
PHOTO: left to right: Tessa Gori of Sparta and Colin O’Sullivan of Hopatcong. Photo by Tessa Gori, SCCC student
It’s the second day of creation, and the angels are hard at work creating plants, animals, fish, birds and . . . Insects. . . and every creeping thing. There’s a problem with the food chain! How do the celestial beings solve this crisis before the seventh day?
Alpha Arts Players at Sussex County Community College, the student performance group at the college, is excited to present the new play "And Every Creeping Thing," written by New Jersey Playwright Eric Craft, in development with the NJ Play Lab, and directed by Professor Allison Ognibene of Sparta. The show runs Thursday, August 3, at 7 p.m.; Friday, August 4, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, August 5, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Sussex County Community College's Student Center Theater, located in Building D. Sussex County Community College is located at One College Hill Road in Newton, NJ. Tickets are $10 for general admission and $5 for students and seniors. Tickets can be purchased online at https://sussex.simpletix.com or at the door. Please note there is use of profanity.
"And Every Creeping Thing” takes place during the first seven days of Creation. In the beginning, the angels are hard at work designing and managing logistics for Creation, but in the Department of Beasts, an unbalanced food chain threatens to destroy the world before it even starts. One little angel’s passion project may just hold the key to saving Creation, and the creatures that may just be the world’s secret hope -- Bugs. In this office comedy of biblical proportions, corporate politics clash with spiritual and artistic fulfillment in a story from before time itself.

left to right: Colin O’Sullivan and Nicolas Galloza of Hopatcong. Photo by Tessa Gori, SCCC student
This is the first summer production that Alpha Arts Players are involved with and are creating for the pure art of performing and using their skills that they learned during the past year of learning at SCCC. While Professor Allison Ognibene guided the students with different production roles, Professor Tim O’Connor helped students navigate the new projector and sound system in the student center theater. In addition to acting in the show, the Alpha Arts Players at SCCC took on the responsibilities of the different theater production positions. SCCC students involved in the production include:
Hopatcong residents Colin O’Sullivan (Entiel) and production manager, Nicolas Galloza (Terriel) and properties manager; Emily Rennie (Marina) and marketing, and Jess Dooley, graphic artist;
Lafayette resident Nicole Mezack, sound designer and operator;
Sparta residents Tessa Gori (Arachne) and social media coordinator and assistant director, Chris Fiegel (Ariel – lion, performing on Saturday matinee) and assistant stage manager;
Stillwater residents Dana Nigro (Ariel - human / eagle) and technical director, Leo Watson (Ariel – Ox) and projection designer and operator;
Vernon residents Isabella Cruz (As Empyrean) assistant director and costume designer and Catarina Cruz, lighting designer and light board operator, Michele Dester (as Ariel – lion) and stage manager.
“Sussex County Community College provides a great start for theater students and allows them to explore their craft in a beautiful setting with state-of-the art facilities,” remarked Ognibene.“One of the most significant aspects of this summer workshop was the SCCC college students met with playwright Eric Craft and asked pertinent questions pertaining to the play and his vision. What an incredible way for the students to spend the summer at SCCC!”
Eric Craft holds a B.A. in Theater Students from Montclair State University is a playwright, director, and actor proudly based in New Jersey. He has written two full-length plays and a full-length musical, “The Blank Page”, for which he wrote the book and lyrics and self-produced out of college. His play “And Every Creeping Thing” was selected for a residency with the New Jersey Play Lab in 2022. He has multiple one-act plays and monologues for young actors, including his plays “Finding the Root” and “The Struggle Bus”, among other plays.
Sussex County Community College Fall registration is open! Register for classes and get involved with the Alpha Arts Players in the Theater department! Learn more about the college by visiting https://sussex.edu.

left to right: Isabella Cruz of Vernon, Nicolas Galloza of Hopatcong and Colin O’Sullivan of Hopatcong. Photo by Tessa Gori, SCCC student

Joe Russo's Almost Dead is Marco Benevento, Dave Dreiwitz, Tom Hamilton, Scott Metzger and Joe Russo. We're a Grateful Dead cover band.

Join us for McCarter at the Museum - renowned performing artists in one-night only events at the Princeton University Art Museum.
Jason Robert Brown is a four-time Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist of The Last Five Years, Parade, Songs for a New World, 13, The Bridges of Madison County, Honeymoon In Vegas and The Connector, has performed as a soloist or with his band in venues around the world, including sold-out shows at the London Palladium and Carnegie Hall. His albums as a singer-songwriter include Wearing Someone Else’s Clothes and How We React and How We Recover on Ghostlight, and Coming From Inside the House and Live In Concert with Stephen Sondheim on Concord.
With Special Guest Tony nominee Betsy Wolfe. Tony Award-nominated actress Betsy Wolfe is currently starring as Audrey in the acclaimed Off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors, following her recent Broadway run as Madeline Ashton in the hit musical Death Becomes Her. She previously originated the title role in Joy, the new musical inspired by inventor Joy Mangano, and earned a 2023 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her celebrated performance as Anne Hathaway in & Juliet. Other Broadway credits include starring as Jenna in Waitress, Cordelia in the acclaimed revival of Falsettos, Bullets Over Broadway, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Everyday Rapture, and 110 in the Shade, as well as her critically acclaimed performance as Cathy in the Off-Broadway revival of The Last Five Years. Wolfe made her Metropolitan Opera debut in Die Fledermaus and has appeared as a guest artist with more than 65 symphony, pops, and philharmonic orchestras worldwide, including the New York Philharmonic and BBC Symphony Orchestra, with performances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. Her screen credits include First One In, Estella Scrooge, CBS’s Instinct, and the film adaptation of The Last Five Years. Wolfe is also the co-founder of BroadwayEvolved, the acclaimed musical theatre training program she launched in 2018 to train and mentor the next generation of theatre artists.
A limited number of early access tickets for McCarter Director’s Circle members and members of the Museum’s Partner Circle are available, on sale Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 12:00 PM. General public on sale begins Friday, September 18, 2026 at 12:00 PM.
Please be aware there is no public drop-off or parking at the Museum. For visitors with mobility needs, please contact the Museum at least three business days in advance of your visit to request special access to the Museum via Elm Drive. Call 609-258-3788 and select option 1 to speak to a visitor services staff member, or email Louise Barrett at [email protected].

Celebrate 100 years of Miles Davis! The GRAMMY®-nominated trumpeter and bandleader Jon Faddis carries on the legacy in this anniversary tribute. He’ll spotlight Davis’s game-changing 1957 album Birth of the Cool and his 1959 modal masterpiece Kind of Blue. The all-star ensemble includes both new and familiar faces to NJPAC jazz audiences: Erena Terakubo (alto sax), Gary Smulyan (bari sax), Steve Turre (trombone), John Clark (French horn), Bob Stewart (tuba), Mike LeDonne (keys), Todd Coolman (bass) and John Riley (drums).

The legendary Rhode Island multi-platinum rock’n’roll group JOHN CAFFERTY & THE BEAVER BROWN BAND began their career in 1973 and achieved mainstream success in the 1980s with the “Eddie & The Cruisers – Motion Picture Soundtrack”. The hit single “ON THE DARK SIDE” held the “#1” position on the Billboard Rock charts and the MTV video charts for five consecutive weeks.

Celebrate America’s 250th Anniversary with New Jersey Ballet in a powerful evening of dance that captures the spirit, energy, innovation and resilience of the nation through the language of ballet. Red, White and Blue brings together iconic masterworks and bold contemporary voices in a program that reflects the many dimensions of the American experience while honoring New Jersey’s essential role in the fight for independence and the shaping of the nation.

“If you are looking to be blown away by raw talent, then look no further than Griffin House.” —American Songwriter

Written by and starring Vicki Lawrence
Two Performances Only
Vicki Lawrence, the legendary actress, comedian, and singer, brings her signature wit and charm to the stage in Vicki Lawrence and Mama: A Two-Woman Show. Best known for her iconic role as Thelma Harper, or "Mama," from The Carol Burnett Show and Mama’s Family, Lawrence delivers a hilarious and heartfelt performance that takes audiences on a journey through her extraordinary career. From her Emmy-winning years alongside Carol Burnett to her chart-topping hit, “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia,” she shares behind-the-scenes stories, comedy, and music—all with her trademark humor. Whether reminiscing about her Hollywood adventures or embodying the feisty Mama, Lawrence proves that laughter is timeless.

Music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison

If you’re feeling all alone in the universe – or even if you’re not – Triangle’s newest musical comedy is for you! Join us as Triangle explores what it means to have friends in high – or should we say “sky”? – places. Extraterrestrial visitors, crazy conspiracy theories, and intergalactic shenanigans power this year’s annual laugh-fest of witty jokes, lavish production numbers, and, of course, Triangle’s famous kickline. Can interplanetary goodwill blossom in the dystopian desert of our current times? Get your Triangle tickets now and learn if Roswell That Ends Well!

Catch the next generation of great jazz artists who hail from New Jersey. High school performers from across the state have been selected through a competitive audition process to participate in the NJMEA All-State Jazz Band and All-State Jazz Choir. They’ll show off their jazz prowess in this intimate (and exciting) concert co-presented by NJPAC and the New Jersey Music Educators Association.

(PLAINFIELD, NJ) -- Ferrell Studios presents Carrie, the Musical at the Plainfield Performing Arts Center from November 12-15, 2026. Based on the classic novel by Stephen King, the musical poses the question: What happens when someone is pushed too far?

(HACKETTSTOWN, NJ) -- Centenary Stage Company's Fringe Festival continues with Ghost Dance: Picture of a Madman, a captivating one-woman play written and performed by Erica Knight. Running November 12–15, 2026, in the Kutz Theatre at the Lackland Performing Arts Center on the campus of Centenary University. The production explores the turbulent life and legacy of Ralph Albert Blakelock, one of America's most celebrated yet tragically overlooked nineteenth-century painters.

(HAMMONTON, NJ) -- Fool Moon Theatre Company presents a special, one-night-only presentation of the hit play Love, Loss and What I Wore on Thursday, November 12 2026 at Eagle Theatre. This exclusive event is a benefit for the Funny Farm Rescue & Sanctuary in Mays Landing. Showtime is 7:30pm.

(TRENTON, NJ) -- The James R. Halsey Foundation of the Arts (JRH), a 501c3 non-profit agency dedicated to providing quality arts education and mentoring to youth in the City of Trenton and greater New Jersey area presents the 2026 Student Film Showcase. Taking place on November 12th at the New Jersey State Museum Auditorium from 5:00pm - 8:00pm, this event features three films, written, directed, and produced by students, as well as a documentary focused on raising awareness on men's mental health, featuring authentic student voices and professional interviews.

(EDISON, NJ) -- Middlesex College Visual, Performing and Media Arts presents She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen from November 12-18, 2026 at the Performing Arts Center - Studio Theater in Edison. She Kills Monsters tells the story of Agnes Evans as she leaves her childhood home in Ohio following the death of her teenage sister, Tilly.
