NJ Rep Awarded Edgerton Foundation Grant

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LONG BRANCH – New Jersey Repertory Company has been awarded a $14,000 grant from the prestigious Edgerton Foundation in support of its world premiere production of “Butler” to be presented June 12 through July 13, 2014.
Written by Richard Strand, “Butler” follows the story of Civil War attorney Benjamin Butler who has just been promoted to the rank of major general at Fort Monroe, a Union holdout in the great state of Virginia.
Shepard Mallory, an escaped slave, seeks sanctuary at the fort, along with several other runaway slaves. However, the law of the land has not yet changed, and it states that slaves are property and must be turned over to their “rightful” owners. This is tantamount to a death sentence and the new commander must now grapple with a daunting moral dilemma. Any act against the prevailing law will lead to his court martial or worse.
This is the fourth Edger­ton Foundation grant awarded to NJ Rep in its 16-year history. Previous grants were for the world premieres of “Little Hours” by David Bucknam in 2008, “Exposure Time” by Kim Merrill in 2009, and “Jericho” by Jack Canfora in 2011.
The Edgerton Foundation New American Plays Pro­gram was launched in 2007 and has awarded grants to nonprofit professional theaters for 150 new plays to date, many of which have gone on to be produced by theaters throughout the country.
For more information, contact the NJ Rep Box Office at 732-229-3166 or visit www.njrep.org to reserve seats online.