UNION, NJ — Premiere Stages at Kean University will present the premiere of Erin Breznitsky’s “Satellites” from Thursday, July 13, through Sunday, July 30, in Kean University’s Bauer Boucher Theatre Center, Vaughn Eames Hall, 1000 Morris Ave., Union. Selected as the winner of the 2022 Premiere Play Festival, the first production of this new play will be one of Premiere’s most ambitious to date, as a talented team of designers work with the director and cast to meld together projections, sound, lighting, scenic design and costumes to take audiences on a journey to space and back.
In “Satellites,” married couple Katherine and Mike are each on a mission to save the world. She’s a scientist studying climate change; he’s an astronaut exploring the unknown. When Mike’s shuttle vanishes in outer space, Katherine forges ahead alone, raising their children and continuing her life’s work, until Mike suddenly reappears without explanation. As the couple struggles to adjust to his strange return, they’re forced to reexamine their entire relationship — while also facing an uncertain future.
“This exciting new production is the first time Premiere Stages will be incorporating a three projection set up into a design,” said John J. Wooten, Premiere Stages producing artistic director and “Satellites” director. “Erin’s approach provides an innovative and seamless exploration of the unknown limits of time and space.”
Leading the production are Ellyn Heald, whose theater credits include “And Then There Were None” and “An Inspector Calls,” Florida Rep, and “Triumph of Love,” Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey, as Doctor Katherine Sparks, and Terrell Wheeler, whose acting credits include “Fly,” New Victory Theatre, “That Poor Dream,” New Ohio Theatre, and “The Last Saint on Sugar Hill,” National Black Theatre, as Captain Mike Turner. Understudies for the production are Kean University Theatre Conservatory alumni Jessica DeLuca and Spenser C. Williams.
The professional design team includes set designer David Barber, projection designer Paul Deziel, lighting designer Zack Gage, costume designer Stefanie Genda and sound designer Chad Raines.
Wooten has been nominated as best director multiple times by the Newark Star-Ledger and has staged numerous productions that have been honored by the American Theatre Critics Association. As a playwright, Wooten’s widely published work has been produced commercially in New York, internationally and in regional theaters across America. He was awarded his second fellowship by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts in 2021.
Breznitsky is a Scotch Plains-born, Brooklyn-based playwright whose work has been seen in New York City and abroad. Her plays include: “Satellites,” O’Neill Playwrights Conference semi-finalist, “The Unwritten City,” Princess Grace Playwriting Award finalist, “Bodies of Water,” FringeNYC, “R Plus J: a new play,” Shakespeare’s New Contemporaries finalist, “The Kitchen Table Plays,” FringeNYC; English Theatre of Rome, Italy, “Sverginata,” Sarah Lawrence College, and more than a dozen short plays with Love Drunk and New York Madness. Other credits include “The Living Mural” and an Urban Stages commission for young audiences. Breznitsky has a master’s degree in theater from Sarah Lawrence College and is a member of the Dramatists Guild.
“Satellites” runs July 13-July 30 in the Bauer Boucher Theatre Center on the Kean University main campus in Union. Performances take place Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 3 and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 3 p.m.
Tickets are $35 standard, $25 for senior citizens and Kean alumni and staff, $20 for patrons with disabilities and $15 for students. Significant discounts for groups of 10 or more apply. To purchase tickets or inquire about opening night or season packages, call the box office at 908-737-7469 or visit premierestagesatkean.com/shows/Satellites/.