American Menu at Middletown Arts Center

Dunbar Repertory Company at the Middletown Arts Center presents American Menu by Don Wilson Glenn, over two weekends, May 17-19 and May 24-26, 2024. The production, directed by Mark Antonio Henderson and Damien S. Berger, tells the story of five women working in the kitchen of a segregated diner in a Texas town, circa May 1968. The playwright will be giving a talk on Sun, May 19, directly after the 4 pm performance. The talk is free to show attendees.

SHOWTIMES Friday, May 17 at 8 p.m. | Saturday, May 18 at 3 and 8 p.m. | Sunday, May 19 at 4 p.m. Friday, May 24 at 8 p.m. | Saturday, May 25 at 3 and 8 p.m. | Sunday, May 26 at 4 p.m.

The ticket price is $22 for general admission. Purchase tickets online at middletownarts.org or call the MAC Box Office at 732.706.4100. The Middletown Arts Center is located at 36 Church Street, Middletown, NJ (next to the Middletown train station). Free parking is available onsite with additional free parking available in the station-metered lot on weekday evenings after 6 p.m. and on weekends.

ABOUT AMERICAN MENU The play is set in rural East Texas in the kitchen of a segregated diner. The time is May 1968, a month after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and a month before the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. Five African American women toil in this sweatbox where they must battle prejudice, poverty, ignorance and each other as they search for inspiration. These women are the daughters and granddaughters of slaves; each seeking hope and major change amidst the turbulent times.

There will be two casts during the run of the play: Melissa Cavalozzi (Waitress), Patricia Desormeau (Buella), Doris A. Dollard (Na), Octavia Harrell (Johnnie May), Tracie Johnson-Ashe (Mary), Rochelle Miller (Johnnie May), Malissa Y. Myers (Mary), Crystal Watford Nuchurch (Martha) and Lucia Williams (Buella).

ABOUT DON WILSON GLENN Don Wilson Glenn received his BA from the University of Houston at Clear Lake. After moving to New York City, Glenn became an active member on the theater scene as director, actor, producer, and playwright. Glenn won the 2002 AUDELCO Award for his the H.A.D.L.E.Y Players production of his play American Menu in New York City.

Glenn returned to Texas in 2004 and continues to work in the theatre: teaching, directing and writing. He currently serves on the board of Angelina Community Theatre, Rooted Arts in Houston, is a guest artist at Classic Stage Company in California, and serves as co-executive producer in the theater category for the Vanport Mosaic Festival in Portland.

In addition to American Menu, his plays include American Summer Squash, American King Umps, American Rubble, The Collard Green Story, Sisters, William Shakespeare’s The Tempest: A Tropical Romance and Revival.

ABOUT THE DUNBAR REPERTORY COMPANY, RESIDENT THEATER COMPANY AT THE MIDDLETOWN ARTS CENTER Known to residents of Central New Jersey as “Monmouth County’s African American Theater Company”, Dunbar Repertory Company is committed to its mission of perpetuating an appreciation of cultural diversity and celebrating African American culture through LIVE literary readings, main stage theatrical productions, education programs and services.

ABOUT THE MIDDLETOWN ARTS CENTER The Middletown Arts Center (MAC) is an award-winning, state-of-the-art facility in Middletown, New Jersey that offers performances, exhibits, classes, demonstrations and camps centering on the arts. Its convenient location across from the Middletown train station on Church Street enables easy access and its expanded MAC Annex is minutes away at the Middletown Reformed Church’s Education Building. The MAC is operated by a non-profit 501c3, the Middletown Township Cultural and Arts Council which is dedicated to bringing quality arts programming and events to Middletown and surrounding communities. Visit middletownarts.org for more information and to join our mailing list for updates on classes, camps and activities at the Middletown Arts Center.