Graphic by Yolanda Fundora
(SUMMIT, NJ) -- Vivid Stage will hold its annual gala fundraiser on Saturday, February 14, 2026. This special Valentine's Day celebration will be held at the Oakes Center in Summit from 6:00pm-10:00pm.
Vivid Stage, Summit’s professional theatre company, has been in residence at the Oakes Center in Summit for fourteen years, and in existence for thirty-one years. As part of this year’s celebration, the ensemble will entertain the guests with a spoof of Hallmark romances entitled MAD LOVE, complete with all the usual tropes and some unusual songs.
Funds raised at this event will help Vivid Stage maintain its tradition of excellence in arts programming. In addition to their regular season of mainstage productions, cabaret, improv and new play readings, the theatre provides outreach and education programs for students and seniors, as well as internship opportunities for college students and young professionals. Providing a creative home for New Jersey artists is primary among the company’s goals, as is cultivating the relationship between artists and audiences throughout the season.
Tickets for the entire evening are $125 until February 1 and $150 afterwards. Tickets are available for purchase online. The Oakes Center is located at 120 Morris Avenue in Summit, New Jersey.
The evening will include unlimited drinks and appetizers, a catered buffet dinner, coffee and dessert. Festive attire is welcome.
Vivid Stage was founded in 1994 as Dreamcatcher Rep, and is a non-profit professional ensemble of actors who build community with the audience by sharing contemporary, life-affirming stories that challenge, energize and entertain. Their work has at its heart a belief in the essential goodness of people and the power of live performance to connect people through our shared humanity. They expose theatregoers to ideas and lives like and unlike their own with the intention of awakening their imaginations and creating empathy for others. They deepen the experience of all their patrons with personal contact through receptions, talkbacks, and interactive programs.
The company’s activities include mainstage productions, improvisational comedy and cabarets, new play readings and a variety of educational and senior outreach programs.
Vivid Stage’s programs are funded by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, and many other corporations, foundations and individuals. Vivid Stage is an Equity Producing member of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance.
Vivid Stage, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) corporation, incorporated under the laws of the State of New Jersey.
