Staged Play Reading by The Theater Project: "We Pray Together"

Members of the Theater Project will present a staged reading of We Pray Together, a new play by Charles E. Denk. The play is set in the early 19th century era of religious revivalism. One American farming village has evolved a novel merger of church and state: trial by prayer. A young mother struggles with depression after the birth of her first child, who mysteriously disappears. Information supplied by various village characters leads the sheriff to charge the mother with abandonment. The village magistrate feels compelled to preserve legality and compassion in the face of the sheriff’s faith-based methods. How might these competing values, the rule of law versus community religious beliefs, shape the outcome? Charles E. Denk is an amateur singer/actor/playwright. His short plays in festival productions span themes from the sentimental (“Lightning, Twice?”) to noir (“Exhibit This!”) to satirical (“George W. Bush, Commissioner of Baseball”). The Theater Project is an acclaimed, New Jersey-based professional theater group and the winner of two New Jersey Tony Awards. Following the reading, the audience will have the opportunity to discuss the play with the author. Admission is free and all are welcome. The program is sponsored by the Friends of the Cranford Public Library.