Just in time for the Halloween season, Centenary Stage Company opens their 2024-2025 Professional Theatre Series with The Weir, October 4 - 20. The story is set in a Sligo, Ireland bar, a place the local men come to swap spooky stories. Their attempt to impress a young Dublin woman who’s recently moved into a nearby "haunted" house is foiled as she tells her own haunted tale. A preview matinee happens Friday, October 4 at 2pm and features $10 tickets for Hackettstown Residents with proof of address at the door.
BOGO tickets can be purchased on the day of the performance at the box office in person beginning at 5pm.
Produced by Conor McPherson, this story features new and veteran faces to CSC including Derek Egidio as Jim, Mark Byrne as Brendan, Campbell Symes as Valerie, Pat Cogan as Finbar, and John Little as Jack.
The Weir will be Derek Egidio’s CSC debut, though he’s made an appearance in Macbeth (Macbeth) at Pax Amicus Castle Theatre and Peter and the Star Catcher (Boy) at Studio Players.
Mark Byrne is appearing at CSC for the second time having previously been seen on the mainstage in The Cripple of Inishmaan (Babybobby) in 2013.
Campbell Symes returns to the Sitnik stage, and has previously appeared in CSC’s production of Ghost Train (Elsie Winthrop) in 2019.
Pat Cogan also makes his return to Centenary Stage Company, most recently seen as King Triton in CSC’s 2023 Holiday production of Disney’s: The Little Mermaid, and as Fezziwig/Ghost of Christmas Present in Stephen Temperley’s adaptation of A Christmas Carol in 2020.
John Little was last seen on the CSC stage in Harvey (William R. Chumley, M.D) in 2014 and Light up the Sky (Tyler Rayburn) in 2012.
Directing the production is Centenary Stage Company’s own Artistic Director, Carl Wallnau who has directed and starred in countless productions regionally and most recently at Centenary Stage as the titular character in Tartuffe, as well as directing and appearing in The Ladykillers.
He has worked at numerous regional theatres including Paper Mill Playhouse, Second Stage in New York City, York Theatre in NYC, People’s Light, The Lark Theatre, The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Hartford Stage, Forum Theatre, Bristol Riverside Premiere Stages, Orlando Shakespeare Company, Theatre 1812, Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, Foothills Playhouse. He also spent 14 months on the road with the First National Tour of TITANIC.
Wallnau has directed over 60 productions including The English Bride, which had its New York premiere at 59e59, world premieres of Poetry of Pizza, Inventing Montana and The Tillie Project and New Jersey premieres of Below the Belt, Square One and Marvin's Room.
He has been cited for outstanding direction in productions of Springtime for Henry, Engaged, The Ladies Man, Deathtrap and Pygmalion and has directed in numerous regional theatres including Hartford Theatre Works and Musical Theatre Works.
Wallnau received his MFA from Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts and married his favorite actress, Colleen Smith Wallnau, for whom he wrote the play Mary Todd, A Woman Apart which had a successful off Broadway in 2004.
Tickets range from $25 - $30 for adults with discounts available for seniors, students, and children under 12. The Weir is presented with a special agreement by Dramatists Play Service.
For more information, visit centenarystageco.org or call the Centenary Stage Company box office at 908- 979-0900. The Centenary Stage Company box office is open Monday through Friday from 1-5 pm and two hours prior to performances.
The box office is located in the Lackland Performing Arts Center on the campus of Centenary University at 715 Grand Ave. Hackettstown, NJ. Centenary Stage Company can also be found across social media platforms; Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter. Like and follow to receive the latest in CSC news and special offers.
The 2024-25 Season of Performing Arts events at the Centenary Stage Company is made possible through the generous support of our sponsors and grantors like the NJ State Council on the Arts, the Shubert Foundation, the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, the Sandra Kupperman Foundation, the John and Margaret Post Foundation, the CSC corporate sponsors, including Explore Warren, the House of the Good Shepherd, Hackettstown Medical Center Atlantic Health System, Heath Village, Visions Federal Credit Union, and Fulton Bank, and Centenary Stage Company members and supporters.
The Weir @ CSC
Conor McPherson's play, The Weir, is spellbinding and beautiful, combining chilling tales of the supernatural with hilarious banter of a small Irish community. The local men swap spooky stories, attempting to impress a young Dublin woman, who moved into a nearby "haunted" house, though she spins a yarn of her own.