Original artwork by Suzanne Anan

(UNION, NJ) -- American Theater Group (ATG) will present the Pulitzer Prize-winning Our Town by Thornton Wilder as its 2025-26 Season Opener, followed by the holiday classic It’s a Wonderful Life Radio Play written by Joe Landry. Additional main stage productions for the upcoming season will be announced at a later date.

Beloved by many, Our Town is set in the fictional town of Grover's Corners, New Hampshire, and explores the universal themes of life, love, and death. Since it was first performed in 1938, it has been widely considered one of the best American dramas of all time and had an acclaimed Broadway run last season.  Its seemingly simple story proves to be momentous, focusing on the everyday lives, relationships, and ordinary experiences of the small town’s inhabitants.

ATG’s production of Our Town will feature professional actors as well as a significant number of Drama teachers from around the state. It will be directed by Merete Muenter, whose numerous credits include serving as Associate Director of the 2022 Off Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof directed by Joel Grey and ATG’s 2019 production of Bridges of Madison County. Casting information will be announced in September. Performance dates are October 23-November 2, 2025 at the new Union Arts Center in Union, NJ and November 6-9, 2025 at the Sieminski Theater in Basking Ridge, NJ. Our Town is presented by arrangement through Concord Theatricals.

Based on the classic American film, It's a Wonderful Life Radio Play is performed as a 1940s live radio broadcast in front of a studio audience. Five actors perform the dozens of characters in the radio drama as well as produce the necessary sound effects. Joseph Discher, the former Associate Artistic Director of the Shakespeare Theatre of NJ, will direct the production, which will run December 5-7, 2025 at the Sieminski Theater and December 11-14, 2025 at the Union Arts Center; additional dates and venues may be announced in the future. The play is presented by arrangement through Dramatists Play Service.

Along with these main stage productions, ATG’s season will include additional events including free play readings, a spring performance event and Juneteenth celebrations; details will be forthcoming.

“We are thrilled to bring these beloved classics to the community, and believe they are perfect pieces to introduce ourselves to new audiences near the beautiful, recently unveiled Union Arts Center,” noted ATG Producing Artistic Director Jim Vagias. “We are particularly excited to work with the NJ drama teachers in Our Town, as we realize our missions of engaging the community and growing our outreach initiatives.”

ATG recently announced a partnership with the Township of Union to bring professional theater and diverse arts programming to the newly constructed DMK Black Box Theater. Under the partnership, ATG will produce three major theatrical productions annually, along with a range of monthly community events such as play readings, cultural celebrations, interviews with theater professionals, and cabaret performances.

The Union Arts Center is located within the new, state-of-the-art Public Library at 1980 Morris Avenue in Union.  The Arts Center includes the DMK Black Box Theater, the Union Art Gallery curated by Les Malamut, Union TV studios, classrooms, and The Center Café. Tickets and performance schedules for both productions will be available shortly.

The Sieminski Theater is located on the scenic campus of Fellowship Village at 8000 Fellowship Road in Basking Ridge, NJ. This beautiful, 257-seat state-of-the-art theater boasts an innovative design that exudes professionalism while maintaining an intimate ambiance. Performances of Our Town will be Thursday, November 6 at 7:30pm; Friday, November 7 at 7:30pm; Saturday, November 8 at 7:30pm; and Sunday, November 9 at 2:30pm. Tickets will be available at www.sieminskitheater.org.

American Theater Group (ATG), founded in 2012, produces new and classic works primarily by American playwrights with an emphasis on the development of new works and the rediscovery of undeservedly neglected older ones. It also provides quality arts-in-education initiatives, including its New Works/New Voices playwriting program for high school students and its PlayLab program for BIPOC and queer playwrights.