Play about author onstage Friday, Saturday

“Exile from Main Street: A Portrait of Sinclair Lewis,” a one-man play celebrating the influential author known for his satirical and humorous critiques of society and human nature, will be performed at 7 p.m. Friday, March 21 and Saturday, March 22 at the Sparta Avenue Stage, 10 Sparta Ave. N., Sparta.

Written by Lance Belville and directed by Rose Burnett Bonczek, this new production stars Jay Nickerson, a Denville resident with extensive experience off-Broadway and on stages across the country.

His work also includes film, television, commercials and voice-over projects.

He holds an undergraduate degree in theater from the University of Minnesota and a master’s in acting from CUNY Brooklyn College.

Nickerson said he fell in love with the script while it was being developed by Belville. He describes “Exile from Main Street” as having a “dinner party” quality.

“Lance’s Sinclair Lewis is fascinating - brilliant, driven, mercurial and often very funny. After a few drinks, his wit could land him in trouble.”

Although Lewis wrote more than 24 novels, no advance reading is required to enjoy the play.

“This is a dramatic piece about the man and his work meant for a general audience and anyone who enjoys an evening of good storytelling,” Nickerson said.

Lewis was the first American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature (1930), and his novels once outsold those of F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Nickerson believes that audiences will leave the theater surprised by Lewis’s complexity, wit and intellect.

“People may find themselves pondering: What is a successful life? A happy life? How much fame, talent, or money is enough? What defines greatness?”

Tickets are $25 and may be purchased online at spartastage.com or reserved by calling 973-769-2893.

The event is made possible by Sparta Stage, a nonprofit formed to educate and promote “performance arts” in general with an emphasis and prominence placed on supporting the art of magic and prestidigitation.