Terrell Wheeler and Ellyn Heald, photo by Mike Peters

(UNION, NJ) -- Premiere Stages’ production of Erin Breznitsky’s ambitious new play Satellites will begin performances this week in Kean University’s Bauer Boucher Theatre Center (Vaughn Eames Hall, 1000 Morris Avenue, Union, NJ). Selected as the winner of the 2022 Premiere Play Festival, Satellites features actors Ellyn Heald and Terrell Wheeler. John J. Wooten, producing artistic director of Premiere Stages, directs.

In Ms. Breznitsky’s Satellites, married couple Katherine & Mike are each on a mission to save the world. She’s a scientist studying climate change; he’s an astronaut exploring the unknown. When Mike’s shuttle vanishes in outer space, Katherine forges ahead alone, raising their children and continuing her life’s work until Mike suddenly reappears without explanation. As the couple struggles to adjust to his strange return, they’re forced to reexamine their entire relationship—while also facing an uncertain future.

Audience members are invited to engage more deeply with Ms. Breznitsky’s thought-provoking play in Premiere’s free Community Connections. On Saturday, July 22 at 7:00pm, prior to the evening performance, Kean Professor William Heyniger will lead a discussion about satellites in Kean University’s Alumni Planetarium. Patrons can learn more about the creative process with featured post-show speakers playwright Erin Breznitsky (Sunday, July 16) and the cast of Satellites (Saturday, July 29). Premiere will also offer a series of informal pre-show talks on Saturday, July 15 and July 29 evening at 7:15pm prior to performance in the lobby of the theatre. Dates and speakers are subject to change; please call 908-737-4077 for an updated schedule of post-show events and speakers.

Tickets are $35 standard, $25 for senior citizens and Kean alumni and staff, $20 for patrons with disabilities and $15 for students. Significant discounts for groups of ten or more apply. To purchase tickets or inquire about opening night or season packages, please call the box office at 908-737-7469 or go online.

Premiere Stages offers affordable prices, air-conditioned facilities and free parking close to the theatre. Premiere Stages also provides free or discounted tickets to patrons with disabilities. All Premiere Stages facilities are fully accessible spaces, and companion seating is available for patrons with disabilities.

Assistive listening devices and large print playbills are available at every performance. Sign language interpretation performances are available upon request; please call 908-737-4077 at least two weeks prior to your desired performance. For more information, please visit Premiere Stages online at premierestagesatkean.com 

PHOTOS BY MIKE PETERS

Premiere Stages is made possible in part through funding from W. John Bauer and Nancy Boucher, The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Carole Shaffer-Koros and Robert Koros and ExxonMobil Foundation, The Dubose and Dorothy Heyward Foundation, The Northfield Bank Foundation, The Hyde and Watson Foundation, The Union Foundation, E.J. Grassmann Trust, The New Jersey Theatre Alliance, The Union County HEART Grant and through the generous support of individual patrons and local organizations. Discover Jersey Arts is theirmarketing partner. Visit JerseyArts.com for more information about other arts programming happening around the Garden State.

Premiere Stages is committed to producing topical plays and interactive programs that reflect people of all ethnic and racial backgrounds, national origins, nationalities, ancestry, religious groups, gender expression or identities, sexual orientation, political beliefs, ages, abilities and disabilities.

Created in 2004, Premiere Stages is the professional Equity theatre in residence at Kean University. Through its unique partnership with Kean, Premiere’s play development programs, educational initiatives, and professional development opportunities actively embrace the university's academic curriculum while expanding the scope, accessibility, and prestige of the professional programming on campus.

Founded in 1855, Kean University is one of the largest metropolitan institutions of higher education in the region, with a richly diverse student, faculty and staff population. Kean continues to play a key role in the training of teachers and is a hub of educational, technological and cultural enrichment serving more than 16,000 students. The University’s six colleges offer more than 50 undergraduate degrees, seven doctoral degree programs, and more than 70 options for graduate study leading to master’s degrees, professional diplomas or certifications over a full range of academic subjects. With campuses in Union, Toms River, Jefferson and Manahawkin, New Jersey, and Wenzhou, China, Kean University furthers its mission by providing an affordable and accessible world-class education.