Courtesy of I 8 the Devil Productions
Imagine you're on a back porch somewhere in the backwoods of South Jersey, listening to a captivating storyteller spin tall tales about a fantastical creature and a curious, compassionate young woman. Maybe you're sipping a bootleg bourbon. That's the vibe of The Devil & Daisy Dirt, which completed a five-show run at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC) on February 22, 2026.
According to legend, the mythical New Jersey Devil was birthed in the Pine Barrens of South Jersey in 1735. Supposedly, his beleaguered mother, in the process of delivering her 13th child, cursed his imminent existence and declared, “let it be a devil!” Or so the story goes.
Centuries of occasional sightings and hysteria ensued, but it took the fertile minds of prolific writer and Rutgers University professor Alex Dawson, award-winning roots/Americana musician Arlan Feiles, and master FX artist and puppeteer Dan Diana to create a stage production worthy of this fabled New Jersey cryptid.
Drawing by Tom Mandrake
The Devil & Daisy Dirt erupted several years ago in Dawson’s fiery imagination after a serendipitous stop at Lucille’s Luncheonette in Warren Grove, New Jersey, where an eight-foot carving of the Jersey Devil welcomes visitors. It has since been brought to life in numerous backwater barns, backstreet bars, and the occasional small theater, where it has grown and evolved to its current form: a blend of folkloric storytelling, stirring Americana music performed by a porch-sitting balladeer, and a larger-than-life monster with glowing eyes that may or may not be a figment of your imagination.
It was only a matter of time before the show’s gothic charm drew the attention of acclaimed, Jersey-born-and-bred director Kevin Smith, whose Smodcastle Cinemas in Atlantic Highlands hosted a performance last year. Smith was so impressed he immediately signed on as a presenting producer, along with Weird NJ, a guidebook for off-the-beaten-track, Garden-State oddities.
This infusion of support enabled the creators to take production values to the next level, including upgrades to the set, lighting, sound, and to the Devil (costume) himself. After its successful run at the NBPAC, one of the state’s most prestigious performance spaces, plans are in progress for where it might go next.
One exciting possibility is the off-Broadway Cherry Lane Theater in New York City, which was recently purchased and renovated by A24, the studio behind 2026 Best Picture nominee Marty Supreme. Team Dirt is gunning for a substantial run there at some point. A graphic novel is also in the works, with illustrations by Tom Mandrake and cover by famed graphic artist Bill Sienkiewicz.
Photo Courtesy of I 8 the Devil Productions
After the final performance on Sunday afternoon, February 22 (as the blizzard of ’26 was starting to bear down on NJ) the cast held a Q&A, in which they talked about the evolution and themes of the show.
Dawson explained that in the beginning, “the show was about the Devil, and the young woman [Daisy] was just an instrument to save the Devil.” But the play evolved when Jackie Fogel came on board. As Dawson got to know her, and as she dug further into the character’s motivations, he rewrote the part for her.
“[Jackie]’s a strong woman. And it started to become about female empowerment and dismantling the patriarchy and it became less about the Devil. And the Devil became the instrument, and it was now Daisy’s story.”
You don’t need to have seen previous versions of the show to appreciate the focus on Daisy’s growth and transformation. Whether you’ve seen it before or not, you’ll be rooting for her.
Dawson mentioned an approach he shares with his creative writing students at Rutgers for crafting the arc of a story. “One of the things I talk about is not a happy ending, but the hope for change. And it’s a hopeful note that we end on. We don’t know exactly what’s going to happen in the weeks or years after this story ends, but our hope is that you guys keep thinking about it.”
The ending certainly provides some tasty food for thought, as does the music, written and performed by award-winning singer/songwriter Arlan Feiles. The dramatic narrative is punctuated throughout by his rich, roots/folk melodies and soulful vocals. Dawson and Feiles shared some of the lyric-writing duties. There were songs for which Feiles wrote both the music and lyrics, and some narrative passages where Dawson wrote the words and Feiles put them to music.
One of the latter is a monologue sung by Daisy. “I will say, we got a lot of pushback from Jackie because she thought the song made her character unlikeable,” Dawson said. “I said, I think this is what the piece needs…this interiority to come pouring out.” Fogel’s fears were happily unfounded; at the point in the show where Daisy unleashes that stream of consciousness, the audience often cheers.
Photo Courtesy of I 8 the Devil Productions
Feiles also provides a spare, contemplative underscore, imparting just the right mood at key moments. “I improvise the underscore, which is kind of different every time,” he explained. “I try to just feel; there’s an interplay between his dialogue and how I come underneath it. It’s always unique. Every performance we do is completely unique…so we can make changes and evolve as it’s happening. This last show I actually felt like I finally did it right,” Feiles joked.
While the story centers on Daisy, the 8-foot Devil dominates the stage with its larger-than-life stature and glowing red eyes. Puppeteer Dan Diana spoke of how he immediately grabbed his notebook after his first read-through of the script to start sketching ideas for the Devil, which he also constructed. It has since evolved into a spooky behemoth that is as much a part of the set as of the cast.
Writer, podcaster, and emcee Will Rogers, also an integral part of Team Dirt, summed the production up nicely: “The Devil & Daisy Dirt is a story of ingenuity, of having an idea and finding a way to get the idea to an actual concrete thing that people can experience. If you have seen this show multiple times, as I have, you have seen it grow and change. This is the best it has ever been, thanks in no small part to these incredible artists.”
Photo Courtesy of I 8 the Devil Productions
A percentage of the weekend’s proceeds were donated to the Pinelands Preservation Alliance, helping them ensure the forests, rivers and swamps that inspired the legend of the Jersey Devil remain protected for future generations of believers.
Check out the show’s website here.
Meet the Creators
ALEX DAWSON (writer/director/narrator) is a full-time professor at Rutgers University, where he teaches creative writing (with a focus on folklore and horror) and leads Study Abroad programs to some of the world’s most mythical places. He is the owner/creator of the Rac-On-Tour (R.O.T.), a mobile bookstore, and the R.O.T. Fest, a bi-monthly vaudevillian variety show. He also is an award-winning playwright/set designer. Upcoming projects include:
* Room to Swing an Ax (or My Family in Five Knives)—an autobiographical one-man show/song cycle with live music composed and performed by Arlan Feiles
* The Earth Is Full and Bright—another puppet-driven collaboration with Dan Diana, working toward a spring 2027 debut (Think Old Yeller meets Interstellar)
* Welcome to White Hart—a novel set for release in October 2026
Finally, check out this fascinating, in-depth interview with Dawson from the February 8th Makin Waves column here.
ARLAN FEILES (composer/musical director/balladeer) is an award-winning, internationally touring singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and music producer mentored by the late great Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame record producer Tom Dowd and accompanied by the likes of Levon Helm, Rick Danko, and Garth Hudson. He has released six critically acclaimed records, including Diaspora, named a 2025 Top 10 Jersey Indie Album by Bob Makin of Makin Waves for New Jersey Stage and The Aquarian. Makin also named him Best Male Performer of 2025. Visit arlanfeilesmusic.com to learn more and sample his music. Upcoming performances include:
* February 28—Opening for Grammy nominee Shannon McNally at the Jersey Shore Arts Center, as part of the venue’s 2026 Singer/Songwriter Series. Get tickets here.
* May 6—Presenting a multimedia talk with original music at the TEDxAsburyPark event, “Cakes & Ale: Why We Drink and Party,” at the Triumph Brewery Stage in Red Bank. Learn more and get tickets here.
DAN DIANA (fabricator/puppeteer/Devil) was a Special FX Artist/Prop Fabricator in Hollywood for seven years, working on mostly Marvel movies, including Guardians of the Galaxy, The Avengers, and Avengers: Endgame, for which he built the battered Iron Man Helmet. Dan currently works for Four Horsemen Studios, where he sculpts/fabricates hyper-detailed, life-size replicas of the various figures that populate their Mythic Legions universe. Diana and Dawson have collaborated on many other projects including Nosferatu: The First Vampyre, a theatrical production inspired by the silent film, and The Thing at Raritan Landing, a theatrical haunt set in colonial New Jersey.
JACKIE FOGEL (Daisy Dirt) holds a BFA in Acting from Northern Illinois University, trained at the Moscow Art Theatre, and was accepted into The Actors Studio as a working finalist. Jackie performed in New York City theater, followed by a decade in Los Angeles, where she did voiceover work and appeared in commercials and indie films. She now teaches middle-school theater in Westfield, NJ, where she helps students find their voices, build confidence, and develop a deeper understanding of themselves and others through the art of performance.
Photo Courtesy of I 8 the Devil Productions
Suzanne Pisano is a Jersey Shore-based writer and editor with a passion for music and the arts. For more visit Suzannepisano.com
