Today, Dan (director), Hannah (stage manager), and I got to see the performance space: The Studio at the State Theatre. Newly renovated since covid closure, the interior of the State Theatre looks as good as I’ve ever seen it. Last time I was there was for a Blues Traveler concert in 2017 with my in-laws and it was not as glamorous as what I saw this afternoon. I learned today that the State Theatre was built in 1921, the year before the Hall-Mills murders took place. There’s something poetic about putting up this show there. Years ago, I really wanted this to go up at the George Street Playhouse. Now that I’m 72 hours from opening at the historic State Theatre, I think it’s exactly where it belongs.
So who’s in this show?
Mariella Klinger-Seamon (Eleanor Mills): my wife! We’ve been doing shows together since Jesus Christ Superstar in 2011 and we’ve worked in every role on both sides of the table.
Frank Andrews (James Mills): Frank and I met as singers for the Hall of Distinguished Alumnae Awards Dinner at Rutgers in 2014 under the direction of Jason Goldstein. I actually saw him years before in a cabaret, but we didn’t know each other yet. We did Spamalot at Plays-in-the-Park in 2013 and have kept in good touch ever since.
Crystal Huau (Frances Hall): Crystal was recommended to me by a friend at Villagers Theatre when I told her I was looking for a soprano with acting chops who would be comfortable with a cold read/sing in front of an audience (it’s not entirely cold, we are rehearsing, but it’s quick).
William Kennedy Carey (Edward Hall): It’s Will! If you’ve seen me in shows since 2008, you’ve seen Will. Say hi when you see him! He’s one of my favorite singers and actors and a great person to work with.
Stephanie Ragos (Wickian): Stephanie and I met while doing Spongebob at Villagers in Spring 2022, and I’m loving her in this show!
Ajit Mathews (Wickian): Ajit is another new friend whom I met when he officiated a wedding I attended! He’s a director, actor, singer, and an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church. I got to see a production of Godspell he directed and it was the best one I’d seen since Cabaret Theatre in 2011.
Gaby Resende (Wickian): Gaby and I worked together on a production of In the Heights in 2017 at Trilogy Repertory and have kept in touch ever since! She sings the first line in the show.
Dusty Ballard (Wickian): It’s Dusty! We met doing Razia’s Shadow at Playhouse 22 in 2011, then did Romeo and Juliet at Kean University. We’ve been friends and colleagues ever since at George Street Playhouse, coLAB Arts, Middlesex County College, The Eleventh Hour, the list goes on.
Amy Suznovich (Wickian): Amy and I went to high school together at Bishop Ahr (now Saint Thomas Aquinas). We’ve stayed connected on social media in the intervening 15 years- even got to work together in Our Town Now at George Street Playhouse.
What’s a Wickian, you ask?
A Wickian is a resident of New Brunswick. A Wickian lives low to the ground and lean in the pocket. Their wealth is knowledge and their marketplace is conversation, even as the real world may pass by unnoticed. While Wickians come from all continents, they speak a universal love language of food. While they nourish their bellies, they embellish their memories, laughing and crying their way through their shared history over a hot meal (which, at the time of the play, is hard to come by). While a Wickian is hungry for information- even at the expense of spilling a secret- they are not craven, nor do they delight in the suffering of others. It is this trait that keeps the Wickians stuck in their place; that no matter how deep a secret they’d offer up for discussion, they’d never use it against each other.