Chester Theatre Group » Readings

Back By Popular Demand: The Ten Commandments!

admin — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 07:13:24 +0000

CTG is proud to present (again), for one night only (again), a reading of The Ten Commandments, a comedy by Gary Hill and Perry Kroeger, based loosely (again) on the Cecil B. DeMille movie of the same name.

In the cast (again playing over 40 parts among them) are Barbara Haag, Steve Graham, Maggie Graham, Lori Lawrence, Stephen L. Fredericks, Danny Campos, Mark Happel, Steve Nitka, Perry Kroeger and Bob Jacobson as Moses.

The fun starts at 8:00 on April 16, 2011, and reservations are recommended by calling 908.879.7304.

The play was originally done in New York at LaMama in 1995.

Special Event: Love Letters, February 11 and 12

admin — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 21:01:09 +0000

The Chester Theatre Group at the Black River Playhouse in Chester, New Jersey will present a Valentine’s Special… the romantic comedy “Love Letters’ by A. R. Gurney. “Love Letters’ will be staged for two nights only, Friday and Saturday February 11 and 12 at 8pm.

The Pulitzer Prize-nominated play, follows the “near misses” of a relationship through a lifetime of letters between a man and a woman, will feature Pat Sheffield and Robert Sackstein, both CTG veterans. Their friendship unfolds from what is written — and what is left unwritten — in 50 years of letters, from summer camps and boarding schools through college, war, career and relationships.

The review of the Broadway production in TIME called the play “an exquisite jewel of a play….one of the four or five best American plays of the 80′s.”

“Love Letters” was first produced at the Long Wharf Theatre in 1988. Over the years it has starred such luminaries as John Rubenstein, Stockard Channing, Kathleen Turner, Christopher Walken, Swoosie Kurtz, Richard Thomas, Elaine Stritch, Cliff Robertson, Colleen Dewhurst, Jason Robards, Robert Wagner and many others.

All seats are $10.00, Reservations recommended: 908-879-7304. The Black River Playhouse is located at the corner of Maple and Grove in Chester, New Jersey.

The Women: A Reading, This Friday and Saturday

admin — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 17:16:36 +0000

Welcome to a secret society—the world of women. In The Women, a 1930s Broadway hit by Clare Boothe Luce, a Manhattan socialite discovers her husband is cheating on her, and her girlfriends are no help at all. With manicured claws, these women fight to maintain their status while scheming to leave, steal or win back their own husbands.

This classic play captures a world that only half the population ever really gets to see. A revealing look into the lives of the ladies-who-lunch that is clever, cut-throat and full of outrageous humor.

The Women had an initial Broadway run of 657 performances before touring for two years. It was later adapted for the big screen in 1939.

“A play that takes place in women’s boudoirs, salons, bubble baths and powder rooms—information for the men in the audience, confirmation for the women and a true celebration of the extraordinary actresses in our company.”

“I don’t ask any man to understand me. How could he? I’m a woman.”

Featuring: Geraldine Baillod, Karen Cantor, Rachel Cantor, Ellen Fraker-Glasscock, Barb Haag, Peg Hill, Penny Hoadley, Kathleen Campbell Jackson, Carla Kendall, Gloria Lamoureux, Colleen Lane, Jodi Maloy, Claudia Metz, Roseann Ruggiero, Erika Traugh & Roxanna Wagner

This Friday and Saturday night, November 5th and 6th at 8:00 PM
Reservations – 908.879.7304
Admission for this CTG Special Event is $10.

A Reading of Claire Booth Luce’s The Women – November 5 and 6

admin — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 22:57:45 +0000

CTG is pleased to present a reading of Claire Booth Luce’s classic comedy of manners ”The Women” on November 5th and 6th at 8 pm.

Directed by Cindy Alexander, the cast includes Ellen Fraker-Glassock (Mary), Barbara Haag (Sylvia), Kathleen Campbell Jackson (Crystal), Roseann Ruggiero (Nancy), Gloria Lamoureux (Peggy), Claudia Metz (Edith), Roxanna Wagner (Miriam), Karen Cantor (Countess), Carla Kendall (Olga), Jodi Maloy (Jane), Geraldine Baillod (Maggie), Rachel Cantor (Little Mary), Peg Hill (Mrs. Morehead), Penny Hoadley (Lucy), Erika Traugh and Colleen Lane

Admission for this CTG Special Event is $10.

One Night Only: The Ten Commandments

admin — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 20:28:51 +0000

CTG is proud to present, for one night only, a reading of The Ten Commandments, a comedy by Gary Hill and Perry Kroeger, based loosely on the Cecil B. DeMille movie of the same name.

In the cast (playing over 40 parts among them) are Barbara Haag, Steve Graham, Maggie Graham, Lori Lawrence, Stephen L. Fredericks, Danny Campos, Mark Happel, Steve Nitka, Perry Kroeger and Bob Jacobson as Moses.

The fun starts at 8:00, and reservations are recommended by calling 908.879.7304.

The play was originally done in New York at LaMama in 1995.

Reading: Alan Ayckbourn’s Man of the Moment

admin — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:32:09 +0000

On Sunday, November 8th at 3pm, Chester Theatre Group in residence at Black River Playhouse in Chester, New Jersey, concludes it’s 2009 “Unheard Ayckbourn” reading series with MAN OF THE MOMENT, Alan Ayckbourn’s 1988 comedy about the price of fame in a media driven society. The reading is presented by the 4A’s (Alan Ayckbourn Aficionados of America) as part of their year-long celebration of Ayckbourn’s 50th year of playwriting. Previous readings in the series included SUGAR DADDIES, WILDEST DREAMS and GAMEPLAN as well as a “50/50: Ayckbourn & CTG” – a special retrospective of the dozen Ayckbourn plays presented by the Chester Theatre Group, which also marked its 50th anniversary this season.

MAN OF THE MOMENT premiered in Scarborough, England, in 1988 and opened two years later at London’s Globe Theatre starring Michael Gambon and Peter Bowles. The play was nominated for the Olivier Award and won the prestigious Evening Standard Comedy of the Year Award. It was twice adapted for radio. A recent revival was directed by Ayckbourn in Northampton, England, as part of Ayckbourn’s 70th birthday celebrations. There have been only a handful of US productions of the play, most of them in the mid 1990′s.

The story takes us to a villa in sunny Spain, where celebrity criminal Vic Parks is brought together for a TV exposé with timid Douglas Beechey, the man who foiled Vic’s bank robbery 18 years before. Ayckbourn’s skillful writing demonstrates just how the media can manipulate the truth, and alter public opinion. MAN OF THE MOMENT was the prolific author’s 35th play. Since then, he has penned 38 more major plays, including his 73rd and most recent work MY WONDERFUL DAY, which transfers directly to an Off-Broadway run on November 11th from it’s recently hailed Scarborough premiere.

The 4A’s staged reading features Eric Rolland as Vic Parks, Patrick Carpenter as Douglas Beechey, Valerie Stack Dodge as TV host Jill Rillington, Roxanna Wagner as Vic’s long-suffering wife Trudy, Gus Ibranyi as Vic’s agent Kenny, Elizabeth Urcinoli as Sharon the nanny, Bob Sackstein as Ruy the gardener, and Carla Kendall as Marta the housekeeper. Suebeth Baumgartner will provide narration. The production is under the direction of 4A’s founder Michael T. Mooney. Mooney staged the American premieres of four of Sir Alan’s plays at Black River Playhouse.

Black River Playhouse is located on the corner of Grove and Maple streets in historic Chester, New Jersey. Tickets are $5.00 and can be reserved by calling (908) 879-7304. For more information, please join the 4A’s on Facebook.

Final Show! 50/50: Ayckbourn & CTG

admin — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 12:09:49 +0000

Trace the remarkable 50 year writing career of Sir Alan Ayckbourn while re-living scenes from the dozen Ayckbourn plays that have been produced by Chester Theatre Group (also celebrating their 50th year), including four American premieres! Members of the CTG original casts reassemble for a memorable evening, including a piece of Ayckbourn writing never heard on any American stage!

Scenes from THE NORMAN CONQUESTS, ABSURD PERSON SINGULAR, BEDROOM FARCE, RELATIVELY SPEAKING, WOMAN IN MIND, FAMILY CIRCLES, TIME OF MY LIFE, BODY LANGUAGE, SNAKE IN THE GRASS, and IMPROBALE FICTION!

Starring:

Mary Claire Cardoni (Bedroom Farce, Absurd Person Singular)
Patrick Carpenter (The Norman Conquests)
Dawn Fantasia (Family Circles, Time of My Life)
Ellen Fraker Glasscock (Ayckbourn debut)
Hannah Hendry (Woman in Mind, The Norman Conquests)
Carol Holland (The Norman Conquests)
Valerie Stack Dodge (Body Language)
Rich Maloy (Time of My Life)
Ruth Morley (The Norman Conquests)
Chris Mortenson (The Norman Conquests)
Thomas Moynahan (Woman in Mind)
Julianne DiPietro Renshaw (Snake in the Grass, Improbable Fiction)
Eric Rolland (Improbable Fiction)
Bob Sackstein (Bedroom Farce, Absurd Person Singular, Time of My Life, Body Language, Improbable Fiction, Woman in Mind, The Norman Conquests, Table Manners)
Dixon Stearns (Bedroom Farce)
Judy Stone (Body Language)
Elizabeth Urcinoli (Improbable Fiction)
Dave Villepique (Body Language)
Eileen Waite (Absurd Person Singular, Table Manners, Time of My Life)

Directed & Written by Michael T. Mooney

Two Performances Only! $10 admission

Presented on September 25 & 26, 2009 at 8 PM. This event is sponsored by the 4A’s.

Staged Reading: Man of the Moment

admin — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 12:00:05 +0000

One November Sunday (TBA), CTG and the 4As will present a staged reading of Alan Ayckbourn’s Man of the Moment.

Vic Parks is a celebrity criminal who has written his autobiography and is now living in a villa in Spain. Seventeen years later, TV show host Jill Rillington intends to bring him together with Douglas Beechey — the unassuming clerk who foiled the robbery.

General admission tickets are available for $5 by calling the box office.

One Night Only – “Big Girls, Little Girls”

admin — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:39:36 +0000

“Little girls don’t choose their mothers… big girls can’t escape them.”

On May 23 at 8:00 PM, The Stark Theatre Company is presenting a premier play reading of Karen Smith Vastola’s play, “Big Girls, Little Girls” at the Black River Playhouse.

The reading is directed by Stacie Dugan Vourakis.

Suggested donation is $5.

For reservations and information, call the Stark Theatre Company at 908-242-5689.

Please do not call our box office, as we’re not handling ticketing for this reading.

Reminder: Game Plan Reading, Sunday May 24

admin — Mon, 18 May 2009 17:33:01 +0000

Just a reminder that we’re continuing our year-long “Unheard Ayckbourn” Reading Series, with a reading of Alan Ayckbourn’s “GamePlan” on Sunday, May 24 at 3pm at the Black River Playhouse.

More details here: http://www.chestertheatregroup.org/2009/05/alan-ayckbourns-gameplan/