Pinelands Reginal High School grad, current students bringing theater to Little Egg Harbor Township

LITTLE EGG HARBOR -- A Pinelands Regional High School graduate, with help from current students, is bringing theater to the township.

Jessica Evans, 19, launched Bellarine Theatre Company in March. Through the non-profit organization, she hopes to educate and enrich the community about the world of dramatic arts.

"I was basically trying to figure out what do with my summer this year and I searched on the Internet on how to start a community theatre," said Evans, who will be a junior at Rowan University where she is pursuing a bachelor's degree in musical theater.

"I wanted to do something to make bigger strides for young actors in the community, to cater to them," she said.

Tuesday evening, Evans held a rehearsal with her theater troupe inside the Pinelands Regional High School auditorium. The members of Bellarine Theatre Company wore teal T-shirts that said "Party Like It's 1985 ..."as an advertisement for their first performance next month, the musical "The Wedding Singer."

Evans said the cast was chosen for the show in April and rehearsals started this month. The organization is funded through a $10,000 grant from the Pepsi Refreshment Project.

The majority of the theater company's members are Pinelands students.

"I'm so happy with the cast and this amazing energy. And I'm so happy to give back to the community that is supporting us," Evans said.

Fourteen-year-old Olivia Cruser, of Little Egg Harbor Township, called Evans an inspiration.

"I love singing and acting and performing and Jessica is amazing and what she is doing is a different experience," Cruser said.

Cruser is playing the role of Julia Sullivan in "The Wedding Singer."

"This is all going along so well. Everyone is learning fast and we all get along, but most of all it's fun," she said.

LJ. Esposito, 19, was getting into his character of Robbie Hart as he danced around the auditorium in white sunglasses. He said Evans is a good friend of his and they both performed in another local theater group "Our Gang Players."

Esposito and the rest of the cast ran through a scene of the show and performed the song "Casualty of Love." Evans said the choreography is basically pulled from Michael Jackson's hit "Thriller " video.

Because of Evan's work in other theater organizations and through the local school district, Esposito said, Bellarine Theatre Company is benefiting from Evans' name recognition.

The company's name -- a mash-up of the words "bella," meaning beautiful in Italian, and "marine," because the beach is nearby -- is getting noticed, too.

"I think this is a blast and it's great that a new theater company can launch up so quickly. I definitely hope we get a lot of people to come out for the show. This is a well-known movie and with its success on Broadway it will be successful here," Esposito said.

Contact Donna Weaver:

609-226-9198

DWeaver@pressofac.com

To see the show

What: The Wedding Singer performed by the Bellarine Theatre Company

Where: Pinelands Regional High School auditorium 565 Nugentown Road, Little Egg Harbor Township

When: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 18-20

How much: $12 adults, $10 students, $8 children12 and under