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F. Murray Abraham to Appear in a Staged Reading of "Fragments" by Edward Albee at Black Box PAC

Published by New Jersey Stage

originally published: 03/13/2024

(TEANECK, NJ) -- Black Box PAC has announced that F. Murray Abraham will appear in a special benefit performance of Edward Albee's Fragments on Saturday, April 6, 2024 at Debonair Music Hall. F. Murray Abraham has appeared in more than 80 films including Amadeus, for which he received the Academy Award® for 'Best Actor,' as well as Golden Globe® and L.A. Film Critics Awards. Showtime is 8:00pm.

From the Edward Albee Society website, Fragments is described as "Several people sit together reading proverbs aloud to each other. From these proverbs are prompted stories of each one's past, or musings surrounding life-long mysteries. Each tries to tell about some incident which they hope will illuminate their own being; hoping the others will understand who they are.

"Each story flows to the next, with a musical quality to the randomness. Albee explains it this way: 'Fragments lacks plot in any established sense; there is no clear dilemma and resolution—no 'story,' no apparent sequentially. The piece proceeds as a piece of music does—accumulating, accumulating, following its own logic.

'Its effectiveness, its coherence reside in what we have experienced from the totality of it. Fragments is also a very simple, straightforward piece—on its own terms, of course.'"

Abraham's other films include The Name of The Rose, Finding Forrester, Scarface, The Ritz, Star Trek: Insurrection, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Inside Llewyn Davis, How to Train Your Dragon 3, House of Geraniums, The Bridge of San Luis Rey, Where Love Begins, Robin Hood, and Lady and the Tramp where he sang "This is the Night, Bella Notte".




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Mr. Abraham recently starred in the second season of HBO's The White Lotus, for which he received an Emmy and Golden Globe® nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Mr. Abraham can currently be seen in the HBO limited series The White House Plumbers as "Judge John Sirica." Previously, Mr. Abraham was a series regular on Homeland (2 Emmy nominations), and had memorable appearances on Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Good Wife, The Good Fight, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Mythic Quest, Marco Polo, Louis CK, Shakespeare Uncovered and Chimerica for the BBC. Additionally, he was featured in Guillermo del Toro's critically acclaimed Netflix anthology series, 10 After Midnight in the role of ‘Dr. Winters'. A veteran of the stage, F. Murray Abraham has appeared in more than 90 plays, among them Chekhov's Uncle Vanya (Obie Award), Trumbo, Standup Shakespeare, the Italian tour of Notturno Pirandelliano, Susan Stroman's A Christmas Carol, the musical Triumph Of Love, A Month In The Country, the title roles in Cyrano de Bergerac, King Lear, Macbeth, Richard III, The Merchant of Venice in rep with The Jew of Malta which he did at Stratford on Avon with the RSC, The Seagull, Oedipus Re", Creon, Angels In America (Broadway), Arthur Miller's last play The Ride Down Mt. Morgan, Waiting For Godot, The Caretaker, The Ritz, Sexual Perversity In Chicago, Duck Variations, A Life In The Theatre, Paper Doll, The Threepenny Opera, The Mentor, and in Terrence McNally's It's Only A Play (Drama Desk Award nomination). He made his LA debut in Ray Bradbury's The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit and his NY debut as a Macy's Santa Claus, soon thereafter to Broadway in The Man In The Glass Booth, directed by Harold Pinter.

Mr. Abraham's book A Midsummer Night's Dream: Actors On Shakespeare, is published by Faber & Faber. He is proud to be the spokesman for The MultiFaith Alliance. Honors include The Moscow Art Theatre Stanislavski Award, The Sir John Gielgud Award for Excellence in Shakespeare, Obie Award for Lifetime Achievement, and a member of The New York Theater Hall of Fame

Debonair Music Hall is located at 1409 Queen Anne Road b/w State Street and Walraven Drive in Teaneck, New Jersey.  Debonair is adjacent to free street and municipal lot parking, and the venue offers accessible ground floor entry; doors open at 6:30pm, and the bar/restaurant is scheduled to be open throughout. Tickets, $40 in advance and $50 at the door, are available for purchase online.

Edward Albee was born on March 12, 1928, and began writing plays 30 years later. His plays include The Zoo Story (1958), The Death of Bessie Smith (1959), The Sandbox (1959), The American Dream (1960), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe? (1961-62, Tony Award), Tiny Alice (1964), A Delicate Balance (1966, Pulitzer Prize; 1996, Tony Award), All Over (1971), Seascape (1974, Pulitzer Prize), Listening (1975), Counting the Ways (1975), The Lady From Dubuque (1977-78), The Man Who Had Three Arms (1981), Finding the Sun (1982), Marriage Play (1986-87), Three Tall Women (1991, Pulitzer Prize), Fragments (1993), The Play About the Baby (1997), The Goat or, Who is Sylvia? (2000, 2002 Tony Award), Occupant (2001), At Home at The Zoo: (Act 1, Homelife. Act 2, The Zoo Story) (2004), and Me, Myself & I (2008). Mr. Albee was awarded the Gold Medal in Drama from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters in 1980.  In 1996 he received the Kennedy Center Honors and the National Medal of Arts.  In 2005, he was awarded a special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Since Fall 2021, Black Box PAC has incubated new and under-produced plays by world-class artists such as Eric Bogosian, Paul Schrader, Beth Henley, Craig Lucas, Neil Labute, Daniel Handler, Ken Levine, and John Patrick Shanley. Collaborations are now underway with The Estates of Edward Albee, Sam Shepard, and I.B. Singer as well as with artists including John Lahr, Halley Feiffer, Billy Martin, and more.

Debonair Music Hall is a live music venue that brings the best national touring acts and local bands to Teaneck, NJ. Enjoy delicious food and drinks while you experience the electrifying energy of live music. Black Box PAC, along with the event producer and colaborative educational theater company Black Box Studios, is now 'in residence" at Debonair Music Hall.


EVENT PREVIEWS

(METUCHEN, NJ) -- Ferrell Studios Community Theatre, a nonprofit theatre organization serving Central New Jersey, announces its upcoming production of Merrily We Roll Along, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by George Furth. The production will close the company's 2025-26 season, themed "Our Time," with five performances at St. Luke's Episcopal Church Auditorium in Metuchen, NJ from August 20-23, 2026.

Ritz Theatre Company presents 2026 One-Act Play Festival

(HADDON TOWNSHIP, NJ) -- The Ritz Theatre Company presents their 2026 One-Act Play Festival from August 28-29. The festival features one-act comedies from practicing and promised playwrights from around the world!

Brundage Park Playhouse presents "Anything Goes"

(RANDOLPH, NJ) -- Brundage Park Playhouse presents Anything Goes across two weekends from August 21-30, 2026. Set sail aboard the S.S. America before the end of summer with a dazzling production of the classic musical comedy.
McCarter Theatre presents the Octopus Theatricals Production of "All The Devils Are Here"

McCarter Theatre presents the Octopus Theatricals Production of "All The Devils Are Here"

(PRINCETON, NJ) -- McCarter Theatre presents the Octopus Theatricals Production of All The Devils Are Here from August 19-30, 2026.  Learn how Shakespeare invented the villain in a play created and performed by Patrick Page. The production is directed by Simon Godwin.

George Street Playhouse presents "Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares"

(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- George Street Playhouse presents Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares - a comedy show with original songs from August 26-30, 2026. Direct from an acclaimed run at Edinburgh Fringe and two sold-out Off-Broadway engagements comes this one-woman comedy show from the mind of Tony Award® winner Laura Benanti.
Surflight Theatre presents "1776, the Musical"

Surflight Theatre presents "1776, the Musical"

(BEACH HAVEN, NJ) -- Witness the birth of a nation as our forefathers struggle to craft the Declaration of Independence when Surflight Theatre presents 1776, the Musical from August 18-30, 2026.

Spring Lake Theatre Company presents "Last Out: Elegy of a Green Beret"

(SPRING LAKE, NJ) -- Spring Lake Theatre Company presents two performances of Last Out: Elegy of a Green Beret from August 29-30, 2026. This is a one-act play from the experiences of America's longest war, blending heartfelt storytelling with a unique cast of combat veterans and military family members.
Bell Theater at Bell Works presents Broadway Sings for Aaron Lazar on August 31

Bell Theater at Bell Works presents Broadway Sings for Aaron Lazar on August 31

(HOLMDEL, NJ) -- In 2022, as the world was finally coming out of COVID-19, Aaron Lazar was invited to return to the stage to lead the cast of The Bridges of Madison County, playing opposite Kate Baldwin at the Axelrod Performing Arts Center in Deal. Just days into rehearsal, Lazar received a diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, a progressive neurological disease with no known cure. Thus began Lazar's "extraordinary" journey.
Light Opera of New Jersey to Hold Auditions for "Amahl and The Night Visitors"

Light Opera of New Jersey to Hold Auditions for "Amahl and The Night Visitors"

(BASKING RIDGE, NJ) -- Light Opera of New Jersey will hold auditions for Amahl and the Night Visitors, a heartwarming holiday opera, on August 27th and September 3rd from 7:00pm to 10:00pm. Callbacks will be on September 5th from 2:00pm to 5:00pm. Auditions will be in Basking Ridge. Registrants will be advised of exact location after registering. All roles are opened and paid.

Haddonfield Plays & Players presents "Marrying George Clooney: Confessions from a Midlife Crisis"

(HADDONFIELD, NJ) -- What happens when fantasy meets 50-something reality? Find out when Haddonfield Plays & Players presents Marrying George Clooney: Confessions from a Midlife Crisis from September 4-6, 2026. This is a sharp-witted, satirical play written by Amy Ferris and adapted from her best-selling memoir.
 

FEATURED EVENTS


All The Devils Are Here

Wednesday, August 19, 2026 @ 7:30pm
McCarter Theatre Center (Berlind Theatre)
91 University Place, Princeton, NJ


All The Devils Are Here

Thursday, August 20, 2026 @ 7:30pm
McCarter Theatre Center (Berlind Theatre)
91 University Place, Princeton, NJ


All The Devils Are Here

Friday, August 21, 2026 @ 7:00pm
McCarter Theatre Center (Berlind Theatre)
91 University Place, Princeton, NJ


All The Devils Are Here

Saturday, August 22, 2026 @ 2:00pm
McCarter Theatre Center (Berlind Theatre)
91 University Place, Princeton, NJ


All The Devils Are Here

Saturday, August 22, 2026 @ 7:30pm
McCarter Theatre Center (Berlind Theatre)
91 University Place, Princeton, NJ



 

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