UNION — The Theater Project recently announced their new season – and their new home.
The Douglas Michael Krueger (DMK) Black Box Theater will serve as the new home for The Theater Project’s mainstage summer theater series. The DMK Theater is located in Union Township’s Arts Center and Library complex at 1980 Morris Ave.
“It’s been a long process,” said Mark Spina, artistic director of The Theater Project. “We started working with the chamber and Special Improvement District since 2015.”
At the same time, The Theater Project was presenting elsewhere, then the pandemic came. “That put a roadblock on everything,” said Spina. “We did know they were planning to put a theater in the library. Then we had to wait for that to be completed. Meanwhile, when we reopened in 2022, we were using other spaces to continue producing. We were in Summit, West Orange and Maplewood. We produced in a lot of different places.”
Spina is very excited about having a new home for The Theater Project at DMK. He said, “It’s wonderful that it’s part of a library, it’s part of a library hub. They have an art gallery. There’s a huge patio out front. People are coming and going all the time. We’re going to be cross-pollinating with our audiences.”
The Theater Project’s 2026 season will comprise four shows.
“Having Our Say” will run from Thursday, June 11, to Sunday, June 21. It’s a drama by Emily Mann about Sadie and Bessie Delany, both more than 100 years old, who recounted their family’s history.
“We thought it was appropriate for the 250th year anniversary of our country,” said Spina. “The Delaney sisters lived in Mt. Vernon, New York. They lived well past 100. At the time of the play, they are 102 and 104. A reporter said, ‘I’d love to document your story.’ They are talking about the war of 1812 up to the 1990s. Family stories trace history from (the) Civil War to (the) Civil Rights movement, through the Harlem Renaissance, from a very personal point of view.”
“Too Fat for China” is Phoebe Pott’s poignant and funny one-woman show. It will run from Friday, July 17, to Sunday, July 19.
“She tells, with great humor and great heart, her personal journey exploring adoption,” said Spina. “If you are overweight, China will not adopt a baby to you. Her struggles with adoption, the emotional struggles of wanting to start a family… a heartfelt story.”
“Kaleidoscope Kabaret” is an annual festival of song and short plays by participants in The Theater Project’s Playwrights Workshop and Young Playwrights Competition. It will run from Friday, July 24, to Sunday, July 26.
“A lot of short funny plays,” said Spina. “Music provided by three talented musicians, two singers are also pianists, and a folk guitarist. We also have a small band.”
“Alabama Story” by Kenneth Jones is a drama in which an Alabama librarian and two reunited childhood friends encounter the forces of censorship and segregation during the American Civil Rights movement. It runs from Thursday, Aug. 6, to Sunday, Aug. 16.
“Given that we are coming to a theater in a library,” said Spina. “(It) tells the story of a librarian who fought censorship in Alabama. ‘Alabama Story’ tells the story of a children’s book in 1959, ‘The Rabbit’s Wedding,’ of a black rabbit and a white rabbit. That didn’t go over well. It became a quite famous issue and sales of that book went through the roof because of the publicity.”
For tickets and to learn more about The Theater Project, visit: https://www.thetheaterproject.org/.
Photo Courtesy of The Theater Project
