Chester Theatre Group

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.  

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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.

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.

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/

Continuing our year-long “Unheard Ayckbourn” Reading Series, the Chester Theatre Group presents a reading of Alan Ayckbourn’s “GamePlan” on Sunday, May 24 at 3pm at the Black River Playhouse.

Written in 2001 as part of the playwright’s DAMSELS IN DISTRESS trilogy, the play concerns a teenage girl named Sorrel, who will do anything to help out her unemployed mum Lynette and avoid having to sell their London flat – even to the point of ‘going on the game’. But when her first client, a retired dry cleaner named Leo, unexpectedly dies, Sorrel and her best friend Kelly find themselves in a lot deeper than they bargained for.

The cast features Ayckbourn veterans Cody Dalton (Snake in the Grass, Improbable Fiction), Valerie DeLeon, Elizabeth Urcinoli (Improbable Fiction, Wildest Dreams), David Neal (The Norman Conquests, Improbable Fiction, Wildest Dreams, Sugar Daddies), Maria Brodeur (Improbable Fiction), Michael Mooney and Eric Rolland (Improbable Fiction).

General admission is $5. Call 908.879.7304 for reservations.