“If you had asked me ten years ago if I
thought this would last ten years,
I think I would have said yes.”
Miller (the first time the company
has presented a work by him),
“Agnes of God” by John Pielmeir,
“Fortune Cookies” by Paprzycki,
and “King Hedley II” by August
Wilson.
His faith in the ability to have
theater help revive the area is rewarded every time he sees people give Camden a chance. He’s
excited to see small groups from
Gloucester City (a mile or two
from Camden) enter Camden for
the first time in years and grow
in size as they return for the next
show. Restaurants in Gloucester
City are starting to add special
menu choices designed for theater-goers to make sure they can
have a nice dinner and still have
time to make it to the show. The
theater company even has one
group that meets in a restaurant
New Jersey Stage
in Gloucester City for dinner and
then goes to the play. Afterwards
they head to the theater’s home
bar where they get to meet the
cast and hang out. If there is anything in the play they didn’t understand, the cast and crew will
discuss it with them.
“You’re watching these people
that may have always thought
plays were just musicals and now
they’re coming in and seeing
works by Sam Shepard, Eugene
O’Neil, Tennessee Williams, and
my work. It’s really gratifying to
see a theater audience growing
within a community. And it really
is a community; it’s people talking to friends and neighbors and
coming together. They’re turning
it into a four time a year event. It’s
an event for them. It’s beautiful.”
September 2014
pg 90