The new Off-Broadway musical “Next to Normal” is about contemporary suburban life – and two Westchester natives are bringing it to the stage Off-Broadway.

Tom Kitt, the Armonk-born composer who wrote the Broadway adaptation of Nick Hornby’s “High Fidelity,” wrote the score.

Jennifer Damiano, a junior at White Plains High School – who, at 16, is already a Broadway veteran, having been the youngest member of the original cast of “Spring Awakening” – plays the 16-year-old daughter.

“Next to Normal” tells the story of the Goodmans, a suburban family where dad Dan goes off to work, mom Diana goes off to Costco and daughter Natalie practices her piano for an Ivy League audition.

“Yale has no place for a basket case,” she sings.

It opens tomorrow at Off-Broadway’s Second Stage Theatre and runs through March 9 with a cast that includes Alice Ripley (“Side Show”), Brian d’Arcy James (“Lieutenant of Inishmore”), Adam Chanler-Berat (“Les Miserables”), Asa Somers (“Grey Gardens”), Aaron Tveit (“Hairspray”) and Damiano.

“I was blown away completely by her singing,” says Kitt, sitting with Damiano in the theater’s cafe.

For her part, Damiano says the role has everything a young actress could want.

“It’s like the role for teenage girls,” she says. “The scenes I got for the audition were pretty angst-y and angry and seemed like a lot of fun for me to do, because that’s how I am a lot of the time. I’m not angst-y – my family’s not at all like Natalie’s – but there are certain levels where I can definitely relate to her.”

Kitt and lyricist Brian Yorkey put Damiano’s voice to work in a score with room-filling rock, softer solos and a conversational series of songs called “Hey 1,” “Hey 2” and “Hey 3” that are reminiscent of Jonathan Larson’s “Rent.”

“It was harder for me to learn those conversational songs,” Damiano says. “Adam (Chanler-Berat) and I had to speak the ‘Hey’ songs to each other all the time and then add notes to it, because it’s literally a conversation. The other songs were just fun to rock out.”

Then there’s also what Damiano calls a “prime Natalie moment” – the song “Superboy and Invisible Girl.”

“I remember singing it so much during the audition process that finally to sing it on stage and have it be my song – let alone Natalie’s song – is really incredible,” Damiano says.

It took several auditions to land the part. Before the final audition, Damiano had a rehearsal at Kitt’s home. There was plenty to learn, Damiano says. “I didn’t know how to pronounce Pfizer and MacGyver. And then there were all those pill names.”

Because this is a story about a family dealing with mental illness, there are plenty of pills on stage. One song is a jumble of psychopharmacological drugs, sung in a Burt Bacharach style.

“As I looked at all the names of the pills in Brian’s lyric,” Kitt recalls, “they just jumped off the page at me as Burt Bacharach, ‘Sundance Kid’ jazz harmonies. That was the spin I wanted to put on it. In our society, it’s an everybody-be-happy-take-the-pills kind of thing, and that’s what was in my head at that point when I saw those lyrics.”

Kitt met Yorkey at Columbia, where they collaborated on the school’s Varsity Show.

They went on to the BMI Musical Theater Workshop and developed a 10-minute version of “Next to Normal.” Two songs from that short piece survive, but they’ve added 38 new songs for the full-length show. Not that you’ll know that from reading the Playbill: The songs are not listed, for a reason.

“Because this story is told so much through the music and the songs,” Kitt says. “We want to protect the story and the surprises. And also, I just don’t want someone to see 40 songs and freak out,” he adds with a laugh. “They’ll think it’ll never end – but it clips along. It really clips along.”

The ride is dizzying at times, with soft songs coming on the heels of power songs that follow tunes that would feel at home in an old-school musical.

“What Brian and I tried to do through the score is to really chart emotion as it would happen in real time,” he says. “If you’re having an argument with someone, you might fire at them for a little bit. Then they’ll try to calm you and then they’ll fire back at you. Human arguments have an arc to them.”

Employing so many styles has two sides to it, Kitt says.

At one point, Ripley, as Diana, finds herself in Costco, in a song that sounds like a vaudeville or musical theater tune. It’s how Diana views her role when shopping in a big-box store.

“Some people will get what we’re doing and some people might feel it’s disjointed,” Kitt says. “I can only say that each song has a specific purpose and it’s doing what we want it to do in the show. It’ll be interesting to see how people react to it.”

If “Next to Normal” is any indication, Kitt has been inspired and influenced by every kind of music he’s ever heard. He will not be pigeonholed.

“I hope not,” he says. “I hope that people will see me as a composer of new musical theater and not characterize me as any sort of musical-theater type.”

The composer says the subject matter demanded an eclectic score.

“I don’t set out to write a score in many different styles, necessarily,” he says. “I set out to tell a story musically and when you’re dealing with a show like this – which shows somebody who’s mentally ill, with a lot of dark and also comic human emotions – you just want the music to capture all that.”

Kitt says Yorkey’s work made the songwriting a breeze at times: “Brian’s lyrics are so beautiful and emotional they immediately put me into a strong musical place. The songs come out of me very quickly when I see his lyrics.”

Damiano – who’ll return to school this week, once the show opens – says she hopes to go back to “Spring Awakening” at some point.

“I still owe that show something,” she says. “I still love it.”

For now, she’s more than happy to share the stage with Tony nominees d’Arcy James and Ripley, a task that became more daunting, Damiano says, after she did a little research.

“I didn’t realize they were Tony nominees,” she says. “And then I went on YouTube and I typed in ‘Alice Ripley.’ And she performed at the Tonys for ‘Side Show!’ I’m not taking anything for granted. I’m just trying to soak it in as much as I can without getting creepy or anything.”

Damiano likes this musical’s perspective, even though it’s dark.

“I think the points the show makes are really intelligent,” she says. “If people want a really, really perfect happy ending they can see another show.”

To quote Natalie: “Happy endings are dumb, anyway.”

PHOTO: By Angela Gaul/The Journal News:
Composer Tom Kitt, right, of Armonk wrote the score for “Next to Normal,” starring actress Jennifer Damiano of White Plains.

‘NEXT TO NORMAL’
Where: Second Stage Theatre, 307 W. 43rd St., Manhattan.
When: Opens tomorrow. Run is through March 9.
Tickets: $80. A limited number of $25 tickets are available for those under 25. $15 student rush tickets are available 30 minutes prior to curtain.
Call: 212-246-4422.
Web: www.2ST.com.
With: Alice Ripley, Brian d’Arcy James, Adam Chanler-Berat, Jennifer Damiano, Asa Somers and Aaron Tveit.

Changes are afoot at the High School Theater Awards, commonly called “The Helens.”  I got this email from producer Danielle Rudess:”Hey Pete,Here are some facts about the 2008 H.S. Theater Awards. Please feel free to share all of this with your readers:

1. The event will simply be called the High School Theater Awards this year. The producers of the Helen Hayes awards, which honor professional theater in the Washington, D.C., area, have demanded that we change our name. We are looking for a sponsor or sponsors and will rename the event based on that sponsorship. I am optimistic about that sponsorship and excited about our new, future name. “And the Kramer goes to…” or “And the Idina goes to…” or “And the Visa Pepsi Kraft goes to…”
2. Judging will be revamped this year. First of all, I will be completely removed from the entire judging process since I have a daughter who is in the ensemble of Clarkstown South’s production. I am hiring an individual to oversee all of the judging as well as much of the administrative tasks this year since I need to be available for a family member who is undergoing a serious medical treatment.
3. We are going to adopt much of the Paper Mill Playhouse’s Rising Stars Awards system. Judges will be paid $75 to attend a show and write the response form. Each school will have 3 judges in total attend their production. All nomination categories will be based on an evaluation key with “1” connoting “Outstanding” and “5” connoting “Needs Improvement.” Nominees and winners will be chosen from those schools with the lowest scores.
4. We need judges! If your readers have theater experience in areas of performance, production or education, please have them email me a note with a list of their theater experience to: thehelens@aol.com
5. In addition, each school will receive a copy of all of the judges’ evaluations.
6. We have discussed dividing the schools into two “leagues” based on the total revenue spent on the productions. However, we will need to wait until we have a sponsor in order to make this change since the “two league system” will double the number of trophies and that is out of our price range this year. In addition, we are concerned about the running time of the awards ceremony and the “two league system” will double the time. Perhaps we will offer two nights. It’s up for discussion.
7. The 2008 Awards Ceremony will take place at the Paramount Center for the Arts in Peekskill on Tuesday, June 10 at 7 p.m. I know that there are awards dinners, concert events and exams are prevalent in early June. There is no evening in June that does NOT conflict with some school’s event. I hope that as many nominees as possible will be able to attend.
8. Applications will be sent out next week to all schools that wish to participate in Westchester, Rockland and northern Bergen counties.

Lastly, I am really excited about the changes in the judging this year. I hope that the schools who choose to participate will benefit from receiving the written judges’ evaluations.PHOTO by Tom Nycz/The Journal News: Students from the Archbishop Stepinac production of “Thoroughly Modern Millie” perform at last year’s Helen Hayes High School Theater Awards at Peekskill’s Paramount Center for the Arts on June 11, 2007.

From now through May, 60 high-school-musical productions will spring up from Suffern to Port Chester, from Pelham to Putnam Valley.
The most unexpected is Nyack’s “The Phantom of the Opera,� commissioned by the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group as a test for amateur productions.
Harrison’s production of “Miss Saigon� is an unlikely selection for a high school, with its subject matter — sex, love and loss with the Vietnam War as a backdrop — far from traditional fare for teenagers.
Most schools, however, are going with the tried-and-true: “Hello, Dolly!� “Fiddler on the Roof� and “The Sound of Music� each get three productions this year, making them the most popular choices.
Tuckahoe High School will tackle “Barnum,� a show that requires considerable circus skills, but director Catherine Gmoser has had her cast working for weeks, juggling more than just their schedules.
This year, look for a special video feature, “Building Character,� in which student-stars talk about preparing for some of the best-known roles in musical theater. Find it at the In the Wings blog, theater.lohudblogs.com or from LoHud.com’s local theater page.
There are so many ways to look at the coming high-school musical season in the Lower Hudson Valley. Consult the accompanying chart for dates, performance times, ticket prices and contact information.
Historic: Nyack will the first high school in the East to perform Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera.�
Historical: Harrison High School tackles “Miss Saigon,� pretty heavy stuff for teenagers.
Classical: Tappan Zee High School goes the Gilbert & Sullivan route, with “Iolanthe,� about a fairy queen who marries a mortal.
Fantastical: “Into the Woods� at Bronxville and Lakeland; “The Wizard of Oz� at North Rockland; “Beauty & the Beast� at Brewster.
Biblical: “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat� at Clarkstown South; “Children of Eden� at School of the Holy Child.
Transformational: “Jekyll & Hyde� at Ossining.
Meteorological: “Singing in the Rain� at Archbishop Stepinac.
Jellicle: “Cats� at Rye Neck.
Kevin Baconical: “Footloose� at Ramapo and Kennedy Catholic.
Get the Girlical: “Anything Goes� at The Masters School; “Crazy for You� at Spring Valley and John Jay; “Kiss Me, Kate� at Briarcliff; “Me and My Girl� at Clarkstown North; “The Pajama Game� at Rye Country Day School.
Get the Guyical: “The Boyfriend� at Dobbs Ferry;  “Guys & Dolls� at Woodlands; “Hello, Dolly!� at Pelham, Panas and Irvington.
Get aheadical: “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying� at Salesian and White Plains; “42nd Street� at North Salem.
Rodgers & Hammersteinical: “The Sound of Music� at Suffern, Westlake and Peekskill; “Oklahoma!� at Rockland Country Day; “South Pacific� at Sleepy Hollow.
Big-topical: “Barnum� at Tuckahoe.
Trombonical: “The Music Man� at Haldane.
Baseballical: “Damn Yankees� at Nanuet and Sacred Heart.
Pogromical: “Fiddler on the Roof� at Pleasantville, Blind Brook and Carmel.
Tragical: “West Side Story� at Croton-Harmon and Putnam Valley.
Comical: “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum� at Pearl River, Ardsley and Edgemont.
Willkommical: “Cabaret� at Port Chester.
Conrad Birdical: “Bye, Bye Birdie� at Eastchester.
Barricadical: “Les Miserables� at Byram Hills.
Dogpatchical: “Li’l Abner� at Rye and Yorktown.
Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrenical: “Once on This Island� at Somers; “Ragtime� at New Rochelle; “Seussical� at Albertus Magnus and Mamaroneck.
Princess Fredical: “Once Upon a Mattress� at Ursuline.
Charlemagnical: “Pippin� at Horace Greeley.
Neverlandical: “Peter Pan� at Fox Lane and Valhalla.

So many things to see. Where to start?

Let’s start with the kids. The tap-happy “42nd Street� plays North Salem High School this weekend only. Tickets are just $10 for the feel-good musical that includes such toe-tappers as “We’re in the Money� and “Lullaby of Broadway.� (914-669-5414) (Photo by Frank Becerra Jr.)

If you want something a little deeper, consider Richard Knipe Jr.’s memory play “Schooling Giacomo� at Garrison’s Philipstown Depot Theatre. It’s about a man whose daughter’s illness triggers a flood of memories from his Bronx childhood. It opens this weekend and runs through March 2nd, with performances Fridays and Saturdays at 8 and Sundays at 2. Tickets are $15. (845-424-3900) (Photo by George Petkanas)

How about a classic? Consider Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible,� the story of the Salem witch hunts. The Schoolhouse Theater’s excellent production has transferred from Croton Falls to the Arclight Theater on West 71st Street in Manhattan for a four-week run. Tickets are $40, $35 for students and seniors. (212-352-3101 or www.TheaterMania.com.) (Photo by Ron Marotta)

Not up for a witchhunt? How about some Crickets? Starting next Thursday, you can check out “Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story,� the next offering at Westchester Broadway Theatre in Elmsford. The musical stars Pat McRoberts as the rocker from Lubbock, Texas whose death Don McLean called “the day the music died.� “Buddy� runs through April 19th. Tickets are $60 to $73 with a meal. (914-592-2222 or www.broadwaytheatre.com) (Photo courtesy Westchester Broadway Theatre)

Maybe murder’s your thing. If so, consider taking in the last weekend of the wickedly funny show “Murderers� at Mamaroneck’s Emelin Theater. Three actors, three monologues and a body count to rival “The Sopranos.� (914-698-0098 or www.emelin.org) (Photo by Adrien Goulet)

This year, I’ll be speaking with actors and actresses about getting into character, transforming words on a page into a living, breathing person. First up is Sarah Nathan, who plays Peggy Sawyer in “42nd Street” at North Salem High School this weekend. Peggy is the naive girl from Allentown PA who shows up at the stage door with less than a dollar and a dream.

Here’s what Sarah had to say about the role:

Download:

Thirty-five years ago, Clarkstown Summer Theater Festival was born, the suggestion of Luther Howard, who was the principal of Clarkstown High School South. Now, 35 years later, the group — which insiders just call “summer theaterâ€? — has dozens of summers of fruitful labor behind it, and a big fund-raising event in its near future.

On March 29 at 7 p.m., CSTF will hold an Art Auction — conducted by A.J. Ross Auctions. For one hour, prospective bidders — admitted for $10 per per person or $15 per couple — can preview the offerings from among an extensive array of art. Refreshments will be served and the bidding will begin at 8 p.m. sharp. Proceeds will go to CSTF, a worthy community cause, so plan to come out and give them support.

Clarkstown High School South is at 31 Demarest Mill Road, West Nyack. Questions about the auction? Call 845-634-9362.

To find out more about CSTF, go to their Web site — www.summertheatrefestival.com — for a glimpse of the work they’ve done through the years. Or reach out by snail mail at CSTF, P.O. Box 223, New City, NY 10956.

How often do you get to dance with a champion?

That’s what you’ll get to do on Feb. 9 in Stony Point, when “Dancing with the Stars” star Anna Trebunskaya lends her quick feet to Rockland Country Day School. Joining Trebunskaya will be “Dancing with the Starsâ€? guest performers Jose DeCamps and Joanna Zacharewicz and PBS’ “America’s Ballroom Challengeâ€? performers Pasha Pashkov and Inna Brayer.

The Valentine’s Ballroom Dance Benefit starts with dinner at 6 p.m. at the Clubhouse at Patriot Hills in Stony Point.

Afterwards, the audience gets up-close views of the stars doing the waltz, mambo, rumba, foxtrot, swing, tango and the cha-cha-cha. Then the fun begins, when people can bid on which star they’d like to dance with. (Organizers say no dance experience is needed; the stars, apparently, will lead.)

Proceeds from this event benefit Rockland Country Day School (RCDS) in Congers, whose alumni includes actress Tyne Daley. The event is open to the public and to students 10 years and older. Tickets are $150 to $300 each. For
more information and tickets call RCDS at 845-268-6802, ext. 202 or
visit rocklandcds.org.

The voices were excellent, the staging effective and the overall experience was transportive as “Ragtime� burst onto the stage of the White Plains Performing Arts Center last weekend in an all-too-brief “Broadway in Concert� run of the epic musical about turn-of-the-20th-century New York.

It was the first such concert version offered by the newly imagined theater in the City Center mall in downtown White Plains and it clearly demonstrated that executive director Jack Batman is setting the bar high for his new enterprise. While there were a few technical missteps, the format holds the promise for some exceptional evenings to come in White Plains.

“Ragtime� covers more ground than can be adequately described here. In a nutshell, it tells three intertwined stories:
There’s the New Rochelle WASP family where Mother (the wondrous Farah Alvin) yearns for more and Father (the appropriately rigid Patrick Porter) craves the predictability of the status quo;

There’s Harlem’s Coalhouse Walker Jr. (the amazing Jerry Dixon) and Sarah (the fine Rosena M. Hill) who seek a hopeful future for their son, but encounter nothing but tragedy and pain;

And there’s Tateh (the affecting David Villella), an immigrant who seeks success and finds it after much hardship.
The book for “Ragtime� is by Terrence McNally (“Love! Valour! Compassion!�), based on E.L. Doctorow’s 1975 novel. The music is by Stephen Flaherty, with lyrics by Lynn Ahrens — the same team behind “Once on This Island� and “Seussical.�

Flaherty and Ahrens were in the crowd at Friday’s opening, as was actor Mario Cantone (“Sex and the City�) and Kleban-award-winning lyricists Felicia Needleman and Laurence Holzman.

What they — and those lucky to have a ticket — saw was a first-rate staged concert version of a far-reaching musical.

Unlike other concert versions — including the well-known “Encores!� at that other City Center, in Manhattan, director Sidney J. Burgoyne’s cast memorized the show: No scripts were visible.

For his set, Burgoyne employed two on-stage baby grand pianos (played with gusto by musical director James Bassi and Steven Gross and, once, by Dixon as Coalhouse), a raised walkway and three sets of stairs, with images projected onto a large screen to help set the scene.

The only opening night glitches were technical in nature: The projections proved a bit finicky and some of the body mikes crackled annoyingly. These are easily remedied and failed to hold back an otherwise first-rate production.

Trying to explain a show as large as “Ragtime� is like trying to explain a Mozart opera or even a “Seinfeld� episode. But there were some indelible performances and stage moments that are noteworthy.

Standouts were Alvin as Mother and Dixon as Coalhouse, two characters who seek fulfillment and the promise of a different kind of music, metaphorically and actually. (These roles were played on Broadway by Marin Mazzie and Brian Stokes Mitchell, who would later team up as Lilli/Kate and Fred/Petruchio in “Kiss Me, Kate.�)

Alvin is an actress of considerable talent, never out of character, always in control.

Her voice was well-suited to her several solos, from the sweet “Goodbye, My Love� in which she bids farewell to her explorer husband to “Back to Before,� when she declares her newfound voice will not be silenced again. Her duet with Villella as Tateh, “Our Children,� was as unapologetically sentimental as they come.

Alvin’s performance was subtle, charming and fully realized. And, because this was a concert version — without sets and with just the hint of costume — it was pure theater: an actress and her craft.

Equally powerful, as the tragic figure Coalhouse, was Jerry Dixon, who will direct a mainstage production of “Ain’t Misbehavin’� at WPPAC later this month.

Dixon’s rich baritone and command of the role gave Coalhouse everything he needed.

His first encounter with his infant son was a riveting mix of confusion, pride and honesty that was mesmerizing. And the scene where Coalhouse gives the Westchesterites their first taste of ragtime piano was a thing of beauty: The household was rapt, as was the audience.

Over the course of the evening, Dixon transformed Coalhouse from a man whose Model T Ford gave him hope (“Wheels of a Dream�) to a vengeful seeker of justice (“Coalhouse’s Soliloquy�) to a doomed figure concerned about the legacy he’ll leave his son (“Make Them Hear You�). In all, Dixon was believable and unforgettable.

Other notables:

• Patricia Noonan as historical figure Evelyn Nesbit — the “girl on the red velvet swing� — whose trademark “Wheeeee!� went from bubbly to faded over the course of the evening. (An actress who can get mileage out of the word “Wheeeee!� is one to watch.)

• Hill, as Sarah, the role that won Audra McDonald a Tony Award. Her solo, “Your Daddy’s Son,� was a lovely lullaby to lost love, well-sung.

• Villella as Tateh, optimistic as he arrives in America, then spewing bitter words when he is trapped in a go-nowhere job at a loom and, later, changed, as an optimistic entrepreneur. In all, a flesh-and-blood character.

Producer Batman has hinted that if the audience is there for a series of concert-version performances, he might develop one.

Memo to Batman: The audience is waiting. Let the concert series begin.

PHOTOS (By Carlos Gustavo Monroy)
Top: Jerry Dixon plays Coalhouse Walker Jr.
Middle: Farah Alvin as Mother, Zach Landes as Little Boy, Patrick Porter as Father and Brian Charles Rooney as Mother’s Younger Brother.
Bottom: David Villella as Tateh and Mikie Joy Sakanaka as Little Girl.

In the crowd
Composer Stephen Flaherty and lyricist Lynn Ahrens came to the White Plains Performing Arts Center on Friday to see two old friends. The first was their creation — “Ragtime.� The second was Jerry Dixon, who played Coalhouse Walker Jr.

“He was our leading man in ‘Once on This Island’ on Broadway, a spectacular voice,� said Flaherty. “And soon he’ll be directing. He’s a real renaissance man.�

Flaherty said the WPPAC production of “Ragtime� reminded him of the way he and Ahrens developed the musical.

“It’s great, this two-piano version,� he said, “because that’s how we did all our readings and workshops.�

Ahrens said the musical, which got a lavish production on Broadway — complete with a Model T. Ford and fireworks — has found life on a smaller scale in subsequent productions.

“They do it small,� she said. “We’ve seen it once or twice like this, and it’s really wonderful. Wonderful voices, a beautiful production, so simple, spare and smart.�

Next: “Ain’t Misbehavin’�
Where: White Plains Performing Arts Center, City Center mall, Main Street at Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains.
When: Feb. 28 to March 16.
Tickets: $40 to $50.
Call: 914-328-1600.
Web: www.wppac.com.

James Braly likes to quote Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself”: “I am the man, I suffer’d, I was there.”

That, he says, could be the introduction to the “eccentric situation” he relates in the one-man show he’ll bring back to Pleasantville next week.

Titled “Life in a Marital Institution (20 years of Monogamy in One Terrifying Hour),” the show has been seen, in different incarnations, from Pleasantville – as part of the “Insights & Revelations Series” at the Y – to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to Washington, D.C., and, later this month, Off-Broadway at 59E59 Theaters in Manhattan.

But before that, Braly will bring his twisted love story to Pleasantville again, to an unusual setting. He’ll perform it Thursday, dinner-theater style, in the dining room of Jackson & Wheeler restaurant.

The bistro-bakery’s co-owner, Mike Trizano, was approached by Anna Becker, the producer of “Insights & Revelations,” who asked whether Trizano would like to try a dinner-theater experiment.

He answered her question with another question.

“Why not,” recalls Trizano. “We’ve never tried it before.”

Trisano will clear the center of the dining room for the show and reckons that the room will seat 60 to 65 in that configuration.

What the audience will see – after a $40 prix fixe dinner (or $30 minimum a la carte) – is a man in the throes of a long-lasting but never comfortable relationship, one that gets stranger by the second.

Braly’s writing is accessible and breezy, stream-of-consciousness. He sounds as natural and effortless as Spalding Gray, but the hour-long monologue is memorized down to the last comma.

While performing, Braly speaks with a laugh in his voice, a “would-you-believe-this?” kind of lilt that puts the audience at ease, even if some of the situations are a bit squirm-inducing, particularly, one might think, right after a meal.

But Braly lived this stuff, he says. This is not fiction. When asked about one scene or another, he recalls it from memory with a certitude that makes you believe it all really happened.

Still, it’s a performance – one headed to Off-Broadway – so Braly decided to bring on director Hal Brooks (“Thom Pain (based on nothing)”) to help him shape what happened to him into a tauter piece of theater.

In rehearsal, Brooks peppers the actor with questions – “Where are these ideas coming from?” and “How are you letting this happen to you?” and “Where are you finding this craziness plausible?”

They are, one supposes, the same questions the audience would have, and Brooks is here to help Braly address them.

Brooks is also here to tell Braly when his writing “sounds too writerly,” not the effortless banter Braly is going for.

“Marital Institution” tells two stories simultaneously – Braly’s uncertain and tense relationship with his wife, Susan, and, at the same time, the death of his sister in a hospice room.

In Susan, he says, he found someone he could fight with and still love (“Home is where the argument is,” he says), even when things turned downright bizarre.

In Brooks, Braly found a sounding board, a director who knew how to hone a one-person show, as he had done with “Thom Pain.”

“That was a dramatic piece for theater,” Brooks says, “as opposed to this autobiographical piece, which is storytelling. The first rule of acting is that the most important person on stage with you is your scene partner. In a one-person show, that is the audience.”

And what kind of audience does Brooks expect for “Life in a Marital Institution”?

“In a way, I see it as kind of a twisted date night,” he says with a smile. “People can live vicariously through it and look at James and say, ‘You know what? Life is pretty good.’ ”

PHOTOS: (By Carucha L. Meuse/The Journal News) — Top: James Braly, the playwright and performer in “Life in a Marital Institution,” which will be presented in Pleasantville on Thursday. Bottom: Hal Brooks, the director of “Life in a Marital Institution,” at a rehearsal.

“LIFE IN A MARITAL INSTITUTION”
Where: Jackson & Wheeler Restaurant and Bakery, 25 Wheeler Ave., Pleasantville.
When: Feb. 7. Dinner at 7 p.m.; show at 8 p.m.
Tickets: Fixed-price dinner: $40 or a la carte minimum of $30.
Call: 914-741-2000.

Also
Where: 59E59 Theaters, 59 E. 59th St., Manhattan.
When: Previews Feb. 19 and 20; Opening Night on Feb. 24. The show runs through March 16: Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $25.
Call: 212-279-4200.
Web: www.ticketcentral.com.

These days, Sarah Nathan gets to do something not a lot of sisters get to do: Run headlong into her brother without fear of retribution.

Sarah, a senior, shares the stage with her sophomore brother, Eli, this weekend as North Salem High School presents “42nd Street,” the tap-happy musical in which newcomer Peggy Sawyer (Sarah) barrels into theatrical great Julian Marsh (Eli) – several times.

Her kid brother didn’t always have Sarah’s love of the stage. That took time and a little prodding, she says.

“He got into it because I was always into it and my mom sort of bribed him: ‘You just do it. I’ll give you Xbox if you try out,’” she recalls, adding: “He ends up getting great parts and he loves it. It’s great because he’s a boy and we need more boys doing this kind of stuff.”

The acting bug has bitten the Nathan family.

“It used to be a lot of rewards for doing this kind of stuff,” Eli says, “but it’s nicer now because I like doing it.” Then he quickly adds: “Don’t get me wrong. I still like the rewards.”

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You can’t make this stuff up.

Ossining High School has dropped plans to present Stephen Schwartz’s “Godspell.” Apparently, the first-year superintendent looked back over their recent shows — “Children of Eden” (another Schwartz show) and “The Survivor” (about Jewish resistance group in the Warsaw Ghetto) — and suggested that “Godspell,” which is drawn directly from Matthew’s gospel, was a bit much.

So Kate Matthews, director of cultural affairs, scrambled to find a less, well, religious show. What’d she and the director come up with?

“Jekyll & Hyde.”

When Kate emailed me, I honestly thought I was being “Punk’d.” Kate, who is a good soul and a theater lover, assured me this was legit.

Wouldn’t “Godspell” seem like a safer choice? I saw the Paper Mill production a year or so ago — the one directed by Mamaroneck’s own Danny Goldstein, the one that’s headed to Broadway next year — and there was very little religion in it. It was incredibly clever and entirely secular: It just happened to have, as its text, the Gospel of St. Matthew.

The Broadway version of “Jekyll & Hydeâ€? starred Robert Cuccioli, who ends a month-long run in “Phantom” at Westchester Broadway Theatre on Sunday. On Broadway, “Jekyll & Hyde” was very dark, sexual and involved shooting up drugs. (Matthews says they’ll use potions in Ossining.)

The decision to change shows was made last week, after the “Godspell” books had arrived, but before auditions. The kids were told of the switch before auditions, but there must have been kids who were getting ready to “Prepare ye the way of the Lord…” who now must be working on “This Is The Moment.”

Says Matthews with a laugh: “Clearly we’ve gone in the other direction…..â€?

I’ll say.

“Jekyll & Hyde” runs April 10, 11, 12, 13 at Ossining High School. Admission will be free, but donations are heartily appreciated. For details, call 914-762-5760, ext. 365.

Here’s this week’s video segment. In it, we look at “Murderers” at the Emelin Theatre in Mamaroneck and a concert version of “Ragtime” at the White Plains Performing Arts Center.

Podcast file:

Flash video:

Be sure to check out the paper—and this humble blog—on Monday when the story on “42nd Street” at North Salem appears. I interviewed Sarah and Eli Nathan, sister and brother, who play Peggy Sawyer and Julian Marsh in the toe-tapper.

Also, Monday we’ll launch this cool little video feature I’m calling “Building Character,” in which I talk to actors and actresses about how they step into their roles. Let’s just say that Sarah has an inside line on Peggy Sawyer…..

Next Sunday, Feb. 10, we plan to run the big chart of all the musicals in the paper, so you might want to plan to grab a copy or two that day, barring some massive world event that prevents it’s running in the paper.

It is operatic in scope, following the intertwined lives of white Westchesterites, African-Americans and Jewish immigrants – and in 1998, “Ragtime” lost the best-musical Tony to “The Lion King.”

But for the next three days, “Ragtime” – based on E.L. Doctorow’s 1975 novel – soars again, with an ambitious concert staging at the White Plains Performing Arts Center.

Concert versions have become popular, with the successful “Encores!” series at Manhattan’s City Center leading to Broadway runs of “Chicago” and “Wonderful Town.”

The idea behind “Encores!” is to present forgotten shows, difficult shows or shows people love but never get to see. The actors hold scripts, there is some staging, but it’s a one-weekend affair, with just a hint of costumes and no sets.

That is the same concept behind “Ragtime” – WPPAC’s first “Broadway in Concert” offering.

Like “Encores!,” “Ragtime” will be performed with little in the way of sets or costumes.

But inlike “Encores!,” the script will be memorized by director Sidney J. Burgoyne’s cast of 21 who play 50 characters.

Burgoyne, a fixture at Symphony Space, where he’s part of the Thalia Follies political cabaret, was in the “Man of La Mancha” cast that inaugurated the new performing arts center in White Plains. He played the priest and sang the memorable “I’m Only Thinking of Him.”

Now he’s directing “Ragtime,” which will star Jerry Dixon as Coalhouse Walker, the role created by Brian Stokes Mitchell in a production that landed Audra McDonald a Tony award.

Dixon will direct the next mainstage WPPAC show – “Ain’t Misbehavin’” – which runs Feb. 28 through March 16.

Burgoyne and Dixon took a break from rehearsal to chat.

So two weeks of rehearsals?

Burgoyne: “Not quite: 68 hours. And some of those hours have passed.”

That’s a lot of work for five performances.

Burgoyne: “But if you’re going to do a lot of work, this is the lot of work to be doing.

It’s epic, isn’t it?

Burgoyne: “The scale of it is huge. I sometimes refer to it as Everest.”

Your actors won’t hold scripts?
Burgoyne: “It’s just a difficult story to tell without being free. You can do ‘Brigadoon’ with tuxedos and a Tartan sash standing in front of music stands, but somehow this one didn’t lend itself to that.”

Have you done the show before?

Burgoyne: “No. It’s fresh to many of us. That makes it good, because we don’t have preconceived ideas about a million-dollar set. We’re just telling a story.”

Is it your hope to mount a full production of “Ragtime” down the road?
Burgoyne: “I hope that because we’re doing it small, people will see that they can do it small. Right now, I’m looking to Opening Night and making it as good as I possibly can, which is terrific. Anything beyond that is so far out of my scope of thought right now. But we all have dreams.”

You were in “Man of La Mancha,” the first show at the new White Plains Performing Arts Center. Is it a new home for you?
Burgoyne: “A new artistic home, yes. It’s a really wondrous place: a beautiful theater, very comfortable, great sightlines. It’s a great place to present your work, as an actor and as a director.”

And Jerry, you’ll direct a full production of “Ain’t Misbehavin’.” Have you directed that before?
Dixon: “No. I haven’t even seen it. I’ve seen pieces on the Tonys, but I’ve never seen a regional production. But I loved the music. (WPPAC Executive Director) Jack Batman called me up and said, ‘Hey, have you ever done “Ain’t Misbehavin’?” And I said, “No.” And he said, “Good.” And I knew exactly where he was coming from. They want to bring fresh productions to White Plains, not the ones everyone sees all over the country.”

You couldn’t find two more different shows to follow each other.
Dixon: “There’s epic theater and there’s dramatic theater. And ‘Ragtime,’ to me, balances perfectly between the two of them. You have these iconic characters but they have to seem real in the scenes. There’s a danger of these characters becoming representational. In ‘Ain’t Misbehavin,’’ the characters are bigger than life but they’re real people still. They’re presenting this breaking-out-of-the-box theater, but they’re also, when it comes down to them, real people, too.”

Burgoyne: “It always comes back to telling the truth.”

Have you two worked together before?
Burgoyne: “We met at the (Actors) Equity auditions for the first part of the season. He was sitting next to me, and I watched the way he dealt with people and spoke with people and after a while I said, ‘That’s Coalhouse. He’s Coalhouse.’”

Dixon: (Laughing.) “It wasn’t on my radar at all.”

You were like: “I have a show to direct…”

Burgoyne: “I had made up my mind at that moment. So I just kept at him and told him to take it seriously and he said ‘I never dismiss any idea.’”

Dixon: “I said ‘I heard you, I heard you.’ I’m just digesting that information.”

How’s Coalhouse fitting you?
Dixon: “I consider myself a fairly happy person, but doing Coalhouse I do have to admit to myself that I can access rage.”

Burgoyne: “It’s gorgeous!”

Dixon: “We forget those emotions that we keep in check because we’re part of a society. I wasn’t wondering if I had it, I was just surprised at how easily it was accessed.”

Burgoyne: “What happens to Coalhouse is cruelty. And to think that people thought it was cruel but didn’t do anything about it and it kept going on – and it’s still going on. I love the theater because the last thing we want to let people know that it’s doing is showing them the mirror.”

Dixon: “The piece tells us that one injustice is not enough to make a dramatic play. We are all complicit in saying ‘It’s all right. It’s not just. But it’s all right.’ But it’s not all right.”

This is the full show?

Burgoyne: “People are going to see the complete ‘Ragtime.” There’s nothing we can cut.”

How big is your “Ain’t Misbehavin’” cast?
Dixon: “Three women and two men.”

Burgoyne: (With mock indignation.) “Five people and three weeks to rehearse it? Fine.”

Dixon: (Laughing.) “Don’t you dare! Do you know how many songs are in it? Thirty-two songs. Each of them is like presenting 32 different plays. You’re creating moments.”

Are you the kind of directors who, once the show is open, will continue to give the cast notes on their performances?

Burgoyne: “Sure. As much as you can.”

Dixon: “Not much. I think the company needs to feel it’s their show. I love what August Wilson used to say about the relay of a production. It starts with the writer and he takes the baton and hands it off to the director. And the director hands it off to the actors. The actors give it to the crew and to the technicians and then we all give it to the audience and it’s theirs. You have to relinquish the baton.”

Burgoyne: “I only have a weekend, so they’ll be hearing from me. But as an actor, I know that the first really good performance I give is when I know the director isn’t there. Then suddenly I stop thinking about what’s next and just let go.”
‘RAGTIME’
Where: White Plains Performing Arts Center, City Center mall, Main Street at Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains.
When: Tonight, tomorrow and Sunday at 8 (in what producers are calling a “Super Bowl alternative.”); Sunday at 2 p.m.
Tickets: $45 and $35.
Call: 914-328-1600.
Web: www.wppac.com.

PHOTO by Tania Savayan of The Journal News: Sidney J. Burgoyne, right, director of the concert version of “Ragtime” production at White Plains Performing Arts Center with Jerry Dixon, who plays Coalhouse Walker