By Sophia Wiener
High school thespians will start treading the boards in myriad plays and performances throughout November and December. Here is a roundup of the productions.
Christian Brothers Academy’s Pegasus Production Company presents Sandy Rustin’s “Clue: High School Edition.” Based on the 1985 movie inspired by the classic board game, this murder mystery-farce features a troop of colorful dinner guests who must take turns playing detective when their host turns up dead. Who did it? Where? Was it with a candlestick? Everyone’s a suspect in this sidesplitting whodunit.
Nov. 8, 9, 15, 16 at 7 p.m.; Nov. 7 at 5 p.m.; Nov 10 at 2 p.m. at the Henderson Theater on the school’s Lincroft campus. Tickets are available at cba.booktix.com.
Colts Neck High School presents Michael McKeever’s “Suite Surrender.” In 1942, two of Hollywood’s biggest divas arrive at the luxurious Palm Beach Royale Hotel for a wartime performance with their legendary feud in tow. But when they’re assigned the same suite, the stage is set for a farce fit for the big screen. Mistaken identities and overblown egos battle in this zany, riotous comedy.
Dec. 6 and 7 at 7 p.m. at Colts Neck High School Auditorium. Appropriate for all ages. Tickets will be sold at the door.
The Henry Hudson Regional High School Admiral Players present “Urinetown: the Musical.” In a Gotham-like city, a terrible water shortage caused by a 20-year drought has led to a government-enforced ban on private toilets. Citizens must use public amenities, regulated by a single malevolent company that profits by charging admission for one of humanity’s most basic needs. Amid the people, a hero decides he’s had enough and plans a revolution to lead them all to freedom.
Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. and Dec. 7 at 2 and 7 p.m. at the high school. Tickets can be purchased showtix4u.com (search HHRS) or at the venue.
Holmdel High School’s Holmdel Theatre Guild presents “Romeo & Juliet,” Shakespeare’s classic tale of star-crossed lovers destined for disaster. The cast has been busy rehearsing, including boning up on stage combat, for the production.
Nov. 21-22 at 7 p.m.; Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. Tickets available at the door.
Middletown North High School presents Thomas Hischak’s “Little Women.” As the Civil War rages and their father fights on a faraway battlefield, the four March sisters – romantic Meg, tomboyish Jo, kindhearted Beth and mischievous Amy – navigate love, ambition and growing up. In this adaptation, Jo narrates her family’s story, emphasizing her bond with her sisters and their individual struggles with identity and societal expectations.
Nov. 22 and 23 at 7 p.m. at the Middletown High School North Auditorium. For ticket information, contact mahoneyt@middletownk12.org. No bags are allowed.
Middletown High School South presents D.W. Gregory’s “Radium Girls.” In the early 1900s, radium was the future – an incredible and useful substance that even Marie Curie, the famed scientist, thought could perhaps cure cancer. But Grace, Irene and Kathryn, three laborers who paint every day with radium in the U.S. Radium Plant, are noticing disturbing health issues. And they aren’t the only ones. This gripping drama is based on the true stories of the female laborers who paid the price for industry’s inexorable march.
Nov. 21, 22 and 23 at 7 p.m. at the Middletown High School South Auditorium. This production is appropriate for all ages. Tickets can be purchased at mhss.booktix.com.
Monmouth Regional High School presents “Alice in Wonderland,” based on Lewis Carroll’s classic novel. When Alice topples down the rabbit hole, she finds herself in the wacky, nonsensical realm of Wonderland. Zany characters accompany her on her journey through tea parties and fairytales as she tries to find her way back home.
Nov. 21, 22 and 23 at 7 p.m. at Monmouth Regional High School Auditorium. This production is appropriate for all ages. Tickets can be purchased at the door.
Ranney School Upper School presents Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing.” In this classic comedy of miscommunication and underhandedness, Count Claudio falls in love with Hero, the daughter of his host. Hero’s cousin Beatrice (a confirmed spinster) and Benedict (an eternal bachelor) are each duped into believing the other is in love with them.
Dec. 6 and 7 at 7 p.m. in Panther Hall.
Red Bank Catholic presents Tom Stoppard’s “The Real Inspector Hound.” As a pair of theater critics watch an absurd murder mystery, they’re drawn into their own whodunit. This witty, farcical production parodies classic parlor mysteries and pompous, overwrought critics to explore the nature of free will.
Nov. 21, 22 and 23 at 7 p.m. at Broad Street Auditorium. Purchase tickets at redbankcatholic.org/performing-arts. Seniors and RBC students will receive a discounted rate.
Red Bank Regional Theater Company presents Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Orient Express.” Famous detective Hercule Poirot boards a train to London loaded with a peculiar cast of characters, from princesses to a car salesman, drawn from every corner of the globe. When an American businessman is found dead and the Express is stranded in a snowdrift, Poirot is given just 48 hours to untangle conflicting clues and convoluted alibis to find the killer in their midst. This classic mystery’s twists – spiced with a dash of humor – are sure to delight crowds.
Nov. 21, 22, 23 at 6:30 p.m.; Nov. 24 at 2 p.m. at the Joseph A. Russo III Auditorium. Tickets may be purchased at rbrhsnj.booktix.com and will also be sold at the door. RBR staff and students are free.
Rumson-Fair Haven and the Tower Players present Debbie Meyer’s dramatization of a holiday classic, “Nutcracker… The Musical.” Funny and fanciful, the musical blends E.T.A. Hoffman’s original story and Tchaivosky’s legendary music to whisk the young heroine, Marie, her Nutcracker and audiences of all ages away to the land of the Sugarplum Fairies.
Nov 22, 23 at 7:30 p.m.; Nov. 24 at 2 p.m. at the Rumson-Fair Haven High School Auditorium. This production is suitable for all ages. Tickets can be purchased at towerplays.booktix.com.
Shore Regional High School’s Shore Players present “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown.” Based on Charles Schulz’s immortal comic, the musical meanders through the highs and lows of Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang’s everyday lives, as they play baseball, yearn after crushes and wonder after life’s big questions.
Dec. 6 and 7 at 7 p.m.; Dec. 8 at 2 p.m. at the Shore Regional High School Auditorium. Suitable for all ages. Tickets can be purchased at sp.booktix.net. Tickets are also sold at the door, but will be discounted if purchased in advance.
St. John Vianney High School presents Melanie Marnich’s “These Shining Lives,” based on a true story. In the 1920s and ’30s, women are delighted to be hired for a simple, well-paying job: Using a glow-in-the-dark radium compound to paint hour markings on watch dials. Radium Dial, their employer, assures the laborers there’s no evidence radium causes health problems, but when the company doctor overlooks a growing wave of ailments – hands glowing in the dark, bone pain – the women must fight to force their company to care for their worker’s health.
Nov. 7 and 8 at 7 p.m.; Dec. 9 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the St. John Vianney High School Little Theater. This production is appropriate for all ages. Tickets can be purchased online at sjvhs.booktix.com and at the door.
Trinity Hall and the Queen’s Court presents Kate Hamill’s “Little Women.” As the Civil War rages and their father fights on a distant battlefield, the four March sisters are coming of age in a turbulent time. Headstrong Jo March is determined to be a great American novelist. But as adulthood draws near, she and her sisters must negotiate their own dreams with society’s expectations. The war and the world demand perfection, but Jo and her sisters can only become what they already are: wonderfully imperfect little women.
Nov 21, 22 at 7:30 p.m.; Nov. 23 at 2:30 p.m. at the Brookdale Performing Arts Center. This production is suitable for all ages. Tickets can be purchased at trinityhallnj.org or at the door.
The article originally appeared in the October 31 – November 6, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
