The Stone Church Players’ (SCP’s) 15th anniversary season continues with the third installment of ‘Shakespeare in the Sheds’, Macbeth. Directed by Michael McClellan of Long Branch and assistant directed by Leslie Patient of Highlands, Macbeth will run for two weekends opening this Friday, June 2nd with performances Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 6 pm. The crew also includes Jessica Paul of Woodbridge as Stage Manager, Darren DeAngelo of Keansburg as Set and Lighting Designer, and Donna Craig of Belmar as Costume Designer. Mr. McClellan, who also serves as the group’s Artistic Director, makes great use of the grounds of the All Saints’ Memorial Church in Atlantic Highlands to tell this story infusing a sense of interactivity between the actors and the audience that has come to be a trademark of SCP productions.
Jesse R. Luciani of Red Bank leads the cast as the bewitched Macbeth, a brave Scottish general in King Duncan’s army. Mr. Luciani, a graduate of the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts, recently served as Assistant Director of last fall’s The Bridges of Madison County and was last seen on the SCP mainstage as Laertes in Hamlet. Allie G. Cohen of Jackson plays the strong, ruthless, and ambitious Lady MacBeth, wife of MacBeth. Ms. Cohen is a 2014 graduate of Muhlenberg College and holds a B.A. in Theatre Arts. She was last seen on the SCP stage as Lenny in the February staged reading of Crimes of the Heart, and assistant directed the last two installments of Shakespeare in the Sheds.
Mariyah Maister of Old Bridge, Sophia Rivera of Howell, and Elliot Maher of Howell play the three witches, prophets who hail Macbeth early in the play and predict his ascent to kingship. Ms. Maister was last seen in Main Street Theater’s most recent production, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. She is making her SCP debut. Ms. Rivera is also making her SCP debut. A junior in the FPAC Acting program at Howell High School, her recent credits include Howell High School’s production of Matilda, for which she received a Basie Nomination. Fellow FPAC and Basie-nominated actor Elliot Maher is returning to the SCP stage after having appeared in the ensemble of the October production of The Bridges of Madison County.
Mike Marnell of Hazlet plays Macduff, a loyal thane in the service of King Duncan and later Malcolm, the son of Duncan. Mr. Marnell is making his community theater debut after having appeared in numerous productions as a student and alumnus of Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken.
Rounding out the principal cast are Andrew Struse of Middletown as Banquo and Dave Harris of Red Bank as King Duncan. Mr. Struse is a veteran character actor and SCP favorite. Macbeth is his seventh Shakespeare production with SCP having most recently portrayed Rosenkrantz in last year’s Hamlet. No stranger to local theater, Mr. Harris has appeared in over 100 community theater performances, but Macbeth marks his SCP debut. Also featured are Harriet Ulmer of Red Bank and Karlsruhe, Germany as Hecate/Lady Macduff, Tori Dillon of Marlboro as Malcolm, Theodore Vaysberg of Marlboro as Lennox, and Elaina Pecora of Middletown as Ross.
Running time: 2 hours, 40 minutes including a ten-minute intermission. Street parking is available on Oakdale Run. You may enter the parking lot by the path next to the mailbox. A limited amount of accessible parking spots will be available in the main parking lot. Please email us at stonechurchplayersnj@gmail.com and we can reserve a parking spot for you. Restrooms are available in the Parish House and refreshments will be available for purchase on the patio. Seating is first come, first served. Masks are not required. We offer three ticket prices - $20 for adults, $15 for students, and $10 for children 12 and under. Tickets can be purchased in advance online at scp.booktix.com (includes a small service fee) or reserved by emailing us. Limited tickets will be available for purchase at the door (cash preferred). For more information visit our website, stonechurchplayers.org.
