BRICK – For the first time in 30 years, the Brick Children’s Community Theatre has a place they can forever call home.
The Mantoloking Road Playhouse officially opened in March, providing a permanent home for the theatre troupe.
The Brick Children’s Community Theatre (BCCT) was founded in 1996 by a mother-daughter team who shared a passion for theatre with the children of Ocean and Monmouth counties. Brick Township resident Kendra Zarrilli, who is the Business Director for BCCT and owner of the Mantoloking Road Playhouse, became involved in the organization 15 years ago when her daughter joined the theatre group.
“After her last show, the mom stood up on the stage and she said, ‘this might be our last show, like we’re out of money.’ I remember thinking, ‘oh my gosh, that’s terrible,’” Zarrilli said. “I went to her after and I said ‘listen, I think I can help. I could do fundraising.’ We really just turned things around for them financially. That was how it all began.”
Zarrilli went on to be a board member, then eventually taking over the organization when the founder decided it was her time to leave. At the time, the troupe was performing shows at local schools throughout Brick.
The Zarrilli family has been involved with BCCT for more than 15 years. (Photo courtesy Kendra Zarrilli)
“People come to our shows and we exceed their expectations, which is great. But how many people aren’t coming because they have those low expectations? It’s in a high school; they’re thinking they’re going to see a school show. Our shows – they’re big budget shows, very professional,” she noted.
That’s when the group found its way to the Strand Theater in Lakewood and was able to have a larger space to showcase their talents.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the organization had to pause their shows. However, they slowly came back by doing shows when the governor opened gatherings up to 500.
“We did socially distanced shows outside. The kids were socially distanced. The audience was socially distanced. I mean, we put so much thought into this process,” Zarrilli said.
But as theaters started to reopen again, the Strand Theater did not.
“It took them longer than everybody else and we were ready to get back into theater and they just couldn’t accommodate us. It was a parting, you know, parting of the ways,” she said.
This left BCCT without a home. The group would perform at the Stafford Township Arts Center (STAC), but the long drive was becoming apparent. The troupe would also perform at the Grunin Center for the Arts in Toms River, however scheduling became difficult, Zarrilli noted.
This started the BCCT’s journey of finding a permanent home.
“It just became so evident. We need our own space,” she said.
The playhouse offers 120-tiered theater seats. (Photo courtesy Kendra Zarrilli)
For three to four years, Zarrilli and her husband Anthony drove around town to find the perfect home for BCCT. They eventually found an old building for sale on Mantoloking Road, across the street from their restaurant – Mantoloking Road Alehouse.
The Zarrilli family immediately went to work creating the playhouse, and in just five months BCCT’s new home was brought to life. The playhouse offers 120-tiered theater seats, she said. The space has the capability to do 16-foot high and 36-foot wide projections, with brand new LED lighting among the abundance of state-of-the-art tech. Additionally, the organization now has room to store its costumes, props, and set pieces where in the past they rented warehouse space.
“It was definitely a labor of love for lack of a better term. Yet here we are. We made it,” Zarrilli said.
BCCT held its first production of the year “Frozen,” which has six sold out performances at the Mantoloking Road Playhouse. On March 21, the organization hosted its grand opening gala featuring BCCT alumni Anthony D’Amato who returned to the stage as singer Remember Jones.
The Zarrillis with Remember Jones at the grand opening gala. (Photo courtesy Kendra Zarrilli)
She expressed how over the past 15 years, BCCT has become her family and the Playhouse is her way of giving back to the community theatre group.
“From looking for venues and things like that, you don’t realize there’s nothing like it. In Monmouth County, there’s all these theaters that the community just really supports. We really don’t have that in Ocean County,” she said.
“It’s for Brick. We live here. This is our home. Mantoloking is a shore town. We don’t have a downtown here. We just don’t have that feel,” Zarrili added. “I’m starting now to see, I feel like with this playhouse here – you know there’s a few new businesses next door, we have the restaurant across the street – I feel like this might be the start of making this section of Mantoloking Road that special destination place for the town.”
To learn more about BCCT’s upcoming shows, visit bcct.org.
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