Pushcart Players' VELEVETEEN RABBIT Hops To New Egypt

Pushcart Players' 44th Season presents "Velveteen Rabbit" at Plumstead Library Branch of the Ocean County Library in a free performance on Friday, March 16 at 10:30 am. The performance is hosted by the New Jersey Theatre Alliance's Stages Festival, the State's largest celebration of live professional theater.

"Velveteen Rabbit" is based on the beloved children's book by Margery Williams, adapted for the stage by Pushcart Players' artistic director, Paul Whelihan. Music and lyrics are by NJ composer, Paul Farinella, and orchestrations are by Tony©, Grammy, and Drama Desk award-winner, Larry Hochman.

"Velveteen Rabbit" explores the adventure of growing up, the necessity of building relationships, and the importance of using one's imagination. A child's love and a little nursery magic transform a favorite toy into a real rabbit. Breath-taking adventures - from deep, dark caves to the wide open sea, to winter wonderlands - allow their discovery of the meaning of true friendship.

The Pushcart Players cast features Oise Ohiwerei (Velveteen Rabbit), Corey Whelihan (Riding Horse), Carey Gsell (Boy), Aliza Sotsky, and Aja Downing.

Oise Ohiwerei was recently seen as a videographer at the New York Fringe Festival, and as an actor in the short film "Solutions," screened at the Chain NYC Film Festival. While performing with Pushcart, he is a full time student at Rutgers University. Corey Whelihan (Montclair resident) is an alumnus of Ithaca College's BFA Acting program. He appeared off Broadway in the Pearl Theatre's production of "The Winter's Tale" and is a regular in the classical productions of Smith Street Stage in Brooklyn. He performed nationally in Chamber Theater's touring production of "Eureka!" and with The Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire in Manheim, PA.

Carey Gsell is an actor and designer, recently graduated from Montclair State University. A performer since he was nine years old with Yates Family Musical Theatre, Gsell was recently seen as Tobias in "Sweeney Todd" at Light Opera of NJ. Aliza Sotsky performed at Dimo Kim Musical Theatre Factory, The Hearth Theater Company, The Peccadillo Theater Company, S.T.A.R. at The Directors Company and BMI. She performed off Broadway at Theater at St. Clements in "Green Card: A New Musical!"

Aja Downing recently graduated from the American Musical and Dramatic Arts Academy in 2015. Recent roles include Fantasy in "Name on My Lips," and Yahtzee in "420 the Musical." Aja performs in Pushcart's "Cinderella," "Peter and the Wolf," and "Season of Miracles."

Paul Whelihan is the producing artistic director at Pushcart Players. He directs, stage-manages and performs off-Broadway (47th Street Theater, 59 East 59 Theatres, NY Fringe Festival, 54 Below) and regionally (Royal Poincianna Playhouse, Broward Center for the Arts, Centenary Stage, The Bickford Theatre, The Growing Stage, Luna Stage Company, Forum Theatre Arts Center, Quillo Arts Center, Premier Stages, Dreamcatcher Rep) in musicals, dramas, original works and locally produced television, film and web series projects. NJ Theatre Alliance awarded Paul and his artistic director colleagues throughout the State for artistic vision and excellence in October of 2017.

Larry Hochman is the Tony and Drama Desk award-winner for best orchestrations for "The Book of Mormon." He received Tony nominations for last season's "Hello Dolly" with Bette Midler, "She Loves Me" (2016 revival, for which he won the Drama Desk Award), "The Scottsboro Boys," "Monty Python's Spamalot," (Hochman also received Drama Desk nominations for both), "Fiddler on the Roof" (2004 revival), "A Class Act" and a Tony nomination the Drama Desk Award for 2016's "She Loves Me." Larry composed additional music for Disney's "Little Mermaid," for Stephen Spielberg's "Amazing Stories" and for numerous celebrity concerts. Other awards include the ASCAP Award for Musical Theater ("One Man Band"), 4 Emmy Awards for "The Wonder Pets" television series, and a Bistro Award for composing "One Man Band." He has orchestrated and/or written the scores for the majority of Pushcart's productions.

Pushcart Players is the award-winning professional touring theater company specializing in arts education for children. Twice nominated for an Emmy©, Pushcart is the recipient of numerous state and private awards for excellence and innovation. A social-profit organization founded in 1974, Pushcart brings substantive musical theater, workshops, and residencies to young people and their families in schools and theaters nationwide. The company has traveled more than 2 million miles nationally and abroad, from the rural red schoolhouse to the nation's White House. All performances are accompanied by innovative scenery, complete lighting, and state of the art sound systems, making them adaptable to any location.

The New Jersey Theatre Alliance is the coalition of the Garden State's professional theaters. The Stages Festival is an annual, month-long festival of theatre which attracts an average of 10,000 children and adults each year. Over 100 performances and workshops are presented free or at a steep discount in most of the 21 counties of New Jersey. Programming includes touring productions by our member theatres, a stage combat workshop, a playwriting residency, a conversation series with artists, cabaret performances in senior centers, bi-lingual performances, and much, much more.

Plumstead Library is located at 119 Evergreen Road, New Egypt, NJ. Admission to "Velveteen Rabbit" is free, but reservations are suggested; please call the library at 609-758-7888. More information on the event can be found at the website: https://stagesfestival.org/event/1687.

For further information on this or any Pushcart Players program, call 973-857-1115, visit the website at www.pushcartplayers.org or email information@pushcartplayers.org.

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PUSHCART PLAYERS
Paul Whelihan, Producing Artistic Director261 Bloomfield Avenue, Suite AVerona, New Jersey 07044-2403
973.857.1115 * www.pushcartplayers.org

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