January 1, 2006

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VARIETY GRACED SHORE STAGES IN '05
by Tom Chesek

BEST HOMEGROWN PRODUCTION: "An Evening of One-Acts" (Navesink Library Playhouse, Dec. 2-11) — Consisting of several award-winning short works from festivals, as well as some original pieces solicited especially for this occasion, this Monmouth Players production (presented under the banner of the troupe's experimental offshoot "Not Necessarily the Players") packed more good humor and interesting ideas into its spartan settings than most well-financed companies manage in a season's worth of shows. Lori Renick and a large collective of actors and directors lit up some of the traditionally darkest days of the stage year and made it well worth the trip off the beaten path to that little old meeting house in Middletown.