Asbury Theater Company Performs While Searching For Permanent Home

ASBURY PARK, N.J. - EntSun -- Historical Asbury Park, home of the largest music and arts scene in the State is the home of a new professional theater company. While they don't occupy their own space, Asbury Park Theater Company (APTCo) is geared to entertain theater fans and enrich their community with the help of several community stakeholders.

"Our mission is to produce invigorating theater. Whether it be in the form of original works, reimagining the classics or creating provocative, high-energy musical performances, our projects will delight audiences of all kinds," said William Whitefield, Producing Artistic Director and Co-Creator of APTCo. "Our kickoff event A Little Musical Night held at The Asbury Hotel in the summer of 2019 was hosted by Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress Sally Struthers and was a great kickoff to this challenging endeavor that was interrupted by a pandemic and complicated by our lack of a venue of our own. "

"I have no doubt that the creation of this company will help us bring powerful and inspirational theater to Asbury Park and our region." added APTCo's Co-Creator and Managing Director, Bob Angelini. "I envision Asbury Park as the summer destination for theater before moving on to the Broadway stage," Angelini beamed. "I've taken an active role in developing professional theatre in Asbury Park for close to 20 years and this is by far the most prolific gathering of arts-minded people that I have ever worked with. We look forward to enriching this great community by using the power of the performing arts as we continue this fantastic journey."

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Recently, a committee of APTCo Board members including Angelini, Robert M. McKeon and Board President Robert Allison met with State Senator Vin Gopal as well as Asbury Park Councilwomen Amy Quinn and Eileen Chapman, after the Senator inquired about helping with the theater's mission of finding a space to perform in Asbury Park.

"Finding a permanent space for our home has been very challenging." said Angelini. "We are becoming a "hermit-crab theater company," utilizing whatever vacant space we can find. This comes at an extreme cost as we must constantly build, strike and rebuild our infrastructure. Senator Gopal has offered his help in organizing and petitioning the government and community stake-holders to find us a permanent home. This offer as well as having Monmouth County Commissioner Director Thomas Arnone as a volunteer Board Member, State Senators Vin Gopal and Declan O'Scanlon as Advisory Board members
and Councilwomen Quinn and Chapman as our advocates, shows us that we can indeed count on our elected officials when we need them. If this group of advocates can't help us, no one can." said Angelini.

Most recently, APTCo provided last summer's hit Green Day's American Idiot which played to sold-out houses at the historic Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel in Asbury Park. Currently, there is a great buzz about their December 2nd debut of the Broadway smash-hit Million Dollar Quartet at the Palaia Theater at the Jersey Shore Arts Center in Ocean Grove, NJ.

"Our cast and creatives brought down the house in all six sold-out shows of American Idiot and we hope to repeat that same of level success for Million Dollar Quartet," Whitefield added.

Whitefield, who is producing Million Dollar Quartet with Angelini, and Associate Producer Serena Soffer said, "We have assembled the greatest musical theater performers in the area and brought in two extremely talented directors and music directors from the show's National Tour to bring this Broadway hit to the stage at the Jersey Shore. This show is going to solidify our position as a cutting-edge theater in New Jersey."

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Whitefield also noted how excited he is about the casting of Asbury Park native and musical phenom Anthony D'Amato, more widely known as Remember Jones, as Sam Phillips, the "Father of Rock and Roll." Million Dollar Quartet chronicles the fateful meeting and subsequent jam session of 4 legendary rock icons, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins on December 4, 1956 at the famous Sun Records studio in Memphis, Tennessee. "The amazing part of this show is that all of our actors actually play the instruments of their respective characters live on stage. There is no air-guitar here. These are great musical performers worthy of their spot in Asbury Park's rich musical history. We are so grateful for our sponsors PNC Private Bank, HFA Certified Public Accountants and Advisors, Robert M. McKeon, Esq., Senator Declan O'Scanlon, Senator Vin Gopal and Marilyn & Ken Rocky for helping us on our journey." added Angelini.

Million Dollar Quartet, directed by Jason Cohen and Jon Rossi of the National Tour, starring Grace Allison, Nathan Burke, Garrett Forrestal, Sage Spiker, Joey Walsh and featuring Remember Jones as Sam Phillips will open on Friday, December 2 at 8 pm and continue for 6 performances until December 10, 2022 at The Palaia Theater in the Jersey Shore Arts Center, 66 S. Main Street, Ocean Grove, NJ. Information regarding exact show dates and times, and to purchase tickets, visit https://asburyparktheatercompany.org/.