(SUMMIT, NJ) -- Vivid Stage, in residence at Oakes Center (120 Morris Avenue) in Summit, will present the New Jersey premiere of Kodachrome, a play about love, nostalgia, the seasons and how we learn to say goodbye, written by Adam Szymkowicz, from April 18-28, 2024. 

Kodachrome welcomes audiences to Colchester, a small town where everybody knows each other and the pace of life allows the pursuit of love to take up as much space as it needs. Our tour guide is Suzanne, the town photographer, who lets us peek into her neighbors’ lives to catch glimpses of romance in all its stages of development. Broadway World describes the play as: “Tender and poignant and awkward and funny all at the same time – you know, just like life.”

Directed by Betsy True (Montclair), the cast includes Vivid Stage ensemble members Harry Patrick Christian (Montclair), Jason Szamreta (Long Branch), and Harriett Trangucci (Summit). It also features guests Sarah Cuneo (Bloomfield) and J.F. Seary (NYC).

Kodachrome will appear at Vivid Stage at 120 Morris Avenue in Summit from April 18 through 28. Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00pm, and Sundays at 2:00pm. Special dates: Thursday, April 18, is a preview performance; all tickets are $28. Sunday, April 21, is Senior Sunday; seniors age 65+ pay $28. Talkbacks follow the April 21 and April 28 matinée performances. On Saturday, April 27, there will be a Friends and Family event before the performance, with a buffet dinner catered by the Village Trattoria (BYOB) starting at 6:30. The cost is an add-on to the show ticket of $20.

Tickets range from $25 to $42, with special rates for subscribers and groups. For touchless advance ticket purchases, go to their website. For more information, call 908-514-9654. The theatre at Oakes Center is wheelchair accessible. Assisted listening devices are available at all performances. The parking lot is accessible from Ashwood Avenue, behind the theatre.

Adam Szymkowicz’s plays have been produced throughout the U.S., and all over the world. His work has been presented or developed at such places as Portland Center Stage, MCC Theater, Ars Nova, South Coast Rep, Playwrights Horizons, LCT3, LAByrinth Theater Company, The Lark, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Primary Stages and The New Group, among others. Published plays include Deflowering Waldo, Pretty Theft, Food For Fish, Hearts Like Fists, Incendiary, Clown Bar, The Why Overhead, Adventures of Super Margaret, 7 Ways To Say I Love You, Rare Birds, Marian Or The True Tale of Robin Hood, Kodachrome, and many others. His plays are published by Dramatists Play Service, Concord/Samuel French, Playscripts, Broadway Play Publishing, Theatrical Rights Worldwide, Stage Partners and Original Works Publishing, and are featured in numerous Smith and Kraus and Applause books. Szymkowicz received two grants from the CT Commission on Culture & Tourism, and has been commissioned by South Coast Rep, Rising Phoenix Rep, Texas State University, The NOLA Project, Single Carrot Theater, Majestic Rep, The Chance Theater and Flux Theater Ensemble.

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.

Top graphic by Yolanda Fundor