Donna Connor
CAPE MAY - East Lynne Theater Company presents an encore one-night-only performance of “Jersey Lawman: A Life on the Right Side of Crime,” a staged reading based on the memoir by Jim Plousis and George Ingram 7 p.m., Nov. 15.
Adapted for the stage by Thomas Raniszewski, the story highlights the 40-year law enforcement career of Plousis from his days as an Ocean City patrolman, to the harrowing and heartwarming tales of his time as Cape May County Sheriff, to being nominated to U.S. Marshal by former President George W. Bush.
Cape May County native Plousis has had a career that has been both exciting and stellar. From rookie cop to being elected at age 32 as county sheriff - the youngest ever in America at that time - to his appointment as U.S. Marshal for New Jersey and more, public service and law enforcement veteran Plousis, who presently serves as chairman of the Casino Control Commission, had to be convinced by friend and neighbor Ingram to write his memoir. He agreed, then donating the proceeds to the U.S. Marshals Survivors Benefit Fund, which pays for funerals of those killed in service, among other things.
Plousis’ story, which Ingram wrote as Plousis provided background over six years, regales the exciting and often notorious cases, issues and people with which his career involved him. Names like President Donald J. Trump, Bernie Madoff, Nicodemo “Little Nicky” Scarfo, and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie feature prominently, as do events such as Hurricane Katrina and 9/11.
Family friend Raniszewski, whose dad worked with Plousis early in his career, came up with the idea of turning the memoir into a staged reading and bringing it to East Lynne. There have been multiple benefit performances, beginning in April 2024. Sadly, Ingram died in 2021 and did not live to see how widespread the memoir has become.
Performers include Eddie Castagnetta, Alisa Cooper, Ken Hornbeck, Mat Labotka, Thomas Raniszewski, and Brendan Schaffer.
Proceeds will benefit Garden State Concerns for Police Survivors, as well as the nonprofit East Lynne Theater Company.
The staged reading of “Jersey Lawman: A Life on the Right Side of Crime,” adapted and directed by Raniszewski, will take place 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15, at East Lynne’s Clemans Theater for the Arts, 717 Franklin St. in Cape May. Admission is pay-what-you-will; no reservations are necessary.
More information can be found at EastLynneTheater.org.
