FICTION Shows Us The Value Of A Well Kept Secret 3/5-3/29

Is it better to die with a secret than to live with one? The Bickford Theatre at the Morris Museum, 6 Normandy Heights Road, in Morristown, NJ, continues its 2008-2009 Mainstage Season with Fiction, Stephen Dietz's spellbinding drama about a dying author's wish to read her author husband's journals and the unexpected tale that unfolds when secrets the couple harbors are ultimately revealed. Fiction runs March 5 through March 29.

Fiction stars Jen Plants as Linda Waterman, Duncan M. Rogers as Michael Waterman, and Kate Kenney as Abby, the young woman who appears in both of their diaries. Daniel LaPenta directs the script by Stephen Dietz, one of the most prolific and produced playwrights in the country.

The Design Team for Fiction includes Bill Motyka (Lighting and Scenic Design), Ric McAllister (Costume Design), and Jeff Knapp (Sound Design). Yumi Matsuura serves as Production Stage Manager.

Duncan M. Rogers is a regular at the Bickford Theater appearing in seven previous shows going back to First Night, also directed by Daniel LaPenta. He directed last season's production of Rounding Third. At other theaters around the state, he originated the role of Tim Grant in Naked by the River at NJ Rep and starred in The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window, Still Life, and Mauritius with the Women's Theater Company. Off Broadway credits include The Wild Duck and Little Eyolf at The Century Center for the Performing Arts and appearances on the stages of The Connolly Theater, The Sanford Meisner Theater, Theater for The New City, and many others. This production happily reunites him with Ms Kenney with whom he appeared in How I Learned to Drive at the Penobscot Theater Company in Bangor Maine.TV credits include NY Undercover, Dellaventura, and most recently 30 Rock.

A recent transplant from Baltimore, Maryland, Jen Plants' regional credits include Julius Caesar, Romeo & Juliet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Bertolt Brecht's Antigone (all at Baltimore Shakespeare Festival); Abstract Nude (Capital Fringe Festival); The New Kid (Imagination Stage); The Distance From Here (Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company/University of Maryland); Brownie Points (Theater J); Necessary Targets (Olney Theatre Center/Potomac Theatre Project); and The Little Prince (Round House Theatre.) Jen earned her MFA from the Florida State University/Asolo Conservatory.

Daniel LaPenta is very happy to be returning to the Bickford, where he has directed First Night (with Duncan Rogers) and Defying Gravity. Dan has been teaching at Drew University in Madison for 29 years, 14 of which he spent as Chair of the Theatre Arts Department. At Drew, he has directed a variety of plays from Shakespeare (The Tempest, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Pericles) to Pinter (Old Times, Mountain Language). A particular favorite production was Charles L. Mee's Big Love in October 2004, just as the Red Sox were winning the World Series.

Fiction was originally produced by McCarter Theatre, Princeton, NJ, and starred Tony Award-nominee Robert Cuccioli and Broadway veteran Laila Robins. It was originally produced in New York City by Roundabout Theatre Company.

Main Stage Series performances are Thursdays thru Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. There is a Special Matinee on Saturday, March 14, at 2 p.m. Lunch packages are available for that performance. Tickets are $28 for Morris Museum and Bickford Theatre Guild members, $35 for general public, $30 for senior citizens, $15 for students 18 and under or those with a valid school ID, and $27 for groups of 10 or more. Box Office hours for phone sales are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Walk-up hours are Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Bickford Theatre is conveniently located within the Morris Museum and offers free parking and full accessibility. Tickets for all 2009-2009 Season productions are currently on sale and can be purchased by calling 973-971-3706 or visiting the Bickford Theatre at www.bickfordtheatre.org.

About The Bickford...

The Bickford Theatre (Eric Hafen, Artistic Director) is a professional theatre that produces and presents year-round entertainment, including a Main Stage Series, two Children's Theatre series, and a Jazz Showcase. The theatre is a Senior Member of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance, a not-for-profit organization of 30 professional theatres throughout the state, and works in conjunction with Actors' Equity Association and the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers. From its beginnings in 1994 to the present, thousands of theater-goers from across the tri-state area have enjoyed the Bickford Theatre's many entertaining and diversified offerings in theatre, music and dance.

 

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