http://www.trilogyrepertory.com/

Trilogy Repertory, Basking Ridge, NJ (2026)

06/11/2026

Meet Carl Bird, our Shrek! Carl was most recently seen on the Trilogy stage last summer in Titanic as Thomas Andrews and has been in countless shows over the years.

Q: What do you love about this character/show?
A: What I love about Shrek is that beneath all the comedy, fairy-tale chaos, and ogre-sized attitude, it has a really beautiful message about belonging. Shrek has spent his life being judged before anyone really gets to know him, so he builds walls around himself and decides it is easier to be alone. But as the story unfolds, we see his humor, his heart, and the vulnerability underneath all those layers.

I also love that this show celebrates the characters who do not quite fit the mold. The fairy-tale creatures are told they don't belong, but they discover that the things that make them different are also what make them powerful. As someone who works in special education, that message really resonates with me. It is funny, big, colorful, and silly, but at its heart, Shrek is about being seen, accepted, and loved exactly as you are.

Q: What is your favorite song from this show?
A: My favorite song is “Who I’d Be.” It is the moment when Shrek finally lets the audience see the person he dreams he could be if the world had been kinder to him. For much of the show, he hides behind sarcasm, frustration, and a desire to be left alone, but this song gives us a glimpse of his imagination, his loneliness, and his hope.
I also love how the song brings Shrek, Donkey, and Fiona together. They are three very different characters, but in that moment, each of them is wishing for a life where they can be fully themselves. It is funny, heartfelt, and one of the most honest moments in the show.

Q: How long have you been acting?
A: Theater has been part of my life for more than three decades, and it is especially meaningful to continue performing in Bernards Township, where I first fell in love with theater as a kid. The first shows I ever saw were right here in the park, sitting on this hill and watching the stage come to life. I remember being completely captivated by the music, the lights, the costumes, and the feeling of a whole community gathered together for a summer night of theater.

Being back on this stage feels like a full-circle experience. I am performing in the same park where I once sat in the audience as a child, on the same hill where theater first captured my imagination. Now my own children get to experience that same magic in the same place, which makes this return feel even more special.

Q: What is your favorite line from the show?
A: “Ogres are like onions.”
It is probably the most famous Shrek line, and it is funny every time, but it also really captures the character. Shrek has layers. He is grumpy, guarded, stubborn, and sarcastic, but underneath all of that is someone who wants connection and acceptance just like everyone else.

Q: When not on stage, what do you like to do in your spare time?
A: When I am not on stage or at work, I try to be fully present for my family: my wife, Angela, and our two young children, Joey and Abby. They keep life lively, joyful, funny, and very real.

Q: What is a fun fact about yourself?
A: I am a proud resident of Bernards Township and part of at least the ninth generation of Birds to call it home, with family roots here going back to around 1750. My children are now the tenth generation continuing that tradition. Another fun fact: by day, I am a school administrator at a special education school, and this summer I get to become a big green ogre by night.

Come see Carl show all the layers Shrek has to offer as he brings him to life on stage this summer!

All shows begin at 8pm at Pleasant Valley Park in Basking Ridge on:
July 16th, 17th, and 18th
July 23rd, 24th, and 25th

06/09/2026

Trilogy's second summer show in our Plays in the Park series 2026, You Can't Take It With You:

A Classic American Comedy from the 1930’s
Grandpa Vanderhof and his wacky family, the Sycamores, have been happily living their zany
lives in his house by Columbia University in New York for many years. Things like stress, jobs, and paying taxes to the government are for other people, not for them! But when practical young Alice Sycamore becomes engaged to her company’s Vice President Tony Kirby, the Vanderhof/Sycamore clan must straighten up to meet the new in-laws. Disaster ensues and the evening ends with everyone in the house getting arrested and Alice ending the engagement. You Can’t Take It with You is a madcap, idealistic comedy that reinforces the idea that you can only live life to the fullest by doing whatever makes you happy.

Produced by Peter Curley
Directed by Linda Viel

Show dates at Pleasant Valley Park in Basking Ridge:
Friday 7/31 at 8pm
Saturday 8/1 at 8pm
Thursday 8/6 at 8pm
Friday 8/7 at 8pm
Saturday 8/8 at 8pm

Save the date and and get ready to laugh the night away! 💲💸💲

06/07/2026

Coming up this summer, our two Plays in the Park shows!

Our first show in July is Shrek the Musical.

"Once upon a time, there was a little ogre named Shrek...." And thus begins the tale of an unlikely hero who finds himself on a life-changing journey alongside a wisecracking Donkey and a feisty princess who resists her rescue. Throw in a short-tempered bad guy, a cookie with an attitude and over a dozen other fairy tale misfits, and you've got the kind of mess that calls for a real hero. Luckily, there's one on hand... and his name is Shrek.

Producer: Christine Petruzzell
Director: Beth Amiano Gleason
Assistant Director: Lisa Wolper
Musical Direction: John Birckhead
Choreographer: Kristin Sarboukh
Stage Manager: Amanda Zelinski

All shows begin at 8pm at Pleasant Valley Park in Basking Ridge on:
July 16th, 17th, and 18th
July 23rd, 24th, and 25th

Our second show is You Can't Take It With You.

A Classic American Comedy from the 1930’s
Grandpa Vanderhof and his wacky family, the Sycamores, have been happily living their zany
lives in his house by Columbia University in New York for many years. Things like stress, jobs, and paying taxes to the government are for other people, not for them! But when practical young Alice Sycamore becomes engaged to her company’s Vice President Tony Kirby, the Vanderhof/Sycamore clan must straighten up to meet the new in-laws. Disaster ensues and the evening ends with everyone in the house getting arrested and Alice ending the engagement. You Can’t Take It with You is a madcap, idealistic comedy that reinforces the idea that you can only live life to the fullest by doing whatever makes you happy.

Produced by Peter Curley
Directed by Linda Viel

All shows begin at 8pm at Pleasant Valley Park in Basking Ridge on:
Friday 7/31
Saturday 8/1
Thursday 8/6
Friday 8/7
Saturday 8/8

Come laugh the night away at BOTH of these hilarious productions. You better save the dates!

06/04/2026

AUDITION ANNOUNCEMENT!

Trilogy Repertory Theater Company Presents Fall 2026 Show, Clue!

It's a dark and stormy night in a remote mansion in 1954; six mysterious guests assemble for an unusual dinner party where murder and blackmail are on the menu. Each of the guests has an alias, the butler offers a variety of weapons, and the host is, well . . . dead, which leads everyone to be a suspect. So whodunnit? Join the iconic oddballs known as Scarlet, Plum, White, Green, Peacock, and Mustard as they race to find the killer in Boddy Manor before the body count racks up. Based on the cult classic film and the popular board game, Clue is the madcap comedy mystery that will leave both cult-fans and newcomers in stitches as they try to figure out…WHO did it, WHERE, and with WHAT as the final twist unfolds!

Producer- Christine Petruzell
Director- Peter Curley
Stage Manager- Amanda Zelinski

Audition Location:
Bernards Township Community Center
289 S. Maple Avenue, Basking Ridge, NJ

Audition Dates:
Monday 6/22/26 7-9:30pm
Tuesday 6/23/26 7-9:30pm
Wednesday 6/24/26 Callbacks by invitation only

Show Location:
Sieminski Theater
Basking Ridge, NJ

Show Dates:
Saturday 11/7/26 7:30pm
Sunday 11/8/26 2:30pm
Friday 11/13/26 7:30pm
Saturday 11/14/26 7:30pm
Sunday 11/15/26 2:30pm

Fill out your audition form here:
https://forms.gle/fdonAwJbk4VkocdYA

For more information, character descriptions, sides, and more, please visit our website at www.trilogyrepertory.com

06/02/2026

Trilogy's first summer show in our Plays in the Park series for 2026, Shrek the Musical:

"Once upon a time, there was a little ogre named Shrek...." And thus begins the tale of an unlikely hero who finds himself on a life-changing journey alongside a wisecracking Donkey and a feisty princess who resists her rescue. Throw in a short-tempered bad guy, a cookie with an attitude and over a dozen other fairy tale misfits, and you've got the kind of mess that calls for a real hero. Luckily, there's one on hand... and his name is Shrek.

Producer: Christine Petruzzell
Director: Beth Amiano Gleason
Assistant Director: Lisa Wolper
Musical Direction: John Birckhead
Choreographer: Kristin Sarboukh
Stage Manager: Amanda Zelinski

All shows begin at 8pm at Pleasant Valley Park in Basking Ridge on:
July 16th, 17th, and 18th
July 23rd, 24th, and 25th

Save the date and come let your freak flag fly with us 💚🤍💚 !

05/31/2026

CAST ANNOUNCEMENT!

Introducing the cast of Trilogy's second summer show in our Plays in the Park series 2026, You Can't Take It With You:

"Grandpa"- Greg Northam
"Penny"- Debbie Badel
"Paul"- Jose Rivera
"Tony"- Ross Pohling
"Alice"- Jessica Senger
"Essie"'- Lizzie Dreitlein
"Ed"- Shail Choksi
"Reba"- Lauren Lipman
"Donald"- Nikhil Sathe
"DePinna"- Donald Pauselius
"Gay"- Becky Marshall
"Olga"'- Cass Cochrane
"Mr. Kirby"- Rupert Hinton
"Mrs. Kirby"- Kathy Vaccari
"Kolenkov"- Eric Williams
"Henderson"- Paras Sawhney
"G-Men"- Paras Sawhney, Olivia Chiaramonte, and Tyler Isherwood

Produced by Peter Curley
Directed by Linda Viel

Show dates:
Friday 7/31 at 8pm
Saturday 8/1 at 8pm
Thursday 8/6 at 8pm
Friday 8/7 at 8pm
Saturday 8/8 at 8pm

Save the date and and get ready to laugh the night away!

05/28/2026

CAST ANNOUNCEMENT!

Introducing the cast of Trilogy's first summer show in our Plays in the Park series for 2026, Shrek the Musical:

Carl Bird as Shrek
Jaclyn Lenox as Fiona
Luke Basile as Donkey
Alex Ridder as Farquaad
Ryan Caddigan as Pinocchio
Molly Neff as Dragon
Ava Troconis as Young Fiona
Will Leotti as Young Shrek
Karen Blevins as Teen Fiona
Katy Reiser as Gingy
Paul Foster as Papa Ogre
Maddy Kaminsky as Mama Ogre

Fairytale Creatures and Ensemble:
Yann Westbrook, Allie Corris, Josiah Kemp, Sarah Decker, Elyse Lanterman, Robin Satty, Maura Spillane, Ethan Deych, Lucy Bobbin, Duncan Stewart, Joseph Schmidt, Julia Schmidt, Amelia Aron, Katherine Birckhead, Colleen Ridder, Priscilla Senger, Lauren Leotti, Nicole Pepe, Julia Keigher, Juliette Monroe, Remy Knoll, Caitlin Carey, Judy Segers, Germaine McGrath, Kelly Backus, Prisca Veera, Logan Wolper, Eliana Krever, Anahita Sathe, Riya Nomula, Ann Pattan, Madelyn Blevins, Charlie Giacalone, Rosalie Giacalone, Ellie Sullivan, Samantha Molle, Kate Kopera

Producer: Christine Petruzzell
Director: Beth Amiano Gleason
Assistant Director: Lisa Wolper
Musical Direction: John Birckhead
Choreographer: Kristin Sarboukh
Stage Manager: Amanda Zelinski

All shows begin at 8pm on:
July 16th, 17th, and 18th
July 23rd, 24th, and 25th

Save the date and come let your freak flag fly with us 💚🤍💚 !