(CRANFORD, NJ) -- The Theater Project, Union County College's professional theater company, (1033 Springfield Ave., Cranford), will present Paul Rudnick's highly-entertaining madcap comedy Valhalla, July 5 through July 29. Artistic Director Mark Spina directs this comic epic, by the author of Jeffrey and In & Out, which is sure to deliver great belly laughs!

About the play, Mr. Spina said, "The audience (when not gasping for breath between laughs) is asked by Paul Rudnick to reflect on why it is that some people pursue beauty above all else, and then asks us to imagine what the world would be like without such folk."

Rudnick's fanciful Valhalla intertwines two stories: the life of Ludwig of Bavaria, the 1880's Mad King responsible for building a series of storybook castles inspired by Wagnerian operas, and the fictional adventures of James Avery, a wild Texas teenager of the 1940s. The play explores questions of beauty and madness, as both Ludwig and James pursue lives of operatic passion, bringing them in contact with such diverse figures as the small town inhabitants of Dainsville, Texas, most of the characters of Lohengrin and Princess Sophie, the loneliest humpback in Europe. Valhalla is outrageous fun confronting the price to be paid for pursuing and, seemingly, attaining everything you could dream of.

Piscataway-born playwright Paul Rudnick is the comic mastermind behind the stage plays Jeffery, I Hate Hamlet, The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, and most recently Regrets Only. His screenwriting credits include In and Out, Addams Family Values, The Stepford Wives, and uncredited contributions to Sister Act, The Addams Family, and The First Wives Club.

Valhalla opened in the spring of 2004 at the New York Theater Workshop. Of that production, the New York Daily News described it as "...full of funny moments." Time Out said "...a dizzy, brisk diptych that connects 19th-century Bavaria to 1940s Texas in a unified field theory of gayness." And the Village Voice said "...a juggling act skillful enough to revive vaudeville."

The Theater Project's production will showcase the comedic talents of Dennis DaPrile, Rick Delaney, Gail Lou, Stephen Medvidick, Kevin Sebastian and Jenelle Sosa. Production designers include Rohit K. Kapoor (set), Jerad Schomer (lights) and Maggie Baker Atkins (costumes), Joel Stigliano (sound) and Chris Wood (stage manager).

Performances are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm, Sundays at 3:00pm. Discussions will be held each Sunday immediately following the performance. Tickets are $20; students $10. Thursdays: all tickets $12. Sunday, July 8 has been designated as "Senior Sunday" - all senior citizen tickets are $12. An Audio Described performance will take place on Thursday, July 12. For ticket reservations, call (908) 659-5189. The Theater Project is wheelchair accessible. For more information, please visit www.TheTheaterProject.com.

The Theater Project is Union County College's Professional Theater Company, bringing artists from all over the state and New York City together in its productions.