(LONG BRANCH, NJ) -- New Jersey Repertory Company (NJRep) is proud to present the world premiere of Can’t Run Can't Dance, a wild new comedy by Gregg Henry - the prolific film and television actor best known for major roles in "Scandal," "Gilmore Girls," and Guardians of the Galaxy. This fresh theatrical caper, directed by Lisa James, will run from September 11 through October 5, 2025, with opening night set for Saturday, September 13 at 7:00pm.
Two women with checkered pasts get drawn into a smuggling operation run by two unhinged brothers—with unpredictable, hilarious results. Packed with hijinks, heart, and high stakes, this farcical crime comedy delivers outrageous characters and a delightfully twisted plot sure to leave audiences gasping... from laughter.
“We’re thrilled to debut Gregg Henry’s outrageously funny new play. His razor-sharp wit and unpredictable storytelling are a perfect match for our mission to champion bold, original voices. Audiences are in for a wild ride.” NJRep Artistic Director SuzAnne Barabas.
The cast includes John Stout Adams (TV: “ Organized Crime”), Juliet Brett (TV: “ Fosse/ Verdon), Zachary Grant (NY: Sad, First), and Tracie Lockwood.
The creative team includes Jessica Parks (set design), Jill Nagle (lighting design), Eliza Alexis(costume design), Nick Simone (sound design), Brian Snyder (technical director), and Kristin Pfeifer (production stage manager).
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE: Thursdays at 7:00pm, Fridays & Saturdays at 2:00pm & 7:00pm, and Sundays at 2:00pm. All performances take place at NJ Rep, located at 179 Broadway in Long Branch, New Jersey. For tickets and more information, visit www.njrep.org or call 732-229-3166.
“The New Jersey Repertory Company in Long Branch is a godsend to audiences and, especially, playwrights – a skillful, professional ensemble dedicated solely to performing new works... It is nearly impossible to overpraise the importance of its mission at a time when play-it-safe productions are the norm.” — The New York Times
Gregg Henry (Playwright) is a celebrated actor, playwright, and singer-songwriter whose work spans film, television, and theatre. His film appearances include: Slither, Super, and Guardians of the Galaxy Volumes 1–3 (dir. James Gunn); Scarface, Body Double, Raising Cain, Femme Fatale, The Black Dahlia, and Casualties of War (dir. Brian De Palma); United 93 and Jason Bourne (dir. Paul Greengrass); as well as Payback and Star Trek: Insurrection.
On TV, he’s widely recognized as Hollis Doyle on “Scandal,” with additional appearances on “Hit and Run,” “The Riches,” “The Killing,” “The Following,” “Chicago Med,” “Hung,” “Hell on Wheels,” “Gilmore Girls,” and “Law & Order: Organized Crime,” among over 330 episodes of television.
His stage career includes acclaimed performances at Seattle Rep, ACT Seattle, South Coast Rep, The Old Globe (San Diego), Denver Center Theatre, and Mark Taper Forum. He garnered national attention for his controversial and riveting Julius Caesar at The Public Theater in Central Park (dir. Oskar Eustis). In Los Angeles, Henry has earned thirteen Drama-Logue Awards, an L.A. Weekly Award, and the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for his work as both actor and producer.
As a singer-songwriter (under the name Gregg Lee Henry), his music has appeared in TV series like “Hung,” “The Riches,” and “The Shield,” as well as in “Purgatory Flats” and James Gunn’s “Super.” His song Back of Your Hand, made famous by Dwight Yoakam, reached #1 on CMT for five weeks and was performed on The Tonight Show; it’s featured on greatest hits albums by both Yoakam and CMT. Taylor Swift has also performed the song in concert.
As composer/lyricist, Henry wrote the music and lyrics for Little Egypt: The Musical, which had successful productions in LA and New York, and contributed songs to musicals workshopped at LAByrinth Theater's summer intensives.
His play Can’t Run Can’t Dance makes its World Premiere at New Jersey Rep in 2025, after being named a semi-finalist at the O’Neill Playwrights Conference. His follow-up play The Creek Don’t Rise—also an O’Neill semi-finalist—is slated for 2026.
Henry stars in the upcoming Above the Line alongside Cedric the Entertainer and Reno Wilson. He resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Lisa James, a noted director for the American theatre.
Lisa James (Director) is a multi-award-winning director known for bold, original productions across the American stage. Her directorial work has earned numerous accolades, including an LA Weekly Award for Heartstopper and a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award (LADCC) for Palladium Is Moving. She has helmed Little Egypt, The Water Children, Bitter Women, Bold Girls, The Visible Horse, Tight Pants, The News, Oklahomo!, End Days, Smoke, and the ASCAP/Disney presentation of Scream (music by David Foster), among many others.
James directed Little Egypt: The Musical at the Matrix Theatre in Los Angeles and Acorn Theater in NYC. Her direction of Nick Ullett’s Dying is Easy, Comedy is Hard and The Birthday Party: A Theatrical Catastrophe earned critical praise, with the latter being selected as one of the “Ten Best of 2024” by The Los Angeles Times’ Charles McNulty.
Recent work includes Issei He Say at New Jersey Repertory Company, named one of the Top 10 productions of 2019, and Justin Tanner’s El Niño and Little Theater (Stage Raw and Robbie Awards) at Rogue Machine Theatre. Her Punk Rock (Odyssey Theatre) and Smoke (Rogue Machine) earned Ovation and Stage Raw nominations, respectively.
She has also directed a filmed version of Justin Tanner’s Minnesota and serves as a guest director and adjunct professor at the USC School of Dramatic Arts.
James is currently set to direct the World Premiere of Justin Tanner’s My Son the Playwright at Rogue Machine Theatre in January 2026.
NEW JERSEY REPERTORY COMPANY (NJ Rep) was founded in 1997 by SuzAnne and Gabor Barabas. Its current central headquarters is the Lumia Theater, located on lower Broadway in Long Branch. The theater's mission is to develop and produce new plays and to make a lasting contribution to the American Stage. Over two decades, NJ Rep has produced 152 plays, of which 128 have been world premieres. The theater has the additional distinction of having had many of its plays produced by other theaters around the country, totaling over 200 subsequent productions in the US and overseas.
In 2012 and 2018, NJ Rep received a National Theater Company Grant from the American Theater Wing that sponsors the annual Tony Awards for Broadway in recognition of its contribution to the repertoire of the American Stage. Only seven theaters have had this distinction. In addition, the theater has presented over 400 developmental readings as well as introduced 136 new works through its Theatre Brut Short-Play Festivals that focus on visionary and avant-garde works.
NJRep acquired a new property, a 28,000 square foot school situated on 2 ½ acres and located just five minutes from its Main Stage Lumia Theater and two blocks from the Jersey Shore. The theater plans on gradually transforming the school in stages into a cultural center that will house additional performance spaces, an art cinema, an art museum, a rooftop café, an arts education wing, and residences for out-of-town actors and playwrights. When completed, the center will present a wide array of programs in acting, playwriting, art, sculpture, poetry, music, and photography and will serve as a catalyst for economic development and as the foundation for the cultural renaissance of the community.
NJ Rep thanks the following for their support: Shubert Foundation, Stone Foundation of New Jersey, Community Foundation of New Jersey and New Jersey State Council in the Arts.
