Mother Hicks opens at the Growing Stage

NETCONG — The Growing Stage is presenting Mother Hicks from Jan. 19 to Feb. 5 with performances Thursday and Friday evenings at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday matinees at 4 p.m. Mother Hicks is an evocative story of three outsiders that is richly realized through poetry, character and story. Set in southern Illinois during the Great Depression, the play is about three outsiders; a foundling girl known only as Girl; a deaf boy, eloquent in the language of his silence; and an eccentric recluse, Mother Hicks, who is suspected of being a witch. The tale, told with poetry and sign language, chronicles the journeys of these three to find themselves, and each other, in a troubled time. Mother Hicks features the talents of Lori B. Lawrence of Hackettstown in the title role; Emmanuel Nadeau of Westfield, who recently played the role of Scout in the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey’s production of To Kill A Mockingbird, as Girl, and Eddie Buck of Monroe, PA, making his professional debut in the role of Tuc. Also in the cast are Dalton Allison of Byram and Becky Nitka of Long Valley playing Ricky and Izzy Sue Ricks; Steve Graham of Fanwood and Matthew Fralley of Netcong portraying Jake and Howie Hammon; William Ward of Basking Ridge is Clovis P. Eudy, with Jane Keitel of Dumont and Brad Parks of Bloomfield as Alma and Hosiah Ward. All are residents of Ware and help in telling the story Tuc shares with the audience. Scott Cagney of Bloomfield plays Wilson Walker, a visiting writer who comes to visit the small town in search of local lore. “Mother Hicks represents everything we strive to provide our young audiences - an intelligent, thought-provoking piece that is beautifully written with characters that not only come to life on the stage, but shine bright in our memories long past the lights onstage fade away” said Company Director Steve Fredericks. Housed in the historic Palace Theatre on Rt. 183 in Netcong, the organization is currently celebrating its 30th season and strives to provide audiences with the unique and affordable opportunity to share a fun, culturally significant moment in their intimate and very special venue. Tickets for Mother Hicks are $18 for adults and $14 for children and seniors. Group rates are available. Tickets can be purchased by calling the TGS Box Office at 973-347-4946 or logging on to their website at www.growingstage.com.