Somerset Valley Players: Inspecting Carol (comedy)

Somerset Valley Players is staging *Inspecting Carol* in Hillsborough through May 3, with the comedy running at the company’s Little Red Schoolhouse playhouse. (svptheatre.org) The production opened April 17 and continues on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. at 689 Amwell Road in Hillsborough. (svptheatre.org) Somerset Valley Players lists ticket prices at $24 for adults and $22 for seniors, students, and children, with a running time of about 2.5 hours including intermission. (app.arts-people.com) The play is by Daniel J. Sullivan and follows a man who arrives to audition at a small theater and is mistaken for an investigator from the National Endowment for the Arts. The mix-up drops him into the troupe’s production of *A Christmas Carol*, where rehearsals spiral. (svptheatre.org) That setup puts the show inside a show: a backstage farce about a community theater trying to save its holiday production while cast members and directors scramble around the wrong assumption. Somerset Valley Players describes the result as a comedy built on slapstick, satire, and mistaken identity. (svptheatre.org) Holly J. Kowalenko directs the Hillsborough production, with Raymond Shinn producing and Gillian Velmer as assistant producer. Shannen Rivers is stage manager, Shayne Heluk designed the set, and Brent Kowalenko handled lighting and sound. (newjerseystage.com) The cast includes Kevern Cameron as Larry Vauxhall, Dawn Cimilluca as Dorothy Tree-Hapgood, Fred Cooper as Luther Beatty, Mike Johnson as Phil Hewlitt, and Cindy Magalio as Betty Andrews. Robyn Mandalakis, Rink Patel, Stacie Renz, Sam Tonn, Mark Shifton, David Wiiliams, and Joe Zedeny round out the company. (newjerseystage.com) Somerset Valley Players says it is in its 59th season in 2026 and markets itself as “affordable, enjoyable theater” in the Little Red Schoolhouse. On its season page, *Inspecting Carol* is the spring comedy slot before *Crimes of the Heart* opens in June. (svptheatre.org) For audiences looking for the remaining performances this week, the next dates are April 24, April 25, and April 26, before the final weekend on May 1 through May 3. (app.arts-people.com)