Pandemic Playhouse Gives Quality Productions

Posted on February 6, 2021 by Karen Nowosad
Overruled by George Bernard Shaw. Directed by Bonnie J. Monte. Pictured, from left to
right: Billie Wyatt and Christian Frost. Photo by Avery Brunkus.

Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey Introduces Pandemic Playhouse Entertainment

In the midst of the live theater drought, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey (STNJ) introduces a new remedy: Pandemic Playhouse Entertainment (PPE). This initiative was described by Artistic Director Bonnie J. Monte as being inspired by the old television shows of the 1950s and 60s such as Playhouse 90, Masterpiece Playhouse, and Philco Playhouse. Ms. Monte also explained that the STNJ will use their Main Stage at the F. M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre in Madison, NJ and then provide the productions through an online platform which audiences can purchase to see.

It is the Shakespeare Theatre’s hope that this approach will help author’s words continue to be heard and seen while also providing some employment for their company of actors and the creative team as well. Additionally, it is hoped that the income from this programming will help them to survive the pandemic.

If the first offering now available is any indication of what this series will provide, then STNJ should be able to accomplish their goals. The quality of the production is first rate. It is theater created on film for those who enjoy seeing theater presented in a first class manner. There is no doubt that the company has struck gold with what what they are doing.

First PPE Offering Now Available – Shaw, Shaw, Shaw

PPE launched their first production this week with three George Bernard Shaw plays which ran last summer at STNJ’s outdoor Back Yard Stage in Florham Park. The program is titled Shaw, Shaw, Shaw because it is made up of three one act plays by the playwright. For theater goers who were at the outdoor production or those who missed it, this is a good chance to see this set of plays with some new elements that would not have been available outdoors.

The sound for these productions is perfect so that the all important dialog is easily heard. Showing a play on film allows close ups of each character and expressions that are crucial to getting the full meaning of what is being said are possible. The filming of each of the plays provides close ups as well as expansive views of the scene. The sets are well designed and the costumes are first rate. The ensemble company does an outstanding job of giving life to their characters.

In some ways, PPE is like going to the theater right in your own home with all the quality of acting and production that STNJ is so well known for. I went to the Back Yard Stage to see Shaw, Shaw, Shaw. I enjoyed seeing it again through the PPE. The enhanced visuals and sound gave me an entirely different perspective on the plays.

The Three Plays

The three works by George Bernard Shaw are good selections to use to open this new Entertainment source. Bonnie J. Monte directs. Each play is light with just enough humor in spots to give viewers an enjoyable experience. The three plays are Overruled – Passion, Poison and Petrifaction or The Fatal Gazogene – and Village Wooing.

A scene from Village Wooing by George Bernard Shaw. Directed by Bonnie J. Monte. Pictured is Katja Yacker. Photo by Avery Brunkus.

Overruled takes place on a ship out to sea for a pleasure cruise where two couples flirt with each other. It is a fast paced look at how men and women look at and regard each other. It runs approximately 42 minutes.

Passion, Poison and Petrifaction or The Fatal Gazogene is the lightest and perhaps the most whimsical of the three. It involves some slapstick comedy as an impending thunder storm approaches. It runs approximately 20 minutes.

The third play, Village Wooing, is thought to be the best known of the three. It covers three conversations that take place over a one year period between a man and a woman. They initially meet on a luxury ocean liner and eventually meet again in a small village and then a small village shop. The female character eventually wins out with what she wants. And the man is willing, eventually! This play runs just under an hour.

Accessing These Plays

Tickets to the individual plays cost $10, and a package containing all three Shaw plays will run $25. Tickets are on sale at www.ShakespeareNJ.org, or patrons may call the Box Office at (973) 408-5600 for more information.  

Be sure to indulge your theater appetite with a visit to the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey’s Pandemic Playhouse Entertainment offerings. View the productions on your computer or get technology savvy and transmit to a nice big screen television set right in your own home. Turn the lights down, pull up a glass of your favorite beverage, relax, and enjoy.

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Save Birdland! Benefit Concert

Posted on January 24, 2021 by Karen Nowosad

Save Birdland Concert Jan. 24

A special virtual concert will be held tonight, Jan. 24 at 7:00 p.m. to benefit the legendary Birdland jazz club. The club, which has operated in New York City since December of 1949 hosts many greats of the music world. One only has to visit the Club on W. 44th Street to experience an extraordinary show along with the ambiance that only Birdland provides.

Save Birdland! is being presented to help the club survive the financial set backs due to the CoVid Pandemic. A GoFundMe account was set up the past few weeks to help in the efforts. This concert is part of those fundraising efforts.

Remarks from Producer Tom D’Angora

“Three weeks ago, thousands of us came together to save a beloved neighborhood café and theater. In what felt like a Christmas miracle, we did it! Together we raised enough awareness and money to save our beloved West Bank Café.  It was not saved  by some millionaire or the government, but by scores people who gave what they could… 5 dollars here… ten dollars there – proving the indomitable spirit of the arts community and exemplifying the extraordinary power of our unity.

Shortly after the community pulled off the West Bank miracle, my longtime friends, Jim Caruso and Susie Mosher, reached out and let me know that Birdland, was also in danger of closing its doors for good in just a few weeks if something isn’t done.

I thought about a New York without Birdland and I knew right away that we couldn’t let that happen.  Live music is imperative to the spirit and energy of this city.  I immediately told Michael D’Angora and Tim Guinee about the situation and they both agreed, that we need to launch a campaign to Save Birdland!

So here we are again asking the community to get onboard, by donating to and/or sharing this campaign. We can make sure Birdland stays open so we, as a community, can enjoy the greatest musicians in the world, doing what they do best, in one of the most iconic clubs in the world, right here in our beloved city.

We are so overwhelmed and proud to be a part of this generous and loving community. When we come together we can achieve anything! Let’s keep it going!”

Featured Appearances and Performances

As this article is published, this is the list of Featured Appearances and Performances:

Monty Alexander, Lucie Arnaz, Iain Armitage, Jacqueline Arnold, Kenneth Ascher, Colleen Ballinger, Erich Bergen, John Bucchino, Stephanie J. Block, Matthew Broderick, Scott Bradlee, Brenda Braxton, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ken Burns, Gunhild Carling & Her Darlings, Ron Carter, Jim Caruso, Desmond Child, Peter Cincotti, The Emmett Cohen Trio, George Coleman, Ravi Coltrane, Elvis Costello, Tom D’Angora, Michael D’Angora, Jeff Daniels, Django Festival Allstars, Clive Davis, Diana DeGarmo, Aisha De Haas, Natalie Douglas, Michelle Dowdy, Christine Ebersole, Kurt Elling, Kevin Eubanks, Giancarlo Esposito, Morgan Fairchild, Whoopi Goldberg, Mandy Gonzalez, Deidre Goodwin, Tim Guinee, Amanda Green, Julie Halston, John Heginbotham, Stephen Henderson, Sara Hickman, Perez Hilton, Clint Holmes, Sunny Holiday, Demetia Hopkins-Greene, Joe Iconis and Family, Sheila Jordan, Hilary Kole, Stacey Kent, Tory Kittles, Amy Hillner Larsen, Warren Leight, Amanda Lopez, Melissa Leo, Norm Lewis, Tzi Ma, The Manhattan Transfer, Wynton Marsalis, Lauren Marcus, Karen Mason, Marilyn Maye, Audra McDonald, Jane Monheit, Susie Mosher, Anson Mount, Bebe Neuwirth, Leslie Odom, Jr., Arturo O’Farrill Quintet, Mandy Patinkin, Christine Pedi, Wendell Pierce, John Pizzarelli, Martha Plimpton, Randy Rainbow, Chita Rivera, Justin “Squigs” Robertson, Mercedes Ruehl, Catherine Russell, Tom Seals, Victoria Shaw, Steve Smith, Dee Snider, Sting, NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer, Billy Stritch, Veronica Swift, Mary Testa, Steve Tyrell, Lillias White, Frank Wildhorn, Steve Wilson, Amra-Faye Wright, Ace Young, Karen Ziemba, Glenn Zaleski, along with Gianni Valenti, and remarks from President Bill Clinton.  

*Subject to Change

How to Find the Concert

The website for this event is www.savebirdland.com Be sure to stop there to make your donation. The button for Click Here to Donate is easy to find as it is right on the top of the page. It will lead you to the GoFundMe page for the event.

The actual concert will broadcast on YouTube.com. A video link is also on the event page.

Let’s do this! Let’s Save Birdland!

 

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The Doo Wop Project – Kean Stage – A Live Concert Review

Posted on October 23, 2020 by Karen Nowosad
The Doo Wop Project in concert at Kean Stage, Oct. 22, 2020 – Photo – K. Nowosad

The Doo Wop Project in Live Concert – Background

Yes, that’s right. Your eyes are not deceiving you. This article is about a live concert held a few nights ago, Thursday, Oct. 22 to be exact. It featured The Doo Wop Project and it was held outdoors at Kean Alumni Stadium in Union, New Jersey. The concert was a part of Kean Stage’s Fall 2020 programs. Kean Stage is finding ways to keep live theater and shows going during this time of the CoVid pandemic.

How are they able to do these shows? The answer is they follow guidelines for safety and they stick to what they need to do to keep their performers and audiences as safe as possible.

This was my second experience in a week attending a live event through Kean Stage. Being honest about it, I’m very careful to follow protocols and guidelines because I’m in a potentially higher risk group. The proper administration and adherence to these protocols by Kean Stage allows me to feel comfortable to go to their shows. After 8 months of no live theater, it was grand for me to have these opportunities.

What happens when you sign up for an event? After you purchase a ticket, you get an email confirmation and you need to send back some basic information like your name and address and the same for people attending with you. When you arrive, you are greeted by the nicest people helping you through the process. The police officers helped me find the right parking lot where I had a temperature check which took maybe 5 seconds! Again I got the Voting sticker to show I was ready to enter the venue.

All people attending and working are required to wear masks the entire time they are there. And great care is taken to allow plenty of social distancing with seating.

Now let’s proceed on with the review of the show.

The Doo Wop Project in Live Concert – A Review

The Doo Wop Project is a group of performers whose love of Doo Wop style music brought them together. Their desire to preserve this sound and share it with audiences of all ages guides the development of their shows. The group is made up of five outstanding performers, all of whom have extensive performance experience and all have appeared in Broadway shows. They are:

  • Dominic Nolfi (The Bronx Tale – The Musical, Jersey Boys, and Motown: The Musical)
  • Charl Brown (Motown: The Musical, Jersey Boys and Sister Act)
  • Dominic Scaglion (Jersey Boys)
  • Russell Fischer ( Jersey Boys)
  • Dwayne Cooper (Motown: The Musical and Hairspray)

There was a band who played under the direction of The Doo Wop Project’s Musical Director Santino Paladino. Mr. Paladino recently was the Musical Director for Broadway’s Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812.

All of this group’s training and performance experience comes through in grand way because the sound that the group produces is smooth listening. I dare say there is not one note out of place. They move around their stage with great expertise. They make the dance moves look easy and yet we know in reality that is not the case for those of us who are not trained.

But one thing stands out above all else and that is the pure joy that comes from their performance to the audience. There is no doubt that this group loves performing and they do all they can to entertain their audience. No doubt that they love the genre and are great caretakers of all that makes it so special.

It was a special moment in the night when the group announced that because of the CoVid pandemic, this concert was the first one they have done for a live audience in eight months. They said this audience would always be one they would remember because of this.

This also marked the first concert for Kean Stage in 8 months. The Manager of Kean Stage, Steve Cochran, opened the evening by welcoming everyone and saying how encouraging it was to see people out. It seemed to me that the audience enjoyed the outing as well judging by the enthusiastic applause throughout the evening and the people bopping along in time the music.

A Fun Evening

The original Doo Wop songs from the 50’s and and early 60’s are remnants of a more innocent time in America. There is no real message that comes from these songs like the folk and protest songs of the mid and later 60’s So to hear them now is a chance to listen to light music that is good fun to hear.

The show provides a type of walk though the history of the genre with sidelines that demonstrate how it affected later music. So it is appropriate that the first song was “Remember Then” made famous by the group called The Earls. A group of classic Doo Woop style songs followed including “That’s My Desire”(described as a rite of passage for any doo wop group), “Baby Come Back to Me,” and “Little Bitty Pretty One.”

The Doo Wop Project singing to the crowd – Photo – K. Nowosad

One of my favorite sections was a tribute to the legendary Smokey Robinson and The Miracles. A favorite “make out” song from the movie The Bronx Tale, “I Only Have Eyes for You” was beautifully performed. And a tribute to the Four Seasons included songs from their catalog including “Sherry” and “Walk Like a Man.”

One of the unique features of this group is that they take songs from modern day and transform them into a Doo Wop format. They include songs from groups like Maroon Five and even a country song. But one of the big highlights of the night was their remarkable rendition of “The Impossible Dream” from the show Man of La Mancha.

The final song was the Four Seasons’ hit “Oh What a Night.” The Doo Wop Project opens and closes with songs that fit the story line so well.

Yes indeed – oh what it a night it was!

The Doo Wop Project Live Streaming Show

If you want to see this group for yourself, there is an opportunity this weekend on Sunday, Oct. 25 at 7:00 p.m. They are streaming a live show from a studio in Times Square. Go to their website for more information. www.thedoowopproject.com.

Final Thoughts

A big virtual pat on the back goes out to Kean Stage for all their work and dedication to theater and live performances that they are doing. This organization is working hard to keep theater accessible through this difficult time.

I don’t know if it was a coincidence but driving to Kean and upon my arrival, it was a cloudy evening. I felt good when I saw the very bright lighting on the field and in the Stadium. When the show began, most of the lights went out. As the live music poured over me, I looked up and lo and behold, the clouds had separated and the stars were visible. Oddly, the cloud cover was back as I left after the show ended. What made that happen like it did? I like to think it was the power of live theater and live performance. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

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