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PHOTOS from "God of Carnage" at Nutley Little Theatre

By John Posada

originally published: 12/11/2022 

(NUTLEY, NJ) -- Nutley Little Theatre is currently presenting their "holiday" production, God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza and translated by Christopher Hampton begins its run Friday, December 9, 2022 through Saturday, December 17, 2022.  A traditional holiday story it isn't, but the setting takes place in December at the Brooklyn, NY apartment of Michael and Veronica Novak.  The theatre is transformed for the actual holidays while the show keeps you involved with the meeting between the two sets of parents. Photographer John Posada was on hand to take photos.

A playground altercation between two eleven-year-old boys (Henry and Benjamin) brings together the two sets of parents, The Novaks (Michael and Veronica) and The Raleighs (Alan and Annette) for a meeting to resolve the matter. At first, diplomatic niceties are observed, but as the meeting progresses, and the rum flows, tensions emerge and the gloves come off, leaving the couples vulnerable to each other with more than just their liberal principles in tatters.  It is a comedy of manners. . . without the manners.

God of Carnage is directed by Mead Winters. He just finished a run of GEMINI at Nutley Little Theatre this past June, which has been nominated by the Broadway World 2022 Awards with Best Supporting Performer (Heather Cozine), Best Director (Mead Winters) and Best Scenic Design of a Play or Musical (Mead Winters). Mead has also directed a one-act show for Apricot Sky Productions this past fall and will be directing another one-act show at Old Library Theatre come January 2023. Nutley Little Theatre is delighted to have Mead's production of God of Carnage and another amazing set grace their theatre.  The production stage manager is Erin Sabat (who also previously worked with Mead on GEMINI). 

"I couldn't have a better stage manager than Erin.  She is professional, dedicated, and has made this show run as smoothly as possible with all the effects required.  She is the best and I am so grateful to be working with her again", states Mead. Jim Brown, our co set designer, lighting and sound designer and engineer is also back working with Mead from the GEMINI production.  Again, Jim's eye for detail, incredible ideas, and his rapid pace of creating a set, has brought Mead's vision of this apartment as real and spectacular as always.

While the holidays are a tough time to produce a show, particularly when so many other holiday productions are enticing to ALL family members, what makes this a special production for the holidays is the transformation of the set and theatre to bring you right into a warm and welcoming environment. Since Carnage isn't your "traditional" holiday show, you will find that it is only an hour and a half in duration, so you can still see the other holiday productions in the area or take a break from your holiday shopping or even let these two sets of parents entertain you with their own issues (something which is always better than dealing with our own). This black comedy will make you laugh and feel the intensity of the characters throughout the show. The performances of the cast are so real and engaging that you sometimes forget that they are actors performing on a set.

 

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The cast includes Nick Pascarella as Alan Raleigh, Holly Cerelli as Annette Raleigh, James Parent as Michael Novak, and Emily McSpadden as Veronica Novak.  From their auditions until the current dress rehearsals, these four ensemble members brought such research, talent, creativity, dedication, and passion to their roles.  The collaboration in building the back stories for their characters and their interaction both on and off the stage make for an incredibly entertaining and believable show.  Each actor has come with a plethora of experience and each one knew this was the show they wanted to star in, one even said this was on their bucket list of shows to do while they all said how much fun and learning they achieved throughout the rehearsal process thanks to the direction in which they were taken.

As a director, Mead chose to present God of Carnage as a realistic piece in real time with four adults together in a room dealing with issues that sometimes touch the nerves of their inner layers. The play could be done in a farcical manner, but Mead chose to keep it real so the audience could relate to the intensity of the situation while laughing at situations that might not normally be funny - but as we all do, laughing at something tragic is a part of human nature.   The references to Nibbles the hamster is key as to how the actors feel in this apartment trapped with no escape until someone lets it free.  It is a thought provoking, but yet entertaining show not to be missed this holiday season.

Performances are Friday, December 9 at 8:00pm, Saturday, December 10 at both 2:00pm & 8:00pm, Sunday December 11 at 2:00pm, then again next Thursday, December 15 at 8:00pm, Friday, December 16 at 8:00pm & Saturday, December 17 at both 2:00pm & 8:00pm.  

Tickets are available for purchase online, which is available 24 hours a day 7 days a week.  They welcome walk ups on the day of the show as well.  Doors open 7:30pm for the evening performances and 1:30pm for the matinees. Seating is "open seating" on a first come first serve basis.

God of Carnage is a one act show which runs approximately 90 minutes; therefore, there will be no intermission.  This show may not be suitable for children.

Here are more photos from the production.

John Posada is a New Jersey based photographer specializing in live theatre and music performances. For more than 10 years, John has photographed live music events where he mastered the techniques of timing and capturing fast moving action under challenging lighting conditions to capture that perfect moment that tells a story in a single image. Currently, John has photographed over 110 productions for over 70 different theatres and venues. Click here for John's website.