Victor L. Cahn's VILLAINOUS COMPANY Premieres Tonight at NJ Rep

New Jersey Repertory Company, 179 Broadway in Long Branch, presents the World Premiere of VILLAINOUS COMPANY by Victor L. Cahn.

Opening night is tonight, May 7 at New Jersey Repertory Company (179 Broadway, Long Branch), and will run through Sunday, June 5, 2016. Tickets ($45) may be purchased by calling 732-229-3166 or at www.njrep.org.

When Claire returns home from an afternoon of shopping, she discovers one of her packages is missing. Coincidentally, just as she is calling the store, a staff member stops by to return the item, then manages to invite herself inside. Before long, larceny and trickery abound as the two women, soon joined by a third, compete in a suspenseful game of cat-and-mouse.

The cast includes Melissa Macleod Herion, Corey Tazmania and Pheonix Vaughn and is directed by SuzAnne Barabas.

The production team includes: Jessica Parks (Set Design & Props), Brian Snyder (Technical Director,) Jill Nagle (Lighting Design), Merek Royce Press (Sound Design), Patricia E. Doherty (Costume Design), and Jennifer Tardibuono (Stage Manager).

WHO'S WHO:

Victor L. Cahn (Playwright) has written numerous plays produced Off-Broadway and regionally, including Roses in December, Embraceable Me, Fit to Kill (all published by Samuel French), Dally with the Devil, A Dish for the Gods, Sheepskin (all published by Steele Spring Stage Rights), Villainous Company, Getting the Business, Bottom of the Ninth, and Sherlock Solo, a one-man show that he performed. He has appeared onstage throughout the Capital Region of New York, taking leading roles in works by Shakespeare, Shaw, Pinter, Coward, Ayckbourn, Simon, Gurney, Christie, and Knott. He is Professor Emeritus of English at Skidmore College, and author of more than a dozen non-fiction books (five on Shakespeare). He has also published two novels, and his articles and reviews have appeared in such varied publications as "Modern Drama", "The Literary Review", "The New York Times", "The Chronicle of Higher Education", and "Variety". He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, Inc.

SuzAnne Barabas (Director) For NJ Rep, SuzAnne has directed Find Me a Voice, North Fork (premiere), Immortal Interlude (premiere), Octet (premiere), Till Morning Comes (premiere), Maggie Rose, Getting in Touch With My Inner B*tch (starring Christine Lavin, premiere), The Adjustment, 10% of Molly Snyder, Romulus Linney's Klonsky & Schwartz, Apostasy (premiere), Women Who Steal, Apple, The Housewives of Mannheim (premiere), Evie's Waltz, Dead Ringer (premiere), Steven Dietz's Yankee Tavern, Puma (premiere), Night Train (premiere), Just In Time: The Judy Holliday Story, Bakersfield Mist, Annapurna, Happy, Broomstick (premiere), Lucky Me (premiere), Swimming at the Ritz (U.S. premiere), and The Realization of Emily Linder (premiere). SuzAnne directed productions of The Housewives of Mannheim at 59E59 Theater (NYC), Ensemble Theater of Santa Barbara (CA), and Phoenix Theater (Indianapolis). In addition, she directed regional productions of Ibsen's A Doll's House, The Fantasticks, The Roar of the Greasepaint the Smell of the Crowd, Cabaret, Shaw's Heartbreak House, A.R. Gurney's The Perfect Party, Marsha Norman's Night Mother, Philip Barry's The Philadelphia Story, Christopher Durang's Beyond Therapy, Mark Dunn's Belles, Lee Blessing's Down the Road, among others. She is a member of Actors Equity Association, BMI, the Dramatists Guild, SDC, and LPTW.

Melissa Macleod Herion (Tracy) Credits include: The Pearl Theatre Company ("The Rivals" u/s); Seven Angels Theatre ("The Crimson Thread"); PlayMakers Repertory Company ("Luminosity" & "Richard II"); Playhouse on Park ("Proof"); Cortland Repertory Theatre ("Miracle on South Division Street," "Rumors," "The Hollow," "I'll Be Back Before Midnight" and "Making God Laugh"); Broward Stage Door Theatre ("Bell, Book & Candle"); The Theater Barn ("The Little Dog Laughed," "Boeing, Boeing," & "Moonlight & Magnolias"); Queens Players ("Macbeth").

Corey Tazmania (Joanna) NJREP credits: The Realization of Emily Linder by Richard Strand; Jericho by Jack Canfora; The Housewives of Mannheim by Alan Brody; A Child's Guide to Innocence by Vincent Sessa. Other credits include: Camel Collective's Something Other Than What You Are (REDCAT); The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged (Lake Theatre); Villainous Company (The Clurman); The Parable Conference (Next Wave Festival/BAM); Pericles, Oliver Twist, Taming of the Shrew (STNJ); Housewives of Mannheim (59E59 & ETC Santa Barbara).

Pheonix Vaughn (Claire) Actress/Singer/Songwriter. Theater credits include: "The M Spot" with Michael Tucker and Jill Eikenberry, Psyche in "Cupid and Psyche," Janet in "Yankee Tavern," Judy in "The Judy Holliday Story," and May Black in "The Housewives of Mannheim" - which later had a highly successful run Off Broadway at 59th East 59th and at The Ensemble Theater in Santa Barbara. Other NYC Theater credits include: "Heaven In Your Pocket" with the Emerging Artists Theatre, "A Piece Of My Heart" with the Red Fern Theatre Company, and "The Best Party Ever" at the Richmond Shepard Theater. Los Angeles credits include: "The People vs. Friar Laurence," "Fools," "Shakespeare's Greatest Hits," "Trombone," and "Assassins." Pheonix is a proud AEA member. For more information visit pheonixvaughn.com.