Middletown promises to amaze audiences.
Now that the eternal winter has finally come to cease, it is time to get outside, stretch your legs and while you are at it, might as well go see a fresh new play that will both have you laughing and possibly crying. Middletown, a new and inventive play by Will Eno, is coming to the L. Howard Fox Theater at Montclair State University.
Will Eno, known as the “wonderfully odd playwright,” writes works that explore the simple yet complex question of what does it mean to be human? Middletown is no exception. Eno may be a relatively new playwright, but his works have received high critical praise. His previous work Thom Pain was chosen as a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize. Charles Isherwood’s of the New York Times has gone so far as to call Eno “a Samuel Beckett for the Jon Stewart generation.” Eno’s works are both unconventional and at times a bit far out, but maintain the heart and soul of his philosophy towards theater. “Theater is an incredibly human experience.”
Middletown is directed by Debbie Saivetz. Saivetz coordinates the Theatre Studies program in the Department of Theatre and Dance at MSU. She has directed and developed new work with New York and regional theaters such as the Foundry, Rattlestick Playwright’s Theater, Ensemble Studio Theater, New Dramatists, Voice & Vision, Red Bull Theater, INTAR, the Goodman, the Guthrie, Long Wharf and Seattle Rep, among countless others. Saivetz also does a great deal of work internationally, including the Spanish-language translation of Sarah Ruhl’s The Clean House for Mexico City’s DramaFest ‘08, and is collaborating with the Oaxaca-based Teatro Cuauhpanco on a Spanish-language production of Ruhl’s Eurydice. Saivetz is a New Georges Affiliate Artist, an alumna of the Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab, a Drama League Directing Fellow and was a 2004–2005 Resident Director at New Dramatists.
Winner of the inaugural Horton Foote Award for Most Promising New Play of 2010, Middletown is a deeply moving and funny new play that explores the universe of a small American town. As a friendship develops between longtime resident John Dodge and new arrival Mary Swanson, the lives of the inhabitants of Middletown intersect in strange and compelling ways. A powerful and poignant meditation on birth, death and points in between.
Running for almost one full week, this production is not one to miss! The show times are as follows: April 10 -11 and 14 – 16 at 7:30 p.m. as well as April 12 at 8 p.m. and April 13 at 2 p.m.
Refreshments are not available on location at the theater. Food and beverage are strictly prohibited from the theater at all times. For light foods and coffee, before and after the show Cafe Diem is located directly across from the theater and connected to the library. For a full menu available 24/7, the Red Hawk Diner is located on the far end of campus.
Tickets are available at the box office located in the Alexander Kasser Theater or online at the Peak Performances website, peakperfs.org. The L. Howard Fox Theater is located towards the center of campus next to Life Hall, Memorial Auditorium and directly across from the library and Café Diem. Parking is available at the Red Hawk Parking Deck as well as the Transit Parking Deck located across campus. Montclair undergraduate students are permitted one free ticket with their student ID. All tickets are $15. Public transportation that runs directly in front of the Red Hawk Deck/Kasser Theater is also available.
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