EVENT: Premiere Stages presents “Still” by Benjamin V. Marshall on 2024-07-28 at Premiere Stages

Premiere stages at Kean University will present the premiere production of Still by Benjamin V. Marshall, recipient of the 2023/24 Liberty Live Commission, July 11-28 at Kean University’s Bauer Boucher Theatre Center. Directed by Marshall Jones III, Still starring actors Ashley Nicole Baptiste, D. Malik Beckford, Brian D. Coats, Perri Gaffney, Carl Hendrick Louis and Nafeesa Monroe.

In this new play based on true events in 1850s New Jersey, Peter arrives at an abolitionist office to ask for help from its director, William, an African-American leader of the Underground Railroad. As the two men learn more about each other’s lives, they realize that their vastly different pasts will lead them to a deeply connected future.

“When I first read about William Still’s life, I was struck not only by the power of his story but also by the deeply dramatic encounter with a man who came to him for help,” said John J. Wooten, artistic director of Premiere Stages. “Ben’s moving and thought-provoking play offers an important study of one of New Jersey’s most influential figures.”

Benjamin V. Marshall’s plays include: Absolution and Paradise, Boombox, Buenas Smooches Piscataway NJ, Carlos and LaVonne, Cornbread with raisins and almonds, Five husbands, Hendrik’s bridge, Dad’s vision, Galilee House, A goat on the balcony, Purchasing power, The Red Train CafeAnd Home starHis work has been performed and developed at the HBO New Writers Workshop, WBEZ Chicago Public Radio, Theatre for the New City in NYC, Luna Stage, Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey, Interact Theatre in Philadelphia, The Warner’s International Playwrights, The Berrie Center, The National Playwrights Symposium in Cape May, and the Kennedy Center.

Director Marshall Jones III led the development workshop for Still in November 2023. Prior to the workshop, he directed the New Jersey premiere of Dominique Morriseau’s Mud row in the 2022 season of Premiere Stages. Marshall Jones is Associate Dean for Equity at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. For 13 years (2007-2019), he was the Producing Artistic Director for the Tony® Award-winning Crossroads Theatre Company, where he directed several shows, including the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center’s inaugural production – Paul RobesonHe was also the replacement director for the 2018 stage play with music Small stonewhich was a NY Times Critic Pick. Marshall is the proud president of the NJ Theatre Alliance and is a 2020 Inductee into the Rutgers African-American Hall of Fame.

The accomplished cast includes Ashley Nicole Baptiste, whose theatre credits include: Chicken & Cookies (Crossroads Theater Company) and Mud row (Premiere Stages); D. Malik Beckford, an educator and director whose acting credits include Blue blood (CBS); Brian D. Coats, whose theater credits include Jewel of the Ocean (currently playing at the Two River Theater in Red Bank, NJ) and Small bus (Manhattan Theatre Club / US Tour); Perri Gaffney, whose theatre credits include STAFF MEAL (Playwrights Horizons) and Shadow/Land (The Public Theater); Carl Hendrick Louis, whose theater credits include Broadway’s 1984 And The cherry orchard; and Nafeesa Monroe, whose acting credits include Manifest (Netflix) and Madam Secretary (CBS).

The understudies for the production are Lucien Edme, a former student at the Kean Theatre Conservatory, and Nijah Muhammad, a current student at the Kean Theatre Conservatory.

The professional design team includes Set Designer David Barber, Costume Designer Ali Turns, Lighting Designer Zack Gage, Projection Designer Taj Rauch, Sound Designer David Wright, Hair and Make-up Designer Rachelle Dorce, Mask Designer Marlon Campbell and Props Master Jennifer Bonilla. Casting is by Stephanie Klapper, CSA. Dale Smallwood is the Production Stage Manager.

Still runs July 11-28 at the Bauer Boucher Theatre Center on Kean University’s main campus in Union, NJ. Performances are Thursday, July 11 at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, July 18-25 at 1:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 3 and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m. Bauer Boucher Theatre Center is located in Vaughn Eames Hall, 1000 Morris Avenue in Union, New Jersey.

---

For information on how your event can be listed, click here

---

Advertise with New Jersey Stage for $50-$100 per month,
click here for info

To refine the results by date, categories,
or region of New Jersey click here.

Cats

Sunday, July 28, 2024 @ 3:00 PM
Algonquin Arts Theatre
60 Abe Voorhees, Manasquan, NJ 08736
category: theatre

Click here for full description

---

Million Dollar Quartet

Sunday, July 28, 2024 @ 3:00 PM
Call Theater
101 Crawfords Corner Road, Holmdel, NJ 07733
category: theatre

Click here for full description

---

BergenPAC’s Performing Arts School presents The Wizard of Oz

Sunday, July 28, 2024 @ 2:00 PM
Bergen Performing Arts Center (BergenPAC)
30 North Van Brunt Street, Englewood, NJ 07631
category: theatre

Click here for full description

---

Click here for more events

Listings are available for $10 and are included with our banner ad packages.

click here For more information.