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Friday, January 13, 2012

DEPRESSION TALE TO OPEN @ THE GROWING STAGE

Mother Hicks 1 (2)MOTHER HICKS
Created by Suzan Zeder
Directed by John Pietrowski, the Artistic Director of Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey

WHEN: January 19 to February 5 with performances Thursday and Friday evenings at 7:30 PM, Saturday and Sunday matinees at 4:00 PM.
WHERE:
The Growing Stage, The Children’s Theatre of New Jersey, located in the Historic Palace Theatre on Route 183 in Netcong
TICKETS: $18 for adults, $14 for children and seniors, with group rates available. Thursday performances will also feature “Talk-Back Thursday” performances with a special opportunity to interact with the cast following the show.
Tickets can be purchased by calling the TGS Box Office at 973.347.4946 or logging onto www.growingstage.com.

MOTHER HICKS is an evocative story of three outsiders that is richly realized through all of the resources of theater including poetry, character and story.  Set in southern Illinois, during the great Depression, this play is about three outsiders—a foundling girl known only as Girl; a deaf boy, eloquent in the language of his silence; and an eccentric recluse, Mother Hicks, who is suspected of being a witch. The tale, told with poetry and sign language, chronicles the journeys of these three to find themselves, and each other, in a troubled time.

MOTHER HICKS features the talents of Lori B. Lawrence of Hackettstown in the title role; Emmanuelle Nadeau of Westfield, who recently played the role of Scout in the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey’s production of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, as Girl, and Eddie Buck of Monroe, PA making his professional debut in the role of Tuc.  Also in the cast are Dalton Allison of Byram and Becky Nitka of Long Valley playing Ricky and Izzy Sue Ricks; Steve Graham of Fanwood and Matthew Fralley of Netcong portraying Jake and Howie Hammon; William Ward of Basking Ridge is Clovis P. Eudy, with Jane Keitel of Dumont and Brad Parks of Bloomfield as Alma and Hosiah Ward.  All are residents of Ware and help in telling the story Tuc shares with the audience.  Scott Cagney of Bloomfield plays Wilson Walker, a visiting writer from the WPA who comes to visit the small town in search of local lore.  

The Growing Stage is committed to creating and presenting professional theatre for young people and their families.  “Mother Hicks represents everything we strive to provide our young audiences—an intelligent, thought-provoking piece that is beautifully written with characters that not only come to life on the stage, but shine bright in our memories long past the lights onstage fade away,” states company director Steve Fredericks. 

Housed in the historic Palace Theatre on Route 183 in Netcong, the organization currently celebrating its 30th season, strives to provide audiences with the unique and affordable opportunity to share a fun, culturally significant moment in their intimate and very special venue.  The company is also showcasing its restoration of their front façade which has recently undergone major changes in keeping with its recognition of being on the National, State and County Registers of Historic Places. 

Also special dinner packages are available with Rose’s, the official restaurant of The Growing Stage! The Growing Stage–The Children’s Theatre of New Jersey programs are made possible, in part, by funding from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and contributions from numerous corporations, foundations, and individuals.

(Above: Lori B. Lawrence as Mother Hicks; Eddie Buck as Tuc; and Emmanuelle Nadeau as Girl; Photographer: Steve Larsen)