Chatham Playhouse's 'Jersey Voices' One-Act Festival Celebrates 20th Year

The Chatham Community Players will host its 20th annual Jersey Voices One-Act Festival with six performances between July 25 and August 3.  This year’s production will include ten original short plays written by New Jersey playwrights as well as two original dance pieces to represent the 20 years of “Jersey Voices.”  They will be presented in repertory, with interlocking casts, in our black box theater in the Chatham Playhouse

Realizing that this was the 20th anniversary production of Jersey Voices made this year’s production very special from the start. No one would have predicted, twenty years ago that this one-act festival would be here today, so Chatham Community Players wanted to do something to commemorate the continued success of Jersey Voices over the years. With an average of 100 plays a year submitted for consideration; it appears that somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000 plays over the 20 years have been received and considered.

As Producer and Artistic Director since 2002, Bob Denmark and Bob Lukasik return to celebrate and present Jersey Voices to new audience and to those familiar with the pieces. Denmark and Lukasik agree that it is usually pretty easy to take the 100 submissions and have a group of readers agree on about a dozen, but then it gets pretty difficult to come up with 6 pieces that fit together and make for an enjoyable evening of theater. However, after deciding to do a "best of" they found themselves with 112 plays none of which were, on their face, out of contention - they had all been picked as one of the best of their year in the past. Lukasik reflected, “I sometimes wonder was it really 20 years ago that Cliff Odle came to the Trustees of The Chatham Community Players and pitched the idea of doing original works at The Chatham Playhouse in the summer?  We considered the enthusiasm that Cliff, and his young friends that he brought with him, and couldn't turn down their proposal. Originally proposed as a Repertory production, it's exciting that after 20 years that will finally happen.”

Denmark explained, “We read all 112 again but early on realized that we had no chance of getting to 6 "favorites" in any rational way. So when we got to the usual dozen, we decided that we'd do all of them, in repertory - 6 one night and the other 6 the next night and we'd rotate throughout the run.”  They were fortunate to be able to choose 5 dramas, 5 comedies, and 2 original dance works, all of which had been well received by audiences in the past. “We expect both collections to be extremely entertaining and we expect that many Jersey Voices fans will want to come back to see both production”, added Denmark.

Performance dates for “Program A” are July 25 and August 2 at 8pm and July 27 at 7pm. Performance dates for “Program B” are July  26 and August 1 at 8pm and August 3 at 7pm. All performances will be performed at the Chatham Playhouse 23 North Passaic Ave Chatham, NJ.  All tickets to each “Program” are $15, but if you buy one of the “Combo Tickets” for $25, it allows you entry for both Program A and Program B (one performance from each Program).  To access the theater’s online ticketing service, simply go to ccp.ticketleap.com.  To purchase a “Combo Ticket” (tickets to both Programs), you must contact the Box Office at (973) 635-7363.  For more information, call the box office at (973) 635-7363 or go to www.chathamplayers.org.  It is highly recommended that tickets be purchased in advance.  Patrons with special needs requiring seating accommodations should contact the Playhouse at least 24 hours prior to the performance. Without prior notice, accommodations cannot be guaranteed.

The following pieces will be performed as “Program A”:

Ebbets Field by Frank Briamonte of Scotch Plains
A cherished childhood memory is revisited.  This production features Art Delo of West Orange, Mike King of New Providence and Kendall Green of Westfield. Directed by Arnold J. Buchiane of Summit

Grandparents Day by Grace Wessbecher of Morris Plains
Two grandparents each narrate their own story by reminiscing about growing up in Ireland in two different religions and therefore two different neighborhoods. There is an attraction between them that would never have been allowed but that was then and this is now.  This production features Howard Fischer of Berkeley Heights and Geraldine Baillod of Rockaway. Directed by Joann Scanlon of Chatham

Eleanor Descending a Staircase by Ian August of Lawrenceville
Eleanor wants to buy a print of a painting for her husband's birthday. To do that, she must wrestle with what is Art, what is its purpose in life, and why is this sales clerk such an ass?  This production features Judi Laganga of Roselle Park and Brian Carroll of West Orange. Directed by Jon DeAngelis of Chatham

Run of the River by William Kovacsik of Singapore
A father gets an unexpected second chance to tell his son things he meant to say.  This production features Christopher C. Gibbs of Scotch Plains and Matt Lafargue of Morristown. Directed by Maybelle Cowan-Lincoln of Morris Plains

In Sickness and Fine China by Margaret Ruvoldt
What goes on when a woman drags her fiancé to register for wedding gifts?  This production features Ken Vespasiano of Chatham and Miriam Salerno of Millburn. Directed by Steve Catron of Mendham

Love Me Deadly by Desirée Caro and Anthony Rubolotta of Montclair
A lyrical dance piece centering on the romantic exploits of “Charlie” and his three femme fatales, cautioning us that, in love, everything has its price.  This production features Darius Delk of Somerset, Katey Sabo, Zetta Cool and Melissa Kaban.  Directed and Choreographed by Desirée Caro of Montclair.

The following pieces will be performed as “Program B”:

Ping by Mary Jane Walsh
A one-woman play that depicts, in a riveting fashion, a mother's unwavering love for her grown child.  This production features Teri Sturtevant of Hillsborough. Directed by Arnold J. Buchiane

Ties by Eric Alter of Livingston
A father and son cannot communicate with or accept each other until forgiveness for either of them weighs too heavily.  This production features Frederick Gallo of Morristown, Matthew Cronin of Chatham and Mike King of New Providence. Directed by Jon DeAngelis of Chatham

Tech Support by Henry Meyerson
A tongue-in-cheek look at what we suspect is really happening when we call the Tech Helpdesk.  This production features Liz Royce of Cedar Grove and Kristin Bennett of Montville. Directed by Maybelle Cowan-Lincoln of Morris Plains

Couples Therapy by Amanda Mayer of Livingston
What goes on when a wife drags her husband to a marriage counselor?  This production features Colleen Grundfest of Warren and Lewis Decker of Millington. Directed by Steve Catron of Mendham.

The Fruppum, Alabama, Chamber of Commerce by John Dowgin of Spotswood
Two old codgers run gas stations across the street from each other since forever. One talks a blue streak, the other mumbles answers. One thinks they are identical copies of each other, the other knows different. When modern life enters the differences begin to show and the quiet one wins the day.  This production features Jim Clancy of Basking Ridge, Kevern Cameron of Hamburg and Chip Prestera of Stirling. Directed by Joann Scanlon of Chatham

Executive Dreams written by Don Howes of Morristown
This is what happens when inattention meets imagination in this rocking dance piece.  This production features James Lopez, Rachel Fikslin, Kimberly Jackson, Michal Efron, Melissa Kaplan and Gabriel Malo.  Directed and Choreographed by Don Howes of Morristown