Renowned, award-winning community theatre company at the
Count Basie Center focuses on matters of the heart for its 36^th season

(RED BANK – MARCH 4) West Side Story, RENT, The Color Purple – The Musical, Mary Poppins – The Broadway Musical and Kinky Boots make up community theatre company Phoenix Productions’ 36^th season, it was announced today.

Season subscriptions, which offer fee-free discounts and premium seating, are available now through www.phoenixredbank.com and www.thebasie.org/phoenix, charge by phone at 732-842-9000 and the Count Basie Center box office at 99 Monmouth Street, Red Bank. Tickets for individual shows go on sale to the general public Friday, May 3.

“This season is all about the love,’ says James Grausam, Managing Artistic Director of Phoenix Productions, the Count Basie Center’s community theatre company. “The passion between two star-crossed lovers in West Side Story, or the love between friends coping with the HIV and AIDS crises of the late 1980s in Rent.”

But that’s not all, according to Grausam. “In The Color Purple, the importance of self-love perseveres against a backdrop of years of pain and hardship. Mary Poppins helps the Banks family to rediscover the love of family, and in Kinky Boots, we explore the love of being true to oneself, and allowing that to foster creativity, growth and a better world for all.”

For now, Phoenix remains in celebration of its 35^th anniversary season with a sold-out gala performance of Jesus Christ Superstar on Saturday, March 16 and a weekend-long production of The Prom on May 3, 4 and 5. Tickets for The Prom are on sale now through theBASIE.org.

Two additional shows taking place at The Vogel will be announced later this spring.

Since merging in 2020, the Count Basie Center and Phoenix Productions have emphasized the importance of diversity and inclusion in both its casting and selection of seasonal titles. Audition notices encourage actors of all ethnicities, gender expressions, cultural heritage / background and body types to participate, noting that characters are cast with no regard to their original intent. “Any role can be filled by potentially any actor,” Grausam notes.