New Jersey Stage published its 25,000th story in December 2021. As the site approached the milestone, we posed the question on social media as how we should celebrate. One response was to highlight our favorite stories from over the years. We liked this idea, but could not narrow things down to just 25 favorites so we will present a favorite each day from different genres. Every Tuesday we feature one of our favorite stories in theatre. This week's choice is a feature on The Nether, a play by Jennifer Haley, which was presented by Centenary Stage Company.
The feature was published on September 21, 2015 and is available here. The Nether is an intricate crime drama and a haunting sci-fi thriller set in the year 2050 that explores the consequences of living out private dreams and fantasies. In the feature, we talk with Carl Wallnau, the Artistic Director for Centenary Stage Company who chose this play to open their 2015 season.
“I had a conversation a year ago with another artistic director,” recalled Wallnau. “We were talking about seasons. The last thing he said as he got up to leave was, ‘All I know is we’re not giving audiences the kind of plays they deserve.’ And I thought about that. I think at a certain point you have to run the risk with new work and quality work that asks important questions. You take a chance in hopefully finding an audience and getting your audience to come out.”
