(LONG BRANCH, NJ) -- New Jersey Repertory Company (NJ Rep) is proud to present the world premiere of The Drop Off, a powerful new comic-drama by James Anthony Tyler, recipient of the 3rd Annual Horton Foote Playwriting Award. Directed by Delicia Turner Sonnenberg, performances will run October 30 through November 23, 2025, and opening night will be celebrated on November 1 at 7:00pm.
Set in Las Vegas, Nevada, the play follows Allain as she drops her mother, Delphina, at an assisted living facility. When Delphina refuses to stay, long-buried memories of loss, broken dreams, and an impending eviction surface in ways that threaten to unravel their bond forever. Funny, heartwarming, and ultimately touching, The Drop Off is a moving exploration of how best to care for our loved ones while also learning to care for ourselves.
"NJ Rep has always championed stories that speak directly to the heart of our audiences. James Anthony Tyler's The Drop Off does just that—it's honest, funny, and deeply humane. This play wrestles with questions we all face about family, sacrifice, and love. I can't wait for our audiences to experience the beauty and truth of this production." — SuzAnne Barabas, Artistic Director, NJ Rep
The cast includes Harmony Harris, Chantal Jean-Pierre, Joyce Sylvester, and Niambi. The creative team includes Jessica Parks (set design), Jill Nagle (lighting design), Nicole Jescinth Smith (costume design), Nick Simone (sound design), Brian Snyder (technical director), Kristin Pfeifer (production stage manager), and Ian Duhart (assistant 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, Long Branch, NJ 07740. For tickets and more information, visit www.njrep.org or call 732-229-3166.
James Anthony Tyler (Playwright) is the recipient of the 3rd Annual Horton Foote Playwriting Award and an inaugural playwright to receive a commission from Audible. He was also recently The Playwrights' Center's McKnight Theater Artist Fellow and a playwright participant in the 2024 Durango PlayFest. His plays include Into the Side of a Hill (Flint Repertory Theatre), Artney Jackson (world premiere at Williamstown Theatre Festival, 2018 Edgerton Foundation New Play Award), Some Old Black Man (Berkshire Playwrights Lab at Saint James Place and 59E59 Theaters), and Dolphins and Sharks (LAByrinth Theater Company and Finborough Theatre in London). He has an M.F.A. in Film from Howard University and an M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing from New York University. He is also a graduate of The Juilliard School's Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program. He was the Staff Writer for the OWN Network show "Cherish the Day" and was most recently in the writers' room for a new Apple TV+ drama series starring an Academy Award–winning actress.
Delicia Turner Sonnenberg is a director, artistic leader, teacher, and mother. She is a founder and the former Artistic Director of MOXIE Theatre, which she helmed for twelve acclaimed seasons. Her directorial work has been celebrated for its boldness, creativity, and commitment to diverse storytelling.
Harmony Harris (Mimi) is a singer, actor, and mover. She recently appeared in The Future is Female (New Perspectives Theatre) and was assistant director of Pay the Writer at Signature Theatre. She is a recipient of the NY Theatre Barn "Emerging Artist Award" and was named to the 2025 Broadway Women to Watch List.
Chantal Jean-Pierre (Allain) has performed widely on regional stages, including Fairview (Berkeley Rep), Antony and Cleopatra (Cincinnati Shakespeare and Orlando Shakespeare), and Our Town (Miami New Drama). Television credits include FBI, Blue Bloods, Law & Order: SVU, and New Amsterdam.
Joyce Sylvester (Delphina) is an award-winning theatre artist. An alumna of the prestigious Negro Ensemble Company, she has performed on stages across the country, from Broadway to regional theaters, in both drama and comedy. Her Off-Broadway credits include Two Can Play by Trevor Rhone; Amiri Baraka's The Most Dangerous Man in America; Pecong by Steve Carter; and Night of the Working Dead by Richard Wentz at New Perspectives Theatre/NY. She has toured the US with Ntozake Shange's, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf, The Dance On Widow's Row by Samm-Art Williams, and The Trial Of One Short Cited Black Woman vs Mami Louise and Safreeta Mae by Karani Marcia Johnson. She has originated numerous roles, including Carmen Casteel in Inacent Black alongside Samuel L. Jackson and Melba Moore, both on and off Broadway, Tracy-ada in Steal Away by Ramona King and Candy in Livin' Fat by Judi Ann.
Niambi (Crystal) is an Audelco Award-winning actress whose career spans theater, film, and music. Highlights include Purlie! (Encore Award for Best Actress), Tambourines to Glory, and Mama, I Want to Sing. She has performed at La MaMa, Nuyorican Poets Café, and New Federal Theatre, in addition to touring with Stax Records as a vocalist.
NEW JERSEY REPERTORY COMPANY (NJRep) 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.
