Toms River Native Brings Shakespeare To Huddy Park

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The renovated and newly reopened Huddy Park will take a step back in time this summer when it becomes host to the inaugural Toms River Shakespeare Festival, township officials announced this week.

The Toms River Shakespeare Festival will present the play "The Tempest" for two weekends on the stage at Huddy Park beginning July 28, according to a news release. The performances are free to the public.

The festival is the brainchild of Lori Garrabrant, a Toms River native who has an extensive theater background, including acting credits in New York City and Chicago as well as various roles in film, television and voiceover. She trained in classical acting at The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, according to her biography on the Toms River Shakespeare Festival site.

“Last year we celebrated 400 years since Shakespeare and this year we celebrate 250 years since Toms River," said Garrabrant, the founding and producing artistic director, who graduated from Toms River High School North and Ohio State University. "The community is having a renaissance (post Sandy) and we feel very well centered and privileged to be a part of it.”

Garrabrant said she chose "The Tempest" because of its title event, the large storm conjured by the main character, a storm similar to Superstorm Sandy.

“I cannot wait to greet the cast of The Tempest arriving in Toms River for our first ever Shakespeare in the Park to be held at our newly restored Huddy Park this summer," Toms River Mayor Thomas Kelaher said. "I know that everybody in Toms River joins me in welcoming Lori and her production company to our community.”

Garrabrant, who lives in Manhattan with her partner, Kevin, and their two children, had proposed producing a Shakespeare Festival in Toms River to Kelaher last summer and shared that proposal with the board of directors of the Downtown Business Improvement District in early 2017.

“I have tremendous resources from my work as a professional actress in NYC (and Chicago) and have been afforded a wonderful opportunity to pair them with the resources and artistic community in Toms River. It’s a magical pairing and dream come true for me,” she said.

The performances are scheduled for July 28, 29, 30 and Aug. 4, 5, and 6 at Huddy Park, with a special performance on Aug. 3 at Ortley Beach. The July 28 and 29 and Aug. 3, 4 and 5 shows are scheduled for a 6 p.m. start with the Sunday performances (July 30 and Aug. 6) set for 3 p.m.

Bring a chair or a picnic blanket for seating.

The performances are free but a $5 donation is suggested, and the festival welcomes financial support from the community. Visit the website at www.trshakespeare.org for more information. The festival also has a Facebook page; click here.

The custom stage at Huddy Park in downtown Toms River will host Shakespeare later this month. Photo by Karen Wall, Patch Staff