Passage Theater Company's White Chats About BLOOD: A COMEDY to CNJ.com

Passage Theatre Company, Trenton's premiere professional theater company, will present the world premiere of Blood: a Comedy by Associate Artistic Director David Lee White, November 5 through November 22. Staged by Resident Director Adam Immerwahr, this hilarious and irreverent comedy about faith, science, family and hot pepper cheese cubes, will feature Passage Theatre Artistic Director June Ballinger in the role of Jacqueline Stanzi.

David Lee White spoke to the Central New Jersey website about his production, including the "scary" the title of his play;

"Given Hollywood's current vampire obsession, thanks to the Twilight franchise and television's True Blood, the title Blood: A Comedy might conjure up visions of the living dead. On the contrary, David Lee White's play has absolutely nothing to do with vampires or gore and everything to do with family. "A play called ‘Family: A Comedy' might sound like an episode of ‘One Day at a Time,'" explains Mr. White, laughing." To read the rest of the article click here.

The cast will also feature Broadway veteran (and Princeton resident) Chris Coucill, Barrymore Award winning actress Charlotte Northeast, Damon Bonetti, and Sean Roach, one of the hosts of PBS's Sprout. Jacqueline Stanzi is an eccentric life-long atheist and college professor who has lost her tenure for trying to teach intelligent design in a science class. Struggling with confusion and memory loss, Jacqueline decides that the only way to save her mind - and her highly dysfunctional family - from destroying itself is for them all to get religion. What better time for a family confessional than the eve of her daughter's wedding and the joining of two bloodlines?

Dedicated to developing new plays for the American theatre, June Ballinger has introduced Trenton audiences to premiere works by William Mastrosimone, Leslie Ayvazian, Queen Esther Marrow and Roseanne Kirk; Susan Dworkin and others. Prior to becoming a producer, she performed in many new works at theatres nationwide such as New York's Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Actors Theatre of Louisville, Primary Stages, The Chelsea Theatre Center, The Kennedy Center, was a founding ensemble member of the Magic Carpet Play Company in San Francisco for ten years, and was also in the original Broadway cast of Pack of Lies starring RoseMary Harris. Television work includes guest spots on Law and Order, Saturday Night Live and various daytime soaps. Please Note: This is production marks a return to the stage for June Ballinger and the first time audiences will see her on stage during her tenure as Artistic Director at Passage Theatre.

David Lee White is the Associate Artistic Director of Passage Theatre and the author of several plays that have appeared on the Passage stage. His collaborations with director Adam Immerwahr include Random Horrible Thoughts About Love (2007), and his play Backfire, which was included in the 2008 Play Lab production, The Gallery Plays. David has also written three plays for the State Street Project: If I Could, In My Hood, I Would..., Fire Girls and Urban Central. Recently, his plays White Baby and Fast Food were produced by the Combustible Radio Theatre in Philadelphia. Fast Food has also been staged at the ArtSpace in Chang Mei, Thailand. If I Could..., was given a third production by the South Carolina Children's Theatre and another production is currently being planned in Newark as a partnership between Passage Theatre and Playwright's Theatre of New Jersey. White Baby will be produced by Emerging Artists Theatre's annual EAT fest in the Spring of 2010.

Adam Immerwahr is a theater director based in Central New Jersey. He is the Producing Associate at McCarter Theatre, the Resident Director at Passage Theatre, and the Artistic Director of CWW Onstage, an ensemble of retired Mercer County community members who collect and perform the stories of their neighbors. His off-Broadway credits include the world premiere of The Chimes by Kevin Christopher Snipes for the 2009 NYC Summer Play Festival, the world premiere of Missing Celia Rose by Ian August for the 2007 NYC Summer Play Festival, and most recently the world premiere of Spirit Sex: a Paranormal Romance by Desi Moreno-Penson for The River Crosses Rivers: Short Plays by Women Playwrights of Color at Ensemble Studio Theatre. He has also directed productions for Hanger Theatre, Luna Stage, New York Play Festival and Westminster Choir College. Adam is a recipient of a 2008 Drama League Fellowship.

Passage Theatre performs in the historic Mill Hill Playhouse, an intimate 100-seat theater in the heart of downtown Trenton adjacent to the beautiful Mill Hill district. Security-guarded on-street parking is available on S. Montgomery St., Ernie Kovacs St., E. Front Street and in the Artworks parking lot.

Blood: A Comedy will play Thursday through Saturday at 8pm; Sunday at 3 pm. Tickets, priced at $25 and $30 (Saturdays), are available by calling (609) 392-0766 or on-line at www.passagetheatre.org. Tickets are $15 for groups of 10 or more, seniors receive 10% off and students tickets are $10 with valid ID.

Tickets can also be purchased at the Passage Theatre Office: 219 East Hanover Street in Trenton, Monday through Friday from 10:30 am -5:30 pm or at the box office, one hour before each performance at the Mill Hill Playhouse, located at 205 East Front Street.

For over 20 years, Passage Theatre has developed and showcased new work by emerging and established playwrights. As a key participant in the revitalization of urban Trenton, Passage presents outstanding plays that celebrate experiences common to all and transcend culture and race.

Passage Theatre is committed to ensuring that all individuals have access to the joy of the performing arts. Passage is dedicated to being a leader in the education and assistance of all organizations, working towards making our programs and services accessible to people with disabilities. For more information, please call (609) 392-0766.

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