Cast Set For SEUSSICAL and THE TEMPEST at Montclair Theater Festival at Brookdale Park
Lawrence Dandridge, Juson Williams, and Veronica Gonmiah lead Vanguard Theater's free outdoor productions.
Vanguard Theater has announced the cast and creative team for its mainstage productions at the 2nd Annual Montclair Theater Festival, presenting abridged professional productions of Seussical the Musical and Shakespeare's The Tempest on Saturday, July 25, 2026, from 2 to 8 p.m. at Brookdale Park in Essex County, NJ. Admission is free.
Seussical is directed by Freeman Clark, with choreography by Katie Claire and musical direction by Liberty Ashe, and The Tempest is directed by Patrick Swailes-Caldwell. Costume design for both productions is by TJ Jenkins. Both productions continue Vanguard's Shakespeare in the Park tradition, pairing a classical work with a family musical each summer.
THE TEMPEST stars Veronica Gonmiah as Prospero, Clara Chahine as Miranda, Lauren Therese as Ariel, Joe Nalieth as Caliban, and Patrick Swailes-Caldwell as Ferdinand.
SEUSSICAL THE MUSICAL stars Lawrence Dandridge as the Cat in the Hat, Juson Williams as Horton, Gavin Rivera as JoJo, Gabie Hocson as Gertrude, Lisa Benke as Mayzie, and Alneesha M. Harris as Sour Kangaroo.
Both casts bring together professional actors alongside rising performers from Vanguard's youth and teen education programs, VTC Kids and VTC Teens, reflecting the company's mission of mentorship across generations of artists.
"At Vanguard, we believe accessible, inclusive theater changes lives, and the Montclair Theater Festival is our chance to bring that belief straight into the community," said Janeece Freeman Clark, Founding Artistic Director at Vanguard Theater. "We wanted to create a day where anyone, regardless of age, background, or experience with the arts, can walk into the park and feel like theater belongs to them too. It's a celebration of everything that makes New Jersey theater special, and a genuinely fun day for the whole family."
The mainstage productions anchor a full day of programming as part of the festival's Partner Showcase, featuring pop-up performances from 20 New Jersey theater companies: Chatham Playhouse, interAct, Old Library Theatre, Gas Lamp, Villagers, Charles Sellers Foundation, Players Guild of Leonia, Studio Players, an Improv Troupe, Montclair Pride Choir, Maplewood Strollers, Bergen County Playhouse, Playhouse 22, Barn Theatre, Aurway, Luna-Stage/">Luna Stage, Hunterdon Hills Playhouse, Vanguard Theater, Light Opera of NJ, and Paper Mill Playhouse New Voices, each bringing its own style and storytelling to the park stage throughout the day.
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