Kennedy assassination revisited in Boonton
Oswald his pleads case in original play
BOONTON - Fifty-two years later, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy is remembered as a turning point in world history.
Many Americans still debate the countless conspiracy theories surrounding the events of Nov. 22, 1963 and the findings of the Warren Commission, which concluded that Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald likely acted on his own. Yet many still argue that he did not commit the crime while others say he was part of a CIA plot or an agent of Castro's Cuba.
Beginning Friday, theater fans will gather at the historic Darress Theatre on Main Street for the premiere of "Oswald," in which Montville playwright-producer Keith E. Brown lets Oswald defend himself, using actual quotes from remnants of transcribed interviews with Oswald himself. The play also features witnesses — speaking directly from Warren Commission transcripts — whose testimony casts doubt on Oswald's guilt.
"Seven testified he was on the first floor, not the sixth floor," Brown said, referring to the Texas Book Depository in downtown Dallas, from where Oswald is alleged to have shot Kennedy while he passed by in a motorcade."
Brown says he is more interested in the drama than joining filmmaker Oliver Stone ("JFK") in illustrating his own conspiracy theory, but his view is that "The Warren Commission was hasty" in assigning the guilt to Oswald.
Oswald, of course, never stood trial as he himself was assassinated by Dallas night club owner Jack Ruby two days after the Kennedy shooting. Ruby was convicted of that crime, then later granted a new trial, but died of a pulmonary embolism due to lung cancer before a trial date was set.
Ruby's death furthered fueled the public's interest in conspiracy theories about the Kennedy assassination that are still argued today.
"A lot of people look at Oswald as a patsy," Brown said. "In this play, the Patsy speaks."
The eight-member cast features Al Contorsi as Oswald and Jeffrey Millstein as a narrator of sorts, presented as a newscaster in the mold of Walter Cronkite.
Following an interactive finale, the audience will be asked to present their verdict, ask questions and comment on their experience.
Brown said it took two and a half years to write and stage "Oswald," which he is coproducing with Darress Theatre owner Tom Timbrook. Brown is directing after receiving Perry Award nominations — the New Jersey amateur theater equivalent of a Tony nomination on Broadway — for directing "The Outcast," "Lost in the Field" and "The Christmas Miracle" at the Darress.
Brown's nonprofit organization, Lost in the Field Productions, is pledging that proceeds from the production will go to funding its charitcble work in the Morris county area, supplying food, entertaiment and presents to homeless children at Christmas.
Show times are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with 3 p.m. matinees Sunday and Sunday, Nov. 29. tickets are $15 at the door. For more information or advance tickets, call 973-334-9292.
Staff Writer William Westhoven: 973-917-9242; wwesthoven@GannettNJ.com.