Peapack-Gladstone — Over four nights in October, Somerset Hills theater-goers will be treated to Thornton Wilder’s classic American drama Our Town, staged by the New Peapack Players in the sanctuary at Peapack Reformed Church in Gladstone. First presented at Princeton’s McCarter Theatre in 1938, the play was later awarded a Pulitzer Prize.

In this play, life, death, and the hereafter are experienced by the people of Grover’s Corners, a mythical New Hampshire village at the turn of the century. The story is told in episodic fashion by a “stage manager” narrator, and centers around the relationship between Dr. Gibb’s son George and newspaper editor Mr. Webb’s daughter Emily. We see these two as they go to school together, fall in love over sodas at the corner drugstore, marry, and then suffer tragedy. We also meet many of the other people of the village, learning of their lives and dreams as well. The play is delightful yet profound, humorous and sad, picturesque and enlightening.

Opening night on Friday, October 19 will be a benefit for the Peapack-Gladstone Library, and all seven of the community’s restaurants and caterers will be donating very special refreshments for the intermissions. Additional performances are scheduled for October 20, 26, and 27. All curtain times are 8:00pm.

The large cast assembled for this production will feature Dave Villepique of Chester as the Stage Manager, Pamela Renee of Ocean Grove as Emily Webb, and Jon Biber of Succasunna as George Gibbs. Irene Weaver of Bernardsville will play the part of Mrs. Webb, with Bob Sutton of Gladstone as Editor Webb, Tina Darrah of Gladstone as Mrs. Gibbs, and Hugh Wallace of Basking Ridge as Dr. Gibbs.

Additional cast members include Vin Girardy, T. R. Kimpland, Jr., Cailyn DeBie, Sheila Lund-Pearson, Ken Lund-Pearson, David Lipkin, Linda Lipkin, Steve Miller, Chris Winans, James Doherty, Elaine Helbig, Miriam Johnson, and Drew Thomson.

Serving as Music Director is Henry Repp. The production is directed by Allen Crossett and produced by Linda Lipkin.

Dave Villepique (Stage Manager) finds that his plate is full being a stockbroker by day and a theater person at night. Recently seen in 1776 as Hancock and in Something’s Afoot as the Butler. Our Town brings him full cycle after having played George Gibbs in high school. Favorite roles are as real-life father of a nurse at NIT in Washington and a comedienne in Chicago. Appearances with Chatham Players, Gill Community Players, Barn Theater, TNT, and Trilogy have provided fun roles as Bernard (Don’t Dress for Dinner), Captain (Dames at Sea), Clifford (The 1940s Radio Hour), Victor V (Barefoot in the Park), and Larrabie Sr. (Sabrina Fair). Roles in Amadeus, Six Degrees of Separation, and The Crucible were from the serious realms while fun was gained from comedies and musicals including Anything Goes, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Secret Garden, and Camelot. And Amy’s support spirit is always there.

Hugh Wallace (Dr. Gibbs) has been active in area community theater, both on stage and off, for the past 20 years. Some of his favorite roles include Starbuck in The Rainmaker, Biodello in Taming of the Shrew, and Truffaldino in Servant of Two Masters. This past summer, he directed Scapino for Trilogy Repertory’s “Plays in the Park.”

Steve Miller (Joe Crowell, Si Crowell, Ballplayer #1) is very happy to be working with such a talented cast. He was recently seen in the ensemble for the New Jersey premiere of Jekyll & Hyde. He has trained with the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival for two years and is currently a student at the Boonton School for Performing and Visual Arts. Among his favorite roles are Harley in Princess and the Goblin, Templeton in Charlotte’s Web, Ichabod Crane in Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Howie in Mother Hicks, and Cobweb in Midsummer Night’s Dream. He also appeared in the ensemble in Little Mary Sunshine and Evita. In addition to his work on stage, Steve also has been busy with sound and light design and operation for productions of Steel Magnolias, Baby With the Bath Water, The Mousetrap, A Chorus Line, and others. He has also helped to design and build sets for Jesus Christ Superstar, Legend of Sleepy Hollow, The Mikado, A Chorus Line, and Fiddler on the Roof.

Chris Winans (Howie Newsom) is appearing in his second show at this church. The first was Servant of Two Masters. He has been very active the last 15 years with Trilogy Repertory in Basking Ridge, serving most recently as stage manager for Scapino! He also won an AVY in ’91 for stage man-aging Piano Bar for TNT. He is currently a member of the Trilogy board.

Tina Darrah (Mrs. Gibbs) lives in Gladstone with husband Clark, daughter Blair (3) and son Conan (1). Before staying home with her children, she work-ed for Nordstrom in Advertising and Special Events. She is also a freelance makeup artist. Past theater experience was in high school in Rochester, NY, where she was Narrator in Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Ms. Higa Jiga in Teahouse of the August Moon, with additional supporting roles in Bells Are Ringing, Witness for the Prosecution, Little Mary Sunshine, and Mr. Roberts. Favorite pastimes are running, reading, solving the NY Times crossword puzzle, spending time with her family, and attending her husband’s triathlons.

Irene Weaver (Mrs. Webb) is glad to be working with Allen again, having previously been directed by him in A Flea in Her Ear (twice), Servant of Two Masters, and Allen’s very own award-winning Ten Thousand Days. She has also been featured in Love Letters (Dave Villepique directing), Chapter Two, Hay Fever, Finishing Touches, Little Mary Sunshine, Brigadoon, The Music Man, and others. It is great to be on stage again after a long time away, and to be working with old friends and making new ones.

Jonathan Biber (George Gibbs), now 16 years old, started acting at age 10 as the Mayor in The Wizard of Oz at the Growing Stage. Here his performances also included two productions of The Nutcracker, first as a Mouse and then as a Soldier. In 1999, Jon was Captain Keller in The Miracle Worker at Eisenhower Middle School in Roxbury. The following year he portrayed Daddy Warbucks in Annie, Jr., also at Eisenhower. This year he portrayed the Starkeeper in the Roxbury High School production of Carousel.

Cailyn DeBie (Rebecca Gibbs), a resident of Gladstone, attends the Middle School in Bernardsville. This is her first appearance in community theatre, but her experience includes roles in school and church productions, most notably a recent Christmas Pageant at Peapack Reformed and participation in a regional summer camp program for the performing arts. Cailyn aspires to be a professional actor.

Jesse Doherty (Wally Webb) is making his stage debut with this appearance in Our Town. He is in the fifth grade at Hackettstown Middle School and in his free time especially enjoys drawing.

Pamela Reneé (Emily Webb) is making her New Jersey debut in this production of Our Town. A native of Pennsylvania, she earned a BA in Theatre at the University of Pittsburgh where she portrayed Anne Frank in Diary of Anne Frank, Edna St. Vincent Millay in a one-woman production of A Lovely Light, Marianne in Tartuffe, Honey in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Sorel Bliss in Hay Fever, Lucia in Long Christmas Dinner, Rebecca Gibbs in Our Town, and Willie in This Property is Condemned. In addition, she portrayed Anybodys in West Side Story with the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra. She also appeared as an extra in the films Earthly Possessions and Knightriders. Most of her professional theatre career took place in the 1400-seat auditorium at Sight & Sound Entertainment Center in Lancaster County, PA, where she played a variety of roles in many productions. In Noah, she was an understudy/swing for three leading female roles while additionally playing many supporting roles throughout a 14-16 show weekly run. Her hobbies include almost all sports, dancing, baton and fire twirling, horseback and motorcycle riding. Pamela Reneé thanks her family, support group of friends, and most importantly…God. Her favorite quotes are “Let’s look at one another” and “Love one another.”

David Lipkin (Professor Willard, Dead Man #1) is making his stage debut in Our Town and he now wonders why he has waited so long to experience the joys of acting. It is through the encouragement of Linda, his beautiful wife of 33 years, and the skills and demand for excellence of director Allen Crossett that he is able to perform for you this evening. This play is near and dear to David as he spent many years living, fishing, and hunting in the Monadnock region of New Hampshire, an area brought to life by Mr. Wilder in Our Town. In light of the tragic events that have recently rocked our nation and affected so many, it is David’s deepest wish that our audiences take away from each performance a keen desire to begin experiencing life to the fullest. Peace and God’s blessing to all.

Bob Sutton (Editor Webb) is making his local theatrical debut in the Players’ production of Our Town after a long absence from the footlights. Previously, in a memorable 1960 performance, he originated the role of A Page in “Old King Cole & His Merry Old Court,” a commencement pageant presented by Mrs. Howard H. Davis’ Kingsland (GA) Kindergarten. Stricken mute at the appearance of an actual audience on the day of the event, he vowed never to mount a stage again and instead has worked atop soapboxes, tree stumps and speaker’s rostrums during a political and sales career that spans two decades. A reluctant software marketeer and retired ocean racer with numerous inshore and offshore victories to his credit, in his spare moments Bob enjoys the quiet contemplation of splitting firewood, tying dry flies, and procrastinating at writing. Founder of a locally-popular Burns Night celebration and gentlemen’s invitational whisky-and-poetry supper now in its seventh year, Bob aspires someday to flood the Roxiticus Valley below Route 24 and develop a destination trout fishery and sailing school. Meanwhile, he and his wife and best friend Ginger are raising three little ball players in a local town not unlike Grover’s Corners. “A very ordinary town if you ask me.” Aya.

James Doherty (Man in the Auditorium, Baseball Player #2, Dead Man #2) has been involved in the performing arts for four years on a professional level. He would like to thank all those who inspired him, and most especially God.

Miriam Johnson (Artistic Lady, Choir) was the star of Auntie’s Money presented by the Far Hills Elementary School. More recently, she appeared with the Footlight Guild of Peapack in a production of White Sheep of the Family.

Pat Richards (Woman in the Audience, Choir)

T.R. Kimpland Jr. (Simon Stimson) is from Long Valley and is in the process of working on his goals and dreams in the entertainment world, from TV commercials to feature films. T.R. gives special thanks to his family and friends for their encouragement to be able to perform upon this stage. It truly is a “Wonderful Life.” God bless everyone in the cast. He dedicates his performance to 9-11-01.

Linda Jean Lipkin (Producer, Dead Woman #1) has been involved in acting, singing, dancing and costuming in a variety of community theater events both here and in New Hampshire over the years. As a member of the Amherst Community Players, she was involved in Paint Your Wagon, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, The Importance of Being Earnest, and Plaza Suite. Most recently, Linda appeared in the Trilogy production of Servant of Two Masters. She has also sung with the Soughegan Valley Chorus of Amherst, NH, and is a member of the Peapack Reformed Church choir. Linda’s greatest enjoyment was realized through her years of performing with the Amherst Follies, a cabaret theater dance troupe that performed at numerous events throughout New Hampshire.

Sheila Lund-Pearson (Mrs. Soames) is a self-employed software training and support consultant, residing in Peapack with her husband Ken (alias Constable Bill Warren) and two children, Blake and Ashley. In her early youth, she starred in the title role of Mary Poppins, shone as the Guardian Angel in Johnny Appleseed, and has a vague recollection of sparkling in the role of Agnes, a U.S.O. entertainer, in a local production of M.A.S.H. Sheila would like to thank her daughter, Ashley, for her support, understanding, and encouragement.

Elaine Helbig (Dead Woman #2, Choir) portrayed Emily in Our Town at the Park Street Church, Worcester, MA, in 1953. For the West Valley Light Opera Association of Saratoga, CA, in 1970 she appeared as one of the townspeople in The Student Prince. Other credits include performing in The Mikado, playing the female lead in Don’t Darken My Door, and receiving awards for her performance in Paul Gallico’s The Snow Goose, all at Southwest Harbor, and in the Miss Mount Desert Island Contest in Bar Harbor, Maine.

Vin Girardy (Joe Stoddard) serves as Mayor of the Borough of Peapack and Gladstone. Upon his retirement from IBM, he promised himself that he would do five things that he never had time for while working and raising a family. Acting is the fourth of the promises kept, and this is his first exposure to theater. Vin lives with his wife Estelle on Tiger Hill in Gladstone where they raised two sons.

Drew Thomson (Sam Craig) is a lifelong resident of Peapack-Gladstone and a lifetime member of Peapack Reformed Church. For Trilogy Repertory, he has portrayed Dupont-Dufort Sr. in Thieves Carnival, Dr. Gall in R.U.R., and an Englishman in A Flea in Her Ear. Two years ago, he helped to produce the Trilogy production of A Servant of Two Masters, performed in Peapack Reformed Church’s Fellowship Hall. Drew was employed by AT&T for over 18 years, taking voluntary retirement in 1998. He now works for Pathfinder Consulting Group of Annandale.

Ken Lund-Pearson (Constable Bill Warren) a resident of Our Town, is making his stage debut in this production.

Mark Bentley (Farmer McCarthy, Choir) has been performing with various barbershop quartets and choruses for almost 40 years. As a part of “Cap’n Billy’s Whiz Bang” quartet, he performed at the opening of the South Street Seaport in New York and sang backup on Leon Redbone’s “Double Time” album. Mark appeared as Vittorio in the Trilogy Repertory production of Servant of Two Masters.

Allen Crossett (Director) helped to create Trilogy Repertory some 20 years ago and is very grateful to Jaye Barre, the current president of Trilogy, for her support in helping to create the New Peapack Players. Among Allen’s favorite projects were the Trilogy productions of Vanities, Servant of Two Masters, Don’t Dress for Dinner, The Crucible, and his own Winter Nights. His reviews of professional theater in New Jersey appear regularly in the newspapers of the Recorder Publishing Company.

Henry Repp (Music Director/Organist) is the organist/choir director at Peapack Reformed Church. He studied with Robert McDonald at Riverside Church, New York, and the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark. He accompanied Messiah performances for many years with the Dover Area Oratorio Choir. He has also been accompanist for the Sussex County Oratorio Society, the Livingston festival Choir Concerts, and the Livingston Broadway Show Tunes Revue. In addition, he has performed in numerous concerts, including St. Thomas Church in New York and the Cathedral of the sacred Heart in Newark.

Judy Books (Choir) recently switched from a career in publishing-related work to a position as a naturalist at the Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center in Chatham. She has performed in productions of Peter Pan, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Godspell. Judy enjoys bicycling, bird watching and hiking with her dog “Ginger” and is delighted to have the chance to sing in Our Town, directed by her former English and Journalism teacher.

Stuart Conway (Choir) is returning to the stage for the first time since the fourth grade. Stu has been a member of the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church choir since 1988. He and his wife have recently completed a three-year sail around the world aboard their boat Stampede.

Nancy Culton (Choir)

Linden DeBie (Choir) is a native of Long Beach, California, and took his PhD at McGill University in Montreal. He is pastor of Peapack Reformed Church.

Mary DeBie (Choir) was born in Birmingham, England, and is employed as a case manager for a large law firm in Newark. She teaches Sunday School at Peapack Reformed Church and enjoys singing in a choir whenever she can.

Kathleen Doherty (Choir) is making her stage debut singing alto with the New Peapack Players. She has been singing sacred music in church since she was in grade school. She thanks her sons and husband for their endless support.

Anne Hampson (Choir) is pleased to join the cast of Our Town. Stage credits include the national and international tours of Ken Hill’s Phantom of the Opera and numerous Gilbert & Sullivan productions. CD credits include performing with the Fugs in the rock opera Star Peace.

Christina Lanzetti (Choir), a Junior at Bernards High School, studies acting and singing in NYC. She is appearing now in Cinderella at Pax Amicus in Budd Lake. She sang our national anthem before 6000 people at East Bay Raceway, Tampa, FL in November 2000.

Lucy Lanzetti (Choir) is a mother of four and is a Spanish teacher at Everett Academy in Peapack. Her last stage appearance was a solo performance in a Middle School Talent Show in Cliffside Park, NJ.

Barbara McElroy (Choir) is a fifth grade language arts teacher at Hardyston Twp. School where she has taught for 32 years. She studied voice with Mildred Ellor May and has sung with the Masterwork Chorus as well as the Sussex County Oratorio Society.

Jodi San Giovanni (Soprano Soloist) sings each Sunday at Peapack Reformed Church. A graduate of the University of Florida, she is now employed as a teacher of vocal music at Alpine School in Sparta, NJ. She is co-founder and director of the 130-member Alpine Players Musical Theater Group.

John Charles Smith (Choir) enjoyed his first appearance in an acting role singing “O Holy Night” right here in this same church some fifty years ago, more or less, when in the sixth grade of the Peapack-Gladstone School. After recovering from that experience, John went on to sing with “Cayuga’s Waters,” a 12-voice ensemble at Cornell University, and now sings with the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church choir.

Peapack-Gladstone — October 19 is Opening Night for the New Peapack Players presentation of Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, Our Town. The play will be performed on four nights, October 19, 20, 26, & 27 in the sanctuary at Peapack Reformed Church, Gladstone, NJ. The church, a 153-year old member of the Reformed Church in America, is a sponsor of the troupe and has provided financial backing for the current production.

“We’re excited to support the lively arts in our community, ” said the church’s pastor, Rev. Linden DeBie, “and Thornton Wilder’s timeless message that life is precious and every moment we share together magical is one that we find especially poignant just now. I do believe that it is a hopeful message and wholly appropriate coming from our community of faith.”

The church, an 1872 Wren-Gibbs style clapboard edifice, is the second on the site, having replaced an 1850 building that burned, very tragically just three weeks after the Peapack congregation dedicated extensive additions and renovations following the end of the Civil War. Gracing a hillside overlooking Main Street and the Gladstone terminus of the old Erie-Lackawanna railway, the current building has become a beloved landmark in the Somerset Hills, not least for its excellent acoustics and pipe organ, both assets that are expected to distinguish the Players’ inaugural production.

“Citizens of Wilder’s mythical Grover’s Corners would feel right at home at Peapack Reformed Church,” Rev. DeBie added, “and we’re sure that you will too. It’s a very thoughtful, almost atmospheric space that beckons us to introspection. A person can really wrestle with questions of truth and eternity in a room like this and I think the playwright would be pleased. If I may paraphrase something Wilder said: ‘A church is supremely fitted to say: “Behold! These things are.’”

A badly-kept secret at Peapack Reformed Church this month are the rehearsals currently underway for October’s production of Thornton Wilder’s OUR TOWN, the Pulitzer prize-winning play that has become one of the best-loved American theatrical standards since it first opened in 1938. Presented by The New Peapack Players, an amateur theatre troupe that grew out of a creative collaboration among two of the church’s members, Our Town will be performed on four nights over consecutive weekends, starting October 19.
Our Editor Bob Sutton caught up with founding Director Allen Crossett recently and had a chance to interview him about the play, his players, and the growing role of amateur theater in his community’s affairs.

Sutton: Our Town is a classic “little-theater” chestnut. Why did you choose to inaugurate your new troupe with a vehicle that has been performed so many times before?

Dr. Crossett: Linda Lipkin, my co-founder and producer for this project, for more than a year had been urging me to direct another play at Peapack Reformed Church. Working with Trilogy Repertory, a community theater group in Basking Ridge, we staged Goldoni’s A Servant of Two Masters about 18 months ago, and even though that play is not well known, we drew a pretty good audience. And that got us thinking.

There is an excellent community theater in nearby Chester (The Chester Theatre Group at the Black River Playhouse), community theater thrives during the summer at the Gill-St. Bernards School in Gladstone, there is community theater at the Lutheran Church in Mendham, there is a very successful community theater in Randolph, and of course Trilogy’s summer shows are a major attraction in Bernards Township and the group’s traveling children’s shows are welcomed in area libraries during the winter. Chatham also has an outstanding community theater, and I am sure that there are others. So, I guess what I’m saying is that the area certainly doesn’t lack for community theater activity. We’re surrounded by groups that do good work.

So why stage Our Town in Peapack-Gladstone? I think part of the answer to that is that I live here, and even though I have directed projects in Basking Ridge, and Middlesex, and Chester, and Bernardsville, I’m at the point in my life where if I’m going to get involved in a theater project, I would prefer to do it close to home. I’ve lived in Peapack-Gladstone for almost 35 years, and I really love this little village, and I would like to think that having a community theater group in town somehow enriches the community if just a little bit. I’ve also been a member of Peapack Reformed Church since I moved here, and I hope the church’s sponsorship of this project is a clear reflection of its mission to the community. Certainly a large number of church members have become part of the project, whether they are actors or working on one of the many backstage crews.

Before deciding on Our Town, I gave serious thought to staging an old-fashioned melodrama, complete with a damsel in distress, a hero worth cheering and a villain one could hiss and boo. And I considered Spoon River Anthology, which celebrates the wonderful poetry of Edgar Lee Masters. And I am very interested in the more recent work by A. R. Gurney. And I’ve got some plays of my own that I would like to stage.

But we picked Our Town for these reasons, and I list these in no particular order. First, the play is well known and we thought that would help attract an audience. It’s also a play that is still studied at many high schools, and that might help us to sell tickets. There’s the reality here of investing thousands of dollars in the project, and we don’t want to lose money. Second, the play has a large cast, and one of the realities of community theater is that shows with large casts tend to have an easier time attracting an audience. Third, there’s a lot of music in the play, and that’s something I personally like to work with. I added all sorts of music to our production of Servant of Two Masters and I think the music enriched the production. Fourth, while the leads in Our Town have a demanding but reasonable number of lines to learn, the show also offers a large number of smaller supporting roles. These supporting roles are perfect for actors who have little or even no previous experience. Fifth, Our Town is intended to be performed on a stage with no realistic scenery, so we are spared the expense and effort of constructing a complex set. Most of the props are imaginary and that makes things a little bit easier. While the costumes are turn-of-the-century, they are often available in the collections of other community theaters, and there has always been an enthusiastic sense of support among the community theaters, and even between the area’s professional theaters and community groups. Sixth, Our Town celebrates the daily life of small town America, and while the setting for Wilder’s play is a hundred years ago, we’re finding ways for our production of this play to celebrate our town – Peapack-Gladstone – and that’s very special. Seventh, although the play was first produced in 1938, it was revolutionary in its staging, especially in the techniques Wilder used to involve the audience, and that’s something I am personally very interested in. Some of those techniques are still revolutionary. And finally, I like the play, and I enjoy studying it and then rehearsing it with actors who also like it. Yes, it is a classic “chestnut,” but it’s an interesting play to work on, and one that I hope our audiences will enjoy.

Sutton: For readers who haven’t seen the play, perhaps you could start by describing for us what it’s all about.

Dr. Crossett: In the first act, which Wilder calls “The Daily Life,” a character called The Stage Manager introduces the audience to two families. There’s Dr. Gibbs, his wife Julia, his son George and his daughter Rebecca. We first meet them as they are having their imaginary breakfast in an imaginary kitchen on one side of the stage. On the opposite side is the Webb family. Mr. Webb is the editor of the town’s newspaper, his wife is Myrtle, and they have two children, Emily and Wally. We also meet other characters: a professor at a local university, the milkman, the town’s constable, and the paperboy. There are hints in Act I that George and Emily, who are at this moment high school sophomores, will develop a stronger interest in each other.

Act II, called “Love and Marriage,” sees this relationship mature, and at the center of this act is the marriage ceremony that unites the two. We learn at the beginning of Act III that Emily later dies giving birth to her second child, and the core event of this act, following Emily’s funeral, is her reliving a few minutes of her 12th birthday.

That’s what happens, but maybe that’s not what it’s all about.

Sutton: The cast and production personnel you’ve recruited number more than thirty-five. Where did you find so many willing volunteers?

Dr. Crossett: Without question, it is very encouraging to find really good people who are interested in being a part of this project. Many of these people are members of Peapack Reformed Church, and either Linda asked them for help, or I did, and they agreed. And they are enthusiastic with their support. Maybe a dozen of the cast members are included in this number, and just as important (and maybe more important), we’re getting from members of the church support in the areas of costuming, and make-up, and lighting, and stage construction. And we’re also getting enthusiastic support from people in the community who are not members of the church. I don’t know for certain why this is happening but I have a theory, and this is it. The play is familiar and worth doing, and because I’ve been around for so long, many people know me and know that my work is usually pretty good, so it’s a project that you can attach yourself to with a fairly high comfort level. Odds are, we’re going to do a pretty good job with it, and it’s always fun to be part of a successful project. But I think more than that, many people find an important fulfillment being part of a project that’s both exciting and worthwhile. We all live in a world where it’s difficult to get to know other people, even neighbors. Most people who live in Peapack-Gladstone work somewhere else, and even if we see each other on a Sunday morning, that’s only for an hour and during that hour the focus is clearly on something else besides building relationships. I find that my participation with the church’s choir to be important not so much for the music we create but rather for the friendships that develop. And I feel the same way when I get involved with a food drive or a pancake breakfast. Breaking bread with someone is a good way to start a friendship, but breaking a sweat is a better way to build it. And I have found this to be true in community activities as well.

Everyone involved in this project contributes a lot of time and effort. And there are some evenings when I would rather do something else besides go to a rehearsal, and I know there are times when the actors feel the same way. And I know the terrific people who are working to costume the cast must wonder at some point, especially when they realize how much work is involved, why they ever got involved.

Hopefully, all this work will pay off in a production that we can all feel proud of. That’s one level of reward. But at another level, a higher level, I think, my relationship to each of these people will grow as I get to know each of them better and as we share for a couple of months a common goal. And the relationship of each of these people to the others will grow. It’s an exciting process.

So where did I find so many volunteers? Many of the actors are people I have worked with before, and they know what’s involved in a project like this, and they want to work with me again. Some of the people working on the various backstage crews are also those who have worked with me before. And I find that to be very pleasing. Some of the other actors are those who responded to a “casting call” appearing in the local newspapers, and they know nothing about the group—New Peapack Players—because we’re new. We have no reputation. So they’re community theater actors looking for a project. Then there are others who have become part of the project because they know someone else who’s involved, and that’s how they get involved.

If I were to move to another town far away from where I am now, I think I would search out a community theater group and volunteer for something minor for just one production, just to see how it goes. Chances are I’d find myself working with interesting people who share a common interest, who take pride in doing a job well, and who are fun to be with. When all that is happening, finding volunteers gets easier.

Sutton: In his writing, Thornton Wilder seems to have been preoccupied with questions about life’s priorities. What is he telling us in Our Town? Why does that message seem to resonate so clearly with contemporary audiences?

Dr. Crossett: While Our Town has lots of messages, the most important idea is that the earth really is a wonderful place and that all of us don’t take the time or make the effort to realize this. At the climax of the play, Emily, who has died in childbirth, gets the chance to relive a moment of her 12th birthday, and she not only relives it but also sees herself reliving it so she’s both inside and outside the experience. And she enters the kitchen where her mother is cooking breakfast, and she wants to embrace her mother and express her love, but she discovers that her mother, rather than returning her affection, is focused instead on her work at the stove. A few seconds later, Emily says with some passion, “Mama, just look at me one minute as though you really saw me.” And at the play’s climax, she asks,” Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it—every, every minute?” and the Stage Manager answers, “No. Saints and poets maybe—they do some.”

All audiences, contemporary and those who saw the play for the first time in 1938, and all of them in between—all of these people must have had experiences in their own lives that reflect this. We don’t take the time or make the effort — especially with those closest to us — to really see them, to listen to them, to realize the wonder of each moment while it is happening.

One of the things we talked about at a rehearsal is that Wilder is clearly not saying “remember the good old days.” He is urging us instead to appreciate the magnificence of the present moment. And that’s, of course, something we can’t do “every, every minute.” And if you see the play and understand this theme, you can’t help but think back to all sorts of experiences in the past when you’ve turned your back to someone who desperately wants your attention. And if the play really gets to you, you’ll begin to become aware of moments in the present when you continue to do the same thing. We all do. It’s impossible not to, but becoming aware of these moments is the first step toward beginning to “realize life while we live it.” And that takes an effort because we are all so busy doing other things, like cooking breakfast instead of hugging a child.

Over my desk I have posted a magazine ad that I clipped and it shows two people jumping naked into a lake, and the text reads, “Understand that this is not a dress rehearsal, this is it!” And I think that’s the kind of thing Wilder is exploring in his play. Life is a wonderful gift, but its wonder is all too easily ignored. And what makes life so rich are not the major moments, like a wedding or the birth of a child, but rather the seemingly unimportant ones. Wilder wants us to value such things as “clocks ticking” and “hot baths.”

Sutton: In mounting a secular play in a church sanctuary, have you encountered any special technical challenges or benefits? How have you found the cooperation of the folks at Peapack Reformed?

Dr. Crossett: Thornton Wilder was not a particularly religious man although I find Our Town to be a very spiritual play. The play is not urging us to do anything like follow the Ten Commandments or to practice forgiveness, but it is urging us to appreciate the gift of life. The play also has as one of the things that holds the various pieces together the singing in each act of the familiar hymn “Blessed Be the Tie That Binds.” There are also two other hymns and an anthem by Handel, and all sorts of wedding music, so all of the music is music that is normally heard in a sanctuary during a church service or ceremony. Act II also centers around a marriage, and that is a ritual most often performed in a church sanctuary. There’s also a funeral service. So, yes, the play is secular, but at the same time there are both themes and activities within the context of the play that are especially appropriate for expression or presentation in a church sanctuary.

This church has had in the past dramatic presentations in its sanctuary, and these have ranged from Sunday School pageants to short religious plays, so the idea of bringing “theater” to the sanctuary is not new. Our Town, however, at least in my experience, is the most ambitious theater project to be performed in the sanctuary. I talked with the Rev. Linden DeBie, the pastor of Peapack Reformed, before deciding to proceed with this project and we agreed that there was nothing in the play that would be inappropriate for the sanctuary. And I think we agreed that there was much in the play that justified its presentation in that space.

We’re going to have to make some adjustments, of course. For two Sundays, for example, the traditional Sunday morning service will take place with our stage in place and our lighting equipment clearly in sight. What we are starting to work on now is a way to incorporate ideas from the play into the service, and we might very well invite some of the actors to present brief moments from the play during those services.

Many church members are directly involved in the project, including the pastor who has expressed an interest in singing with the play’s choir. The church is also sponsoring the project, and that’s important, and the church secretary has told us that she will be more than happy to take ticket reservations by telephone. I think you would have to conclude that the cooperation is excellent.

As far as meeting the technical demands of the play, the major advantage of performing in the sanctuary, beyond having seating for close to 200 people, is that we have a magnificent organ to accompany the special choir that will be part of our play. And the church’s organist and choir director is the show’s music director, and the church’s soprano soloist will be singing a solo during performances of Our Town. That all works out beautifully.

The challenge, beyond working on a stage that measures only 16-feet wide and about 12 feet deep, is first building that stage, and we’ve gotten a lot of help for that, and then figuring out a way to light it. We have to be very careful with electricity because we will be working with a total of 24 stage lights, and at 500-plus watts each, they draw an enormous amount of power, and we’re working in a building that’s more than 100 years old.

We also have to be very careful with the weight of the lighting. Our plan is to use two lifts to support a 40-foot aluminum truss that will go across the width of the sanctuary. We will hang on this truss most of the lights, so we have the weight of the truss itself, the lights, and all the wires. And while there is no danger from the truss extending across a 40-foot span, we have checked very carefully to make sure that the floor at the sides of the sanctuary will support the lifts. We also have to provide a sound system, and that will involve some wiring, but the biggest technical challenge is finding a way to install safely the lighting system.

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Sutton: With OUR TOWN Wilder broke new ground with his spare use of props and stage furnishings, yet he filled his play with music – a choice that poses difficulties for most amateur productions. Are you doing anything special in that respect?

Dr. Crossett: I think there are two questions here, one about the imaginary props and the other about the music. Let’s work backwards on this question.

Yes, most amateur productions, at least the ones I’ve seen, do little or nothing with the music. Without the music, the play is easier to stage, and that’s because it takes a lot of time not only to rehearse the singers but also to blend what they’re doing with the work of the actors. Some of the music is meant to be the center of attention, much of it is intended to be used as underscoring, so once it’s learned, a director working closely with a music director has got to work out the balance. If the music is too loud, the audience will miss important dialogue, and that can’t happen. So it will take time to work all of this out. And adding to the complexity is that members of the choir have to learn entrances and exits, and not only are they heard, they are seen, and not only are they seen, they actually become characters during the Act III funeral service. There are a lot of very important things for them to do.

The advantage of all this for an amateur production is that the people involved are kept fairly busy. It clearly is not a situation where the singers have a few minutes during a performance and then hang around backstage for hours, waiting for the curtain calls. I think most people in the choir would agree that they would rather have something to do than sit around doing nothing.

The situation becomes even more complex for a professional production because now we’re talking salaries, and most professional productions simply cannot afford to hire a 20-voice choir, even though the Broadway production in 1938 did feature a large choir, singing from the orchestra pit. But, of course, the cost of a bit-part actor/singer in those days was far more manageable. So an amateur production today of Our Town, assuming you can attract the singers, is much more able to enrich a production with a choir. And that’s an advantage we hope to exploit.

As to Wilder’s spare use of props and stage furnishings, what he is doing is trying to involve the audience. In his day, as well as in ours, realistic scenery with verisimilitude as its goal almost always provides answers so audiences don’t have to work very hard. With Our Town, the audience has to use its imagination to create various settings and a variety of objects, from little things like string beans and cups of coffee to larger things like doors and trees, and Wilder wants his audience involved.

And without the presence of realistic scenery, the characters tend to become ideas more than specific individuals. Emily becomes “young girl,” Mr. Webb becomes “loving father,” and when he pushes his imaginary lawn mover, he is performing “household chores.” This elevates the ideas of the play from the specific to the universal, and that’s exactly what Wilder wants to have happen.

I recently saw a production of Romeo and Juliet at a major regional theater in the area, and the set was composed entirely of large white rectangular walls, with spaces provided for entrances, and with two walls containing small balconies. And I realized as I watched this performance that Juliet was a “young girl” and Romeo was a “young man” and that the tragedy was not about two specific families that couldn’t get along but rather about two groups of people, families, perhaps, but just as easily ethnic groups or nations that hated each other. When one’s imagination fills in the blanks, ideas can become abstractions, and the world of metaphor can be an exciting place to be.

Wilder was influenced by Pirandello, who also influenced Brecht. Each of these playwrights tried to find new ways to involve an audience intellectually, and one of the things I find interesting is that even with such developments as environmental theater and some of the other experimental work of the 60’s and 70’s, we haven’t progressed beyond where Wilder took us more than 60 years ago. What we are trying very hard to do in our production is to first understand what Wilder was up to, and then to make it work for us and our audiences.

Sutton: To pull this together, you’ve outlined an ambitious production schedule calling for lots of rehearsals with your cast. What’s it like in your rehearsals?

Dr. Crossett: Too often in amateur productions, a cast really learns the play during the first two or three performances, and then, of course, while remaining performances may benefit, often there are only a few of them. We don’t have the benefit of a two-week out-of-town tryout. We’re likely to open to a full house, and we’ve got to be ready, and that means all of us. And that means actors as well as backstage crews. For a straight play, and by that I mean a play that is not a musical, I want between 90 and 100 hours of rehearsal. And I want my cast to peak on opening night, and while they can only learn how to respond to an audience by playing to an audience, they should have everything else under control. I don’t want my actors to be nervous because they’re not sure they’re prepared. I believe they must feel fully prepared, and they should be hungry for an audience because they know what they are doing and want to share it. And when a cast gets to that point, they can have much more fun with each other. Goodness knows, every performance is going to provide some surprise or another, and some wonderful stories are born in these experiences. My number one rule as a director is to protect my actors, and that means helping each one of them in every way I can to be fully prepared and to give as good a performance as possible.

To know what it’s like at one of my rehearsals, you‘d have to talk to the actors. I know I have a lot of respect for actors. I know that if I want my cast to work hard, I must work hard. I also know that my ideas alone won’t create an excellent production, and that I need all cast members to contribute their best thinking. I think it is important for the cast to see me make mistakes, to see me struggle to make a scene work, to see me coming to each rehearsal prepared for the work of that time. I plan each rehearsal very carefully, and I have a purpose for each rehearsal, and I share this information with my actors. Each rehearsal runs for three hours and I try personally to work for the full three hours without a break. I try to get started on time and because of that I make getting to a rehearsal on time a priority.

And I often think of the time involved. Most of my actors have jobs and/or families to raise. They’re busy people. And what I’m asking each of them to do is give me about nine hours a week for rehearsal, plus the time to drive to and from rehearsals, plus the expense, plus the time it takes each one of them to memorize the lines at home. That’s a huge commitment, and the pay is zip. So I do everything I can to make sure their investment is worth it. Otherwise, why do it?

I also try at each rehearsal to praise or encourage each of my actors in some way, especially once we get beyond the blocking and memorizing stages of the rehearsal process. I don’t gush, but I do try to offer a pat on the back when I see something that’s especially good.

And I like to have fun, and I want my rehearsals to be fun. Sometimes I will introduce a game of some sort that’s appropriate for a rehearsal. Sometimes we might together do a theater exercise. Some rehearsals all on their own get wonderfully silly, and that’s fine with me as long as we continue to work. And if the actors are relaxed, and the atmosphere is supportive, all sorts of crazy things can and will happen. Rehearsals can be a lot of fun, but it is important to remember that we’re not at a party.

An important part of my rehearsal planning has to do with getting a cast to bond, and I’ve been very fortunate in the past to have this happen. I believe in ensemble staging, where some parts may be larger than others but each cast member is equally vital to the success of the project. I try very hard not to play favorites. I try very hard not to be persistently negative with any individual, and I try very hard to make sure no member of my cast is perceived by the others as being less talented or, even worse, a threat to the success of the project. One of the cliches in theater is that casting represents about 80 percent of the job. With a good cast, the job of directing gets easier. With careless casting, some problems will never go away. I try to cast very carefully, not only for acting potential but also for compatibility with me and with other cast members. If a cast is divided, it will not bond, and if it doesn’t bond, the performance will suffer. Not only do I need Emily, for example, to do well; she needs the support of every other member of the cast in order to do her best. And that’s true of each actor, from the leads to the walk-ons. In rehearsals, I try to create the bonding that makes that happen.

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Sutton: Your Opening Night is a special Benefit Performance for the Friends of the Peapack-Gladstone Library. Let’s see: you’ve enlisted a church, a theatre troupe, and now a cultural/fund-raising organization in bringing Wilder’s message to our community. Is there magic in all this collaboration?

Dr. Crossett: Absolutely, and it’s even more magical than you described. For the benefit, the Friends asked each of the community’s seven restaurants and caterers to provide a tray of specially prepared refreshments to be served without charge during the intermissions on opening night. And each of the seven not only said yes, they were enthusiastic in their desire to support the Library and to support the New Peapack Players.

What we have is Our Town supporting Our Town, and Our Town supporting Our Town, and I think that’s very, very special.

Sutton: Turning to future offerings by the Players, what lies ahead? Will you stick with American repertory classics like Our Town or is there more you’d like to teach us?

Dr. Crossett: If there’s one lesson my long experience has taught me, it’s the absolute necessity to put first things first when mounting a production, and take things one step at a time. Right now, all I am thinking about is getting the immediate project up and running, and I want to do it in such a way that those who are involved will maybe want to get involved in another project sometime in the future. Will we attract an audience? Will we be able to pay our bills? Will the church be interested in sponsoring us again? Did we do a good job? Ask me this again in six weeks, but for now, first things first.

Sutton: Lastly, our readers are probably wondering where to get tickets for Our Town. Do tell.

Dr. Crossett: I thought you’d never ask.

Tickets for the opening night benefit for the Peapack-Gladstone Library are available at the library. The date of that performance is Friday, October 19, and the show will start at 8 p.m. The price is $25 per ticket, and there are no senior or student rates. All tickets are for general admission; there are no reserved seats. The telephone number of the Peapack-Gladstone Library is 908-234-0598.

Tickets for the regular performances on Saturday, October 20; Friday, October 26; and Saturday, October 27, may be reserved by calling Peapack Reformed Church at 908-234-2733. The price of each of these general admission tickets is $15.00, again with no senior or student discounts. The curtain is again 8 p.m.

The New Peapack Players also has a “hotline” for ticket reservations for all performances. This number is 908-234-2979.