Elissa Strell (Maureen) and Sharon Garry (Mag)

(CHATHAM, NJ) -- The Chatham Community Players presents the gloriously funny; wickedly amusing play, The Beauty Queen of Leenane by Martin McDonagh from March 1-16, 2024 at The Chatham Playhouse. Set in the mountains of Connemara, County Galway, this play tells the darkly comic tale of Maureen Folan, a plain and lonely woman in her early forties, and Mag, her manipulative aging mother, whose interference in Maureen’s first and possibly final chance of a loving relationship sets in motion a train of events that leads inexorably towards the play’s terrifying dénouement.

Producer, Jessica Phelan of Montclair explained “At the heart of this piece, it’s a story about relationships and how each of the relationships in our lives affects the others.  McDonagh seamlessly blends heart break and humor together and we are lucky to have a cast that so beautifully brings that to life.”

Bill Purdy of Riverdale is making his Chatham Playhouse Main Stage directorial debut. Purdy shared that “It has been a privilege to work with this dedicated and talented cast and crew to present this haunting play by Martin McDonagh, one of the most creative and imaginative playwrights of our generation. Years after its premiere in Galway, The Beauty Queen of Leenane still has its bite, mystery and humor. Please join us for an evening in the hills of Connemara!”

The talented cast includes actors from all around New Jersey: Sharon Garry of Cedar Grove as Mag, Elissa Strell of Warren (shown above) as Maureen, Peter Corley of Summit as Ray and Tait Ruppert of Maplewood as Pato.

Rounding out the director’s talented production team, Producer is Jessica Phelan, Stage Manager is Eileen Cadorette, Co-Scenic Designers are Roy Pancirov and Ed Whitman, Costumes by Melanie Rajpal, Co-Lighting Designers are Ed Whitman and Roy Pancirov, Sound Designer is Joe DeVico, Scenic Artist is Joëlle Bochner, Props & Set Decoration by Carol Saso, Corina Lupp and Brian Gutierrez, Intimacy Coordinator is Katie Toledo and Fight Choreographer is Steve Ruskin.

“Perhaps the best Irish play of the last 20 years” (Chicago Tribune), The Beauty Queen of Leenane premiered at the Town Hall Theatre in Galway, Ireland, in October 1996 as part of a touring production by the Druid Theatre Company that traveled through Ireland to London's West End and later to Australia. The Druid production also went on to have successful runs Off Broadway at the Atlantic Theater Company and on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theater in 1998, winning that year's Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play, Drama League Award for Best Play and Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Broadway Play. Written when the playwright was 27, The Beauty Queen of Leenane was Martin McDonagh’s break out hit. He went on to write A Skull in Connemara, The Lonesome West, The Cripple of Inishmaan, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, The Pillowman and A Behanding in Spokane, as well as the films In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths and The Banshees of Inisherin.

Box Office Information – Online Ticketing. Performance dates are March 1, 2, 8, 9, 15 & 16 at 8:00pm and March 10 at 3:00pm. All performances are at the Chatham Playhouse, 23 North Passaic Avenue, in Chatham. Online Ticket Presale is $27 for Adults & $24 for Seniors/Students with In-person Purchase Day of the Show is $30 for Adults & $27 for Seniors/Students. Join them for a Talk Back led by Susan Speidel about the production and meet members of the company, immediately following the matinee on March 10.

Tickets can be purchased online by accessing the theater’s online ticketing service, where you can now reserve your particular seat, simply go to chathamplayers.org/tickets. The service is available 24 hours a day. Purchasing tickets in person at Chatham Playhouse’s box office will begin on February 20. For information regarding box office hours, please call the box office number at (973) 635-7363. Patrons with special needs requiring seating accommodations should contact the Playhouse at least 24 hours prior to the performance. Without prior notice, accommodations cannot be guaranteed.

Sharon Garry

The Chatham Community Players has been entertaining residents of Morris County and the surrounding area since 1922. The organization’s mission is to produce high-quality theater for a diverse audience, while elevating its standard of excellence and providing a creative outlet with educational opportunities and outreach programs.

Funding has been made possible in part by Morris Arts through the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Photos by Dawn Macri of Dawn C Photography