Bloomfield’s 4th Wall Theater Celebrates 20 Years Of Living On The Edge

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Bloomfield’s 4th Wall Theater is all grown up but the good times are just getting started, its staff say.

As the Bloomfield community theater prepares for its 20th anniversary later this year – a landmark for any brick-and-mortar theater in the Internet age - Executive Director Gwen Ricks-Spencer said that she still feels like it’s her child.

“I'm still here,” said Ricks-Spencer, one of the theater’s founding members. “This baby has grown, and I want to see it grow more. I am so proud of what we managed to build.”

According to the theatre's website, the idea to launch the 4th Wall began with eight friends who all worked as performers or artistic staff members at the Montclair Operetta Club in Montclair. The theater was incorporated in 1997 when it began its residency at the Morristown-Beard School in Morristown. Since leaving Morristown-Beard School, 4th Wall has held residencies at the Bickford Theatre, Kean University, and 12 Miles West.

In the winter of 2006, the group made its current move to be the theatre in residence at the Westminster Arts Center on the campus of Bloomfield College after catching the eye of President Richard Levao during one of their productions.

Over its 20-year history, the theater has specialized in hosting “edgier, lesser known works,” 4th Wall staff say.

For instance, when the theater produced Funny Girl, a musical linked to Barbara Streisand, they cast nine women as Fanny Brice, each with a different sound and body type. And when the theater produced the musical Sweeney Todd, producers cast an African-American male as the lead.

Since moving to Bloomfield College a decade ago, 4th Wall has expanded with the addition of a "Musicals in Development" series that presents the works of new composers and writers, and an "Off the Wall" series, which allows the group to present both plays and musicals which are “artistically interesting, but not right for mainstage production.”

"It's been my home for 10 years, an extended family," said 4th Wall Business Manager Martha Thalheimer. "It's fun to be a part of all of this.”

Photo: Bloomfield College

Send local news tips, photos and press releases to eric.kiefer@patch.com