ONLY HUMAN: STORIES OF CONNECTION to be Presented at Vivid Stage This Month

Vivid Stage, in residence at Oakes Center at 120 Morris Avenue in Summit, will present Only Human: Stories of Connection from February 23 through March 5. The evening is made up of seven short plays by the playwrights Barbara Blumenthal-Erlich, Laura Ekstrand, Steve Harper, Stephen Kaplan, Mark Harvey Levine, Matthew Weaver and David Lee White.

Funny and heartfelt, these short plays span settings as varied as a farmers market, a frantic cab ride, a bus stop, a late-night phone call, a manager's office, a park bench, and a café. The one thing they all have in common is the moment when these characters reveal their humanity and help each other cope with being alive in this crazy world.

During the run of the show, there will be several discounted or special performances, with events preceding or following the show. The Preview Performance on February 23 at 8:00 pm offers tickets for $25. After the Friday, February 24 8:00 pm performance, there will be a reception with the cast for donors and passholders. Senior Sunday on February 26 offers $25 tickets for those over the age of 65. Both Sunday, February 26 and Sunday, March 5 will be followed by a talkback with the creative team. Thursday, March 2 will begin at 6:30 with an option to purchase a Girls' Night Out ticket for an additional $35, which includes shopping, dinner and beverages before the 8:00 show.

Playwrights Welcome tickets are free on the day of the show for members of the Dramatists Guild, and student tickets, for those 25 and under, are always $25. Vivid participates in the Families First program through the State of New Jersey, and also offers discounts for groups of ten or more people.

Directed by Andrew Binger (Montclair), the cast includes Vivid Stage ensemble members Harry Patrick Christian (Montclair), Noreen Farley (Clinton) and Harriett Trangucci (Summit) and guests Joshua T. Crockett (Nutley), Mitchell Leigh Gordon (West New York) and Serena Marie Smith (South River).

Only Human will appear at Vivid Stage at 120 Morris Avenue in Summit from February 23 through March 5. Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm. Tickets range from $25 to $39, with special rates for subscribers and groups. For touchless advance ticket purchases, go to our website. For more information, call 908-514-9654. The theatre at Oakes Center is wheelchair accessible. Assisted listening devices are available at all performances. The parking lot is accessible from Ashwood Avenue, behind the theatre. For information on any of Vivid Stage's programs, please call 908-514-9654, www.vividstage.org.

About Vivid Stage:

Vivid Stage was founded in 1994 as Dreamcatcher Rep, and is a non-profit professional ensemble of actors who build community with the audience by sharing contemporary, life-affirming stories that challenge, energize and entertain. Our work has at its heart a belief in the essential goodness of people and the power of live performance to connect people through our shared humanity. We expose theatregoers to ideas and lives like and unlike their own with the intention of awakening their imaginations and creating empathy for others. We deepen the experience of all our patrons with personal contact through receptions, talkbacks, and interactive programs.

The company's activities include mainstage productions, improvisational comedy and cabarets, new play readings and a variety of educational and senior outreach programs.

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