fired. His only hope is an outstanding rating from his students on the Course Evaluations. To get them, he reaches back into his past as a theater kid at the Stage Door Summer Camp to give his students the most exciting last class on democracy in the history of Upper Michigan State.

Back by Popular Demand for One Week Only - "SISTER MARY’S PLAYTIME" (June 22 – 25) Written and performed by Tim McArthur. Thursday; Friday 8:30pm; Saturday 4:30pm & 8:30pm; Sunday 3:30pm. Sister Mary was found on the steps of St Peter’s of the Sisters of the Third Removed, in the heart of London’s West End. She was wrapped in a copy of the Stage Newspaper within a handbag. It is rumored she is the secret love child of West End Musical Theatre Star, Elaine Paige. Sister Mary loves showtunes and making homemade flapjack. Join Sister Mary as she battles the blues with her unique comedy and variety. No pulpit. No psalms. No prayers. She’s not that kind of nun!

Patrons can purchase a festival pass or individual tickets by visiting www.njrep.org or calling 732.229.3166.

New Jersey Repertory Company (NJREP) is located at 179 Broadway in Long Branch, New Jersey.  The company 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 150 plays of which 125 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 U.S. and overseas. In 2012 and 2018 NJ Rep was the recipient of 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. In May 2016, NJ Rep 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.

NJRep thanks the following for their support: The Shubert Foundation, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, New Jersey State Council on the Arts, SBA Shuttered Venues Program, The Stone Foundation of New Jersey, New Jersey CRF, NJEDA, JENNJOE Fund, The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, OceanFirst Foundation, Princeton Area Community Foundation, Manasquan Bank, Community Foundation of New Jersey, Monmouth County CARES, Investors Bank Foundation, Jewish Communal Fund, Darien Family Fund, Vasi Laurence, Caroline Huber, Caryl Sills and Linda Mitchell.