New Jersey Stage logo
New Jersey Stage Menu


PHOTOS from "A Black and White Cookie" at Center Players


By John Posada

originally published: 08/11/2023

(FREEHOLD, NJ) -- Center Players is concluding its successful 2022-23 season with a Signature Series production of A Black and White Cookie, an insightful new play by playwright/novelist Gary Morgenstein.  The comedic drama will run August 11-27, 2023 at Center Playhouse at 35 South Street in downtown Freehold, NJ.  Photographer John Posada was on hand to take photos.

Named “Best Play” in BroadwayWorld.com’s Regional Awards, A Black and White Cookie centers around Harold Wilson, a gruff, conservative African American in his early 70s who finally re-opens his Manhattan newsstand after the pandemic lockdown, but an exorbitant rent increase forces him to close after 30 years and retire. Enter Albie Sands, an eccentric white liberal in his 70s who persuades Harold to fight back. Overcoming their differences, Harold and Albie form an unlikely yet powerful friendship which shows there’s more that unites us than divides us.

Center Players’ Artistic Director Bernice Garfield-Szita will direct the play. She also directed the 2022 production of Morgenstein’s A Tomato Can’t Grow in the Bronx, which was awarded “Best Original Play” at the 2022 Perry Awards by the NJ Association of Community Theaters (NJACT). After a sold out run at Center Playhouse, the production moved to Off Broadway in December 2022.

The cast features New Jersey actors Arthur Gregory Pugh, Jackie Kusher, Vince Fay, Jacynth Apora and Dale GenesisPerformances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm, and Sundays at 2:00pm. Tickets are priced at $28-$30 and can be purchased at www.centerplayers.org or by calling 732-462-9093.

“We are thrilled to present another one of Gary Morgenstein’s poignant, socially conscious plays,” noted Garfield-Szita. “His characters and themes are penetrating reflections of today’s world and offer insightful and amusing observations which make for great theater.”




Reach New Jersey's largest arts & entertainment audience, click here for info on how to advertise at NJ Stage



Gary Morgenstein’s novels and plays have been featured in national media from the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, Parade Magazine, the New York PostSports Illustrated and NPR.  This summer, A Black and White Cookie will make its West Coast premiere in Los Angeles at Sky Pilot Theater. An award-winning playwright, Morgenstein’s stage dramas include His Perry Award-winning (Best Original Play) poignant dramedy A Tomato Can’t Grow in the Bronx is about a working-class family in the tumultuous 1960s, while Free Palestine tackles the threat to academic freedom, antisemitism and political bullying triggered by the firing of a Jewish social studies teacher. Morgenstein’s latest work is the romantic dramedy Walking Charlie, about a widowed owner of a door factory and a recent immigrant who’s fled Venezuelan oppression, brought together by a pug dog named Charlie. His seven novels include the critically acclaimed dystopian political thrillers A Mound Over Hell and A Fastball for Freedom.

Here are more photos from the production.

Celebrating its 21st season at Center Playhouse, Center Players is a respected, award-winning organization, presenting high quality, engaging productions featuring local talent in downtown Freehold. In addition to their signature plays, the group also sponsors free play reading events and offers dinner and theater packages with several local restaurants.

John Posada is a New Jersey based photographer specializing in photographing live theatre and music performances. For more than 15 years, John has photographed live events where he mastered the techniques of timing and capturing fast moving action under challenging lighting conditions. Currently, John has spent the last 3 years concentrating on photographing almost 200 theatre productions for over 70 different theatres. Click here for John's website.




Reach New Jersey's largest arts & entertainment audience, click here for info on how to advertise at NJ Stage


FEATURED EVENTS

To narrow results by date range, categories,
or region of New Jersey
click here for our advanced search.


The

The Diary of Anne Frank

Saturday, February 15, 2025 @ 8:00pm
Algonquin Arts Theatre
60 Abe Voorhees, Manasquan, NJ 08736
category: theatre


 

Dunbar

Dunbar Repertory Company Presents "Two Trains Running"

Saturday, February 15, 2025 @ 8:00pm
Middletown Arts Center
36 Church Street, Middletown, NJ 07748
category: theatre


 

Dunbar

Dunbar Repertory Company Presents "Two Trains Running"

Saturday, February 15, 2025 @ 3:00pm
Middletown Arts Center
36 Church Street, Middletown, NJ 07748
category: theatre


 

Catching

Catching the Moon: The Story of a Young Girl's Baseball Dream

Saturday, February 15, 2025 @ 4:00pm
The Historic Palace Theatre
7 Ledgewood Avenue, Netcong, NJ 07857
category: theatre


 

CDC

CDC Theatre presents "Angels in America Part One: Millennium Approaches"

Saturday, February 15, 2025 @ 8:00pm
CDC Theatre
78 Winans Avenue, Cranford, NJ 07016
category: theatre


 



Advertise with NJ Stage for $50-$100 per month, click here for info





 

EVENT PREVIEWS

RVCC

RVCC Holocaust Institute Sets Show Offering Accessible Telling of Anne Frank's Story

(BRANCHBURG, NJ) -- The Institute of Holocaust & Genocide Studies at Raritan Valley Community College will present Bright Star Touring Theatre's production of The Story of Anne Frank on Tuesday, March 4, 2025 at 10:00am.



Speranza

Speranza Theatre Company presents "In Her Footsteps" - a friendly, immersive theatre experience

(JERSEY CITY, NJ) -- Step into history with In Her Footsteps, a fun, family-friendly, immersive theatrical experience that brings great women from the past to life through dynamic performances, multimedia displays, and hands-on activities. Speranza Theatre Company presents In Her Footsteps weekends from March 1-30, 2025 at the Museum of Jersey City History.



The

The Anthropologists present World Premiere of "axes, herbs and satchels" at Art House

(JERSEY CITY, NJ) -- The Anthropologists, a NYC-based, female-led, investigative theater company launches the world premiere of their devised play "axes, herbs and satchels." The tour begins in Jersey City at Art House on February 19-20, 2025, followed by stops in Delray Beach at Arts Garage on February 23, and Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana on March 5. The show will return to New York City in Spring 2025 with performances in the Bronx, Manhattan and Brooklyn.



Passage

Passage Theatre Company presents Suzan-Lori Parks' Pulitzer Prize-Winning Play "Topdog/Underdog"

Topdog/Underdog by Pulitzer prize-winning Black playwright Suzan-Lori Parks is receiving its Trenton, New Jersey premiere at Passage Theatre Company, as part of its landmark 40th anniversary season. The play opens February 21, 2025, and runs until March 9, 2025, at the Mill Hill Playhouse. A darkly comic fable of brotherly love and family identity, Topdog/Underdog tells the story of Lincoln and Booth, two brothers whose names were given to them as a joke by their father, foreshadowing a lifetime of sibling rivalry and resentment.



American

American Theater Group presents "Purlie"

(RAHWAY, NJ) -- Broadway veteran Kenny Ingram will direct American Theater Group's (ATG) production of the exhilarating and Tony Award-winning musical Purlie, running March 6-23, 2025, at Hamilton Stage in Rahway. Gary Mitchell, Jr. will provide Musical Direction. Purlie is the 1970 musical adaptation of Ossie Davis's comedic play Purlie Victorious, which just completed a hugely successful revival on Broadway last season.