Chester Theatre Group

Our  production of Grey Gardens this summer was described as a  “must see” event.

Here’s a gallery of shots from the show over at Flickr:

Anthony Stoeckert of the Patch family of websites recently interviewed one of Grey Gardens’ co-directors, Jeff Fiorello, about the show.  (Mark Happel is the other co-director…)

It doesn’t exactly sound like a toe-tapper, but Jeffrey Fiorello, who’s co-directing the show, said “Grey Gardens” actually has a good bit of levity to it. That’s especially true of Act 1, which recreates the lives of the two Ediths during their salad days when they were happy and living well.

“Act 1 is treated very much like a traditional musical, there are happy songs, serious songs and some ballads,” Fiorello said. “It plays very much like an old-fashioned musical. Whereas act 2 is quite different and delves into the two women’s psyche and quite a bit more.”

You can read more of the article here: ’Grey Gardens’ Grows into a Complex Musical

Tickets are still available, but going fast, so reservations are recommended and can be made by calling the box office at 908.879.7304.

Ruth Ross over at nj arts maven had some very very nice things to say about our current production of Grey Gardens:

Once again, Chester Theatre Group has tackled a challenging play, pulled out all the stops and given us a Broadway-quality musical—all without one single Actors Equity performer in the cast! … That the actors are superb raises the performance and production level way above what one might expect from community theater, but it is in line with what the  Chester Theatre Group usually gives us. Although neither Bouvier Beale woman achieved a successful career as a singer/actress, Barbara Haag who gets to play both the matriarch Edith and her daughter Edie, is certainly a class act. In the first act, Haag is imperious and manipulative as Big Edith, planning her daughter’s party to the last detail while planning to hijack the festivities for her own ends. In the second act, she’s Little Edie, giving weird pronouncements about fashion, complaining about having to come home to care for her mother, and just being an all-around drama queen. She takes hold of the audience by the throats in both acts and knocks ‘em down with an absolutely marvelous performance as both women. If she doesn’t win an award from NJACT, I don’t know what will.

Tickets are still available, but going fast, so reservations are recommended and can be made by calling the box office at 908.879.7304

CTG’s Summer Musical was GREY GARDENS (Book by Doug Wright, Music by Scott Frankel and Lyrics by Michael Korie)  opened Friday, July 1st and runs until July 24. (2011) Friday & Saturday evenings at 8pm (July 1,2, 8, 9, 15, 16,22, 23) and  Sunday matinees at 2 pm (July 17 & 24).  Tickets $24 general admission, seniors and students are $22.

This CTG production was co-directed by Jeffrey Fiorello and Mark Happel, with musical direction by Clifford Parish. Ericka Traugh was the stage manager.

Our Cast

• Edith Bouvier Beale: Barbi McGuire
• “Little Edie” Edie Beale/Edith Bouvier Beale: Barb Haag
• Joseph Patrick Kennedy Jr/ Jerry: Tom Cioppettini
• Young “Little Edie” Edie Beale: Sandy Taylor
• Lee Bouvier: Julianne Grillo
• Brooks Jr./ Brooks Sr.: Alistar Williams
• J.V. “Major” Bouvier/ Norman Vincent Peale: Rich Maloy
• Jacqueline “Jackie” Bouvier: Hannah Curtis
• George Could Strong: Bob Jacobson

About The Show

GREY GARDENS is based (in part) on the Albert & David Maysels documentary concerning the relationship between Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’ eccentric aunt and cousin. The touching and heart felt musical explores the unconventional mother-daughter relationship between former socialite Edith Bouvier Beal and her adult daughter Little Edie “body beautiful” Beal.

GREY GARDENS tells an entertaining and poignant story of two unconquerable women, once known as two of the brightest stars in the social register, who later become East Hampton’s most infamous “reclusive inhabitants”, sharing a rundown 28 room mansion with 52 stray cats and rabid racoons. From the glittering high society of 1940′s New York to the tabloid headlines that rocked the Kennedy clan in the 1970′s, GREY GARDENS hurls you into American royalty and leaves you to ponder the questions: “when do private lives become public fascinations?; How much is too much?; and Where does it stop?”

We’re very excited to announce our 2010-2011 season.

Mainstage Productions

Fiction

by Steven Dietz, Directed by Jeff Knapp

Auditions: Aug 8 and 10, 2010
Performances: Oct 8-23, 2010

Linda and Michael are successful writers, a happily married couple who thrive on the give and take of their unusually honest and candid relationship. But when they decide to share their diaries with one another, the boundaries between past, present, fact, fiction, trust and betrayal begin to break down.  No life, as it turns out, is an open book.

Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks

by Richard Alfieri, Directed by Roseann Ruggiero

Auditions: September 26 & 28, 2010
Performances: Nov 19 – Dec 5, 2010

When a formidable retiree hires an acerbic dance instructor, antagonism and mistrust give way to civility, compatability, compassion and loyalty as they swing, tango, foxtrot and cha-cha together.

Urinetown

Music by Mark Hollmann, Lyrcs by Mark Hollman and Greg Kotis, Book by Greg Kotis; Directed by Clifford Parrish

Auditions: December 5 & 8, 2010
Performances: Feb 25-Mar 20, 2011

Don’t let the title keep you away from this hilatious musical comedy that satirizes the legal system, capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism, bureaucracy, corporate mismanagement and municipal politics (just to name a few!) The unconventional plotline may surprise you, but the singing, dancing,  jokes and pokes will have you laughing in the aisles and humming the whole ride home!

Mauritius

by Theresa Rebek, Directed by JayMills

Auditions: March 6 & 8, 2011
Performances: May 6-21, 2011

After their mother’s death, two estranged helf-sisters discover a book of rare stamps that may include the holy grail of stamp collecting.  Philately proves to be more intriguing and far riskier than one might thing, as high-stakes collectors enter their world intent on making the rare find their own.

Grey Gardens

Music by Scott Frankel, Lyrics by Michael Korie, Book by Doug Wright; Directed by Mark Happel & Jeffrey Fiorello

Auditions: February 2011
Performances: July 1-24, 2011

The cult-classic turned smash Broadway musical recounts the story of the Bouvier Beales, the eccentric aunt and cousin of Jackie Kennedy Onassis — oncebrght names on the social register who became East Hampton’s most notorious recluses.

Special Events

Comedy Workshop

Saturday mornings TBA, 9:30 AM – Noon

Kate Lyn Reiter brings back her Comedy Workshoip for Adults and the Comically Curious for a series of Saturdays.

An Evening of One-Acts

Performances: September 24-26, 2010

The Chester Theatre Group is proud to present two one-act comedies on September 24, 25 and 26 at the Black River Playhouse. 

Christopher Durang’s THE ACTOR’S NIGHTMARE, directed by Stephen Catron, will be familar to anyone who’s involved in theatre — you know the dream:  you find yourself on-stage, ready to perform, only you don’t know what the play is – you’ve never rehearsed  - you don’t know the plot, let alone the lines!   George finds himself on stage, uncertain of where he is or how he got there – suddenly he’s thrust on stage, it’s Hamlet?!? – a glamorous actress appears to be doing Private Lives by Noel Coward?!?  Beckett’s Endgame? A Man For All Seasons?!? This hilarious spoof is a classic!

Next up is Jonathan Rand’s CHECK, PLEASE, directed by Jeff Jackson. Dating can be hard. Especially when your date happens to be a schizophrenic, a bigamist, or a mime. CHECK, PLEASE follows a series of blind dinner dates that couldn’t get any worse—until they do. Could there possibly be a light at the end of the tunnel?