March 15, 2016

Centenary Stage Company’s Young Audience Series Tour Presents Miss Nelson is Missing

Hackettstown N.J. – The Centenary Stage Company is poised to present the hilarious musical Miss Nelson is Missing as part of their 2016 theater for Young Audience Series.  Based on the hilarious children’s book by Harry Allard and James Marshall, students learn the lessons of respect through the teachings of an evil substitute teacher named Viola Swamp.  Filled with upbeat tunes and show stopping numbers, this performance is built to please ages 2-92 alike.  The show is performed by Centenary University students and is available to book for a tour to various locations or for onsite performances.  Currently, the cast has travelled all over the state from Cape May, N.J., to Giggles Children’s Theater located in St. Joseph’s Hospital in Paterson, N.J.

“We will have reached well over 2,000 audience members in the month of March alone,” says Professor Lea Antolini Lid, Young Audience Series Tour Director and Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts at Centenary University.

There are two other shows included in the series.  Shake it Up Shakespeare: Magic, Mystery & Mayhem – A Celebration of the Works of William Shakespeare! is appropriate for Middle School and High School students.  Shake it Up takes a journey through some of the bard’s greatest works and characters in this interactive performance, engaging young audiences and introducing a new way to look at Shakespeare. With scenes from Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, including comedy and action-packed sword fights.

A Thousand Cranes, by Kathryn Schultz Miller and based on the book by Eleanor Coerr is a true story of the young Japanese girl Sadako Sasaki, who inspired an international peace movement. A Thousand Cranes combines Japanese and American language, music and dance and highlights Japanese society in the after-math of World War II.  Sadako was 2 years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. When she later developed radiation sickness, Sadako remembered an old story: if a person will just make 1000 cranes, the gods will grant her a wish and make her healthy.  Sadako did not live to finish her cranes, but her friends took up the task and built a monument for her and all the children killed by the atomic bomb.  This show is appropriate for Middle School and High School Students.

“These students are dedicated to the mission of bringing live theatre experiences and hands on workshops to young people in order to help foster skills in critical thinking, collaboration, empathy and communication skills which create a capacity to innovate,” says Carl Wallnau, Professor of Theatre Arts, Chair of the Communications and Fine Arts Department and Artistic Director of Centenary Stage Company.

For information about how you can book these tours for your school and the prices, visit the website atwww.centenarystageco.org, contact the Program Tour Director Lea Antolini Lid at Lea.Antolini@CentenaryUniversity.edu or call (908) 979-0900.

Founded in 1867 by the Newark Conference of the United Methodist Church, Centenary University’s academic program integrates a solid liberal arts foundation with a strong career orientation. This mix is designed to provide an educational experience that prepares students to succeed in the increasingly global and interdependent world.