The Rockaway Theatre Company will host the world premiere of The Value, a brand-new dark comedy by Utah-based playwright and theatre professor Nicholas Dunn, beginning Friday, May 23.
The production will take place at the John Gilleece Theatre, located in Building T4 at Fort Tilden in Rockaway Park—home to the Rockaway Theatre Company, a long-established community theatre group known for its high-quality productions and loyal following.
The Value follows three small-time crooks who, down on their luck, are enlisted to steal a painting from a museum. The job spirals into unexpected territory after they meet a mysterious buyer at a seedy motel, setting the stage for a tense and unpredictable story filled with humor, conflict, and moral ambiguity.
Frank Caiate, artistic director of the Rockaway Theatre Company and play director, selected The Value from over 400 play submissions. “We are a very established company, and we do a five-show season, usually named things that people know of. To do a play that literally no one has heard of because it’s new was a big departure and venture,” Caiate said.
He described Dunn’s script as an emotional rollercoaster. “It is really, really, really funny, and then it gets really serious and then intense—and that’s the kind of play that I like,” he said. “The acting is incredible, the set is incredible, and the production value is super high.”
Caiate noted that The Value has already received accolades for its script and praised the cast, which includes Jonathan Nathaniel Dingle-El as Ian, Jannicke Steadman as Zoey, Angel Tavarez as Victor, and Gil Ron as McEvoy.
Caiate also emphasized the importance of supporting emerging playwrights through professional productions. “Works that are really good, they get their chance to start entering the mainstream pathways, which is important because it gives them visibility,” he said. “It’s nice to start to be known as a place where new works can get their start, and people can see things they’ve never seen before. It makes it really special.”
Performances of The Value will be held on:
May 23, May 24, May 29, May 30, and May 31 at 8 p.m.
June 1 and June 8 at 2 p.m.
June 6 and June 7 at 8 p.m.
For more information and tickets, visit rockawaytheatrecompany.org.
