Published by New Jersey Stage
originally published: 04/08/2026
(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- Crossroads Theatre Company (CTC), a Tony Award recipient for outstanding regional theatre, presents the 37th annual Genesis Festival of New Voices and New Plays from April 9-11, 2026 at New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC).
This three-day event includes the presentation of the 2026 Genesis Award for Playwriting Excellence, a collaboration with Columbia University School of the Arts. The Festival includes nightly readings of works by this year's playwrights at 7:00pm.
The Genesis Festival has fostered the works of acclaimed playwrights, such as Ntozake Shange, Ruby Dee, Anna Deavere Smith, Richard Wesley, Samm-Art Williams, Paul Carter Harrison, Michael Dinwiddie, and Lynn Nottage.
Through the annual Festival and Award, Crossroads reaffirms its 48-year commitment to cultivating a supportive environment for Black playwrights.
The Genesis Award for Playwriting Excellence recognizes Columbia MFA student finalists, each of whom receives a private reading of their play: Tré Calhoun for Grass and Charlene Adhiambo for Rot. Honorable mentions are awarded to: Sophia Parker for Moon Play and Robert C. Jean-Gilles for Linguistor's Lament.
This year's line-up of playwrights and their works includes:
Devon Kidd's Diamond's on Fire—a drama directed by Barrymore Award recipient Ozzie Jones, explores themes of Black parentage and generational curses through spirituality and ritual. Kidd, the recipient of this year's Genesis Award for Playwriting Excellence, will open the festival with a reading of his play on Thursday, April 9th at 7:00pm.
Omar Cheef Edwards' (NAACP Image Award recipient) musical, The Gypsy Code: A Love Letter to New York (In Rhythm), will be presented on Friday, April 10th at 7:00pm. Directed by Crossroads Theatre Company co-founder and Artistic Director, Ricardo Khan, the musical is set across three eras, an homage to New York City as a living organism shaped by migration, struggle, resilience, and reinvention.
On Saturday, April 11th at 7:00pm, Liza Jessie Peterson—a recently announced member of the ensemble cast of Paramount+ series The Chi's final season—will showcase her play Sistah-Gurls and the Squirrel. Directed by Goldie Patrick, the play is about a single mother raising a son while running a business, trying to keep her son safe, and holding onto her home amid aggressive gentrification of her Philly community. This reading will close the 37th edition of the Genesis Festival.
Founded in 1978 by Ricardo Khan and L. Kenneth Richardson, Crossroads has been a sanctuary for some of the world's most celebrated and decorated artists, including August Wilson, Ntozake Shange, George C. Wolfe, Joe Morton, Viola Davis, and many more. To date, the company has launched 100+ productions, 50 World Premieres, and introduced nearly 35 new playwrights to the global theatre canon. With existing partnerships with other theatre companies around the world, the Tony Award-winning company is a leading global ambassador for diasporic storytelling.
Columbia University School of the Arts is one of the leading arts schools in the world, a unique place where artists from every discipline come to study in their fields and to create together in one vibrant community. We award the Master of Fine Arts degree in Film, Theatre, Visual Arts, and Writing, as well as an interdisciplinary program in Sound Art that leads to an MFA in Visual Arts. The School also offers a Master of Arts degree in Film and Media Studies, as well as undergraduate majors and summer programs. The MFA playwriting program is led by Tony©, Pulitzer, Obie Award, and Outer Critics Award winners such as Lynn Nottage, Leslie Ayvazian, Charles Mee, and David Henry Hwang. This program seeks to help each student find their own unique and idiosyncratic voice, and help each play grow into the best version of itself.
EVENT PREVIEWS
Livingston High School Theatre Students Bring Beloved Children's Story to Life on Monday
(LIVINGSTON, NJ) -- Students from Livingston High School's Theatre Arts 1 program will take center stage in a heartwarming and imaginative production of "The Adventures of Little Billy: In Search of the Magic Tree" on Monday, June 15, 2026 in the Livingston High School Auditorium. This special event is open to the public with free general admission. Showtime is 7:00pm.
The Company Theatre Group presents a Staged Reading of "Final Day, the Musical" on June 16th
(HACKENSACK, NJ) -- The Company Theatre Group presents a Staged Reading of Final Day, the Musical in the Ruth Bauer Neustadter Gallery at Hackensack Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, June 16, 2026 at 3:00pm & 7:00pm. Set on the final day of World War II in Germany, Final Day follows prisoners awaiting liberation as they confront a camp commandant under orders to execute them all.
interACT Theatre Productions presents "Psycho Beach Party"
(MAPLEWOOD, NJ) -- interACT Theatre Productions presents Psycho Beach Party by Charles Busch presented as part of OUT IN MAPSO PRIDE 2026 with two performances June 19-20 at The Burgdorff Center for the Performing Arts.
The Barn Theatre presents The Solstice Showcase
(MONTVILLE, NJ) -- The Barn Theatre presents The Solstice Showcase, its biennial festival of original one-act plays, from June 19-21, 2026. This three-day event showcases new works of up-and-coming playwrights from the NJ/NY area and beyond and other theatrical talent.
Chatham Community Players present a reading of "Indecent" by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel
(CHATHAM, NJ) -- The Chatham Community Players present a reading of Indecent by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel on Sunday, June 21, 2026 at 7:00pm. The play charts the history of an incendiary drama and the path of the artists who risked their careers and lives to perform it.
Cape May Stage presents a reading of "What Would Meryl Do?" by Neal Lerner
(CAPE MAY, NJ) -- Cape May Stage presents a reading of What Would Meryl Do? by Neal Lerner on Monday, June 22, 2026 at 7:00pm. This is a one-man comic whirlwind about a desperate man in a small upstate town who decides to teach a class on how to live like Meryl Streep — because why not? Admission is free, but donations are accepted.
Middlesex County's Plays in the Park presents "All Shook Up"
(EDISON, NJ) -- Middlesex County's Plays in the Park kicks off its season with All Shook Up from June 17-27, 2026. Loosely based on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, it's 1955, and into a square little town rides a guitar-playing young man who changes everything and everyone he meets.
Middlesex County Plays-in-the-Park presents "All Shook Up" by Joe DiPietro
(EDISON, NJ) -- Middlesex County's Plays-in-the-Park presents All Shook Up by Jersey's own Joe DiPietro from June 17-27, 2026. Loosely based on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, it's 1955 and into a square little town rides a guitar-playing young man who changes everything and everyone he meets.
Cumberland Players presents "Reefer Madness, the Musical"
(VINELAND, NJ) -- Cumberland Players presents Reefer Madness, the Musical across two weekends from June 19-28, 2026. When a clean-cut kid from a stand-up American family falls prey to marijuana, his descent into the pit is filled with jazz, sex and violence. This pointed polticial satire will go straight to your head!
Pioneer Productions presents "Merrily We Roll Along"
(MORRISTOWN, NJ) -- Pioneer Productions presents Merrily We Roll Along, the groundbreaking musical by Stephen Sondheim with a book by George Furth. Based on the 1934 play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, the musical premiered in 1981 and has since become one of Sondheim's most daring and emotionally resonant works. The show will run weekends from June 19-June 28, 2026 at The Stage at Fellowship Hall, located inside the Morristown United Methodist Church.
FEATURED EVENTS
