(MAPLEWOOD, NJ) -- “No matter how old you get, love, longing, jealousy, and hope remain constant” -- Sunset Park by award-winning writer Joseph Vitale kicks off the Summer Season at The Theater Project, a leading incubator for rising talent and a showcase for New Jersey artists. The company is returning to Maplewood’s Burgdorff Cultural Center, with a packed schedule of new and lesser-known work. Photographer John Posada was on hand to take photos.

Sunset Park, performing July 6-16, consists of four intertwining stories about growing older and coming to terms with the changes in our lives. The play was a finalist in the 2022 NY Theatre Festival, with cast members Michael Bias (Bergenfield, NJ) and Sue-Ellen Mandell (Nyack, NY) receiving nominations for best actor and actress.

“It is said that childhood is its own country,” said Vitale, “and in many ways so is getting older. We cross an invisible barrier of sorts and suddenly have to deal with things we’ve never had to deal with before, physically and emotionally. I wanted to write a play about what changes in the human spirit as we age and what remains the same.”

The cast also includes Valerie Stack Dodge (Morris Township), Gary Glor (Union), Becca McLarty (Montclair) and Jack Coggins (Hoboken). The play is directed by Theater Project artistic director Mark Spina (Union).

“We are very proud to count Joe Vitale among our workshop member playwrights,” said Spina. 

Vitale, a finalist for the 2020 Woodward-Newman drama prize and recipient of a NJ Council on the Arts fellowship in playwriting, is the author of a number of plays, including Dragons in the Crease, which was performed at New York’s Hudson Guild Theater in 2019. Murrow, a one-man show about the life of Edward R. Murrow (called “a dramatic masterpiece” by the Huffington Post), was performed Off-Off Broadway in 2016. His one-acts have been performed around the country, and his play The Interpreter, about the Nuremberg Trials, was produced by The Theater Project. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild.

Tickets range from $20-$32 and are available for purchase online. The Burgdorff Center for the Arts is located at 10 Durand Road in Maplewood, New Jersey.

Made possible by funds from the Essex County Division of Cultural Affairs, and the New Jersey Arts and Cultural Renewal Fund, show times are Thursday-Saturday at 8:00pm with a 2:00pm Sunday matinee. Sunset and Miss Abigail will feature post-show ‘talkbacks’ each Friday night while Kabaret will have meet-and-greets after each performance.

Here are more photos from the production.

The Theater Project, which received another prestigious National Endowment for the Arts grant in 2021, has gained regional and national recognition for its ongoing projects including its annual Young Playwrights Competition, ARK (Actors Reading with Kids) program, the Think Fast short play competition—which attracted writers from throughout the county.

The Theater Project—a 501(c)3 non-profit, professional theater producing off-Broadway quality shows for New Jersey audiences—is offering a multi-show FlexPass as well as discounted pricing for students and seniors. Single ticket prices are $32 for general admission, $25 for seniors and students. Senior Sunday prices—the first Sunday of each play performance—are $20. FlexPasses are $75 for a three-play pass and $55 for a two-play pass  

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.