One of the measures of a successful Shakespearean production is the reaction of the audience â after all, poorly delivered Shakespeare loses both its poignancy and humor. Chapel Street Playersâ THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR, a straight-up comedy, leaves no confusion: itâs straight-up funny and entertaining, with few slow moments. The fast pace, a credit...
The Chapel Street Players’ (CSP) 49th FUNdraiser production is the horror-comedy midnight musical, The Rocky Horror Show. Richard O’Brien’s cult classic camp fest is about two conservative lovebirds (Brad Majors and Janet Weiss) who get entangled with a group of out-of-this-world freaks, led by the self-proclaimed sweet transvestite Dr. Frank N’ Furter. After leaving their...
I am not a fan of THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW. I mean, I can understand why itâs campy, irreverent nature and out-of-control audience participation appeals to its ardent following, but it is simply not a show I enjoy seeing. So it is a tremendous testament to the quality and energy of the Chapel Street Playersâ...
Tom Stoppardâs 1982 play, The Real Thing, is a beautifully constructed kaleidoscope which shows us how relationships ebb and flow and gives us the fly-on-the-wall view that would never be possible to have in real life. The play has so many British cultural references that the cast took the challenge and all mastered some very...
Posted by Angela Dalecki Wendy Wassersteinâs comedic play ISNâT IT ROMANTIC follows two friends in their late twenties as they try to navigate the harsh waters of romance and careers in 1980s Manhattan. One is Janie Blumberg (Madi Houff), a Jewish freelance writer struggling to establish independence from her well-meaning but occasionally overbearing parents (Rachel...
Although Neil Simon wrote The Gingerbread Lady in 1970, many of its themes – dysfunctional relationships, co-dependency, alcoholism, unemployment, and the fear of growing older – will resonate with today’s audiences. All of these topics are fully explored during the dramedy now playing at Chapel Street Players. Evy, a once celebrated cabaret singer, returns to...
Neil Simon is best known for light comedies like The Odd Couple and Brighton Beach Memiors; THE GINGERBREAD LADY, the current offering from The Chapel Street Players in Newark, Delaware, is, by contrast, a heavy drama about addiction, abuse and fading youth. To be sure, there is wit and humor in the piece, but this...
Before we get to the gritty details, letâs get right to the point: if you have a free night this weekend, you should be headed to Newark, Delaware, to see THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE at Chapel Street Players. I think most of the audience expected the show to be a comedy (it isnât, though...
Beauty Queen of Leenane is a neat and tight play by Martin McDonaugh, a child of Irish parents born in London where his family had emigrated just as the families of his Leenane must do in the 1989 setting. The characters he presents are also quite finely drawn. Maureen, played with great energy by Kerry...
Posted by Marshall Garrett Going to a live performance of Shakespeare is always a delightful event. Having a work by the greatest author in the history of our language delivered in the manner in which it was intended is, sadly, a rarer and rarer treat, especially outside of Shakespeare festivals. However, a theatre must truly...
