Dinner-Theater Performance Previews Show Seeking to Become NJ’s Official Musical
On Christmas night 1776, with the American Revolution hanging by a thread, General George Washington crossed the Delaware River and won the Battles of Trenton and Princeton, before retiring to winter quarters near Morristown. During ten crucial days, the tide of war turned. Now, 250 years later, a preview of a new musical telling that story is coming to Morristown to entertain a dinner-theater audience at the Fig & Lily Garden Restaurant on July 29.
Seating will begin at 6pm for dinner, with the preview concert following from 7 to 8 pm in the outdoor courtyard of the restaurant. Mediterranean fare, including wine, will be available from a three-course special prix fixe menu that features entrée choices of Chicken Shish, Norwegian Salmon, Mediterranean Ratatouille, Cappadocia Kofte. Tickets are $120 and can be purchased at thecrossingmusical.com/events. In the event of rain, the show will be moved indoors.
“The Crossing reimagines Washington’s crossing of the Delaware, spotlighting the diverse, often overlooked voices of the Continental Army,” said John Allen Watts, the musical’s composer and a musical director at The Lucy Moses School in New York City.
Roger S. Williams, a founder of TenCrucialDays.org, underscored the production’s historical and civic significance: “The story of the crossing and the victories at Trenton and Princeton is New Jersey’s most important and famous contribution to American history.” Indeed, the full show will premiere at the Patriots Theater in Trenton on December 26, 2026, the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Trenton, and the musical is seeking to be named New Jersey’s “official musical” this year.
The musical centers on Thomas Paine, whose galvanizing essay The American Crisis — with its immortal opening, “These are the times that try men’s souls” — helped inspire the victories at Trenton. Paine is performed by James Nicholas, a New York-based actor and singer, and 1st prize winner of the 2016 Lotte Lenya Singing Competition. Nicholas has starred in shows off-Broadway, National Tours, and at theatres across the country. He created the role of Phillip Gardner in the Emmy Award-Winning Series Boardwalk Empire on HBO and has guest starred on multiple shows including “Boardwalk Empire,” “Law and Order,” “Fosse/Verdon,” and more.
Also featured are two important African American figures from the historical record, among them William “Billy” Lee, General Washington’s valet and constant companion, and Jacob Francis, an African American member of the Hunterdon County Militia during the revolution who is the subject of a book by local historian Larry Kidder, an advisor to the show and a past president of the Hopewell Valley Historical Society. Jacob Francis will be portrayed in the show by JP Harris (at left), an accomplished actor and singer who recently starred in The Start Up Musical at The Flea Theater and appeared in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.
The production is a joint effort of the creative team and the nonprofit TenCrucialDays.org, which is raising funds to bring the show to the stage, while promoting a petition to support the designation of The Crossing as the official musical of New Jersey. The campaign for official state recognition is already gaining momentum.