(RED BANK, NJ) -- The Playground Theatre Project, an outreach program of Actors Playground School of Theatre, will present Lost Angels at The Vogel on Sunday, April 30 at 2:00pm and Monday, May 1 at 7:30pm.  The play, written and directed by Ralph Colombino, takes place during a lock down where 11 high school students are stuck in a classroom without a teacher and only texts and the PA system to let them know what is happening in the rest of the school.

Amidst the confusion and for some, panic, these students will learn a great deal about each other. Stereotypes will be broken down, secrets will be revealed, and unique friendships will be forged. Discoveries will be made about who they are and how they relate to each other. Lost Angels touches on bullying, violence, racism, sexism, drug/alcohol abuse, depression, and suicide. The piece brings up issues current in today’s society with today’s young people and challenges them to have a better understanding of themselves and each other. Compassion and tolerance are taught through truthful acting, realistic writing, and young people relating to their peers.

Tickets are $20 and available for purchase online.

Based in Freehold, NJ, Playground Theatre Project tours schools, youth groups, churches, and communities throughout New Jersey and beyond. In 2019, the CEO of the Count Basie, Adam Philipson and Sam Giustiniani, Director of Education, reached out to Ralph Colombino (the Artistic Director at Actors Playground School of Theatre) to see if they could form a partnership. The Basie wanted them to bring their culture of dedication and acceptance to The Basie. The plan was also to give a home to their social issue, theater company, Playground Theater Project.  That company has been bringing social issue theater and anti-bullying programs to schools throughout New Jersey for nearly twenty years with great success.

After making it through the pandemic, the program is now thriving. Between Freehold and Red Bank, the Playground has 26 classes running with 240 kids enrolled. With the pandemic behind us, the theatre company began to go back into full swing as well. Last year, the Basie brought high school students from all over New Jersey to the Vogel Theater to see one of their most successful social issue plays. The show was created by painstakingly workshopping the play with an amazing band of socially conscious young actors. The response was absolutely incredible. So this year, it was decided to schedule public performances so the community could get a chance to see the show for themselves.

The Vogel is located at 99 Monmouth Street in Red Bank, New Jersey as part of the Count Basie Center for the Arts complex. The Count Basie Center for the Arts is New Jersey’s premier center for the cultural arts, dedicated to fostering powerful, inclusive artistic experiences and creative exchange of ideas. The Basie mission is to inspire, educate and entertain through its distinct and engaging cultural and artistic offerings that reflect the diversity of the region.  As a nonprofit organization, the Basie is committed to enriching the community’s quality of life by generating opportunities for participation in the arts, partnering with schools, collaborating with other mission-based organizations and driving regional economic prosperity. The Basie Center has hosted an array of world-class artists, including Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band, Jon Bon Jovi, John Legend, Crosby Stills & Nash, Tony Bennett, Sophia Loren and Ringo Starr. Count Basie Center programming is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.

For nearly two decades, Actors Playground School of Theatre has offered the highest level of professional training in the art of acting to generations of students and has become a staple of New Jersey’s arts community. The Playground's friendly and creative atmosphere provides a strong foundation of encouragement and trust that allows its students to gain confidence in their work and challenge themselves uncluttered to explore their creative imagination. Students of Actors Playground study the very latest versions of modern acting technique as well as Second City style improvisation, advanced scene study, elocution and speech, acting for the camera, and auditioning at every level for all mediums.