Centenary Stage Company’s Great Authors Out Loud Series returns with a staged reading of Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull” on Saturday, Oct. 16 at 2 p.m. in the Sitnik Theatre of the Lackland Performing Arts Center, 715 Grand Ave, Hackettstown.

The performance is dedicated to Liz Gordon, a supporter of the Great Authors Out Loud Series, Centenary State Company programming and a member of the advisory board. Gordon, 92, died on Sept. 7 at her daughter’s home in Middleville.

To reserve a seat for the performance, call the Centenary Stage Company box office at (908) 979 – 0900 or visit Centenary Stage Company on-line at centenarystageco.org, a $5 fee is required for a reserved seat.

“The Seagull” tells the story of famed actress Arkadina who visits her family with her young lover Trigorin.They become ensnared in a tragicomic tangle of romance, intrigue, and unrequited love. Anne Occhiogrosso and Randall Duk Kim will direct and star. Filling out the rest of the cast are Stephen Davis, Emaline Williams, Nick Bettens, Emily Elizabeth Bennett, David Sitler, Carl Wallnau, Colleen Wallnau, Ozborn Focht, and Kylah Wilson.

Duk Kim and Occhiogrosso have been involved in classical theatre for 40 years. They founded the American Players Theatre in Spring Green, WI in 1979 along with the late Charles J. Bright. It the only professional, outdoor classical theatre company with a rotating repertory in America at the time and received a Tony Award nomination in 1985 for “Outstanding Regional Theatre in America”.

As creators of the Centenary Stage Company series “Great Authors Out Loud”, Kim and Occhiogrosso have offered readings from a wide variety of authors. Previous readings include works by Edgar Allen Poe, Mark Twain, Dorothy Parker, and James Thurber, as well as William Shakespeare, Sophocles, Moliere, Chekhov, and Ibsen.

Centenary Stage Company remains committed to the health and safety of our community and adheres to all requirements set forth by the State of New Jersey. For more information regarding CSC COVID-19 policies and policy updates, visit centenarystageco.org/faq.

The 2021-22 season of performing arts events at the Centenary Stage Company is made possible through the generous support of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the NJ State Council on the Arts, the Shubert Foundation, the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, the Sandra Kupperman Foundation, the John and Margaret Post Foundation, and CSC corporate sponsors, including Platinum Season Sponsor The House of the Good Shepherd, Silver Sponsors Hackettstown Medical Center Atlantic Health System, Home Instead Senior Care (Washington), and Fulton Bank, and Centenary Stage Company members and supporters.