Freehold Theater Group To Present Final Show At Longtime Playhouse

FREEHOLD, NJ — Center Players is kicking off the new year with a production of an original new play by local playwright Matthew Edward Gustavsen.

"Dancing Mad" takes on the recent COVID pandemic and its resulting isolation and is directed by Anthony Marinelli.

But this is the last time the theater company will present a show at its longtime Center Playhouse location. The owner of the property did not renew the lease and the company has still not found a new, permanent home, as its leadership explained earlier this year.

"This production will be bittersweet for Center Players, as it will be our final presentation at Center Playhouse, where we have performed for 22 years, but have lost our lease," the company said.

"Dancing Mad" is also bittersweet - it's a tragicomedy that centers on three close friends - Seth, Tiff, and Teddy - who share a house in Monmouth County during the aftermath of COVID.

Over the course of 10 days, they will alternately drink, bicker, laugh and love as they pick up the pieces of their shattered lives and dance their way through pain on the bumpy road to healing.

"At a time when we are still reeling from the aftershocks of COVID, when many still feel stranded and aimless, 'Dancing Mad' reflects how, with the support of those closest to us, we can weather the heartbreak with humor, compassion, and love," the production company says.

Performances will be Feb. 2 to Feb. 18; Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m.

Order tickets clicking this link or calling 732-462-9093. See a podcast about the production here.

Center Players still has plans for the rest of the year, but just needs a performance space.

It will present a summer production of the original musical "Coyote" at the Park Avenue School in Freehold Borough.

But it is putting out the call to the community to suggest a new venue - or to find the funds to build a new space.

Contact the company at: info1@centerplayers.org if you have any leads on a new location.

Sheldon Fallon, president of Center Players, said last year the Freehold location at 35 South Street was ideal, but sadly not an option any longer.

Fallon said he also hopes Freehold Borough might have some ideas. Center Players is, after all, called "Freehold's Resident Theater Company."

"People come to the restaurants here after a show," he said earlier this year. And he said the theater is also involved with the schools and community.

The New Jersey Association of Community Theaters has cited Center Players for excellence and its artistic director, Bernice Garfield-Szita, received its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019.