EVENT: Kim Zimmer's "Lost Boy Found in Whole Foods"

Since the cancellation of GUIDING LIGHT last September, Kim Zimmer has stayed busy connecting with fans at various events and writing a tell-all book on her career as one of daytimes’ most recognizable Stars. She’s now taking to the stage in Tammy Ryan’s acclaimed play, "Lost Boy Found in Whole Foods," at Premiere Stages at Kean University in a co-production with Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey.

The production runs from September 2 through 19 in the Zella Fry Theatre on the Kean University campus, located at 1000 Morris Avenue, Union, N.J.

Zimmer, who returns to daytime on ABC’s ONE LIFE TO LIVE beginning October 1, says she was captivated after reading the story of Gabriel, an optimistic former “lost boy” from Sudan who meets a suburban mother in desperate need of attention and adventure. What begins as an unlikely friendship becomes an unbreakable bond that changes the pair and leads them to a better understanding of their place in the world.

“Five minutes after I finished reading the script, I called and committed to the project. I was incredibly moved by it,” recalls Zimmer, who says her character of Christine, a woman in transition who befriends a Sudanese “Lost Boy” she meets while at Whole Foods.

“It really is the inspirational story of a journey of three people, as they struggle to get their lives back on track. It’s about lives in transition,” Zimmer said.

Lives in transition are something Zimmer understands all too well, having lived one personally over the past year as her three children are grown and now out of the house and the Guiding Light routine and family that she knew for decades came to a halt last year when CBS cancelled the longest-running soap opera in history. The actress said that was some of the draw of the role.

“I could definitely relate. It’s an understanding that there is a bigger world around us, regardless of how our worlds may be shaken or changed, we’re just a small isolated part of what’s really happening in the bigger picture,” Zimmer added.

Zimmer leads the accomplished professional cast that includes David Farrington, Jamil Mangan, Trish McCall Warner Miller, and Alexandra Rivera. John Pietrowski directs. While known by millions as Reva Shayne, she is also an accomplished theatre actress, having starred off-Broadway in John Patrick Shanley’s "Four Dogs and a Bone" and in numerous regional productions including "The Rainmaker," "Jake’s Women," "Blood Brothers," "Dirty Blonde" and as Mama Rose in "Gypsy." Zimmer has also appeared in guest roles on MCGUYVER, MODELS INC, SEINFELD, DESIGNING WOMEN, and several films including Body Heat.

Zimmer is hoping her celebrity will bring attention to the cause and raise awareness and funding for the resettled Lost Boys from Southern Sudan as well as the ongoing atrocities occurring in the northern Sudanese region of Darfur.

A special opening night pre-show reception for donors will be held on September 3rd in Kean University’s new Human Rights Institute and a champagne toast with Zimmer and her castmates follows the performance. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Newark-based non-profit, The Darfur Rehabilitation Project (DRP), founded by a group of Darfurians living in the U.S. who are deeply concerned about the human rights tragedy occurring in their homeland in western Sudan. DRP members travel throughout the U.S. to inform the public and bear witness to the current atrocities occurring in Sudan. A limited number of tickets priced at $100 are available to the public. To purchase tickets for this event, call 908-737-4092.

Tickets for productions range from $15 to $25, with discounts for groups. For more information, call 908-737-SHOW or visit www.kean.edu/premierestages. For group rates and packages, please call 908-737-4077.

All performances take place in the Zella Fry Theatre on the Kean University campus, located at 1000 Morris Avenue, Union, N.J. Premiere Stages offers affordable prices, air-conditioned facilities and free parking close to the theatre. Premiere Stages provides free or discounted tickets to patrons with disabilities. All Premiere Stages facilities are fully accessible spaces. Please call for a list of sign-interpreted, audio-described or open-captioned performances. Assistive listening devices and large print programs are available at all times. Publications are available with advanced notice in alternate formats.

Premiere Stages is made possible in part through funding from The New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Kean’s Quality First Initiative, The Westfield Foundation, The Gleason Family Foundation, The Provident Bank Foundation, and through the generous support of individual patrons.

Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey is made possible in part through funding from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the F.M. Kirby Foundation, Inc., Bank of America, the Bay and Paul Foundation, The Bickford Foundation, Dramatist Guild Fund, Horizon Foundation of New Jersey, The Prudential Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Travelers, The Victoria Foundation, and many corporations, foundations and individuals.

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