KILL GOOFY to Premiere at Grove Street Theater in Montclair
Directed by David C. Neal, the production stars Fred Alvaro, Jessi Baden, Hedieh Fidanza, Jessica Jones, Emma Thayer and Nick Westemeyer.
Kill Goofy runs three weekends at the Grove Street Theater in Montclair: Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 1:30 p.m., weekends in October on the 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24 and 25. Opening night Saturday, October 10, includes a post-show reception with the cast and playwright.
At thirteen, Freddy and Barney were a matched set. Everybody called them Fred and Barney. Then Barney's family left town suddenly, and the two best friends spent thirty years not talking about why. In Kill Goofy, the new play by Livingston native Eric Alter, they're finally back in the same room, a childhood bedroom that hasn't changed since 1994, circling the one thing they were both there for and never once discussed.
Alter, who grew up in Livingston and sets the play there, has written more than 185 plays over a career spanning education, social work and three decades in law enforcement. He founded Apricot Sky Productions in 1999 and has brought original theater to Montclair audiences for 26 years. Kill Goofy arrives on the heels of Tributes, his September 11th benefit evening of one-acts and monologues raising money for the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.
"I like to deal in messy," Alter said. "Life is messy, and everyone is walking around with a trauma of some kind. The question is: how do we deal with it? Do we beat it or let it beat us?"
The play is directed by David C. Neal and stars Fred Alvaro, Jessi Baden, Hedieh Fidanza, Jessica Jones, Emma Thayer and Nick Westemeyer. Alter consulted with a licensed psychologist during the development of the play.
The Grove Street Theater (130 Grove Street, Montclair) seats 360, is wheelchair accessible, and offers free parking. Seating is general admission. Tickets are $25, $20 for seniors and students; groups of 10 or more, $20 each. Get tickets at https://apricotskyproductions.com/killgoofy. Payment at the door in cash, Venmo or Zelle.
Content advisory: Kill Goofy deals with the sexual abuse of two thirteen-year-old boys by an adult teacher. The play contains staged scenes of grooming, adult language throughout, references to suicide, and a scene in which a character describes an unwanted impulse toward a child. The sexual acts themselves are not depicted onstage. Recommended for ages 15 and up.
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