Theater Project to Welcome Rutgers Professor for Talkback, 4/10

The Theater Project will host Rutgers Professor Michael Aaron Rockland as he leads a discussion on the issues of race and anti-Semitism in Hollywood on Friday April 10th during a special talk-back session following the production of Moonlight & Magnolias at the Burgdorff Center in Maplewood. Professor Rockland is recognized as the founder of the American Studies department at Rutgers University. He has been in the classroom for more than four decades, is the author of fourteen books, and has lectured extensively around the world.

Joining Professor Rockland during the talk-back session will be New Jersey native and award winning author of fiction and non-fiction Bill Mesce Jr. Mr. Mesce is also a produced screenwriter and playwright who now teaches as an adjunct instructor at several colleges and universities in New Jersey.

Moonlight & Magnolias is set in 1939 Hollywood and covers the behind the scenes story of the rewriting of Gone with the Wind. Mid-production and with only five days to do the impossible, David O. Selznick, Victor Fleming and Ben Hecht survive on peanuts and bananas as they rework the script while delicately handling the issues of race and race relationships in Hollywood.

The Theater Project, an award-winning New Jersey theater company based in Maplewood and Cranford, is known for presenting outrageous comedy as well as drama with social commentary.

The production of Moonlight & Magnolias runs Thursdays to Sundays through April 12 with no performance on Sunday April 5th. Show times are 8pm Thursdays - Saturdays and 2pm on Sundays. Talk-back sessions follow the main stage productions each Friday night and are included in the purchase price of each ticket. Tickets for Moonlight & Magnolias are $30 for adults and $25 for seniors and $15 for students; they can be purchased at the door or online at www.thetheaterproject.org.