First Look: Premiere Stages’ Still begins performances this week (July 11-28)

UNION, N.J. – Premiere Stages’ production of Benjamin V. Marshall’s play Still begins performances this week in Kean University’s Bauer Boucher Theatre Center (Vaughn Eames Hall, 1000 Morris Avenue, Union, N.J.). Still was a recipient of the 2023/24 Liberty Live Commission. Directed by Marshall Jones III,  Still features actors Ashley Nicole Baptiste, D. Malik Beckford, Brian D. Coats, Perri Gaffney, Carl Hendrick Louis, and Nafeesa Monroe.

In this new play based on true events in 1850s New Jersey, Peter has arrived at an abolitionist office seeking help from its director, William, an African American leader in the Underground Railroad. As the two men learn more about each other’s lives, they realize their vastly different pasts will lead them to a deeply connected future.

The professional design team includes Set Designer David M. Barber, Costume Designer Ali Turns, Lighting Designer Zack Gage, Projection Designer Taj Rauch, Sound Designers David Wright and Nicole Schwarz, Hair and Make-up Designer Rachelle Dorce, and Mask Designer Marlon Campbell. Casting is by Stephanie Klapper, CSA. Dale Smallwood is the Production Stage Manager.

Still runs July 11-July 28 in the Bauer Boucher Theatre Center on the Kean University main campus in Union, N.J. The performance schedule is Thursday, July 11 at 7:30pm, Thursdays, July 18 and 25 at 1:30pm,  Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 3pm & 8pm and Sundays at 3pm.

Audience members are invited to engage more deeply with Mr. Marshall’s play in Premiere’s free Community Connections following select matinee (3pm) performances. Three historical institutions will lead talkbacks, the Dr. James Still Historic Office Site and Education Center (Saturday, July 20) and the New Jersey Historical Commission with Liberty Hall Museum (Sunday, July 21). Patrons can learn more about the creative process with featured post-show speakers Playwright Benjamin V. Marshall  and Director Marshall Jones III (Sunday, July 11) and the cast of Still (Saturday, July 27). Dates and speakers are subject to change; please call 908-737-4077 or visit premierestagesatkean.com for an updated schedule of post-show events and speakers.

Tickets are $35 standard, $25 for senior citizens and Kean alumni and staff, $20 for patrons with disabilities and $15 for students. Significant discounts for groups of ten or more apply. To make reservations, please call the box office at 908-737-7469 or visit Premiere Stages atpremierestagesatkean.com

All Premiere Stages facilities are fully accessible spaces, and companion seating is available for patrons with disabilities. Assistive listening devices and large print programs are available at all times; publications in alternate formats are available with advance notice. Sign-interpreted and audio described performances are available by request, at least two weeks in advance. Please call 908-737-4077 or email premiere@kean.edu to request these services. For more information, please visit Premiere Stages online at premierestagesatkean.com

Premiere Stages is made possible in part through funding from W. John Bauer and Nancy Boucher, The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Carole Shaffer-Koros and Robert Koros and ExxonMobil Foundation, The Dubose and Dorothy Heyward Foundation, Blue Foundry Charitable Foundation, The Northfield Bank Foundation, The Hyde and Watson Foundation, The Union Foundation, E.J. Grassmann Trust, The New Jersey Theatre Alliance, The Union County HEART Grant and through the generous support of individual patrons and local organizations. Discover Jersey Arts is our marketing partner. Visit JerseyArts.com for more information about other arts programming happening around the Garden State.

Premiere Stages is committed to producing topical plays and interactive programs that reflect people of all ethnic and racial backgrounds, national origins, nationalities, ancestry, religious groups, gender expression or identities, sexual orientation, political beliefs, ages, abilities and disabilities.

ABOUT PREMIERE STAGES
Created in 2004, Premiere Stages is the professional Equity theatre in residence at Kean University. Through its unique partnership with Kean, Premiere’s play development programs, educational initiatives, and professional development opportunities actively embrace the university’s academic curriculum while expanding the scope, accessibility, and prestige of the professional programming on campus. For more information, please visit Premiere Stages online at premierestagesatkean.com

ABOUT KEAN UNIVERSITY
Kean University, New Jersey’s urban research university, is a national institution of higher education recognized for its diversity, innovation and the social mobility of its graduates. Founded in 1855 as a teachers college, Kean has evolved into a thriving research university that supports students as they persist to graduation, give back to their communities and launch successful careers. Kean’s six colleges offer more than 50 undergraduate programs, six doctoral degree programs and more than 70 options leading to master’s degrees, professional diplomas or certifications, across a full range of academic subjects. With campuses in Union, Toms River and Manahawkin, New Jersey, and Wenzhou, China, as well as Kean Online, the University provides students of all backgrounds an affordable and accessible world-class education. Learn more at kean.edu.