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"Should We Dance" Premieres in New Jersey |
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by Sherri Rase| >> see bio |
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| Dan Clancy at a reading of Should We Dance in Cherry Grove |
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Marriage equality has been on the minds of New Jersey residents for more than 15 years, since before "sexual orientation" was added to the state's law against discrimination in 1992. The battle for equality is still going on, even in New Jersey, which is one of the best, most progressive places for LGBTI people to live. On May 19, 2008, Gay Activist Alliance in Morris County presented the New Jersey premiere of Dan Clancy's play "Should We Dance."
"Should We Dance" provides a glimpse into the hearts and minds of a couple that has been together for decades, but still questions how the world categorizes their relationship. Combine uncertainty with a dash of anxiety and a hint of sarcasm and the stage is set for a script that is at once heartwarming, intimate, provocative and funny. Especially winning is the deft weaving into the play of certain discussion points and how they come up, like malaria, with couples, time and again, at the most interesting moments.
The group that produced the play, Gay Activist Alliance in Morris County (GAAMC), was formed in 1972 by a handful of young people who wanted a LGBTI community, but were not always able to go to New York City to find it. From that time, GAAMC has met at the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship, a beautiful neo-Georgian home known as Thorne Oaks, originally built in 1912. This home was built as a country retreat for a wealthy NYC family, and the marble floors and plaster adornments make a beautiful venue for the work GAAMC has done on Mondays for more than 35 years. This performance was part of the organization's regular program schedule.
The cast was small and powerful. Bob Verbrugge as Jim, whose nephew's wedding the couple is attending, struck all the right notes. Fresh from a NYC run of a play in which he was one of three leads, Bob's subtle facial expressions and wry interpretations lent the play a perfect canvas for interaction. Steve Palmer as Tom, Jim's partner of nearly 30 years, was the comedian to Bob's "straight" man. The interaction between the two actors, who are not a real-life couple, as they considered asserting their presence by dancing at the wedding, was as real as any between your friends, whom you've heard having similar discussions in your presence. Especially wonderful was Steve's relish in being catty. When not a Thespian, Steve is a Methodist minister and this persona was very different from his own.
Playwright Dan Clancy is a Cherry Grove, Fire Island treasure. His plays have appeared off Broadway, in regional theatres, in London, Tel Aviv, and Dublin, among other foreign cities. Awards his plays have won or been nominated for include: for "Volunteer Man," the OBIE Award and GLAAD nomination for best play; for "Two Sisters," the Joseph Kesslering Playwrighting Award; for "The First Time," for which Clancy wrote book and lyrics, the ASCAP Award for Music, composed by Lynn Portas; and for "The Timekeepers," which ran off-Broadway last year, the Hudson Valley Playwrighting Award. Dan is a member of the Dramatists' Guild, Actors' Equity and ASCAP. He is a great artist and a Renaissance man.
The production of "Should We Dance" was made richer still as Dan and his partner, Charlie Isola, journeyed to Morristown for a 'meet and greet' after the show. Attendees were cordially invited to join this 'wedding reception,' which was held in the Terrace Room at the Fellowship. Andy Skurna and the Café GAAMC crew made a coffee klatch into an occasion.
This special presentation had been planned for months, but it seemed a prophetic and fitting follow up to the news from California during the previous weekend that our lesbian and gay families there may soon hear wedding bells. And really, could New Jersey and New York be far behind?
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