Curtsey at the Navesink Library Theatre

Despite the historic blizzard that swept through on Sunday, February 22nd, a dedicated group of members from the Woman’s Club of Red Bank (Carol Ingaro, Cindy Fishman, Joyce Diamond, Kate Rafferty, and Lorraine Lang (& her Mom)) braved the snow to attend the 1 PM showing of “Curtsey A Royal Comedy” at the Navesink Library Theatre. And what a treat it was!

Earlier in the month, we had the distinct pleasure of meeting the play’s writer, David J.V. Meenan, and the talented costume and wig designer, William Goodman. David, a hobbyist historian, captivated us with his research into the historic visit of the King and Queen of England to Red Bank, New Jersey, in 1939. He shared fantastic stories of the town’s anticipation, unearthed from a remarkable collection of newspaper articles belonging to the mayor’s wife. We were absolutely tickled pink to discover that the setting of the play was none other than our very own clubhouse – even if it was just in his imagination! We’ll certainly be delving into our historical files to see if there’s any mention of the event.

Currently, we are proud to display a restored copy of the iconic photo from that historic event, generously donated by Dorn Photo Studio. Thanks to a mini-grant from Monmouth Arts (www.MonmouthArts.org) awarded to us in 2022, we were able to restore this photo and other significant photographs.

The photo of President Roosevelt, First Lady Eleanor, and the King and Queen of England, which now hangs proudly in our library.

The play itself was a delight, produced by VIP Theatricals, an award-winning production company dedicated to creating original works. We were particularly impressed to learn that VIP Theatricals, a non-profit organization, often casts senior citizen actors and provides invaluable opportunities for high school students to take on leadership roles in production management, directing, and design – truly helping them build their resumes and gain early career experience in the entertainment industry.

David had mentioned VIP Theatricals’ commitment to student involvement, and we must commend the director, Maximillian Oster, a senior at Shore Regional High School in West Long Branch, for his truly fantastic job.

We all smiled and laughed a lot throughout this hilarious comedy, even as our thoughts drifted to the blizzard that was rapidly approaching – and boy, was it a historic one!