The Chatham Community Players is excited to present virtually staged reading of “Looking For Normal” by Jane Anderson as a part of their successful Sundays @ 7 play reading series. One Night ONLY – Sunday, June 20th at 7:00 PM. Greg Allen directs.
Roy and Irma have been married for twenty-five years. They have two children. They live in the heartland. They are respected members of their church and their community. When Roy and Irma go to their pastor for marriage counseling, Roy confesses that he’s a woman trapped in a man’s body and would like to have a sex change. As would be expected, Irma throws Roy out of the house. But their bond as a couple is stronger than either of them imagined, and eventually Irma finds a way to make peace with this unfathomable situation and accept her transformed husband as her lifelong mate. They not only have to wrestle with the meaning of their marriage, they must deal with the delicate dynamics of their family as well. Roy is burdened by his father’s stubborn assessment of his manhood and his mother’s sad acceptance of life’s cruelties. Irma, in the midst of menopause, is struggling with her adolescent tomboy daughter, Patty Ann, who is raging against the injustices of her own budding hormones. And the grown and absent son, Wayne, who has always bemoaned his father’s emotional limitations, is now outraged by his father’s desire to be a woman. Overseeing it all is Roy’s legendary grandmother, who left her husband and son to pursue her own sexual and emotional needs. The play explores the complexities of marriage, family and deconstructs the very notion of love.
“Jane Anderson’s bittersweet transgender domestic comedy-drama…is thoughtful and touching and full of wit and wisdom. A real audience pleaser.” —Hollywood Reporter.
The Cast:
- Greg Allen as Roy
- Leslie Gayle Williams as Irma
- Kevin Bergen as Wayne
- Hailey Shafer as Patty Ann
- Alan Ellis as Rev Muncie
- Rich Maloy as Roy Senior
- Jodi Freeman Maloy as Em
- Matt Shafer as Frank
- Carla Kendall as Grandmother Ruth
Directed by Greg Allen
Produced by Gus Ibranyi, Leslie Gayle Williams and Steffi Denmark
This performance will be streamed via Zoom. Suggested donation is $5 per viewer. To register in advance and receive the link to the live stream, go to Register - Sunday's @ 7 - Looking For Normal or visit their website - www.chathamplayers.org. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
Funding has been made possible in part by funds from Morris Arts through the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.