They Met Onstage, Now They're Bringing Children's Theatre to Morris Plains

Stephanie and Robert Carr moved to Morris Plains just over a year ago with their now 2-year-old daughter, Sabrina, and they say they're very happy with their choice. "It had a lot of what I grew up with," Stephanie Carr said about the borough. "It's a small town and you can walk to anything. I can walk to the post office or to get milk." 

Her husband added, "That's how I grew up too, very much the same." Both said they love the friendliness of the neighborhood and have probably had more conversations with neighbors in the last month  then they did during the years in their previous home.

Robert Carr is the director of programs and services for the New Jersey Theatre Alliance. Stephanie Carr is managing director of Pushcart Players, a touring company synonymous with quality children's theatre in New Jersey for nearly four decades.

"We met doing a show at the ," Stephanie Carr said, recalling the time when she and her husband were working actors. "It was 'Ah, Wilderness,' the Eugene O'Neill play." That was in 1997, before both became what Robert Carr called "accidental administrators."

"We found we enjoyed, and we were good at, the administration side. It keeps us in the field that we love and it's more stable. Both of our jobs are promoting theater and the arts in New Jersey."

Due to a happy coincidence, the couple will get to work together in bringing the play "Peter and the Wolf" to the Borough School on Friday, March 4 at 7:30 p.m.

"I manage a program called The Stages Festival and Family Week at the Theatre which is a month-long celebration that brings theatre-related programming to numerous communities in all 21 counties," Robert Carr said. "Most programs are free for kids or very low cost."

He was hopeful, he said, that one of the venues this year could be in his family's new hometown. "With the assistance of the Morris Plains Municipal Alliance's director, Annette Wolff, we were able to do just that." 

After agreeing to host one of the productions, the borough was given a list of theatre companies from which to pick. To Stephanie Carr's delight, her company, Pushcart Players, was chosen. They will stage the classic tale, "Peter and the Wolf."

"I just want to say how happy we are to be in a town open enough to take a chance on a program like this and to welcome it with open arms," said Robert Carr. "It makes me confident to raise a child here. They do so many things for families."

Children 18 and under will be admitted free to "Peter and the Wolf." Adult admission is $5. Seats for anyone planning to attend, free or paid, must be reserved in advance. The performance will be held at the Borough School on Friday, March 4 at 7:30 p.m.