Premiere Stages at Kean University to Present MY LORD, WHAT A NIGHT, 11/13-15

Premiere Stages at Kean University will present three free interactive readings of the 2015-2016 Liberty Live Commission, My Lord, What a Night by Deborah Brevoort, November 13th through 15th in the Miron Student Center Little Theatre at Kean University. Based on actual events, My Lord, What a Night provides an account of the night legendary African American singer Marian Anderson gave a concert in Princeton and was later refused a room at the Nassau Inn. Ms. Brevoort's thought-provoking new play begins when civil rights supporter Albert Einstein invites Anderson to stay at his home, an event that threatens to divide the community, but ultimately forges a lifetime bond between two of the Garden State's most fascinating people of the 20th century. Director Kel Haney, who previously helmed the 2013-2014 Liberty Live Commission, James Christy's At Liberty Hall, returns to direct.

A unique partnership between Premiere Stages and the Liberty Hall Museum, Liberty Live celebrates New Jersey history with professional theatrical productions, museum tours, interactive displays, workshops for children, and talk-backs with local historians. Every two years, Premiere Stages commissions a New Jersey playwright to create a new play about an event or events that helped to shape history in the Garden State. Previous projects have included E.M. Lewis's Talking to Westfield, a family-friendly portrait of the rich and diverse history of the community of Westfield, and Mr. Christy's At Liberty Hall, the story of an unlikely pair of American immigrants: Cristian Rosario, a funny but unfocused teenager from the Dominican Republic, and Alexander Hamilton, 16, the subject of Cristian's 10th grade history project.

Producing artistic director John J. Wooten and resident dramaturg Christine Scarfuto will moderate an intimate discussion with the playwright after each reading. "Patrons will have the opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback, an important step in the development process as we continue to work with Deborah to ready the play for a full production in October of 2016," stated Mr. Wooten. Free tours of Liberty Hall Museum will be available for up to 30 patrons (reservations required) following the Saturday and Sunday presentations.

Deborah Brevoort is the author of numerous plays, musicals, and operas, including The Women of Lockerbie, which won the silver medal in the Onassis international playwriting competition. She is a two-time winner of the Frederick Loewe Award in musical theatre for King Island Christmas with David Friedman and Coyote Goes Salmon Fishing with Scott Richards, and her plays have been produced at Virginia Stage, Purple Rose, Barter Theatre, Capital Rep, Mixed Blood, and Centenary Stage, among others. A native of Ridgewood, Ms. Brevoort currently lives in North Bergen and teaches at Goddard College, Columbia University, and NYU's Graduate Musical Theatre Writing program.

Director Kel Haney returns to Premiere after this summer's workshop performance of Kate Cortesi's Great Kills, the runner-up for the 2015 Premiere Stages Play Festival. Ms. Haney has directed and developed new work at The Lark, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Ensemble Studio Theatre, and New Dramatists, among others. Her recent credits include The Elephant in Every Room I Enter (La MaMa, Mabou Mines), The Recommendation (The Flea), United Front (Primary Stages/Fordham), You're Not Tough (HERE, Dixon Place), Fifth Planet (Lincoln Center Education), and I Am Them, a series of short films exploring pivotal turning points for three different women.

My Lord, What a Night runs Friday, November 13 at 7:00 pm, Saturday, November 14 at 3:00 pm, and Sunday, November 15 at 3:00 pm. Admission is free, though reservations are strongly recommended. All readings take place in the Miron Student Center Little Theatre, located on the Kean University campus at 1000 Morris Avenue in Union. To reserve seats, please call the box office at 908-737-SHOW (7469) or email ticket@kean.edu. For more information, please visit Premiere Stages online at www.kean.edu/premierestages.

Premiere Stages offers affordable prices, air-conditioned facilities and free parking close to the theatre. Premiere Stages also provides free or discounted tickets to patrons with disabilities. All Premiere Stages facilities are fully accessible spaces, and companion seating is available for patrons with disabilities. Assistive listening devices and large print programs are available at all times; publications in alternate formats are available with advanced notice. Please call (908) 737-4092 for a list of sign-interpreted, audio-described or open-captioned performances.

Liberty Live is made possible in part by a HEART (History, Education, Arts Reaching Thousands) Grant from the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

Premiere Stages is made possible in part through funding from The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, The Shubert Foundation, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, The Northfield Bank Foundation, The Provident Bank Foundation, Union County HEART Grants, The Hyde and Watson Foundation, The Union Foundation, E.J. Grassmann Trust, The New Jersey Theatre Alliance's Stages Festival and through the generous support of individual patrons. Discover Jersey Arts is our marketing partner. Visit www.JerseyArts.com for more information about other arts programming happening around the Garden State.

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