Centenary Stage Company and Centenary University's NEXTstage Repertory Opens SWEAT By Lynn Nottage Next Week

Centenary Stage Company and Centenary University's NEXTstage Repertory presents Lynn Nottage's Sweat starting next week beginning March 25 in the Little Theatre at 400 Jefferson St. on the campus of Centenary University. The production runs until March 29th. Tickets are $15.00 for adults, $10.00 for children under 12, and are available on-line at centenarystageco.org or by phone at (908) 979 - 0900.

The NEXTstage Repertory program is made up of Centenary University theatre students. These students are the cast, crew, and the creative team. The program with works in conjunction with the professional, Centenary Stage Company, gives students the opportunities to create high quality theatrical pieces, all while learning about and becoming a part of, every facet of producing theatre. The production is directed by Stephen Davis, an Associate Professor of Theatre Arts at Centenary University who has extensive professional theatre credits outside of Centenary as well as onstage with CSC. He was most recently seen playing Timothy Cratchit in Stephen Temperley's, A Christmas Carol, this past winter. The cast includes current Centenary Students, Kamirah Owens, Jack Epstein, Malachi Bobien, Jeremy Ashton, Luis Rodriguez, Emily Bennett, Kylah Wilson, Serena Buchan, James Brandes, and Alumni of C.U. Ameer Copper.

Set near the playwright's hometown of Reading, PA, Pulitzer prize winning SWEAT details the life of a close-knit group of friends who have been affected by their factory closing, ending the only way of life the town has known for generations.

Hailed as, "Lynn Nottage's best work." by the New Yorker, "She offers a powerful critique of the American attitude toward class, and how it affects the decisions we make. Sweat has fraternity at its heart, but also the violence, and the suspicion that can result from class aspirations". In one of the poorest cities in America, Reading, Pennsylvania, a group of down-and-out factory workers struggle to keep their present lives in balance, ignorant of the financial devastation looming in their near future. Based on Nottage's extensive research and interviews with residents of Reading, SWEAT, is a topical reflection of the present and poignant outcome of America's economic decline and a nuanced yet powerful drama that reminds audiences of the stacked deck still facing workers searching for the American dream.

Lynn Nottage is the recipient of two Pulitzer Prize Awards for Drama for SWEAT (2017) and Ruined (2009). She is the first woman playwright to be honored twice.

SWEAT will run from March 25 - 29, 2021 in the Little Theatre located at 400 Jefferson Street in Hackettstown, NJ on the campus of Centenary University. Specific performance dates and times are Thursday, March 25 at 7:30 pm; Friday, March 26 at 8:00 pm; Saturday, March 27 at 8:00 pm; Sunday, March 28 at 2:00 pm; and Monday, March 29 at 7:00 pm. Tickets are $15.00 for Adults and $10.00 for children under 12/students. Centenary Stage Company will also offer a special free live stream of the Saturday, March 27 8:00 PM performance. The live stream will be made available at centenarystageco.org/nextstage-rep-sweat.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit centenarystageco.org or call the Centenary Stage Company box office at (908) 979 - 0900.

For more information regarding CSC COVID-19 policies visit centenarystageco.org/faq.

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