The lone high-school musical on the schedule this weekend is Rye Country Day School’s production of “Bye Bye Birdie,” with its hip-swiveling rock star, screaming teens and jealous boyfriends. What sets Rye Country Day’s productions apart is that the cast includes members of the faculty and staff, this year directed… Read More →
When I told Katie Schmidt Feder—who’s now running all things theatrical at Peekskill High—that friends of this blog have helped other friends with sets, props and costumes, she wrote back excitedly, saying she could use help with “Anything Seussical” — props, costumes, set pieces, etc. Anyone want to lend a… Read More →
Spotlight Theatre presents “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” a stone’s throw from Putnam County — at the Schoolhouse Theatre in Croton Falls. Show dates are April 8, 9, 15 at 8 p.m.; April 10, 17 at 2 p.m.; April 16 at 2 and 8 p.m. $18, $15 for… Read More →
Two characters fill the stage in Mark St. Germain’s thoughtful Off-Broadway hit, “Freud’s Last Session,” which roared back from a monthlong hiatus and is holding forth again at the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater, at 64th and Central Park West. There is 83-year-old Sigmund Freud (Martin Rayner), suffering greatly from… Read More →
Stacie Moye, who directs the all-senior musical at Mamaroneck High School, got in touch to say that they, too, will be presenting “Grease!” this spring. (You’ll recall this is the ninth production of the musical slated for the Lower Hudson Valley between now and June.) Show dates are April 8… Read More →
Got an email from Danielle Rudess, the mind behind the Helen Hayes Youth Theater and the matriarch of the Lower Hudson Valley’s high-school-musical awards, The Metros: “The 2011 Metropolitan H.S. Theater Awards (aka The Metros) will take place on June 6 at the Paramount Center for the Arts in Peekskill…. Read More →
It’s fun to watch theater kids on their journeys. Four years ago, I interviewed a tiny Carly Rose Sonenclar, then a bubbly second-grader at F.E. Bellows Elementary School in Mamaroneck. She had been cast as “Young Cosette” in “Les Miserables” on Broadway. (Photo by Joan Marcus.) Three years later, I… Read More →
One of the happier developments of the past five years or so was Mamaroneck’s ability to keep Dee O’Brien’s wonderful Semi-Royal Shakespeare Company going after she retired. Dee (pictured above with some of the kids from last year’s “Macbeth” and “The Taming of the Shrew, in a photo by Aman… Read More →
A month ago, New City’s Adam Chanler-Berat turned a page in his young acting career, playing the final performance of the original Broadway production of “Next to Normal.” Chanler-Berat, who is 24, created the role of Henry, the teen-ager who describes himself as “lazy, a loner, a bit of a… Read More →
Jason Robert Brown’s “The Last Five Years” is an ingenious bit of storytelling, a musical about that relates the birth and death of a relationship simultaneously. Half of the story is told in chronological order; the other half is told backwards. Mamaroneck’s Westchester Sandbox Theatre presents “The Last Five Years,”... Read More →
If you’re a fan of classical music station 105.9 WQXR-FM, you’re familiar with Elliott Forrest’s voice. The radio broadcaster speaks with a hint of Midland, Texas, roots, and an authoritative air that comes with 30 years in the radio business. Hear for yourself on his show every Saturday (7 a.m…. Read More →
Just heard a cute story from Nyack’s Elliott Forrest, of ArtsRock and WQXR fame. He’ll be “in conversation” with Alec Baldwin at Nyack High School on March 19. Forrest says a woman from Minnesota bought two VIP tickets and is flying in just to see the Baldwin chat, which is a… Read More →
Heard this morning from Tim Reid, the director at Clarkstown High School North, who lost his “Wonderful Town” choreographer to a family crisis. Reid has enlisted Cal Chiang — choreographer and director whose work has graced stages at Mamaroneck High School, Pearl River High School and Nyack’s Elmwood Playhouse —... Read More →
Actors Conservatory Theatre will hold auditions for Neil Simon’s “Barefoot in the Park,” directed by Thomas Kramer, at 7 p.m. Feb. 28 and March 2. Auditions at ACT’s home, 20 Buckingham Road, Yonkers. Here’s a character breakdown: Corrie Bratter- (mid 20’s) A young, impulsive, free spirited newlywed. Sees life as an adventure… Read More →
I know it’s last-minute, but I just heard about a special $30 friends and family discount for Thursday night (Feb. 10) performance of ”I Do! I Do!” ?at Westchester Broadway Theatre in Elmsford. $30 for a served meal and show. Call the box office at 914-592-2222 and use the code… Read More →
Chatted with two great high-school-musical directors in the past few days—Tappan Zee’s Ed Clinton and Nanuet’s Jack Gremli—about their upcoming musicals. (TZ does “Sugar Babies” and Nanuet does “Hairspray.”) I’m working on a large piece on the director’s perspective and Ed and “Dr. Jack” were particularly thoughtful. Tomorrow, I’ll chat… Read More →
Having found success at the ripe old show-business age of 39, Chazz Palminteri has made up for lost time: The actor, director, producer has been involved in 60 films. His semi-autobiographical play, “A Bronx Tale,” drew the attention of Robert DeNiro — who made his directorial debut with the 1993… Read More →
Croton-Harmon High School marks a milestone this month with its 10th annual production of Shakespeare at the school: “Much Ado About Nothing.” “Much Ado,” of course, features two of the bard’s most-gullible of battling lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, whose friends trick them into falling in love. Performances, at the school… Read More →
For the third year, Purchase Repertory Theatre is taking its show on the road. They’ve been getting “Durang Durang” ready up on Anderson Hill Road and they’re about to truck it down to Mamaroneck’s cozy Emelin Theater, where the collection of short plays and skits will be presented next weekend…. Read More →
Forget the book club. This week, instead of gathering with your girlfriends to chat about Amy Chua’s “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother,” check out a woman who has the mothering tiger by the tail, in “The Passion of the Hausfrau” at White Plains Performing Arts Center. The clever one-woman… Read More →
There’s a lot of “into the woods” in “Into the Woods.” In the 12-minute prologue to Stephen Sondheim’s fractured fairy-tale musical — on stage at White Plains High School this weekend — the phrase “into the woods” is sung 36 times. And that’s just the first song in the show… Read More →
White Plains Performing Arts Center presents Bess Welden (inset) in the New York premiere of “The Passion of the Hausfrau,” an 80-minute one-woman show that aims to prove that “every mother is a hero.” Directed by Annette Jolles and based on Nicole Chaison’s popular “zine” (a micro, specialty magazine), “Hausfrau”... Read More →
