(SUMMIT, NJ) -- Vivid Stage, in residence at Oakes Center at 120 Morris Avenue in Summit, will present a new comedy from October 8-18, 2026 - B.I.N.G.O. (or Brittney Isle's Nice Geriatric Orgy) by Erin Mallon. In this workshop production, we meet Barb, who desperately needs friends, who has moved into a 55+ community.
So what better way to meet new people than to join a good old fashioned Bingo Night? When Bingo Night turns into a full-blown orgy, Barb must decide: does she stay in her safe, predictable world? Or does she play a new game of chance and truly live before it’s too late?
Directed by Betsy True (Montclair), the cast includes Vivid Stage ensemble members Clark Carmichael (Hewitt), Harry Patrick Christian (Montclair), Laura Ekstrand (Livingston), Noreen Farley (Clinton) and Harriett Trangucci (Chatham). Also starring is Eli Ganias (NYC), who has often been a guest on Vivid’s stage.
B.I.N.G.O. will appear at Vivid Stage at 120 Morris Avenue in Summit from October 8-18. Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00pm, and Sundays at 2:00pm. Special dates: Thursday, October 8, is a preview performance; all tickets are $30. Friday, October 9, has an opening night reception following the show. Sunday, October 11, is Senior Sunday; seniors age 65+ pay $30. Thursday, October 15 is Under 30 Thursday; all patrons under 30 pay $25. Talkbacks follow the October 11 and 18 matinée performances. Sunday, October 18’s matinee will be audio described for patrons with vision loss.
Tickets range from $25 to $45 and are available for purchase online, with special rates for subscribers and groups. For more information, call 908-514-9654. The theatre at Oakes Center is wheelchair accessible. Assisted listening devices are available at all performances. The parking lot is accessible from Ashwood Avenue, behind the theatre.
Playwright Erin Mallon is a USA Today Bestselling Author, playwright, host of My Job is to Play (Conversations on Creativity with Erin Mallon) and narrator of nearly 800 audiobooks. Erin’s plays have been presented with Urban Stages, New Georges, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, The Collective, Cherry Picking, Great Plains Theater Conference, Samuel French #OOB Short Play Festival, Project Y Theater, Vivid Stage, Mile Square Theatre and more. Erin’s play Branched (dir. Robert Ross Parker) premiered with InViolet Theater at HERE Arts Center in NYC and is in print with Original Works Publishing. Her play, The Net Will Appear had its Off-Broadway Premiere at 59E59 Theaters in NYC starring the great Richard Masur and is now available on Audible.com as an audio drama co-starring Matilda Lawler (Disney Plus’ Flora & Ulysses, Broadway’s The Ferryman).
Erin’s Other full-length plays include: Pale Blue Dot(s), Good Riddance, Soft Animals, Hand Me Down, Stunning Displays of Prowess, Skin Hungry, The Other White Meat, Come Find Me, These Walls Can Talk 2: The Narwhal Strikes Back! and These Walls Can Talk 3: Rise of the Machine. Vivid Stage has produced Erin’s play Soft Animals and held readings of many more.
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, works in a variety of media, and a menu 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, the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, the Shubert and Summit Foundations 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.
Top Graphic by Yolanda Fundora
Barb desperately needs friends. That’s why she moved to this 55+ community in the first place. So what better way to meet new people than to join a good old fashioned Bingo Night? When Bingo Night turns into a full-blown orgy, Barb must decide: does she stay in her safe, predictable world? Or does she play a new game of chance and truly live before it’s too late?
