{"id":346750,"date":"2026-09-14T22:10:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T22:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/346750\/"},"modified":"2026-09-14T22:10:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T22:10:10","slug":"photos-from-the-old-ladies-bar-at-the-players-guild-of-leonia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/346750\/","title":{"rendered":"PHOTOS from “The Old Ladies Bar” at The Players Guild of Leonia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Published by New Jersey Stage<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

originally published: 09\/14\/2026<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(LEONIA, NJ) — The Players Guild of Leonia (PGL)<\/a> opens their 2026-2027 season with a world premiere production of The Old Ladies Bar, in collaboration with Kaleidoscope Ensemble Theatre Company<\/a>. This new play, written by Natasha Caroline Lowery Rivers, runs weekends from September 18-27, 2026 at the at the Civil War Drill Hall Theater in Leonia. Photographer Chris Hietikko was on hand to take photos.<\/p>\n

Directed by T.S. Murphy \u2014 Co-Founder of Kaleidoscope, and an active PGL member, and produced by Jonnine DeLoatch, Kim Queren, and Chris Hietikko, The Old Ladies Bar is set at a bar\/lounge called The Charlene & The Mister, in a traditionally Black neighborhood located in Dickinson, Texas. When a group of longtime friends reunite there after years apart \u2013 old wounds, hidden agendas, laughter, and hard truths resurface. As the women confront their shared past, they discover whether friendship can survive the test of time. The Old Ladies Bar isn\u2019t just about a bar \u2013 it\u2019s about legacy.<\/p>\n

Producer\u00a0Jonnine DeLoatch says \u201cIt\u2019s about the things our parents and grandparents leave behind, the memories we fight to preserve, and the things we are afraid to lose. But it\u2019s also about something deeper \u2013 it\u2019s about honor, redemption, forgiveness, friendship. And most importantly, it\u2019s about having the courage to embrace your truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The focus of the 2026-2027 PGL season is to really embrace and grow the \u201ccommunity\u201d in community theatre by creating a more inclusive and diverse theatrical community. Partnering with Kaleidoscope \u2013 Bergen County\u2019s BIPOC theatre group, focused on creating spaces for diverse narratives and an appreciation for all cultural heritages \u2013 is the first step in achieving PGL\u2019s commitment to fostering varied stories, new artistic partnerships, and fresh audiences in our community.<\/p>\n

The talented all BIPOC cast is led by Valerie J. Johnson as Peaches, the owner of The Charlene & The Mister; Donniee Barnes as Freddie Mae; Hope Harley as Mary Alice; Taylor Worrell-Stith as Wanda; and Doris A. Dollard as Lettie.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Advertise with NJ Stage for $50-$100 per month, click here for info<\/a><\/p>\n

The production team includes Alice Boarman Garcia (Assistant Director), Jeff Parsons (Stage Manager), Chris Hietikko (Scenic Designer), Yvette Ortega (Props), Harold Todman (Sound), Evan Hawkins (Lighting), Olivia Cancel (Assistant Stage Manager), and Natasha Lowery (Costumes).<\/p>\n

Performances take place Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00pm and Sunday matinees at 2:00pm. Tickets are available for purchase<\/a> online. The Civil War Drill Hall Theater is located at 130 Grand Avenue in Leonia, New Jersey.<\/p>\n

There will be a special \u201cTalk Back: with the playwright Natasha Caroline Lowery Rivera and the cast and production team following the 2pm performance on Sunday September 20th, moderated by Tiffany Hutchinson.<\/p>\n

Here are a few more photos from the production.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

ALL PHOTOS BY CHRIS HIETIKKO<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Published by New Jersey Stage originally published: 09\/14\/2026 (LEONIA, NJ) — The Players Guild of Leonia (PGL) opens…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":346751,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,9,24,63,129,131,130],"class_list":["post-346750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-bronx","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=346750"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346750\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/346751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=346750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=346750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=346750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}