Mon River Arts — Attraction in Elizabeth

My son had a panic attack on stage during their recent camp. He ran off the stage and said he quit. The adults did not follow him, and they did not talk to him to find out what happened or how to help him. My son said he left the building and the adults did not know if this was true. The adults in charge confirmed with me over the phone that no one talked to him and found out what was going on. He eventually came back and rejoined rehearsal, but they made him sit out for the second run. The Camp Director, Ms Jen said “I don’t take kindly to quitting” and said they had to discuss whether he could keep his lead role. They decided to remove him from his role but he could be in the ensemble. I informed them this was not An acceptable solution and either he could continue in the role he earned or he wasn’t doing it. They would not let him keep his role and then told everyone my son chose to quit. I need to reiterate that at no point did any adult try to find out what was wrong, why he wanted to quit, and they didn’t try to find a solution. Throughout the entire process( we were told every day how wonderful he was doing. The board president then sent me an email informing me that it is their policy to allow kids to Leave the theatre and have their “five minutes” without being addressed by the staff. It is still unclear if my son even left the building because the adults do not know and they said they needed to pull security footage. In every show we did there, my son was painted as a problem child, however the executive director wouldn’t alert me of any behavior issues until LONG after they were over, even if I was in the building, which I often was. My son did two adult shows there, each show with one of his parents. The board president said my son had repeated behavior issues in all of the shows there but we were never aware of any major issues outside of 9/10 year old boys getting a little rowdy.

Also be warned that in the JR shows, 30+ children are left essentially unattended in a very unsafe and beyond out of code basement. Dirt floors covered with particle board and carpet remnants. They will assign two random parents to the basement as “chaperones” but not establish any guidelines, rules, boundaries, or expectations and do not introduce the adults to the children. Then those 30+ children are left downstairs with the two random adults for 30+ minutes with nothing to do but go crazy. The executive director did not tell me my son had “misbehaved” Until the show was closed and she messaged me at 10;15 at night on Facebook messenger to tell me. She told me to “ask him what he did. He will tell you.”

Everything I have posted here is my experience and can be proven with evidence of conversations and...

I’ve been doing shows here for almost 6 years now, and I’ve loved every single one, this is my home theater l, where I discovered my passion for musical theater, and a place where I’ve made so many amazing friends and felt like part of a family. All the staff are incredible and so nice, and everyone in all of the shows are incredibly talented and kind! If you’re looking for a theater near this area, whether you’re just starting out, or have been in 50 shows before, I would 110% recommend...

We have been to so many different theaters, for both cast and audience, and this place is so much friendlier than just about anywhere else. The staff is always amazing and so hospitable. The shows are always so much better than they maybe should be some times. We been a part of, and watched, other shows at other theaters with much bigger budgets and they usually fall short of the awesome entertainment value that MRA provides. A truly great experience...