86th Season begins with “Crimes of the Heart”
Chatham Community Players will open the season with Beth Henley’s “Crimes of the Heart.” Performance dates are November 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, 17 at 8 p.m. and November 11 at 3 p.m. All performances are at the Chatham Playhouse, 23 North Passaic Avenue, in Chatham. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the dramatic comedy takes audiences to Hazlehurst, Mississippi, where the Magrath sisters are trying to make sense of their troubled lives and cope with their latest family disaster. “Crimes of the Heart” is enormously popular - a compassionate portrait of good country people whose lives have gone terribly, terribly wrong, with hilarious results.
Image from 2006 production of ...Jimmy DeanBob Cline directs the play and is elated to be back at Chatham Players after directing “Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean” here last season. Past Chatham directing credits include “Pippin,” “Into the Woods” and “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Bob recently directed and choreographed “Into the Woods,” and also won the Samuel French Festival with his production of “Bright Apple Crush” in New York City. Other favorite recent credits include: “Assassins” for 4th Wall Theatre, “The Full Monty” at Studio Players, “Showboat” and “Side Show” for the Montclair Operetta Club, “Company” at the Lucille Lortell, and “A New Brain” (PERRY Award Best Director and Production). The cast includes Liz Royce of Cedar Grove as Lenny Magrath, Sarah Pharaon of Maplewood as Meg Magrath, Suzanne Houston of Summit as Babe Magrath, Janet Swaim of Warren as Chick Boyle, Bill Schineller of Kinnelon as Doc Porter, and Michael Rush of Clifton as Barnette Lloyd.
Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for youth/senior. To access the theater’s online ticketing service, simply connect to TicketLeap. The service is available 24 hours a day and tickets can be purchased online up until three hours prior to curtain on the day of a performance. The box office will begin accepting phone reservations on October 23 at (973) 635-7363. For information regarding box office hours, please call the box office number listed above.
Auditions set for Fantasy Theater, “The Jungle Book”
Fantasy Theater, the children’s entertainment arm of Chatham Community Players, will hold auditions for Rudyard Kipling’s “The Jungle Book” on Tuesday, October 30, and Thursday, November 1, at 7:30 p.m. at the Library of The Chathams, 214 Main Street, Chatham. The show will be performed on January 5-6 and 12-13, 2008.
Parts are:
Additional actors: teenage to young adult, male and female - King Monkey, Rikki-Tikki, the Mongoose, Tabaqui, the Jackal, Wolves, and other jungle creatures. Also needed are three children between the ages of 8 and 10 to play assorted jungle creatures.
Readings will be from the script. Please call 973-635-8712 with any questions.
In Memoriam
We mourn the loss of our good friend, Kathy King, in Horseshoe, North Carolina. Kathy was a vital backstage worker for many years when her family resided in Chatham.
Audition Notice for Ah, Wilderness!
The Chatham Community Players is pleased to announce auditions for Ah, Wilderness! by Eugene O’Neil. The show opens February 29 and runs through March 15, 2008. Director John Stringer asks that actors come prepared to read from the script.
Auditions will be held on Wednesday, November 28 and Thursday, November 29 at 7 p.m. All auditions will be held at The Chatham Playhouse, 23 North Passaic Avenue, Chatham, NJ. The Chatham Community Players has an open casting policy. All roles are open; none are pre-cast. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Kristin Barber at (732) 208-4184 or email casting@chathamplayers.org.
O'Neill called his only comedy, Ah, Wilderness! "A comedy of recollection." However, the family life that is portrayed by the Millers was in actuality the ideal life that O'Neill wished he had had. In this large, small town in Connecticut in the year 1906, we watch an all American family deal with an adolescent son's misbehavior and growing pains. At the same time, we learn more about the rest of the Miller family and see how the entire family dynamic impacts on the son's evolution. O'Neill tells this story with great tenderness and affection. Though set in a simpler time, there's much to take away from this heart warming tale that we can apply to our present day lives.
Parts to be Cast
Here and There…
When watching TV, check out the Cablevision ad about football featuring a dark-haired young man; take a closer look - it's our very own Michael McGuirk (A Christmas Carol, Sweeney Todd).....Also, on FOX’s sitcom, “Til Death", the waiter in the restaurant scene was played by Tom Wardach (“Jersey Voices”)……Numerous Chatham Players veterans, which include Matt Burns (“City of Angels,” “A Christmas Carol,” “Into The Woods” and “To Kill a Mockingbird”), David Simon (“City of Angles,” “Joseph..Dreamcoat,” “West Side Story,” “Pippin”), Barbi McGuire (“…Woods,” “Jimmy Dean”), Desiree Caro (“… Woods”), Phil Levesque (“…Woods,” “A Chorus Line”) and Stacey Simon (“Pippin,” “Jersey Voices”), performed in Studio Players’ “Urinetown”…Michael King ("Fiddler…,” "A Christmas Carol", ",,,Woods", "Jersey Voices"), Art Seif ("Cuckoo's Nest," "Jersey Voices"), Jeslyn Wheeless ("Into The Woods"), Chaz Turner ("Rumors," "Jersey Voices"), Liz Dawson (numerous) and Marguerite Wurtz ("Master Class," "Jersey Voices") are all performing in Summit Playhouse's "You Can't Take It With You”….Brundage Park Playhouse’s production of “Frankenstein” stars Keith Beechey (“Cuckoo’s Nest,” “Side Man,” “Desperate Hours” and “Jersey Voices”) as the Creature.
Save the Dates
Keen Company fundraiser, “Broadway in the Borough,” is being held at The Playhouse on Monday, November 5; call 973-635-4705 for information.
A special Holiday Musical Event is being planned for Friday and Saturday, December 7 and 8! You’ll want to be there!
CCP’s annual Holiday Cocktail Party is scheduled for 6 p.m., Sunday, December 9! Start thinking about a super snack to bring!