Scuplture outside the Morris Museum in Morristown NJ.

9/11/05 - Yesterday I took a trip up to Morristown to see a performance of "The English American" with Alison Larkin at the Bickford Theater. Generally when people think of Morristown NJ, they think of the two terrible winters where Washington stayed during the Revolution (winters which were far worse then the time spent in Valley Forge), but historic sites aren't the only thing that Morristown has to offer.

I had initially planned on getting up to Morristown early so Laura and I could check out the Morristown Museum, but we got there slightly after 5:00pm after they had closed. The play wasn't going to start until 8:00, I didn't feel like waiting around in a parking lot for three hours, the historic sites were closed, so the question was - what to do in the meantime?

Frelinghuysen Aboretum

Whippany Farm Mansion: George G Frelinghuysen and family's summer home in Morristown NJ. Commissioned in 1891.

I had been to Morristown for a meeting one time which was held at a beautiful arboretum. Laura on the other hand had never been to Morristown before so I asked her if she would like to head off there and check it out. After an affirmative to the question, we headed out to Frelinghuysen Arboretum, an 127 acre arboretum off of East Hanover Ave.

Frelinghuysen Arboretum was the one time summer home of George G. Frelinghuysen and his family. Commissioned in 1891, this summer home was a working farm, which sustained the family during their stays and provided room for their servants and guests. During the winter they lived in New York. Today their home is a museum and the grounds are beautiful to behold. The site is open year round from 9:00am to Dusk. While we were there we saw families enjoying picnics on the lawn, walking through the many garden paths and just relaxing or reading on the benches.

Sebastian's Steakhouse

After doing a bit of exploring through the arboretum, we started to get a bit hungry. Downtown Morristown is actually a couple of miles west on the other side of Rt 287, so we got back into the car and headed over there to explore and see what we could find. Well it didn't take us long before a restaurant caught both our eyes. Right in the downtown section, across from the train station was this beautiful historic building where we found Sebastian's at 80 Elm St. The waiter was incredibly nice and the food was great. I wish we weren't so rushed - we only had 45 minutes to eat so we could get back to Bickford Theater in time for the play. After the great meal, we headed back across Rt 287 in time to find the museum parking lot packed with people waiting to see the play.

The English American
The theater is relatively old and a bit like a high school theater, but the performance is really what matters. Anyway, intimate theaters are always better because it brings you much closer to the actors. I had been looking forward to this one woman show the minute Bickford Theater posted it on our event guide and was even more excited as the time drew closer to the performance. When we took our seats, I noticed Alison Larkin going around the theater shaking people's hands and having a good time.

To give a short synopsis of the play, "The English American" is based on the true story of Alison Larkin's life. Alison was adopted at birth by a British couple, grew up in East Africa before entering boarding school in Britain and later finds out that she was actually born in America to an unwed woman from Bald Mountain Tennessee. Alison then sets off on the journey to find her birth mother, confronts why she never really felt at home in British society, explores the complexities of finding one's birth parents, the idiosyncrasies of British and American societies and so much more. Alison switches roles effortlessly from her English mother to a fellow airline passenger to her Tennessee relatives and of course herself.

To say that this play is hilarious is an understatement. I don't think I've ever laughed as hard as I did that night. Several years ago I had seen Whoopi Goldberg on Broadway and I immediately made the comparison with the way they both interacted with the audience and made you feel like you really knew them. I can not wait until I get to see this play again. Alison lives in Morristown now and I'm sure that it will shortly be coming back to New Jersey. This was the sneak preview "for the home crowd" before opening Off-Broadway in New York for the 2006/2007 season. For more information, schedule and other reviews, check out the Alison Larkin website.

After the performance, I had the chance to meet Alison and I wish her the best of luck. I also noticed that Gin Game will be playing at the Bickford in October and I plan on going to see that. During that time I will be taking the day to spend up in the museum, something I regret not being able to do during this trip.





Robert Rosetta
President & Founder
AboutNewJersey.com