Kevin Smith-Backed Jersey Devil Play Returns to the Stage

A play centered on the Jersey Devil returns with famed director Kevin Smith signed on as a presenting producer.

The Devil & Daisy Dirt tells the story of a diner waitress in the heart of the Pine Barrens who befriends the mythical cryptid. The play, created by Alex Dawson and Dan Diana, built a devoted following and sold out many of the nearly 50 stagings held across the state.

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The play drew praise from Joyce Carol Oates, who called it "riveting and one-of-a-kind." Beloved chronicler of quirky Garden State oddities, Weird N.J. magazine, came on board with a producing credit. One of the Weird N.J.-presenting productions took place at Smodcastle Cinemas in Atlantic Highlands. The theater is owned by Smith and his childhood friend, Ernie O’Donnell, who purchased it to prevent it from closing. O'Donnell sent footage of the production to Smith.

"I may make movies, but I also enjoy engaging an audience with the immediacy of live performance -- offering them a singular experience that can never be exactly replicated," Smith said. "The Devil & Daisy Dirt does this, while adding an element of the fantastic that's normally reserved for the silver screen."

READ MORE: New Jersey's Hottest Theater Ticket Features an 8-Foot Jersey Devil

The director agreed to add his name to the billing. The Devil & Daisy Dirt returns to the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center from Friday, Feb. 20 through Sunday, Feb. 22 for five shows.

New The Devil & Daisy Dirt Run Features Set, Puppet Upgrades

With Smith's name attached to the project, the creators were able to secure additional financing. The funding allowed them to make improvements to the eight-foot-tall puppet Diana crafted, as well as to the lighting, sound and set.

"There’s an operatic sort of beauty we’re reaching for that we never attempted," Dawson said. "The trick, of course, is to grab that grandness without compromising all the cracker-barrel qualities that made the show so intimate and fireside feeling."

Dawson will collaborate Smith in a separate project later this spring at Smodcastle with a radio play version of the movie Die Hard. Smith will play Hans Gruber in the production, which takes place April 4.

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