30 Years In, Brick Children's Community Theatre Still Entertaining

BRICK, NJ — When she was a teenager, Heather Campagno would create plays for the children her mother babysat each summer. She would help them rehearse and then the children would perform the plays for their parents at the end of the summer.

Back then, the plays would be performed in the basement of her mother's home. As time passed, the plays became popular and outgrew the basement, blossoming into a full-fledged theatre company.

Thirty years later, the Brick Children's Community Theatre has put the basement shows well in the past and become a key part of the Ocean County art community. This week, the Brick Children's Community Theatre is beginning its 30th year and will be on the stage at the Stafford Township Arts Center in Manahawkin.

"Beauty and the Beast" will grace the stage Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the arts center, 1000 McKinley Ave., with four performances: 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and matinees at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $18 for adults, $16 for seniors and children 12 and under, and there is a $1.50 service fee per ticket.

The Brick Children's Community Theatre has drawn thousands of auditioners and presented almost 90 shows, and the theatre's alumni have gone on to successful careers on Broadway and other areas of the performing arts, the group says.

The group also managed to find ways to keep going as the coronavirus pandemic forced so many organizations to shut down, performing its shows in open-air Theater in the Park Series at Windward Beach Park to accommodate restrictions on gatherings.

The Theater in the Psark Series earned the Ocean County Cultural and Heritage Commission's 2020 Cultural Response Award.

The theatre company also has had its performers honored with Perry Awards, New Jersey's premiere community theater award, including nine nominations in 2021.

In addition to the theatre performances, the organization has branched out to provide performing arts lessons in musical performance, acting and voice instruction.

"Beauty and the Beast" will feature BCCT veteran Ella Zarrilli as Belle, Christian Cirone as The Beast, Frankie Mailley as Gaston, Searra VanDerveer as his sidekick Lefou, Gavin Powers as Lumiere, Grace Zarrilli as Cogsworth, Ava Buray as Mrs. Potts and Alex Apgar as Chip.

The cast will say goodbye to six graduating seniors: Alysa Cainzos of Jackson, Christian Cirone of Manahawkin, Ian Keating of Toms River, Shellby Lawless of Lacey and sisters Ella and Grace Zarrilli of Brick.

The organization has awarded more than $150,000 in scholarships to its qualifying graduating seniors. This year’s group will continue their studies at schools like University of Central Florida School of the Performing Arts, Muhlenberg College, Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts, among others.

"Beauty and the Beast" is recommended for children over the age of 4 as the show is about 2 hours, 30 minutes long with a 15-minute intermission. Tickets can be purchased online on the BCCT Booktix website. For more information email info@bcct.org or call 732-920-9041.