“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.
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.”
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