Centenary Stage Company Announces YPW Summer Festival Of Shows

Dedicated to the enrichment of young lives through experience in the theatre arts, the Centenary Stage Company's Young Performers Workshop returns to the Little Theatre August 9 through August 18 with the annual Summer Festival of Shows. These talented young thespians between the ages of 8 and 18 will present the classic musical theatre productions Assassins, The Act, and Polkadots: The Cool Kids Musical, as well as the play Wait Until Dark and the Mini-Musical/One Act Playhouse.

These productions will take place in the Little Theatre on the campus of Centenary University at 400 Jefferson Street in Hackettstown, NJ, with Wait Until Dark taking place at the Edith Kutz Theatre in the Lackland Performing Arts Center on the campus of Centenary University at 715 Grand Ave. Hackettstown, NJ.

Tickets are $12.50 for adults, $10.00 for children under 12, and $5.00 for YPW alumni. Admission for the Mini-Musical/One Act Playhouse is free. Tickets are available online at centenarystageco.org or by calling the box office at (908) 979 - 0900. The Young Performers Workshop is also seeking new and returning applicants for the 2019 Fall Session. Interviews will be held by appointment on Saturday, August 17 and Sunday, August 18. To schedule an interview, call the box office directly.

Assassins is a multiple Tony Award-winning theatrical tour-de-force. From John Wilkes Booth to Lee Harvey Oswald, Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman bend the rules of time and space, taking us on a nightmarish roller coaster ride in which assassins and would-be assassins from different historical periods meet, interact and inspire each other to harrowing acts in the name of the American Dream. Performances for Sondheim and Weidman's Assassins will be held on Friday, August 9 at 8:00 PM; Sunday, August 11 at 7:00 PM; Saturday, August 17 at 8:00 PM and Sunday, August 18 at 1:00 PM. All performances of this production will be held in the Little Theatre on the campus of Centenary University at 400 Jefferson Street in Hackettstown, NJ.

Written by Fred Ebb, John Kander, and George Furth, The Act tells the story of a Las Vegas nightclub performer named Michelle Craig, a has-been movie star trying to make a comeback. Liza Minelli took Broadway by storm in this concept musical. Performances for The Act are Saturday, August 10 at 8:00 PM; Sunday, August 11 at 1:00 PM; Friday, August 16 at 8:00 PM; Saturday, August 17 at 5:00 PM and Sunday, August 18 at 7:00 PM. All performances of this production will be held in the Little Theatre on the campus of Centenary University at 400 Jefferson Street in Hackettstown, NJ.

In Polkadots: The Cool Kids Musical, 8-year-old Lily Polkadot moves to the "Squares Only" small town of Rockaway. As the first polkadot in an all Square school, Lily faces an almost impossible task of gaining acceptance. Inspired by the events of The Little Rock 9, Polkadots serves as a colorful history lesson for children, reminding them that our individual differences make us awesome. Created by Melvin Tunstall III, Greg Borowsky, and Douglas Lyons, Polkadots: The Cool Kids Musical will run on Saturday, August 10 at 2:00 PM; Sunday, August 11 at 4:00 PM; Saturday, August 17 at 2:00 PM and Sunday, August 18 at 7:00 PM. All performances of this production will be held in the Little Theatre on the campus of Centenary University at 400 Jefferson Street in Hackettstown, NJ.

Wait Until Dark is a Broadway hit written by Frederick Knott. This masterfully constructed thriller moves from one moment of suspense to another as it builds toward an electrifying, breath-stopping final scene. Sinister con man, Roat, and two ex-convicts are about to meet their match in Susy Hendrix. When the men attempt to recover a mysterious doll, a deadly game of cat and mouse ensues. Performances of Wait Until Dark will be on Tuesday, August 13 at 7:00 PM; Wednesday, August 14 at 7:00 PM and Thursday, August 15 at 7:00 PM. All performances of this production will be held at the Edith Kutz Theatre in the Lackland Performing Arts Center on the campus of Centenary University at 715 Grand Ave. Hackettstown, NJ.

Finally, the Young Performers Workshop staff and students will present a series of mini-musicals and one-act plays in the Little Theatre on Saturday, August 17 at 11:00 AM and Sunday, August 18 at 11:00 AM.

The Young Performer's Workshop is now seeking new and returning applicants! Registration is open to students 8 - 18 and no prior experience is required. All new applicants are required to complete an interview prior to acceptance into the program. Interviews for the 2019 Fall Session will be on Saturday, August 17 and Sunday, August 18. Cost of registration is $425 for the first student, $395 for the second and $300 for the third.

YPW is under the direction of Broadway, film and television veteran Michael Blevins. Students study technique in acting, voice, and dance in one of only a handful of programs in the nation that offer both formal training alongside practical application. The Fall Session begins on September 7th, culminating with the Winter Festival of Shows in December 14 - 22. There is a minimum of two productions planned for the session, and students are guaranteed a part in at least one. YPW participants will also have the opportunity to participate in Centenary Stage Company's professional mainstage Family Holiday Musical, Beauty and the Beast. The workshop meets on Saturdays between the hours of 10 AM and 6 PM.

For more information, a full schedule of YPW 2019 Summer Festival of Shows performances or to register for the 2019 Fall Session visit centenarystageco.org or call the Centenary Stage Company box office at (908) 979 - 0900. The box office is open Monday through Friday from 1 - 5 PM and two hours prior to all performances. The Centenary Stage Company box office is located in the Lackland Performing Arts Center on the campus of Centenary University at 715 Grand Ave. Hackettstown, NJ. Centenary Stage Company can also be found across social media platforms; Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Like and follow to receive the latest in CSC news and special offers.

The 2019-2020 season of performing arts events at the Centenary Stage Company is made possible through the generous support of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the NJ State Council on the Arts, the Shubert Foundation, the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, the Sandra Kupperman Foundation, Zonta Morristown Chapter and CSC corporate sponsors, including Season Sponsor Heath Village Retirement Community, The House of the Good Shepherd, Silver Sponsors Hackettstown Medical Center with Atlantic Health System, Home Instead Senior Care (Washington), and Fulton Bank of New Jersey, and Centenary Stage Company members and supporters.

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