Villagers Theatre is a community theater located in the municipal complex of Somerset, New Jersey, United States. It was founded in 1960 and is still running today. [1] The group has a New Playwrights Series where unpublished plays are performed. [2]
The theatre was founded in 1960 and began doing shows in the Van Middlesworth Barn. In 1979, the barn was sold, and a new barn was built. The new building opened in 1980, but closed in 1987 due to new fire code laws. Township citizens raised $250,000 to renovate the space, and the theatre re-opened in 1988.
Every year, the theatre takes submissions of new plays by unheard of playwrights and presents staged readings of six new, original shows. Musicals are not accepted, due to the short rehearsal span and lack of time for actors to learn the music. The readings take place once a month from February to May, sometimes with two in one night.
In 2015, the theatre presented the world premiere of Mary Poppins Jr. for their Miniature Musical Makers program. (An acting class and performance program for children 8 to 13.)
Their January 2016 production of Fences received high acclaim and was transferred to a Union County Black History Month festival.
The theatre offers its Miniature Musical Makers program (MMM) for kids ages 9 through 13. MMM is a 12 week program that trains the kids in acting, singing, dancing, and production design, culminating in the performance of a full-length 1 to 2 hour show (with a one weekend run). There is also a teen ensemble, which is the same thing but for ages 14 to 17 and goes for 11 weeks. MMM costs $745 and the teen ensemble is $695. There is a $100 discount for early enrollment.
There is also a Summer Theatre Arts program, offering three different sessions for kids 6-8, 8-12, and 12-16. The program runs for three weeks and costs $850 for a full day program and $450 to go for a half day. The camp culminates in a performance.
The theatre has won numerous NJACT (New Jersey Association of Community Theatre) Perry Awards. Here are its previous awards:
2009
2010
2011
2012
2015
Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial The String of Pearls (1846–1847). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London legend. A barber from Fleet Street, Todd murders his customers with a straight razor and gives their corpses to Mrs. Lovett, his partner in crime, who bakes their flesh into meat pies. The tale has been retold many times since in various media.
Christopher Godfrey Bond is a British actor, playwright and theatre director whose 1970 retelling of the Victorian tale Sweeney Todd formed the basis of Stephen Sondheim's musical of the same name, with book by Hugh Wheeler. He wrote this while he was resident dramatist at Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent (1970–71). He was artistic director of the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool (1976–78), director of Liverpool Playhouse (1981–83), and artistic director of Half Moon Theatre (1984–89). He lives in West Cornwall.
Anthony Warlow is an Australian musical theatre performer, noted for his character acting and considerable vocal range. He is a classically trained lyric baritone and made his debut with the Australian Opera in 1980.
Hugh Panaro is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his work in Broadway stage musicals, most well known for his role in The Phantom of the Opera being in over 2,000 performances in the Broadway production.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, also known as Sweeney Todd is a 1979 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. It is based on the 1970 play Sweeney Todd by Christopher Bond. The character of Sweeney Todd first appeared in a Victorian penny dreadful titled The String of Pearls.
Jekyll & Hyde is a 1990 musical loosely based on the 1886 novella The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. Originally conceived for the stage by Frank Wildhorn and Steve Cuden, it features music by Frank Wildhorn, a book by Leslie Bricusse and lyrics by all of them. After a world premiere run in Houston, Texas, the musical embarked on a national tour of the United States prior to its Broadway debut in 1997. Many international productions in various languages have since been staged including two subsequent North American tours, two tours in the United Kingdom, a concert version, a revamped US tour in 2012, a 2013 Broadway revival featuring Constantine Maroulis, and an Australian concert version in 2019 starring Anthony Warlow.
Robert Cuccioli is an American actor and singer. He is best known for originating the lead dual title roles in the musical Jekyll & Hyde, for which he received a Tony Award nomination and won the Joseph Jefferson Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award, the Drama Desk Award, and the Fany Award for outstanding actor in a musical.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a 2007 gothic musical slasher film directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay by John Logan, based on the stage musical of the same name by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler, which in turn is based on the 1970 play Sweeney Todd by Christopher Bond. The film retells the melodramatic Victorian tale of Sweeney Todd, an English barber and serial killer. After arriving in London, Todd begins seeking revenge on Judge Turpin who wrongfully convicted and exiled him in order to steal his wife. Sweeney Todd commits serial murders on his customers and, with the help of his accomplice, Mrs. Lovett, processes their corpses into meat pies.
Edmund Lyndeck was an American actor and musical theatre performer. He is best known for originating the roles of Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Cinderella’s Father in Into the Woods.
Brad Oscar is an American musical theatre actor, known for his Broadway performances in musicals such as The Producers, Something Rotten!, Big Fish, Spamalot, The Addams Family, Mrs. Doubtfire and Wicked.
Minnesota Centennial Showboat was a traditional riverboat theatre docked at Harriet Island Regional Park on the banks of the Mississippi River in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. The showboat contained an intimate jewelbox theatre that seated 225. The interior was decorated to keep in time with the Victorian Era style commonly associated with showboats. The Minnesota Centennial Showboat was run through a partnership with the University of Minnesota Theatre Department and the Padelford Boat Company. The showboat was a longtime tradition with the University beginning in 1958. The University Theatre utilized the showboat as a learning opportunity for its students to experience professional theatre. The showboat had its final performance in 2016.
The Jessie Richardson Theatre Award is given to recognize achievement in professional theatre in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Jessies are presented by the Jessie Richardson Theatre Award Society, at an annual ceremony. The awards are named after Jessie Richardson, co-founder of the Playhouse Holiday Theatre, local actor, director and designer.
Robert John Guest was a New Zealand-Australian actor, television personality and host and singer, who started his career in pop music in New Zealand, before becoming best known for his work in Australian musical theatre, particularly in various productions of The Phantom of the Opera. He played the lead for a record-breaking 2,289 performances over seven years, more than any other performer.
The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival (PSF) is a professional theatre company in residence at DeSales University in Center Valley, Pennsylvania and the official Shakespeare Festival of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
BrassNeck Theatre is a theatre company based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was formed by the merger of The Grove & Rawdon Theatre Company and Stampede Theatre Company in January 2010.
Eddie Korbich is an American actor, singer and dancer. He was born in Washington, D.C., but grew up in Shamokin, Pennsylvania.
Plays-in-the-Park is a government-sponsored outdoor amphitheater located in Edison, New Jersey. Middlesex County's Plays-in-the-Park has been in existence since 1963. Generally, three full-scale musical productions run in the summer, from June to August. In the fall, the theater is transformed into a black box where the annual children's show takes place; the indoor children's musical tradition began in 1992. In the winter, Plays-in-the-Park uses the State Theater in New Brunswick, NJ to put on their final show of the season. Plays-in-the-Park has been using the State Theater for their annual production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat since 1994.
Rebecca Spencer is an American singer and actress, known for her roles in musicals and cabaret productions. Over the course of her career, Spencer has performed principal roles in over 50 opera, national tour, regional and Off-Broadway productions, including co-starring in Hollywood Bowl's 2019 production of Into the Woods. She created the role of Lisa Carew in the world premiere of Frank Wildhorn's Jekyll and Hyde at the Alley Theatre, opposite Linda Eder and Chuck Wagner, and premiered the role of Madame Giry in the $35 million production of Phantom - The Las Vegas Spectacular, under the direction of Harold Prince.
David Benoit is an American actor and singer most known for being a replacement in the original Broadway run of Les Miserables. His most recent Broadway credit is playing the Bishop and Spider in the Broadway revival of Jekyll & Hyde.
Hong Kwang-ho is a South Korean actor mainly known for his works in musical theater. Hong is best known worldwide for his portrayal of Thuy in the 2014 West End revival of the musical Miss Saigon.