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PHOTOS from "Cobb" at The Lord Stirling Theater Company

By John Posada

originally published: 06/16/2022

(BASKING RIDGE, NJ) -- The Lord Stirling Theater Company presents "Cobb" in the English Barn Theater at the Farmstead Arts Center weekends from June 17-26. The play by Lee Blessing examines the character of controversial baseball legend Ty Cobb at three different stages of his life. Photographer John Posada took photos of the play during a dress rehearsal.

"Cobb" looks at the Peach as a young man at the beginning of his long career with the Detroit Tigers; Ty, a shrewd investor in his early forties, at the end of his playing days; and Mr. Cobb, an elderly man hoping to secure a positive legacy, at the point of death from cancer. These different versions contend with each other over who Ty Cobb really was and what he represented. Oscar Charleston, a player in the Negro Leagues who was dubbed the “Black Cobb” by the press, appears as a challenge to Cobb’s justification of his self-worth.

“Cobb” is presented in the English Barn Theater at the Farmstead Arts Center, 450 King George Road, Basking Ridge, New Jersey. Performances take place on Friday, June 17 and 18 at 7:30pm, June 19 at 4:00pm, June 24 and 25 at 7:30pm, and June 26 at 4:00pm. Tickets are $25 general admission, $23 for seniors (65 and over) and students, $20 for Farmstead Arts members, and $15 for children under 12. Tickets are available for purchase online or at the door (cash only). The English Barn Theater is wheelchair accessible. Anyone anticipating the need for additional accessibility services please send an e-mail in advance to farmsteadartscenter@gmail.com.

The Lord Stirling Theater Company’s production of “Cobb” is directed by William Ward of Basking Ridge. The cast includes (in order of appearance): Bob Scarpone of Flanders as Mr. Cobb, David Rittenhouse of North Plainfield as The Peach, Bob Vaias of Basking Ridge as Ty, and Derek Simmons, Jr., of Edison as Oscar Charleston. “Cobb” is presented by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing, LLC, servicing the Dramatists Play Service collection.

“Cobb” opens The Lord Stirling Theater Company’s seventh season at the Farmstead Arts Center, following a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19. Past productions include “Dracula,” “The Importance of Being Earnest” (which received the 2019 NJACT Perry Award for Outstanding Costume Design of a Play and was nominated in six other categories, including Outstanding Production of a Play), “Treasure Island,” “Othello,” “Arsenic and Old Lace,” “Of Mice and Men,” “And Then There Were None,” “The Dresser,” “The Tempest,” “Frankenstein’s Fate,” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”

 

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Funds for these events have been made possible in part by funds from the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission, a partner of the New Jersey Historical Commission.

If your theatre company is interested in having John Posada cover your plays, contact New Jersey Stage at info@newjerseystage.com.

ALL PHOTOS BY JOHN POSADA

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