Zara Phillips No-Holds Barred

by Shen Shellenberger, JerseyArts.com - published 2022-10-06

British-born New Jersey-resident Zara Phillips – wearer of multiple hats like singer-songwriter, author, playwright, filmmaker, public speaker and adoptee rights advocate – will present the U.S. premiere of her current one-woman play, "Somebody's Daughter," based on the 2018 book of the same name Saturday, Oct. 21, at Hopewell Theater and again Saturday, Dec. 10, at Outpost in the Burbs.

(MADISON, NJ) -- The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey (STNJ) will bring two very different but superb one-act plays, Florence and Mojo, by Alice Childress to its Main Stage. Alice Childress, often acknowledged as the only 20th-century African-American woman to have written, produced, and published plays for four decades, was at the height of her powers in the 1950s and 60s. Her broad literary universe spanned over 40 years and earned her a Pulitzer Prize nomination for her novel A Short Walk. Florence and Mojo will be on the Main Stage from October 26 – November 13.  

(UNION, NJ) -- Premiere Stages at Kean University presents the premiere production of Certain Aspects of Conflictin the Negro Family by Ty Lie Shider, the recepient of the 2021/22 Liberty Live Commission, on October 13-23 under the tent at Kean University’s Liberty Hall Museum (1003 Morris Avenue, Union, NJ.).  Tensions reach an all-time high between Newark residents and police, racial and civil unrest begins spilling into Plainfield, New Jersey in the Long Hot Summer of 1967. Clif and Peach moved their family to Plainfield for the promise of a better future, but as the riots begin, the family contemplates a return to the South..

(CRANFORD, NJ) -- Cranford’s CDC Theatre is presenting the Tony Award winning musical Once On This Island on Friday and Saturday nights from October 7-22. The play comes from the award winning songwriting team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Seussical, Anastasia, Ragtime). This highly original and theatrical Caribbean adaptation of the popular fairy tale, The Little Mermaid, earned eight Tony nominations for its Broadway run, including Best Musical, Book and Score. Photographer John Posada was at a rehearsal to take photos.

(BEACH HAVEN, NJ) -- All aboard! The exotic Orient Express is hurtling down the tracks to a murder! Surflight Theatre is presenting Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express (adapted for the stage by Ken Ludwig) now through October 9th.  Photographer John Posada was on hand to take photos.

Most of us who see the play that opens the season at the George Street Playhouse—“Her Portmanteau” by Mfoniso Udofia—will be hearing the Ibibio language of Nigeria for the first time.

(HACKETTSTOWN, NJ) -- After leading the Women Playwright Series through 30 years of growth and excitement, Catherine Rust is happy to now hand the reins to their talented artistic colleague and WPS committee member, Mikaela Kafka.  

(POMPTON LAKES, NJ) -- StageWorks at Studio 237 is presenting Bonnie & Clyde from September 29 to October 9. Adrift in the Depression-era Southwest, Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker embark on a life of crime. They mean no harm. They crave adventure -- and each other. Photographer John Posada was on hand to take photos.

A story about a mother and her daughters, split by cultures. In “Her Portmanteau,” a George Street Playhouse production on stage at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center Oct. 11 — 30, we follow a Nigerian-American family trying to reunite amid the stark differences of lifestyles and values when relatives are spread across continents.

(SUMMIT, NJ) -- Vivid Stage, in residence at Oakes Center at 120 Morris Avenue in Summit, will present a world premiere production of Soft Animals by Erin Mallon from September 29 through October 9. Soft Animals is a comedy with heart that asks, what would your life be like if you couldn’t feel physical pain? What if your body had a mind of its own? What if you never fell asleep? How about if you remembered every single thing you’ve ever felt, thought or experienced? Photographer John Posada was on hand to take photos.