IN DANGER OF FALLING IN LOVE Comes to The Villagers Theatre This Month

Two would-be matchmakers think they have the discovered the secret for helping people fall in love, as long as it doesn't kill them in the process.

The Villagers Theatre in Somerset, NJ will present a new romantic comedy by New Jersey playwright Mike Sockol, In Danger of Falling in Love, in the Zaidi Black Box Theater for two weekends, with performances planned for May 13, 14, 15, 20, 21 and 22. Friday and Saturday shows begin at 8 p.m. with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15.

In the play, two women believe they can stage dangerous situations to trigger romantic reactions. Sockol says he came up with the idea when he read an article that noted the similarity in the chemicals released by the brain when someone falls in love and when they face moments of extreme peril.

"If you think of romance as simply a byproduct of science, it opens up new ways to tell the classic love story," says Sockol. "You end up pitting science against humanity and then you can have a lot of fun determining who will come up on top."

Sockol has written close to 30 plays, including Horseshoes and Pets (and their Humans), which are under license with the Dramatists Play Service through Broadway Licensing. In Danger of Falling in Love was earlier workshopped at Villagers as part of its New Playwright Series. Pets (and their Humans) was named best original work by the New Jersey Association of Community Theaters in 2018. Sockol is a member of the Dramatist Guild and lives in Holmdel.

Directed by Ed Faver and produced by Paul Carver, In Danger of Falling in Love features a veteran cast of local actors, including Eric Branda, Heidi Carter Hart, Kim Mackanic, Dustin Nobles, Tim Russo, and Jeanette Starrick.

The Villagers Theatre was founded in 1960 by 20 people who dedicated their organization to bringing ongoing cultural enrichment to the Central New Jersey area. Its programs are made possible, in part, by funds from the New Jersey State Council of the Arts/Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, and administered by the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission through the State/County Partnership Local Arts Program.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit Villagers' web site, www.villagerstheatre.com, its Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/villagerstheatre, or call (732) 873-2710.

To post a comment, you must register and login.