Play On at Stockton University Performing Arts Center

Get ready for the zany comedy, “Play On!” by Rick Abbot, presented by Alpha Arts Institute at Sussex County Community College. The play-within-a-play is directed by Professor Allison Ognibene of Sparta. The production will take place at the college’s Performing Art Center on Friday, May 5, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, May 6, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, May 7 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15 general admission; $10 for students, seniors and US Military. Tickets can be purchased at the door or online by visiting https://sussex.simpletix.com. Sussex County Community College Performing Arts Center is located at One College Hill Road, Newton, NJ.

“I am so proud of the student actors have been working so hard on perfecting the comic bits and understanding the complexities of being two characters in the play-within-the play,” remarked Ognibene. “Audiences are also going to be wowed by the set that we are creating. You literally feel as if you are in a parlor of a mansion. Tye Palmer and the set crew have worked countless hours creating this dazzling set!”

The cast includes students from Sussex County Community College. The hilarious comedy is about a community theater producing a show called ‘Murder Most Foul,’ - that has no relation with Agatha Christie’s novel with the same title - when amateur playwright Phyllis Montague (played by Emma Muth of Sparta) creates havoc on the production by changing the script two days prior to the premiere of the show. The director Gerry Dunbar (played by Isabella Cruz of Vernon) and stage manager Aggie Manville (played by Michelle Dester of Vernon) try to keep the cast calm, while managing the high expectations of Phyllis. What could go wrong? Just about everything! Not only does Phyllis drop the bomb with 7 new pages to the script, she interferes with the sound cues that Louise Peary (played by Morgan Burke of Vernon) worked on for months! And the underlying question is whether there is even a murder in the play!

The remaining cast of “Play On!” includes Henry Benish / Lord Dudley (played by Leo Watson of Stillwater), Polly Benish / Lady Margaret (played by by Dana Nigro of Stillwater), Saul Watson / Doctor Rex Forbes (played by Nicolas Galloza of Hopatcong), Billy Carewe / Stephen Sellers (played by Colin O’Sullivan of Hopatcong), Violet Imbry / Diana Lassiter (played by Aurelia Shanga of Mount Olive; and Marla Smitty Smith / Doris the Maid (played by Samantha Wolujczyk of Vernon).

The production team includes stage manager Jess Dooley of Hopatcong; assistant director Tessa Gori of Sparta; assistant stage manager Emily Rennie of Hopatcong; technical director Tye Palmer of Bushkill, PA; costume designer Staci Cocuzza of Hopatcong; lighting designer Jaime Boyle of Vernon; sound designer Jake Jackson of Washington; sound mixer Tim O’Connor of Milford, PA; set crew Bill Ognibene of Sparta, Walter Stanek of Byram, Scott Rogoff of Sparta, and Phil Cocilovo of Montague.

To learn more about the Theater Program at SCCC, visit https://sussex.edu. "Play On!" is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals, on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com.