(MONTCLAIR, NJ) -- At thirteen, Freddy and Barney were a matched set; everybody called them Fred and Barney. Then Barney's family left town suddenly, and the two best friends spent thirty years not talking about why. In Kill Goofy, the new play by Livingston native Eric Alter, they are finally back in the same room, a childhood bedroom that has not changed since 1994, circling the one thing they both experienced and never once discussed.
Kill Goofy runs three weekends at the Grove Street Theatre in Montclair: Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm and Sundays at 1:30pm. Performances are October 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24 and 25. Opening night, Saturday, October 10, includes a post-show reception with the cast and playwright.
Alter, who grew up in Livingston, has written 185 plays across careers in education and social work, alongside three decades with the Sheriff's Department. He founded Apricot Sky Productions in 1999 and has brought original theater to Montclair audiences for 26 years. Kill Goofy arrives on the heels of Tributes, his September 11th benefit evening of one-acts and monologues raising money for the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.
"I've always been about the messy," Alter said. "I'm fascinated by how people go through life carrying what they carry."
The play is directed by David C. Neal and stars Fred Alvaro, Jessi Baden, Hedieh Fidanza, Jessica Jones, Emma Thayer and Nick Westemeyer.
The Grove Street Theatre (130 Grove Street, Montclair) seats 330, is wheelchair accessible, and offers free parking. Seating is general admission. Tickets are $25, $20 for seniors and students; groups of 10 or more, $20 each. Reservations are strongly encouraged at http://apricotskyproductions.com/killgoofy Payment at the door in cash, Venmo or Zelle.
CONTENT ADVISORY: KILL GOOFY deals with the sexual abuse of two thirteen-year-old boys by an adult teacher. The play contains staged scenes of grooming, adult language throughout, references to suicide, and a scene in which a character describes an unwanted impulse toward a child. The sexual acts themselves are not depicted onstage. Recommended for ages 15 and up.
Now in its 26th year, the Montclair-based theater company Apricot Sky Productions has staged low-cost, high-caliber original work at the Grove Street Theatre since 1999, with a mission to make theater approachable and introduce new audiences to new writing.
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