The Theater Project returns to Burgdorff with three live shows

Photo Courtesy of The Theater Project
The Theater Project is returning to the Burgdorff Cultural Center in Maplewood with a live summer series, July through September, featuring three plays and pre-pandemic pricing.

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The Theater Project, a leading incubator for rising talent and a showcase for New Jersey artists, is returning to the Maplewood’s Burgdorff Cultural Center, 10 Durand Road, with its first live performances in two years with its “three plays in three months” summer season.

Mary Jane Walsh’s “Finishing it Off!” — a play that looks irreverently and tenderly at the issues that confront the aging and their caretakers — kicks off the live performance comeback from July 7 through 17. Bill Mesce Jr.’s “A Jersey Cantata” about four childhood friends runs Aug. 18 through 28, followed by “5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche,” a humorous look at five friends’ annual quiche contest in 1956, from Sept. 8 through 18.

Made possible by funds from the Essex County Division of Cultural Affairs, show times are Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. with a 2 p.m. Sunday matinee. Masks and proof of vaccination are required at all performances at the 40-seat theater.

“Bringing live theater back to our area, particularly to the Burgdorff Cultural Center, is exciting,” The Theater Project artistic director Mark Spina said. “We know we have a large following in this area who appreciate the type of unique, humorous and thought-provoking plays we produce. We’re just happy to be live again and back at the Burgdorff.”

Gaining regional recognition for its ongoing projects during the pandemic — including its annual Young Playwrights Competition, Actors Reading with Kids program and its “The Theater Project Thinks About” podcasts — The Theater Project was one of just 22 organizations in New Jersey receiving prestigious National Endowment for the Arts grants for the 2021 fiscal year. 

As a means of celebrating its return to live theater, The Theater Project — a nonprofit, professional theater producing off-Broadway quality shows for New Jersey audiences — is offering a wide variety of pre-pandemic ticket pricing, including a multi-show FlexPass and reduced prices for seniors and students.

Tickets are available online at www.TheTheaterProject.org or by calling the box office at 908-809-8865.