Season 2, Episode 5: Behind every summer is a community that keeps Fire Island alive. This episode explores the history of the beloved Pines Pantry through the eyes of its iconic Pantry Girls, alongside the volunteer firefighters of The Pines and Cherry Grove who protect the island from fires, hurricanes, beach erosion, and an uncertain future.
ALAS AND ALACK IN ALASKA and A CIGARETTE WITH SANTA Set for The Theater Project Reading Series
Performances will take place on Saturday, November 21, at Cranford Community Center’s 110-seat theater. Admission is free, with no registration required.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz
Two short plays, Jonathan Samarro’s Alas and Alack in Alaska and Joseph Vitale’s A Cigarette with Santa, are the next featured works in The Theater Project’s 2026 New Play Readings series, scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday, November 21, at Cranford Community Center’s 110-seat theater. Admission is free, with no registration required.
In Alas and Alack in Alaska, 12-year-old Squirm runs away from her persecutors in school and sets out to find the mother she doesn’t really remember. Maybe Mommy lives in Alaska. Or maybe she lives in Squirm’s head.
In A Cigarette with Santa, a burned-out department-store St. Nick meets a cheery elf, who won’t let him throw in the towel. What could possibly happen? Perhaps a Christmas miracle. Both readings are directed by Thomas Copeland.
Samarro is the author of short plays that have won prizes and seen multiple productions, including The Darkness Between Dreams. He holds an MFA in playwrighting from Columbia University and is a member of the Dramatists Guild.
Vitale has written many full-length and one-act plays that have been staged in New Jersey, New York, and around the country. He received the 2026 Playwrights First Award for The Debate. His last full-length play for The Theater Project was The Interpreter (2024). Large-print scripts for both plays and programs will be available with advance request.
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