Centenary Stage Company Fills the Black Box with Laughs, Illusions, and a Language Lesson, 11/7-24

Music, mind-games, and laugh-out-loud comedy will fill CSC's third annual Black Box Festival providing an opportunity for audiences to explore different genres of theatrical entertainment. Held in the Kutz Black Box Theatre of the Lackland Center, the festival will run November 7-24 with three different shows for audiences to enjoy.

Opening the festival is a musical revue entitled Bittersuite: Songs of More Experience November 7-10. Composer Elliot Weiss and lyricist Mike Champagne (winners of the Eugene O'Neill Award for Musical Theatre) are at it again with a new song cycle that The LA Times called "one of the funniest shows in town." Champagne says, "In this newest version of Bittersuite, we have returned to explore the American Middle Class as we age. Have we changed; have we learned; who are we now."

On November 14-17, audiences can experience an evening full of suspense and intrigue with John B. Born's Miracles and Mindgames. Born has dedicated his life to the performance and advancement of the magical arts. He now travels the world as a full-time entertainer, lecturer, writer, and innovator in the magical arts. Here is a chance to witness the close-up magic, miracles, and mind games of John B. Born in the intimate Kutz Theatre.

Rounding out the festival is a rollicking show, The Essence - A Yiddish Theatre Dim Sum, running November 21-24. "See what happens when you sin with a shiksa. Jam to Soviet Yiddish Rock. Hear Einstein's theory debated by imbeciles." The Essence is a fast-moving revue for people who know nothing about Yiddish and couldn't imagine attending a show with Yiddish in it. It's about the most expressive and theatrical language in the world, with scenes, sketches, songs, and oddball diversions.

Black Box Festival tickets are $25 for adults on Matinees and Fridays and $27.50 on Saturdays with discounts for seniors, students and children under 12. Thursday evening tickets are $25 with a two-for-one Family Night rush discount when purchased at the door.

Tickets may be purchased online at www.centenarystageco.org at the CSC Box Office in The Lackland Center at 715 Grand Ave in Hackettstown, or by calling 908-979-0900. The Box Office is open Monday throughFriday 1-5 p.m., and 2 hours prior to performance times. CSC also has a Box Office open during the main season at 217 Main Street in Hackettstown open Monday through Friday 3-6 p.m.

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