(HADDON TOWNSHIP, NJ) -- Heathens on the Beach, a new comedy by Moorestown playwright Alex Wilkie will make its world premiere at the Ritz Theatre Company, a historic New Jersey venue, from April 28-30. In Wilkie’s hilarious new play, directed by Lori Aleixo-Howard, it’s the pious versus the pagan, where the only certainty is chaos, complication, and laughter.
Heathens on the Beach takes place during the darkest days of the Middle Ages as the sheltered life of the nuns of Piddlewick Abbey gets upended by the news that Vikings have attacked a nearby monastery. The surviving monks retreat to the nunnery, and while the nuns are terrified, they are determined not to abandon their beloved home without a fight.
The Ritz has staged previous works by Wilkie, including 2018’s Spy House. He is an artistic and audience favorite.
“‘Heathens on the Beach’ echoes the work of Mel Brooks, the Monty Python gang and other classic comedians,” says director Lori Aleixo-Howard. “While I won’t claim historical accuracy will be upheld during the staging of this play, I’m willing to guarantee a laugh per minute.”
Alex Wilkie has been writing plays since 1995. Past productions include the two-act comedy, Spy House, which received a full production at the Ritz Theatre in 2018; the full length comedy, Vaudeville Villains, that reviewers called, “hilarious” and a “frantic farce,” at the Sketch Club of Woodbury, NJ in 2019; and "Big Bear Lake," which was staged during the Heartland Theatre Company's 10-Minute Play Festival in Normal, IL, in June of last year. His 10 minute play, "Sandwich Heroes" is slated for production in May as part of the Diner Theater program for the ArtPride New Jersey Foundation. He lives in Moorestown, with his wife, Janet.
Performances take place Friday, April 28 & Saturday, April 29 at 8:00pm with a matinee on Sunday, April 30 at 2:00pm. Tickets are $27 and available for purchase online.
The Ritz Theatre Company is located at 915 White Horse Pike in Haddon Township, New Jersey. The company engages and enriches Delaware Valley audiences by producing professional, diverse entertainment while training artists of all levels in a historic New Jersey landmark. Each season, the Ritz presents seven mainstage productions and eight Ritz Kidz children’s shows, plus summer camp, youth productions, and festivals. The Ritz serves more than 30,000 patrons each year.
