Luna Stage’s 'Breathtaking' Pass Over Extends Through March 8

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The following news release comes courtesy of a Patch community member. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site.

Hailed by critics and capacity crowds, Pass Over, now playing at Luna Stage, will extend through March 8, 2020. The new play, which opened February 6, has received audience and critical acclaim. NJ.com/Star Ledger called it a “a 90-minute meditation on much of human history, seen through the experiences of two pulsating and frequently terrified black men.”

In Antoinette Nwandu’s award-winning and controversial play, Moses and Kitch chill on the corner talking smack, passing the time, and hoping that today a miracle will come. They stand by a lamppost in a present-day ghetto, but it’s also a plantation, and it’s also Egypt, a city built by slaves. A provocative mashup of Waiting for Godot and the Exodus saga, Pass Over exposes the unquestionable human spirit of young black men who dream about a promised land they’ve yet to find.

Pass Over features Robert Barnes, Kevis Hillocks, and Woodrow Proctor, giving what Broadwayworld calls “portrayals so convincing you will feel as though events are unfolding before your eyes. While most of the play depicts the stresses of inner city life, there are also some light, engaging moments that focus on the bonds between Moses and Kitch…It is a profound play that will inspire empathy and much needed dialogues about African American experiences.” Montclair Local says “The acting throughout is fantastic.”

Pass Over is appropriate for audiences aged 15 and over because of strong language and violence. Concerned with pervasive systems of oppression and the epidemic of police killing unarmed Black men, the production is staged by director Devin E. Haqq in an alleyway configuration that immerses the audience in the world of the play. The run time is 95 minutes with no intermission. Pass Over must close following this short extension.

The NJ.com/Star Ledger hails the play’s “hip-hop lyricism and biblcal resonance…The play does not universalize; it makes it essential, insisting that this crisis is very real, very dangerous, and made all the more threatening by complacency...(Moses and Kitch) are characters in a play, but also they are urgently real.”

Pass Over now runs through March 8 at Luna Stage, located in West Orange’s Valley Arts District, close to Montclair, Maplewood, South Orange, Livingston, Verona, Orange, Short Hills and Millburn. Tickets are $40, and are available at https://www.lunastage.org/shows/pass-over or by calling OvationTix (866) 811-4111.

About the Artists

Devin E. Haqq has appeared Off-Broadway at the Barrow Group, Epic Theatre Ensemble, and most recently in the New York premiere of David Harrower’s Knives in Hens at 59E59 Theaters (New York Times Critic’s Pick). He has also appeared in numerous regional theatre productions including Fiasco Theatre’s Measure for Measure (Actor’s Theatre of Louisville) and As You Like It (The Arden Theatre). As an independent filmmaker, Devin has produced four feature films. He made his directorial debut with “The Assassin” (2007). His film re-envisioning of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, “Ambition’s Debt”, won the Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature at the 2017 American Black Film Festival and the Paul Robeson Award - Honorable Mention at the 2018 Newark Black Film Festival. Devin is a graduate of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival’s MFA program.

Antoinette Nwandu has been supported by The MacDowell Colony, The Sundance Theater Lab,The Cherry Lane Mentor Project (mentor: Katori Hall), The Kennedy Center, P73, PlayPenn, Space on Ryder Farm, Southern Rep, The Flea, Naked Angels, Fire This Time, and The Movement Theater Company. She is an alum of the Ars Nova Play Group, the Naked Angels Issues PlayLab, and the Dramatists Guild Fellowship. Honors include The Whiting Award, The Paula Vogel Playwriting Award, The Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award, The Negro Ensemble Company’s Douglas Turner Ward Prize, and a Literary Fellowship at the Eugene O’Neill Playwrights Conference. Antoinette’s plays have been included on the 2016 and 2017 Kilroys lists, and she has been named a Ruby Prize finalist, PONY Fellowship finalist, Page73 Fellowship finalist, NBT’s I Am Soul Fellowship finalist, and two-time Princess Grace Award semi-finalist. Nwandu graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College with a bachelor’s degree in English and holds a Master’s of Science degree in Cultural Politics from The University of Edinburgh, and an MFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU Tisch School of the Arts.

About Luna Stage

Luna Stage develops and produces vibrant plays about local and global experiences. Luna brings communities together for artistic events that spark conversations and create understanding and change. Firmly rooted in New Jersey’s Valley Arts District—a crossroads of cultures—the Company celebrates the diverse voices that surround us. Luna Stage is dedicated to eliminating barriers to participation and nurturing the next generation of audiences and artists.

Luna’s classes for children and adults, and its developmental programs for early career artists, inspire community members to nurture their own creativity and vision.

Luna Stage has contributed to the development of over 80 new works for the stage, earning a reputation for artistic excellence. Some of those plays have gone on to productions in New York City and beyond. Luna’s unique approach to producing, as well as the work itself, fosters an environment of inclusivity, understanding, and infinite possibility.

Pass Over by Antoinette Nwandu

Directed by Devin E. Haqq

At Luna Stage, 555 Valley Road, West Orange, NJ | (973) 395-5551

Now Running | Closes: Sunday, March 8

Performance Schedule: Thursday at 7:30 pm, Friday & Saturday at 8 pm, Sunday at 3pm

Tickets: https://www.lunastage.org/shows/pass-over

Suggested Age: 15+ (strong language and violence) Running Time: 95 minutes

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