The Theater Project to Present Script-in-Hand Performances of BURY THE DEAD, 2/1-3

The time is the second year of the war that is to begin tomorrow night, and the military burial detail goes about its sad duties. A groan is heard from the newly dug graves. The dead soldiers rise up pleading to be allowed to rejoin the living. Word of their insurrection spreads rapidly. The generals, the news media, their families and their sweethearts plead with them to lie down and be buried, but these soldiers will not be so easily forgotten.

"Irwin Shaw's 1936 social protest play against the brutality of war is unfortunately as relevant today as it was over 75 years ago," says Theater Project artistic director Mark Spina. "We are working with Madelyn Hoffman of New Jersey Peace Action to set up panel discussions after each performance to stimulate dialogue in our community on this issue."

New Jersey Peace Action (NJPA) is one of the nation's oldest grassroots organizations dedicated to nuclear disarmament. Founded in 1957 as New Jersey SANE, NJPA is dedicated to finding non-violent resolution to international conflict, reducing and ultimately eliminating all nuclear weapons.

Madelyn Hoffman began her tenure as Executive Director of New Jersey Peace Action in August 2000. She directed the Grass Roots Environmental Organization for 15 years and worked with over 200 NJ citizens' groups to address toxic chemical pollution. She was Ralph Nader's Green Party Vice-Presidential running mate in NJ in 1996 and Green Party candidate for NJ governor in 1997. Madelyn is an adjunct professor of political science, a regular contributor to OpEd News and Bloomfield Life's "Bloomfield Public Square."

The Theater Project, an award-winning New Jersey theater company presenting at the Burgdorff Center for the Performing Arts in Maplewood, is known for presenting outrageous comedy as well as drama with social commentary. Last November, the company tackled marriage equality, presenting a one-night-only reading of "8" by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, the play chronicling the historic California challenge to same-sex marriage.

BURY THE DEAD will bring together twenty Theater Project actors on a single stage, and will be directed by Artistic Director Mark Spina, who was awarded a 2012 best director award by the Star-Ledger. It will take place on February 1 and 2 at 8 pm, and Feb 3 at 2 PM at the Burgdorff Center for the Performing Arts, 10 Durand Road, Maplewood, NJ. Tickets ($20) may be reserved by calling 973.763.4029 or purchased through The Theater Project website, www.thetheaterproject.org.

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