Michael Bush is about to launch the new and improved Emelin Theatre in Mamaroneck with a huge undertaking – 20 days of theater and music that he calls “Theater in Concert.”
So has he been burning the midnight oil on Library Lane, thinking and planning?
Nope.
He hasn’t had time.
Bush has been in Pittsburgh, mounting a production of “Murderers,” Jeffrey Hatcher’s laugh-out-loud comedy about three people who take lives in a Florida retirement community.
What he’s doing in Pittsburgh this fall will bear fruit in Westchester in the spring, when “Murderers,” which just received an excellent production from the Croton-on-Hudson-based Hudson Stage Company, comes to Mamaroneck. The woman playing Lucy in Pittsburgh, Jennifer Harmon, will reprise the role at the Emelin.
“Murderers” opened Wednesday in Pittsburgh. Yesterday, Bush came back to New York. Tomorrow, it’s time for “Theater in Concert.”
A busy week, to be sure.
Bush has said the festival will introduce his aesthetic to theatergoers in Westchester. He has called it a tasting menu of things he’s been involved in while working at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Conn., where Bush is an artistic adviser and oversees the theater’s popular Cabaret and Performance Conference.
There’s cabaret in the festival and plenty of theater.
But don’t expect lavish sets.
“It’ll be a bare stage, with maybe the Steinway concert grand,” says Bush.
It’s not about the sets, he says. It’s about the work, which he guarantees will be of high artistic quality.
“If I can get them in the door, everyone will leave happy,” he says.
Some theatergoers haven’t been happy this week, with the strike by stagehands canceling performances.
Bush, ready to satisfy, is even trying to please those folks.
“I don’t want to sound like a carpetbagger, and say ‘Hey, you can’t go into New York, why not come to the Emelin?’ – because I’m a member of the league,” he says via phone from Pittsburgh.
“The situation is horrible no matter how you look at it, but I would say to anyone in Westchester, that there’s some really exciting stuff going on at the Emelin … ”
To make the point even finer, Bush says that if the strike extends into the weekend, he’ll offer patrons holding tickets to canceled Broadway shows a 50 percent discount at the Emelin.
“The people who are really suffering and have nothing to do with this standoff are the audiences,” Bush said. “It’s the least I can do for someone who was planning to go to the theater and because of the strike cannot,” he says.
The show goes on in Mamaroneck.
If you go
“Everyone Expects me to Write Another Streetcar” - Jeremy Lawrence as Tennessee Williams in a one-man show about the playwright in the 1970s. 8 p.m. Saturday ($35); 2 p.m. Sunday ($32).
“Try to Remember: A Look Back at Off-Broadway” - Rita Gardner from “The Fantasticks” reminisces. 8 p.m. Sunday ($35); 8 p.m. Nov. 28 ($35).
“Friends in Deed” - Emmy-winner and Tony-nominee Penny Fuller, straight from New York’s Metropolitan Room. 8 p.m. Nov. 23 ($35); 2 p.m. Nov. 25 ($32).
Joel Silberman in “Politics and Poker” and Gretha Boston in “Familiar Love” - Acclaimed pianist and award winning Cabaret singer Joel Silberman was Leonard Bernstein’s protege before becoming a political consultant; Gretha Boston celebrates her personal journey through musical theatre.Two fascinating shows on one bill. 8 p.m. Nov. 24 ($35); 5 p.m. Nov. 25 ($32).
“The Kleinbort Collection: Songs of Barry Kleinbort” - Penny Fuller, Rita Gardner and Karen Mason sing the theater songs of Barry Kleinbort. 8 p.m. Nov. 29 ($35); 8 p.m. Nov. 30 ($35).
“A Tribute to the Bluebird Cafe: The Sounds of Nashville” - Grammy-winner Marcus Hummon, Sherrie Austin, Roxy Dean and Don Henry sing country’s latest and greatest. 8 p.m. Dec. 1 ($35); 2 p.m. Dec. 2 ($32).
“Becoming Tennessee” - A staged reading of a world premiere musical about a young Tennessee Williams and his first visit to New Orleans, played by Brian Charles Rooney, featuring Gretha Boston and others. 2 p.m. Dec. 1 ($25); 5 p.m. Dec. 2 ($25).
“Emelin’s Broadway Cabaret” - Stars from the festival return to sing seasonal songs. 8 p.m. Dec. 6 ($40)
Packages: Combine any 4 shows and get a 10 percent discount; combine any 8 shows and get a 15 percent discount.
Call: 914-698-0098.
Web: www.emelin.org.
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)
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Peter D. Kramer
