When dealing with subject matter such as insanity, theology, and the death of an infant, you would expect Agnes of God to feel heavy, long. Fortunately, The Chapel Street Players of Newark tackle this tough, intense play in such a way that it leaves you thinking. So often productions that have a darker tone have...
Over the years, the story of Les Liaisons Dangereuses has taken on many incarnations from the original story published in 1782. Between the 1988 film with the same name, Dangerous Liaisons, and a few modern adaptations with Cruel Intentions and Valmont, it’s safe to say that many are aware of the twists and turns in...
LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES began as a 1782 French epistolary novel – the book is composed entirely of letters written by the various characters to each other. It is often claimed to be the source of the saying “Revenge is a dish best served cold.” However, the expression does not actually occur in the original novel...
Whenever you see a Noël Coward play, you can always expect a very enjoyable, witty comedy; Blithe Spirit at Chapel Street Players is no different. Blithe Spirit has had many incarnations since 1941, including different stage adaptations, film, radio, and even musical. The version that the Chapel Street Players is using is from the 1945...
Chapel Street Players’ production of BLITHE SPIRIT materializes into an evening of wit, humor and ghostly fun. When fussy novelist, Charles Condomine, needs to conduct research for his next book, he invites the eccentric, “happy medium,” Madame Arcati, to a quaint soiree for a friendly séance. Events go awry when Madame Arcati unknowingly conjures Charles’...
The Chapel Street Players have never backed down from putting on challenging shows, but THE 39 STEPS poses a special kind of challenge: Take a 1935 Alfred Hitchcock movie and recreate it on stage using just four actors and a few props. If you haven’t seen the film, it’s got well more than four characters....
If you go to see The 39 Steps presented by The Chapel Street Players and expect to find a thriller like Psycho or Rear Window, you’re going to be very surprised by what you actually see. While the Patrick Barlow adaptation is based on the serious 1935 Hitchcock thriller and 1915 novel of the same...
It’s been 50 years since Stephen Sondheim’s A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM won its first Tony Award, and 50 years since the Chapel Street Players held their very first FUNdraiser, an annual fundraising event and show to benefit the CSP. 1963 also marked the year CSP fixture Renee G. O’Leary...
The cast of 12 ANGRY JURORS at Chapel Street Players. Some plays are designed to whisk you away to a fantastical world, an alternate reality where folks spontaneously break into song. And then there are plays like 12 ANGRY JURORS, Chapel Street Players’ spring production: an ultra-realistic fly-on-the-wall reality play. Originally set in 1956 and...
One of the measures of a successful Shakespearean production is the reaction of the audience — after all, poorly delivered Shakespeare loses both its poignancy and humor. Chapel Street Players’ THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR, a straight-up comedy, leaves no confusion: it’s straight-up funny and entertaining, with few slow moments. The fast pace, a credit...
