Chapel Street Players hosted An Evening of One Act Plays at the George Wilson Center, a temporary venue until they move into their new home. The small, but mighty theater company proved that they don’t need fancy lights and sets to put on an entertaining evening. All that’s really needed is a few props and a talented group of actors to suspend disbelief and transport us to different worlds.

Happy Days, written by Thomas Ott and directed by Christine Seisler, opened the show. This short play, featuring the acting talents of Alex Bock and Nick Keresztury, is an amusing tale of two strangers meeting rather comically in the park and exploring the possible benefits their burgeoning friendship could bring. There’s just one thing that could end it before it begins, but you’ll have to watch to see what that is.

Grave Wars, written by Bret Ioli and directed by Brian Touchette, features the venerable acting talents of Rachel Barton, Tami Lunsford, and CSP veteran Cindy Starcher. While tending adjacent headstones in a cemetery, two women, previously related by the marriage of their children, discuss family, the upcoming birthday of their mutual grandchild, and subjects that are uncomfortable for them both. Touching and funny, these ladies tell a great story.

The Stronger, written by August Strindberg and directed by Bill Fellner, features Karen Shanks and Tina Walls. This poignant tale is one of two women, friends, who meet by chance in a café on Christmas Eve. The meeting is cordial at first, but as the moments pass, one of the women comes to realize that her friend is her husband’s former mistress. As the moments pass, she comes to realize the extent to which the affair has affected her married life. We’re left to decide which of the women is stronger. 

There Shall Be No Bottom (a bad play for worse actors), written by Mark O’Donnell and directed by Bill and Susan King, with the acting talents of Kelley Bielewicz, Alex Bock, Robert Chase and Ahmed Khan, will remind you instantly of The Play That Goes Wrong. Misinterpreted lines, whole pages of dialogue skipped, one actor desperately trying to hold the production together, while another actor is stuck in traffic, and the stage manager awkwardly trying to fill in results in great fun. This drawing room romp will definitely get you to laugh.

Jumping by Bill Porter and directed by Nicole Pierce, features Paul Bielewicz Jr., Amy Culver, and Nancy Kersey. Contemplating suicide by leaping to her death from a bridge, Beverly suddenly encounters Beth, another jumper, who is there to end it all because of her annoying husband. But because of her surprise meeting with Beverly, Beth has missed the perfect moment to jump. There is a certain etiquette, after all. The women sit on the bridge to chat and Beth gets Beverly to change her mind. Beverly decides not to jump. It’s a great story with a twist ending.

Morning on Mimosa Lane, written by Gwen Armstrong Barker, directed by Susan Moak, and starring Meg Barton and Susie Moak, is a story of friendship between two women and the relationships they’ve had with the men in their lives. Susie Moak is in rare form and Meg Barton is great in the touching, yet humorous one act.

Love Beyond the Stars, written and directed by Brian Smith with the acting talents of Fallon Berg, Patrick Cathcart, Nance Reeves, and Victor Wiebe. A time traveler from another world arrives on Earth to meet the man that discovered…er, will discover…her planet. This alien love story is cute and funny. Fallon Berg is out of this world as the charming extra-terrestrial. 

Fourteen, written by Alice Gerstenberg and directed by Michelle Cullen with the acting talents of Fallon Berg, Melody Bock, and Rocky Cathcart, opens with Mrs. Pringle preparing to host a dinner party to introduce her daughter, Elaine, to the city’s most eligible bachelor, Oliver Farnsworth. Illness and a blizzard force guests to cancel at the last minute and hilarity ensues as Mrs. Pringle, Elaine, and the butler try to salvage the evening. An enjoyable story presented by a most capable cast.

An Evening of One Act Plays delivers an evening of fun and runs until October 7^th. Reserve your tickets today by visiting  http://www.chapelstreetplayers.org.

Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, a 1976 play by Ed Graczyk, opened on the Chapel Street Players’ stage Friday night (Apr 22nd). Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, tells the story of an all-female fan club called the Disciples of James Dean who meet at the H. L. Kressmont & Company five-and-dime in McCarthy, Texas. Spanning some 20-years, the play is slightly bizarre and somewhat banal with the disciples fulfilling a promise to meet in 1975 to commemorate Dean’s untimely death, then reaching back to 1955 for their backstory, then flip-flopping back and forth through time to advance the story in a mélange of confessions, obsessions, and surprises. This production, directed ably by Michelle Cullen, stars Carol Van Zoeren, Pam Huxtable, Danielle Cathcart, Michelle Opalesky, Nicole Peirce, Alex Bock, Kathleen Kimber, Cindy Starcher, and Kelley Bielewicz.

Continue reading “Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean” →

Play On!, the hilarious comedy by Rick Abbott (a pseudonym for the late playwright, Jack Sharkey), opened on the Chapel Street Players’ stage Friday night (Feb 11^th). Play On! is the hysterical story of a theater group trying desperately to put on a play (Murder Most Foul-no, not that one) despite production problems and constant, maddening interference from a novice playwright who keeps re-writing the script. This production, directed most capably by Jeff Robleto, stars Melody Bock, Kerry Slinkard, Meg Barton, Shawn Kline, Nathaniel Rambo, Amelia Moss, Jessica Lorin Tanner, Gabrielle Rambo, Caitlin Custer, and Katie Brady.

Continue reading “Play On! Or Murder Most Funny!” →

Charles Dickens’ classic Christmas tale comes to life on the Chapel Street Players stage as a 1940s radio broadcast this holiday season complete with delightful vintage commercials, live sound effects, and musical underscoring as CSP presents A Christmas Carol: A Live Radio Play directed by Brian M. Touchette and featuring the talents of Richard J. Cohen, Steve Connor, Judith A. David, Frank Newton, Walt Osborne, Nicole C. Pierce, and Joseph Pukatsch.

A Christmas Carol is arguably the most famous Christmas story ever. First appearing in December 1843 as a novella written by Charles Dickens, this cautionary tale of a bitter old man who has forgotten how to love and, indeed, forgotten how to show even the simplest acts of kindness, has endured throughout years. The story of Ebeneezer Scrooge, first visited by the ghost of his former partner, Marley, and then by three Christmas spirits that take him on a whirlwind journey to teach him the true meaning of Christmas has enjoyed countless reprints, stage productions, and a multitude of adaptations for television, radio, and films. This production, adapted for the stage by Joe Landry, features a handful of actors who play dozens of characters. In his Director’s Note, Touchette, reminds us that the actors, without benefit of costumes or make-up, have to convince the audience that they are different characters. They all do so with remarkable finesse.

The incredible ensemble cast is energized, very capably drawing the audience into the story. Richard J. Cohen plays Freddie Filmore playing Ebeneezer Scrooge. Cohen brings exuberance and great feeling to the role of Scrooge who makes the audience believe that by the end of the story, he is a man transformed. Steve Connor brings the character of Jake Laurents to life with seven on-air roles including Ebenezer’s nephew, Fred, and the Ghost of Christmas Present. He does so with pizazz. Judith A. David is Sally Applewhite and charmingly brings to life eight characters, including many of the women in Ebeneezer’s life. Frank Newton is engagingly entertaining as Harry “Jazzbo” Haywood who plays nine characters including young Ebeneezer Scrooge and Scrooge’s iconic clerk Bob Cratchit as well as Tiny Tim. Walt Osborne as Professor Maxwell D’Arcy tickles the ivories in this production and provides some hilarity with his quest to read a note given to him before airtime. Nicole C. Pierce as Lana Sherwood brings six roles to life including the ghost of Christmas Past and a delightful young girl charming Santa Claus and the audience with the description of the doll she’d like for Christmas. Finally, Joseph Pukatsch returns to the CSP stage in another silent but fascinating role as Herman “Whizz Bang Pop” Smith, the special effects man for the broadcast, making this reviewer long for the days of old and the wonderful radio broadcasts with the brilliant sound effects that are, sadly, no longer part of our daily lives.

A Christmas Carol: A Live Radio Play is a charming take on this all-time favorite holiday story that will have no one saying “Bah Humbug!” The show runs from December 10-18. Reserve your tickets today by calling the theater box office at (302) 368-2248 or by visiting https://chapelstreetplayers.org/. Happy Holidays and may God bless us everyone.

The House of Blue Leaves, the 1971 black comedy by American playwright John Guare, with its somewhat warped view of fame, celebrity, religion, and the dark underbelly of the American Dream, premiered on the Chapel Street Players stage this past Friday evening. Directed by Judith A. David, The House of Blue Leaves stars Zachary Jackson, Matthew Ford, Danielle Finlay, Pam Huxtable, Meg Barton, Colleen Boyle, Susie Moak, MacKenzie Warrick, Michael D. Peco, Matthew Brown, and Michelle Opalesky.

 

First staged in 1966 (Act I), the play is set in Sunnyside, Queens in 1965—a turbulent period in American history marked by political upheavals, challenges to the social status quo, Vietnam, assassinations, and the dawn of the Civil Rights movement—and focuses on Artie Shaughnessy (Jackson), a disillusioned zookeeper and would-be songwriter during Pope Paul VI’s visit to New York City. Artie dreams of achieving fame and fortune in Hollywood. When Blue Leaves was written, fame was more fleeting, less attainable, but in this age of YouTube, Instagram, and other social media platforms rewarding just about anyone with 15-minutes of fame (talented or otherwise), Artie’s character isn’t too implausible nor does his quest for fame seem so unattainable. 

 

 

It’s painfully obvious in the first moments of the play that Artie has no talent for writing music when he tries and fails to charm an apathetic audience at amateur hour. As the play opens, Artie is abruptly wakened by Bunny Flingus (Finlay), his abrasive, self-serving girlfriend, who insists that Artie run out into the street to wave his musical compositions at His Holiness so the pontiff can bless them as the papal motorcade passes by. The plan is for Artie to have his schizophrenic wife, Bananas (Huxtable), committed to an institution that inspires the play’s title, so he and Bunny can move to California where Artie’s old neighborhood pal, famed director Billy Einhorn (Peco), can open doors for Artie. Jackson brings his usual high energy to the role which exactly matches Finlay’s incredible high energy. The chemistry between the two as they flirt and fight almost convinces you that their scheme might actually work…almost. But what it really does is generate empathy for Bananas. The back and forth banter between Jackson and Finlay is the highlight of the first act and provides comical moments. 

 

 

Huxtable does a fine turn as Bananas, enduring Bunny’s attacks and Artie’s threats of commitment with a sort of quiet grace. Shabbily dressed in frumpy house clothes, Huxtable moves about the stage like a miserable ghost, longing to experience emotions that aren’t suppressed by pills that have been forced down her throat. Despite her bewildering habit of barking like a dog, she may be the most human person in the room.

 

 

Act II opens on a disturbing note. Artie and Bananas’ son, Ronnie (Ford), emerges from his hiding place to a vacated apartment and delivers a monologue that reveals his own disquieting plan for becoming famous. From there, the second act descends into farcical chaos. Billy’s girlfriend, Corrinna Stroller (Barton), turns up for a brief visit before going on to Australia. Deaf since an accident on a movie set, the former actress promptly loses her hearing aids and desperately tries to hide her disability. Barton’s comic timing is really terrific in these scenes.

 

 

A trio of eccentric (and very funny) nuns (Boyle, Moak, and Warrick), eager to see the pope, somehow end up getting trapped on the roof and join the fracas in the Shaughnessys’ apartment, climbing in through the window to watch the papal coverage on TV. The nuns don’t hang around long, but they do offer an unholy amount of zaniness. Warrick is especially good as a sweet young aspirant inspired by The Sound of Music to become a bride of Christ. She’s ultimately inspired by events to become a young divorcee.  Much of Act II is noisy and chaotic with the words and actions of the characters mixing together, like multiple broadcasts all at once. Finally, Billy, ably played by Peco, shows up following an inconceivable tragedy and is the quintessential Hollywood big wig. A policeman (MP) and a nurse round out the cast in the second act played by Brown and Opalesky respectively.

 

 

David’s direction seems well-suited to this difficult material. It seems this is not her first time directing this play. Ray Barto’s set design, Brian Touchette’s lighting design, and Caitlin Adams’ sound design are all up to CSP’s exceptional standards as is costume design. Kudos to Nancy Starch, Cindy Starcher, and the cast.

 

As David stated in her Director’s Note, “Those searching for their place among the stars can be hilarious, scary or sad…sometimes all three at once.” The House of Blue Leaves runs through February 29th. Call the box office at (302) 368-2248 or visit http://www.chapelstreetplayers.org to reserve your tickets today.

Newark becomes twelfth century France as Chapel Street Players presents The Lion in Winter, James Goldman’s 1966 play depicting the personal and political conflicts of Henry II of England, his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, their children and their guests during Christmas 1183. The play stars John Barker, Corinne McMahon, Sean McGuire, Paul Henry, Steve Travers, Cindy Starcher, and Timothy Sheridan under the direction of Gwen Armstrong Barker.

It’s Christmas 1183 at Henry II of England’s castle in Chinon, Anjou, Angevin Empire. Eleanor, whom Henry has had imprisoned since 1173 for attempting to kill him, is arriving at Chinon for a holiday visit with her family. The story, which has themes of sibling rivalry, infidelity, parental favoritism, and abusive power, centers around a battle for the throne between Henry and Eleanor, their three surviving sons Richard, Geoffrey, and John, and their Christmas Court guest, the King of France, Philip II Augustus, who was the son of Eleanor’s ex-husband, Louis VII of France. Henry favors John (since his eldest son and namesake is deceased), the sulky and sullen youngest son, who is in all ways a spoiled brat, as his successor while Eleanor backs Richard, a more virile and regal choice. Meanwhile, Geoffrey schemes in the background as the family engages in a dynastic chess match with the crown as the prize and Alais, Philip’s half-sister, who has been at court since she was betrothed to Richard at age eight, but has since become Henry’s mistress, an unwilling pawn in this grueling stalemate.

Goldman wrote Lion some four years after Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf and although this twelfth century battle royal echoes that greater play, the historical fact-based work may not resonate quite so well with contemporary audiences, so Goldman infused his play with modern day jocularity to help us relate to these Plantagenet schemers. It works to a degree. Lion is more historical farce than Shakespearian drama and plays much funnier on stage than the more solemn 1968 film starring Peter O’Toole and Katharine Hepburn with an overabundance of one-liners such as, “What shall we hang, the holly or each other?” And this gem by Eleanor, “Henry’s bed is Henry’s province, he can people it with sheep for all I care… which on occasion he has done.” The scene in which Henry arrives in Philip’s bedroom for round two of their political negotiations, only to discover that all three of his sons are cowering behind tapestries and have been plotting against him plays more like a Feydeau farce (or at least a Joe Orton one). The comedy becomes rather spicy when Henry learns that manly Richard the Lionheart, with all his prickling aggression has been having a gay fling with Philip.

What really drives the play is the relationship between Henry II and his once beloved queen. The marital slugfest between Henry (John Barker) and Eleanor (Cindy Starcher) is like Albee’s George and Martha, each striking sparks off of each other like swords against stone in furious quarrels. Equally shocking are the sudden kindhearted moments where we discover the vestiges of their love and tenderness. Barker delivers a nice performance, swaggering around the stage with a mixture of rage and charming wit. Starcher affectingly suggests a woman all too aware that she is no longer in her prime, but who refuses to give ground to her husband. When Henry and Eleanor tear chunks of flesh from one another like two vultures, it makes for good theater.

Steve Travers does a fine turn as Richard, the aggressive, handsome warrior and future king. Paul Henry stands out as the cold, amoral schemer Geoffrey. He’s attractive, charming, and has the strongest intellect of the family. Sean McGuire’s characterization of John is a bit more puzzling. John is described as spoiled, fearful, and weak with a boyish outlook. McGuire’s portrayal of John, however, is not so much overindulged, malcontent teen as it is gay and campy, which may not be the intent, but either through direction or interpretation, comes off that way. Nevertheless, McGuire provides some great comic moments. Corinne McMahon plays Alais, Henry’s mistress, with grace and quiet confidence while Timothy Sheridan delivers a splendid performance as Philip who is impressive and handsome. Philip is not as adept at manipulation as Henry, but acquires greater skill as the play unfolds.

Gwen Armstrong-Barker does a nice job with this production. Although long at nearly three hours, the play moves along and doesn’t get too bogged down. However, a purple pillow upon which to sit my ass is sorely needed. The scene changes are overlong and involved, with several people moving about, placing and replacing props as if they were making it up on the spot. Curtis King and Gwen Armstrong-Barker deserve high marks for their set design. Joseph Pukatsch, in addition to filling the role of stage manager, also did nice work as the sound and lighting designer. Finally, compliments to Sean McGuire for costume design. 

However terrible your own yuletide celebrations prove; however vicious the infighting, they are nothing compared to Henry II’s Christmas party at his castle Chinon in 1183. The Lion in Winter runs through November 23rd. Call the box office at (302) 368-2248 or visit http://www.chapelstreetplayers.org to reserve your tickets today.