a tradition was born. Producing a
full scale musical on the State Theatre’s busy stage means a show
has to have a quick set-up and
strike time. Cohen and his staff of
professional directors and designers are assisted by a union crew
and orchestra at the State. Although the performers are volunteers, a pool generally auditioned
from returnees and PIP favorites.
The production initially rented
props and scenery from Paper Mill
Playhouse, who have produced
the show twice – in 1984 and
1999 – but over the years they
were replaced by pieces built in
PIP’s own shops. Although the
look of the show has remained
fairly consistent, the greatest innovation has been in the area of
lighting. This is mainly due to the
New Brunswick theatre’s state-ofthe-art equipment and the technical prowess of PIP’s lighting
designer Roman Klima. “Moving
lights, color scrollers, and other
innovations are often tried out on
this production,” Cohen notes.
Although Cohen was also the
show’s director during the first
year, the staging of Joseph was
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pg 59