Pushcart Players to Stage STONE SOUP AND OTHER STORIES at Bickford Theatre, 3/15

Pushcart Players, New Jersey's celebrated touring theatre for young audiences presents Stone Soup and Other Stories on Saturday, March 15 at 1:30 pm at Bickford Theatre in Morristown, NJ. New Jersey Theatre Alliance's Stages Festival, a month-long celebration of the Garden State's professional theatre, sponsors the show.

Stone Soup and Other Stories is a charming musical compilation of story favorites from Africa, India, Eastern Europe and the United States of America. Filled with music, fantasy and fun, each tale introduces the spirit and customs of these unique cultures. In so doing, it provides a springboard for reading and subsequent reading-related activities.

"The play also gently raises universal value clarification issues," said Ruth Fost, Pushcart's co-founder, executive artistic director and co-author of the play. "Family audiences will be delighted by the show. Then they'll find themselves discussing why certain characters made certain choices, and how outcomes would have differed with different behavior."

The cast of Stone Soup and Other Stories includes Oscar Castillo, Jaclyn Ingoglia, JD Lynch and Phebe Taylor. Castillo is a New York native, and a member of Pushcart Players for eleven years. A graduate of Kean University with a BFA in theatre, Oscar co-founded The Theatre Project and performs frequently throughout NYC with Peculiar Works Productions. Jaclyn Ingoglia is a 2009 NJ OBIE Award-winner as Best Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of "Mrs. Lovett" in 'Sweeney Todd' at NJPAC. Ingoglia made her Off-Broadway debut as a swing in the play, 'My Big Gay Italian Funeral.' JD Lynch is a graduate of DeSales University and has performed in eight Pushcart shows and with other companies throughout the country. Phebe Taylor is in the troupe, Heartland Actors' Repertory Theatre and is a frequent performer at the Phoenix Theatre in Indianapolis.

Paul Whelihan directs the production. Whelihan is an actor, stage manager, producer and playwright who's directed the majority of Pushcart's productions throughout its history. He has directed at Luna Stage Company (West Orange), Forum Theatre Cultural Arts Center (Metuchen), The Growing Stage (Netcong), and for the New York Fringe Festival. Paul is a teaching artist in the tri-state area in elementary, middle and high schools.

Stone Soup and Other Stories has original music and lyrics by Carole Wechter. Incidental music and orchestrations are by Larry Hochman, who won the Tony and Drama Desk Awards for his co-orchestration of "The Book of Mormon." His orchestrations include Broadway's "Monty Python's Spamalot," "The Addams Family" and "Jane Eyre."

Pushcart Players is in its 40th anniversary season of presenting productions filled with fun, facts, magic and wonder. The company has traveled over 2 million miles to serve more than 8 million children and their families nationally and abroad. All performances come with innovative scenery, complete lighting and state of the art sound systems, making it adaptable to any location. Study guides and other supplemental materials support the educational benefits of the theatre piece.

Bickford Theatre is located at the Morristown Museum, 6 Normandy Heights Road Morristown NJ 07960. Admission is $10 for museum members, $12 for non-members and a group rate of $9 for parties of 20 or more. Call 973.971.3706 (visit http://www.morrismuseum.org/childrens-theater/). For information about NJ Theatre Alliance's Stages Festival, visit www.stagesfestival.org.

For further information on this or any of Pushcart's programs and services, contact Pushcart Players at 973.857.1115 or visit the website at www.pushcartplayers.org.

PHOTO CREDIT: Melody Moore