REVIEW: NJ PLAYWRIGHTS SPOTLIGHTED IN 2023 "JERSEY VOICES" TO GREAT SUCCESS!

By Ruth Ross

Every year, as July draws to a close, the highly anticipated Chatham Players’ compilation of one-act plays by New Jersey playwrights, entitled Jersey Voices, is performed at the troupe’s little playhouse on North Passaic Avenue in Chatham.

Last Saturday night’s sold-out audience was treated to seven 10-minute dramas/comedies/dramedies—one more than the usual six—that did not disappoint. While some playlets were more successful than others, they all added up to an exciting night of theater in the easy-to-reach Morris County borough!

For me, the most moving and memorable play is Snow Globe by Blaire Deziel, directed by Julia Frieri Cassisi. Henry and Susan, siblings still living together in their childhood home, reflect on the importance of memory on a cold winter’s day. As the two revisit the winters of their childhood, it becomes apparent that this is no ordinary reminiscence: Henry has a terminal brain tumor that causes him to forget a memory immediately after he has “found” it. Nick Foil is heartbreaking as the stoic Henry, reaching for a time that was happier than his present; as Susan, Brooke Harrsch is emotion personified. She struggles mightily to contain her tears while balanced on the sharp edge of sadness. The plot is tight, a moment in an afternoon like many others for these two, and the characters are well-developed. It is a gem of concise, yet moving, playwrighting.

Three Items at A Time, by Scout Graham, directed by Lionel Ruland, Assistant Directed by Rachel Gesner, is a story of loving acceptance. Rita and her daughter go shopping for prom dresses with zero success because, we discover, Cory would prefer to wear a suit. Elissa Strell is terrific as Rita, full of optimism that her daughter will choose one of the very frilly dresses she has selected, cheerily chirping as though by doing so she won’t have to face the truth that her daughter is going to the prom with Hannah and could be gay. As Cory, Ren Bailey convincingly conveys the reluctance to go along with her mother’s choices as she struggles to come out and really say what she wants to wear. The denouement is uplifting as mother sees daughter for perhaps the first time, and the two reach a kind of acceptance. The timely subject is treated with sensitivity; neither character is a caricature. Strell and Bailey are sympathetic and believable.

The Dating Pool, by Arianna Rose, directed by Sharon Garry asks an important question: Is hindsight really 20/20? What if you could give your younger self relationship advice? In this clever, surrealistic piece, an older woman dreams that she can do just that. Jodi Freeman Maloy is superb as the older woman (61) who meets her younger selves and attempts to give them advice: Miranda Montalvo (16); Anna McCabe (23); Monica Ross (36); and Sarah Pharaon (49). Each actress epitomizes the age she portrays, and the conversations among the four younger selves is often quite droll as they are shocked by what their older selves have done. Bradley Harrington and Elissa Strell provide support as Maloy’s character trips down memory lane.

The fourth play that moved me most, Water Bar, was written by Tracie E. Morrison, directed by Joann Lopresti Scanlon and Assistant Directed by Eleanor Anderson. It is a comedic spoof on high-end "restaurants," but this one just serves water: Filtered, Infused, Turkish, Chilean, etc.—all at astronomical prices! José Rivera is hilarious as the Waiter who must recite the various ludicrous choices with a straight face; his body language as he leaves to fill the order elicits laughs every time he uses it. Bradley Carrington and Erica Stuppler are very good as the couple encountering the outlandish offerings; their equanimity as they listen to the choices adds to the silliness while poking deserved fun at some of the dishes offered at such high-end establishments. We’ve all been there, which makes the point so delicious.

Catch 23, by Gabrielle Wagner Mann and directed by Aaron Kellner involves two strangers (John and Lu) become friends as they discuss the (possibly?) unreliable nature of reality. Riffing on the novel Catch 22, John opines that the real world is an illusion while illusion is reality. What’s uncertain is where the two meet; is it a dog park or somewhere else? Gus Ibranyi and Heidi Hart pantomime tossing a ball back and forth as they consider this great philosophical question. Along the way, we learn that John was an airline pilot two decades ago and Lu an artist. The unexpected turn the plot takes at the end is a surprise although, when one looks back on the play, it is not totally unexpected. Nicely done!

The two plays that were less successful are the first two, Pigeon + Duck and Come Fly with Me. In the first, by Amanda Sage Comerford and directed by Jenna Burke, a proudly independent single mother (Wendy) debates if her own adult daughter (Jude) can hack it after finding a positive pregnancy test in the daughter’s trash bin. Gabrielle Wagner Man is loud and bossy as Wendy, who doesn’t want her daughter to repeat what happened to her. While Erin Feith’s Jude at first seems cowed by her mother, she gains confidence because she has an ace in her pocket (no spoilers!) that turns the entire exercise in parenting on its ear. This slice of life seems a bit slender at first, but when considering the impetus for Wendy’s lack of trust in her daughter’s abilities, it is entirely understandable—if uncomfortable.

The second playlet, written by Loretta Bolger Wish and directed by Julie Anne Nolan, takes place on an airplane where two strangers, Ken and Julie, take turns panicking over a bumpy flight that rapidly escalates their relationship from seatmates to would-be paramours—until an even more unwelcome disturbance throws them completely off course. Ruth Kliwinski’s Julie morphs from a stand-offish, rather officious woman to one who is far more vulnerable than she first appears. Danny Greg’s Ken is appropriately annoying as the seatmate who wants to talk to take his mind off his fears during take-off but who ends up comforting Julie as he attempts to manage his own panic. Again, it’s a rather slender slice of life but something we can all relate to.

Jersey Voices brings to an end the Chatham Community Players’ 101st season! Putting together this year’s group of plays, producer Jessica Phelan told the audience that the troupe read 166 submissions to narrow it down to the seven they produced. I am always impressed by the talented playwrights, actors and directors we have here in the Garden State and find myself looking forward to each production of Jersey Voices. For an interesting evening of theater, head on over to the Chatham Playhouse at 25 N. Passaic Avenue in Chatham before it closes next weekend.

Jersey Voices will be performed Friday and Saturday, August 4 and 5, at 8 PM and Sunday, August 6, at 3 PM. All tickets are $15 and can be reserved by calling 973.635.7363 or visit Online Box Office (booktix.net).