Luna Stage Sets 2016-17 Season

Luna Stage has announced that its 24th season will include three world premieres of new plays, two of which have been commissioned for the theatre, and a fun twist on a timeless holiday classic.

The 2016-2017 season line up includes the World Premiere of King of the Mountains by Ben Clawson, This Wonderful Life, a one-person telling of the film It's A Wonderful Life by Steve Murray, the World Premiere of Indian Head, the newest play by Obie-Award winner Nikkole Salter, and Tranquil, a World Premiere by Andrew Rosendorf.

Season Passes are now on sale and can be purchased at lunastage.org, or at the box office Tues.-Fri. 10am-3pm (973-395-5551). Individual tickets will go on sale this summer.

King of the Mountains (October 6th - October 30th, 2016) was commissioned with the support of The Dramatists Guild Foundation in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of The National Park Service.

The play offers a private glimpse into the historic three day 1903 camping trip between President Teddy Roosevelt and the naturalist John Muir. It is a complex look at the ongoing battle over what do do with our public lands told through the unique wit and whimsy of Luna favorite Ben Clawson.

Ben Clawson has had three plays produced at Luna Stage (The Dangers of Electric Lighting, The High Water Mark, Tilt the Unlit Candle). Ben's plays have also been seen throughout New York, New Jersey, D.C. and New Orleans. He is a founder of StrangeDog Theatre Company.

This Wonderful Life (December 1st - December 18th, 2016) offers performer extraordinaire Erica Bradshaw a tour de force role. For the holiday season, Ms. Bradshaw inhabits every single role of this stage adaptation of the iconic holiday film It's a Wonderful Life...and Erica's not exactly your typical resident of Bedford Falls.

Erica Bradshaw is a native Jersey girl. She originated the role of Adele in Arthur Millers' Mr. Peter's Connections (off-Broadway) and has worked in various regional theaters including; Hartford Stage, Signature Theater (NYC), Actors Theater of Louisville, Milwaukee Rep, City Theater, Delaware Theater Company, Seattle Shakespeare Theater, and the Actor's Gang. This summer Erica will headline NYC Pride at the LGBT Center with her solo show White America Hero.

Indian Head (February 2nd - March 5th, 2017), the newest play by Obie Award-Winner Nikkole Salter was commissioned by the NJPAC Stage Exchange, a program of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. In a story ripped from the headlines, Indian Head gives us a window into the perspective of a young Lenape girl as she grapples with the effects of her anti-mascot activism and ultimately, is forced to consider the cost of reclaiming dignity.

Nikkole Salter is an Obie-Award winning actress and writer (In the Continuum). As a dramatist, Ms. Salter has written 6 full-length plays, been commissioned for full-length work by 6 institutions, been produced on 3 continents in 5 countries, and has been published in 12 international publications. Indian Head marks her 3rd production at Luna Stage (Carnaval, Lines in the Dust).

Tranquil (April 13th - May 13th, 2017), a World Premiere by Andrew Rosendorf closes the theatre's 2016-2017 season. Paralyzed in the car accident that claimed her mother's life, 17-year-old Ellen is determined to experience all her teenage years have to offer. But when the past comes knocking on the door-in the form of Ellen's brother-her small family's delicate balance is upended. In a home awash with anger, guilt, and Ellen's raging hormones, Tranquil is a raw exploration of one shattered family striving to be whole again.

Andrew Rosendorf's work has been produced or developed at La Jolla, MCC, the National New Play Network, American Theater Company, City Theatre, Geva Theatre, Luna Stage, Actor's Express, Palm Beach Dramaworks, UglyRhino, and Tofte Lake Center. He is currently the recipient of a 2015-2016 Jerome Fellowship and a 2016-2017 McKnight Fellow in Playwriting at the Playwrights' Center. Tranquil marks his Luna Stage debut.

Luna Stage is a small but mighty professional theatre company located in Essex County, NJ, just under 15 miles from New York City. Throughout the past 23 years, the company has earned a national reputation for developing and producing outstanding new plays and timely revivals and for taking on challenging and provocative subject matters in their work.

A proud member of Valley Arts, Luna Stage is located at 555 Valley Road, West Orange, NJ 07052. The theatre is handicapped accessible and offers assistive listening devices.

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