Young Performers Workshop to return to Centenary Stage

HACKETTSTOWN — Centenary Stage Company’s critically acclaimed Young Performers Workshop returns this holiday season with a delightful selection of musical favorites for the annual Winter Festival of Shows.
This year’s Winter Festival of Shows includes A Chorus Line, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown and The Boy Friend. The festival runs Dec. 10 through Dec. 18, with a cast of talented young thespians [full-list below] from across New Jersey. All performances will be held in Centenary Stage Company’s Little Theater located at 400 Jefferson Street Hackettstown, NJ. CSC’s Young Performers Workshop is also accepting registration for the upcoming Spring Session running Feb. 11 through June 4.
With a book by James Kirkwood & Nicholas Dante, music by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Edward Kleban, A Chorus Line examines one day in the lives of seventeen dancers, all vying for a spot in the “chorus line” of a Broadway Musical. From Cassie, the star who just needs the "music and the mirror and the chance to dance", to Val, a small-town girl with a brand-new big-town body, to Mike, who took his sister's place in dance class, saying "I can do that". Based on real Broadway dancers' stories, as told to fellow dancer and choreographer Michael Bennett, A Chorus Line is funny, heartbreaking, and refreshingly honest. Performances for A Chorus Line are Sunday, Dec. 11 at 7 p.m.; Friday, Dec. 16 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 17 at 2 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 18 at 7 p.m.
The Jazz Age lives on in Sandy Wilson's The Boy Friend, a light romantic spoof of the 1920s musical comedy. Written in the 50s as "a new musical of the," this is still considered the most successful and witty of the send-up musicals. The Boy Friend is an essential Golden Age musical. Filled to the brim with tongue-in-cheek moments that both parents and grandparents will love. Performances are Saturday, Dec. 10 at 5 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 17, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 18 at 4 p.m.
Charles Schulz's beloved comic comes to life in Clark Gesner's classic musical You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. The whole gang is here: bossy Lucy is hopelessly in love with piano prodigy Schroeder who doesn't give her the time of day, perfectionist Sally is still mocking blanket — toting Linus, Snoopy is in the doghouse, and "blockhead", himself, Charlie Brown, is in rare form. Brief vignettes span the months from Valentine's Day to Beethoven Day, from wild optimism to utter despair. You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown is a crowd-pleasing classic. Performances are Sunday, Dec. 11 at 5 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 17 at 5 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 18 at 1 p.m.
Select Young Performers Workshop students will also be featured in Centenary Stage Company’s Family Holiday Spectacular, Mary Poppins. Based on the books by P.L. Travers and the classic Walt Disney film, Disney and Cameron Mackintosh's Mary Poppins delighted Broadway audiences for over 2,500 performances and received nominations for nine Olivier and seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Opening Nov. 25 and running through Dec. 10, this “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” musical adventure is an enchanting mixture of irresistible story, unforgettable songs, breathtaking dance numbers, astonishing stagecraft and a live orchestra. Centenary Stage Company’s Family Holiday Musical not only signifies the start of the holiday season for many but celebrates all of Centenary Stage Company’s programming by combining local regional talent, CSC staff, Centenary University Theatre Department faculty and students, Young Performers Workshop students and professional guest artists.
Ticket prices for YPW Winter Festival of Shows are $12.50 for adults and $10 for children under twelve. Ticket prices for Mary Poppins range from $27.50 to $30 for adults and $22.50 to $25 for children under twelve. All performances of A Chorus Line, The Boy Friend and You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown will be held in the Little Theater located at 400 Jefferson Street on the campus of Centenary University. Performances for Mary Poppins will be held at the Lackland Performing Arts Center at 715 Grand Avenue.
Centenary Stage Company’s Young Performers Workshop is also accepting registration for the upcoming Spring Session. The session runs Feb. 11 through June 4 and culminates in a Spring Festival of Shows. Registration deadline is Feb. 1. Although no experience is required to participate all new applicants must complete an interview with program director, Michael Blevins. To schedule an interview interested applicants must contact the CSC administrative office at (908) 979-0900 to schedule an appointment time. Interviews will be held on Saturday, Dec. 17 and Sunday, Dec. 18.
Led by Broadway, film and television veteran Michael Blevins, Young Performers Workshop (YPW) is a musical theatre program under the auspices of the Centenary Stage Company, a not-for-profit professional Equity Theatre Company in residence at Centenary College. YPW is dedicated to the enrichment of young lives through the use of theatre arts and serves as a greenhouse for cultivating young theatre performers ages 8–18. The program is one of only a handful of theatre training programs in the nation that offers both formal education and practical application through production experience.
For more information or to purchase tickets visit centenarystageco.org or call the box office at (908) 979–0900. The box office is open Monday through Friday from 1–5 p.m. and two hours prior to every performance. The box office is located in the Lackland Center at 715 Grand Ave. Hackettstown, N.J.
The 2016-17 season of performing arts events at the Centenary Stage Company is made possible through the generous support of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the NJ State Council on the Arts, the Shubert Foundation, the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, the Sandra S. Kupperman Foundation, and CSC corporate sponsors, including Premier Season Sponsor Heath Village Retirement Community, Silver Sponsors Hackettstown Medical Center, Home Instead Senior Care (Washington), The Holiday Inn in Budd Lake, and Fulton Bank of New Jersey, and Centenary Stage Company members and supporters.