(SUMMIT, NJ) -- Vivid Stage is presenting a cabaret as a fundraiser for the company on Friday, June 21, 2024. The Vivid Ensemble will perform scenes and songs from plays and musicals that have been banned, canceled or protested. The evening will include hors d'oeuvres, beverages and dessert. The party will be held at the Oakes Center (120 Morris Avenue) in Summit, from 7:00pm-9:30pm.

During this intimate and lively evening, guests will learn why each show was considered too hot to handle at specific moments in the show’s history. Vivid’s actors will perform songs from such shows as Spamalot, Sweeney Todd, Chicago and Cabaret. Scenes from plays such as Almost Maine, The Vagina Monologues and Sister Mary Ignatius Explains it All for You will be performed as well. Guests will enjoy snacks, drinks and dessert in the lobby of the theatre.

Funds raised at this event will help Vivid Stage maintain its tradition of excellence in arts programming. In addition to their regular season of mainstage productions, cabaret, improv and new play readings, the theatre provides outreach and education programs for students and seniors, as well as internship opportunities for college students and young professionals. Providing a creative home for New Jersey artists is primary among the company’s goals, as is cultivating the relationship between artists and audiences throughout the season.

Tickets for the entire evening are $50 and are available for purchase online.

Vivid Stage was founded in 1994 as Dreamcatcher Rep, and is a non-profit professional ensemble of actors who build community with the audience by sharing contemporary, life-affirming stories that challenge, energize and entertain. Their work has at its heart a belief in the essential goodness of people and the power of live performance to connect people through our shared humanity. They expose theatregoers to ideas and lives like and unlike their own with the intention of awakening their imaginations and creating empathy for others. They deepen the experience of all their patrons with personal contact through receptions, talkbacks, and interactive programs.

The company’s activities include mainstage productions, improvisational comedy and cabarets, new play readings and a variety of educational and senior outreach programs.

Vivid Stage’s programs are funded by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Union County Department of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, and many other corporations, foundations and individuals.  Vivid Stage is an Equity Producing member of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance.

Vivid Stage, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) corporation, incorporated under the laws of the State of New Jersey.

Graphic by Yolanda Fundora