BWW Interviews: Dan Lauria on DINNER WITH THE BOYS at NJ Rep

Dinner With The Boys, a World Premiere Comedy, will open at New Jersey Repertory Company (NJ Rep) in Long Branch on September 11th and run through October 5th. The play is written by Dan Lauria who also plays Charlie, one of the starring roles in the play. Broadwayworld.com had the opportunity to speak with Lauria about his accomplished career and Dinner With The Boys.

Directed by Frank Megna, Dinner With The Boys is about some old-time wise guys who want to have a good Italian meal, a few laughs and tie-up some loose ends before dessert. Lauria calls the play, "an off-beat, dark comedy." He said the play was inspired by "all of the violence we consume." Acting alongside Lauria, the cast includes Ray Abruzzo, who played Little Carmine Lupertazzi in HBO's The Sopranos, and Richard Zavaglia, veteran of stage and screen who appeared in films like Donnie Brasco.

Lauria wrote Dinner With The Boys eight years ago. He intended the play to be performed by some of his friends and show biz veterans: Peter Falk, Dom DeLuise, Jack Klugman and Charles Durning. Lauria's role in Dinner With The Boys was originally written for Durning. Speaking of Durning, Lauria said, "As I deliver my lines in rehearsal, I can hear Charlie." Lauria also acknowledged that Charles Durning and Jack Klugman were "his greatest mentors in the business."

Lauria is well known to theater, television and movie audiences. He describes his career as "very fortunate." As a junior in college, he was recruited right off the football field of Southern Connecticut State by Constance Welsh, the well respected Yale acting coach, to perform in several college plays. A self proclaimed "theater rat," Lauria's career has encompassed theater, movie, and television roles.

Lauria's regional theater credits are extensive. In 2011, he played the legendary football coach Vince Lombardi in the Broadway play, Lombardi. Lauria returned to the Broadway in the 2013 production of A Christmas Story. He is well-recognized as the Dad on the Emmy Award winning ABC television show, The Wonder Years and currently can be seen as Jack Sullivan in the new TBS sitcom, Sullivan & Son.

Lauria has a strong commitment to promoting and advancing new plays. For ten years, he served as the Artistic Director of The Playwright's Kitchen Ensemble (PKE) of Los Angeles. With his partners, Joe Cacaci and Richard Zavaglia, PKE produced over 450 public readings of new plays with the finest actors in the business to promote the development of new American plays and to seek literary representation for writers.

Lauria has high praise for the work of NJ Rep's Producer, Gabor Barabas, the theater's Artistic Director, SuzAnne Barabas, and the mission of NJ Rep. He is very impressed by their commitment to present new works. In fact, Lauria commented that regional theater should be presenting original works rather than relying on shows that have been seen again and again. He said, "Revivals are killing regional theater." Lauria further stated, "New Jersey Repertory Company is doing just what modern theater needs."

Dinner with the Boys will be on the NJ Rep stage from September 11th through October 5th. The theater is located at 179 Broadway in Long Branch, New Jersey. For tickets and more information, visit their web site at www.njrep.org or call (732) 229-3166.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of NJ Rep

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