New Jersey arts and entertainment news, features, and event previews.

(HACKETTSTOWN, NJ) — Centenary Stage Company’s NEXTStage Repertory will present Head Over Heels as the spring musical for this season. The show was conceived by & original book by Jeff Whitty, adapted by James Magruder, music & lyrics by The Go-Go’s. This show will run April 21 through May 1. From the visionaries that rocked Broadway with Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Avenue Q and Spring Awakening, this laugh-out-loud love story is set to the music of the iconic 1980’s all-female rock band The Go-Go’s, including the hit songs, “We Got the Beat,” “Our Lips Are Sealed,” “Vacation,” Belinda Carlisle’s “Heaven is a Place on Earth” and “Mad About You.”

A hilarious, exuberant celebration of love, Head Over Heels follows the escapades of a royal family on an outrageous journey to save their beloved kingdom from extinction – only to discover the key to their realm’s survival lies within each of their own hearts. 

This production of Head Over Heels will be directed by Centenary Stage Company’s own Lea Antolini-Lid. Antolini-Lid serves as CSC’s Director of Young Audience Series and Producer of the NEXTStage Repertory Summer Series, as well as Associate Professor of Theatre Arts for Centenary University. Antolini- Lid received her BMA in classical voice from the University of the Arts and her MFA in acting from Brandeis University where she also had the opportunity to teach movement for the actor under the tutelage of Susan Dibble. She has performed professionally in NYC and in cities on the east coast. Lea traveled to China with Nai – Ni Chen Dance to teach at Kunming University. She is also a founding member and managing director of the XY DANCE PROJECT. Antolini is a member in training with Blessed Unrest Theater Company in NYC, and a member of AEA.

The cast features Centenary University students Megan Moran, Ray Salerno, Emily Kurnides, Christina Polichetti, Serena Buchan, Amanda Ackerman, Kylah Wilson, Chris Hara, Zach Orr, Cody Jackson, James Brandes, Luis Rodriguez, Chris Rice, Kai Vialva, Amanda Tossman, Michaela Tiessen, Kayla Yepez, Ali Koch, Chloe Sharman, Claire Finegan, Audrey Jantzen, Olivia Tomlin, Kylie Smith, Natalie Kelson, Nasteja Roman, Jibril Shabazz-Scott, Jamir Freeman, Tyler McGeough, Osavbie Igeibor, and Connor McCrea.

Performances of the NEXTStage Repertory production of Head Over Heels will be Thursdays, April 21 and 28 at 7:30pm; Fridays, April 22 and 29 at 8:00pm; Saturday, April 23 at 2:00pm; Saturdays, April 23 and 30 at 8:00pm; and Sundays, April 24 and May 1 at 2:00pm. Performances will take place in the Sitnik Theatre of the Lackland Performing Arts Center on the Centenary University campus at 715 Grand Avenue, Hackettstown, NJ 07840. Tickets  are $22.50 for adults and $10.00 for students and children 12 and younger. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased on-line at centenarystageco.org or by phone by calling the Centenary Stage Company box office at (908) 979-0900.  

NEXTstage Repertory is the all-student performance division of Centenary University’s Theatre Department. These productions feature current Centenary University students, alumni, and highlights the close partnership between the professionally producing Centenary Stage Company and the Centenary University Theatre Department.  

Centenary Stage Company remains committed to the health and safety of our community and adheres to all requirements set forth by the State of New Jersey.  For more information regarding CSC COVID-19 policies and policy updates, visit centenarystageco.org/faq. 

The 2021-22 season of performing arts events at the Centenary Stage Company is made possible through the generous support of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the NJ State Council on the Arts, the Shubert Foundation, the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, the Sandra Kupperman Foundation, the John and Margaret Post Foundation, and CSC corporate sponsors, including Platinum Season Sponsor The House of the Good Shepherd, Silver Sponsors Hackettstown Medical Center Atlantic Health System, Home Instead Senior Care (Washington), and Fulton Bank, Visions Federal Credit Union, and Centenary Stage Company members and supporters.