Previews Begin Tonight for THE WIZARD OF OZ at Centenary Stage

Centenary Stage Company features singing and dancing throughout the chilly December month. Opening up with the beloved family classic The Wizard of Oz, welcoming the New Jersey Civic Youth Ballet performing The Nutcracker, and ending with the Young Performers Workshop Winter Festival of Shows featuring musical favorites Hello, Dolly!, A Chorus Line, and The Boy Friend.

Audiences can celebrate the holiday season with a classic tale brought to the Sitnik Theater’s stage starting Thanksgiving weekend November 23rd and running until December 9th. The Wizard of Oz is a family musical tradition following the story of Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tinman, the Lion and Toto, too. These beloved characters visit Hackettstown on their way to the Emerald City, as CSC presents the Royal Shakespeare Company’S adaptation by Frank Gabrielson and John Kane, with Music and Lyrics from the MGM motion picture score by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg. With the help of stage flying experts, Flying By Foy, audiences will experience a theatre event never before seen on the Centenary Stage. The Wizard of Oz’s official sponsors are Hackettstown Regional Medical Center and Restaurant Village in Long Valley

Centenary Stage Company’s Young Performer’s Workshop presents the Winter Festival of Shows December 8th-16th in the Little Theater on the Campus of Centenary College. This musical theatre extravaganza will feature Hello Dolly, A Chorus Line, and The Boy Friend.YPW has been called "The most professional kids troupe around!" by the Star Ledger. The workshop has been lead by Broadway, film and television veteran, Michael Blevins, for over 16 years. The Young Performers Workshop is dedicated to the enrichment of young lives through experience in the theatre arts, and serves as a venue for cultivating young theatre performers between the ages of 8 and 18. The program is one of only a handful in the nation that offers both formal training and production experience for young people.

The NJ Civic Youth Ballet returns to present its seasonal classic, The Nutcracker December 16th-18th at the Sitnik Theater in the David and Carol Lackland Center. The NJ Civic Youth Ballet has delighted audiences for over 10 years, and features a cast of 60 talented dancers from Morris, Sussex, and Warren Counties. The NJCYB's Nutcracker is unique thanks to the narration by Janine Byrnes who tells the story from the perspective of young Clara Stahlbaum.

The Wizard of Oz tickets range from $20-$29.50 with discounts for students and seniors. Every Thursday night is “Family Night,” which offers a 2-for-1 rush ticket available at the door. Performance times are Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. There are also 2 p.m. matinees on Friday, November 23rd (preview) and Wednesday, November 28th and 10 a.m. matinees on Tuesday, December 4th and Wednesday, December 5th at the Sitnik Theater in the Lackland Center

Tickets for the Young Performers Workshop Winter Festival of Shows are $12.50 for adults and $10 for children under 12. Performance times vary from December 8th-16th at The Little Theater on the campus of Centenary College. For a detailed schedule of times and shows visit centenarystageco.org.

Tickets for the Nutcracker are $25.00 for Orchestra seating, $22.50 in the Balcony and $15 for children under 10 seated anywhere in the theatre. Performance times are Friday, Dec. 14 at 7pm, Saturday, Dec. 15 at 2pm and 7pm and Sunday, Dec. 16 at 3pm in the Sitnik Theater in the Lackland Center.

To purchase tickets or to find more information on other performances in the 2012-2013 season, visit www.centenarystageco.org or call (908) 979-0900. Patrons are encouraged to check the age recommendations for individual shows.
The Centenary Stage Company is a not-for-profit professional equity theatre, in residence at Centenary College, dedicated to serving as a cultural resource for audiences of the Skylands Region with professional music, theatre and dance events and arts education programs throughout the year. Performances at the Centenary Stage Company are made possible through the visionary support of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the NJ State Council on the Arts, and CSC members, friends and sponsors, including Premier Sponsor Heath Village, Silver Sponsors Hackettstown Regional Medical Center and The Holiday Inn, and Series sponsors, Fulton Bank, Mamas and Café Bacci, and Restaurant Village in Long Valley.

1. Clockwise from Left: Jeremy Hilgert (Delaware Water Gap, PA) as “Lion,” Saquan Williams (Hoboken) as “Scarecrow,” Nick Ardito-Martelli (Hackettstown) as “Tin Man,” McKenzie Custin (Bethlehem, PA) as “Dorothy,” and Magic Zas, the Dog (Hackettstown) as “Toto” [Photo Credit: Pat Lanciano]
2. A Chorus Line - YPW Production from December 2008 Photo Credit: Ryan Schaars
3. The Nutcracker with Hayden Slaff as “Fritz” and Michele Quiner as “Clara” Photo Credit: Christine Taylor

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