Published by New Jersey Stage
originally published: 05/21/2026
(WEST WINDSOR, NJ) -- Maurer Productions OnStage and the newly formed Maurer TheaterWorks have announced a special co-production partnership — in association with Kelsey Theatre — for the world premiere of Midnight at the New Dawn. The ensemble comedy, written and directed by Dan Maurer, will hold open auditions on June 6-7, 2026.
Auditions are open to all: Saturday, June 6 and Sunday, June 7, from 11:00am to 5:00pm, with callbacks on Tuesday, June 9, from 6:00pm to 9:00pm – all at Mercer County Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor, New Jersey. For audition details, visit https://kelsey.mccc.edu/auditions.shtml .
The show is an intelligent, wickedly funny, warm-hearted ensemble comedy set in a New Jersey diner on New Year's Eve. Four couples arrive at the New Dawn Diner at relationship crossroads — with only two hours 'til midnight and one last chance to make a choice that will forever shape their lives together, or apart. It's been compared to Neil Simon but with a Wi-Fi connection.
The play opens October 16, 2025, and reunites an acclaimed, NJACT Perry Award–winning creative team for the first time in more than a decade.
"This is the show I've been writing toward for a long time," said playwright and director Dan Maurer. "It's funny — genuinely funny — but it earns its laughs from real human drama. These are people you know. They may even be you."
A Rare Creative Opportunity: The cast of up to 20 will be invited into the play's development — character discussions, table readings, and collaborative conversations that will help inform rewrites ahead of and during rehearsals. This is not simply performing a finished script. This is the rare chance to help shape one.
"We're inviting actors into the room before the script is locked — their voices, their instincts, their chemistry will influence the final product," said John Maurer, Creative Director of Maurer Productions OnStage. "That's not something community theater actors get to do every day."
(LEFT to RIGHT) Producers Dan Maurer, Diana Gilman-Maurer, John Maurer
Rehearsals begin August 15. The show opens October 16.
Maurer Productions OnStage has mounted some of Kelsey Theatre's most popular productions, including Monty Python's Spamalot, Avenue Q, Shrek the Musical, Elton John & Tim Rice's AIDA, Around the World in Eighty Days, and Driving Miss Daisy. Maurer TheaterWorks was founded by Dan Maurer to develop original works; Midnight at the New Dawn is its inaugural full-length production.
Midnight at the New Dawn will be presented on Friday, October 16 at 8:00pm, Saturday, October 17 at 2:00pm & 8:00pm, and Sunday, October 18 at 2:00pm at Kelsey Theatre, located on the West Windsor Campus of Mercer County Community College at 1200 Old Trenton Road.
Dan Maurer is a director, playwright, screenwriter, fiction writer, and member of the Dramatists Guild. He co-produced more than 20 productions and directed acclaimed runs of Driving Miss Daisy, Hollywood Arms, and Elton John & Tim Rice's AIDA at Kelsey Theatre, winning multiple NJACT Perry Awards and earning induction into the NJACT Hall of Fame.
Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Maurer Productions OnStage, Maurer TheaterWorks, and Kelsey Theatre are committed to advancing an environment of diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism in all our productions and programs. They strive to foster an inclusive environment for people of all races, genders, religions, sexual orientations, creeds, socio-economic statuses, nationalities, and abilities.
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