Thursday, March 14, 2013
Jonathan Sherman is a popular playwright and film actor
Not many people can say that they have been in a film with Meryl Streep, Natalie Portman or Olympia Dukakis, but 1986 Livingston High School graduate Jonathan Sherman can say that he is currently in one with all three. He plays himself in The Austin Pendleton Project, a film about an artist who has been up and down, for more than four decades, and has always gone where there is work. Sherman, who has been in a number of films, is multitalented—he is also a contemporary playwright. His career began in 1987, when his one-act short play, Serendipity and Serenity, made it to The Young Playwrights Festival. A full production of his next play, Women and Wallace, ensued in 1988. Since then, he has had much success as a playwright including a …
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Paper Mill Playhouse's new show starts out funny and keeps getting funnier — even if you’ve seen it all before.
New Jersey loves its sopranos, but for the next few weeks, tenors are the dominant class in the northern area codes. And theater fans from Cape May to Cliffside Park will want to share the mayhem and merriment at Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn. No doubt the majority of regular theatergoers have seen at least one production of “Lend Me a Tenor,” a door-slamming farce that has been a staple of professional and community theaters since its debut in 1986 on London’s West End. It debuted on Broadway in 1989, where it earned nine Tony nominations (winning two), and was revived there in 2010. Playwright Ken Ludwig, who has seen his comic hit translated into 16 languages, attended Sunday’s press opening at Paper Mill and shared a standing …
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Paper Mill Playhouse
22 Brookside Dr, Millburn, NJ
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Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Cast, alumni of "A Chorus Line" pay tribute to Marvin Hamlisch on opening night at Millburn's playhouse.
The bright lights of prime-time show business stretched from downtown Millburn all the way to Brookside Drive Sunday night, where Paper Mill Playhouse premiered its 2012-13 season in grand style. Following the press opening of its splashy revival of “A Chorus Line,” about 50 former cast members from the legendary Broadway production joined the current cast onstage for a tribute to the late Marvin Hamlisch. Hamlisch, who wrote the musical’s memorable score, died in August. In addition to a high-kicking reprise of “One,” the capacity crowd was treated to some moving personal tributes, including a speech from Mitzi Hamilton, who inspired one of the show’s characters and is directing “A Chorus Line” here, as she has done some three dozen times…
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Lauren Einzig will play a lead character in "Moon Over Buffalo" at the Dover Little Theater.
Get ready for a good old-fashioned comedy about show business, mistaken identities and shifting relationships this weekend. Livingston's own Lauren Einzig will be appearing as one of the lead characters in "Moon Over Buffalo" at the Dover Little Theater. Einzig will play the role of Charlotte Hay, an actress in a 1953 traveling show of "Cyrano de Bergerac" and "Privates Lives" who struggles with a philandering husband, a possible big Hollywood movie break and a love affair. Einzig, a mother of two and preschool teacher at Congregation B'nai Jeshurun in Short Hills, has dabbled in acting and comedy for several years. She returned to the community theater world three years ago. The actress said she loves her character, Charlotte, because she…
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Summer program will allow aspiring stars to study in New Jersey and perform in NYC.
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Wednesday, February 29, 2012
When Randy Kravitz Elman and Mary Brienza were young, aspiring performers, learning from the best in the business meant riding a train into New York City, transferring to a subway, then walking some long city blocks to get to a dance studio or voice or acting coach. So when they launched Musical Theatre Conservatory they were determined to give students -- and their families -- the best of both worlds. “Acting class was on the Upper East Side. Dance classes were midtown. My voice teacher was on the Upper West Side,” Randy Elman explained. “As a teenager I took the train in on my own, but when I was too young to do that my parents actually hired someone to drive me in to the city. I’m grateful that they would do that for me, but it was a …
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Phyliss and Arthur Meranus will be awarded Sunday at the annual gala for community theater and painting.
The Arts Council of Livingston will pay a tribute to local theater and fine art at their annual gala on Sunday with honorees Phyliss Meranus, a producer and actress, and Arthur Meranus, a painter. Council President Martha Ackermann said Phyliss Meranus is being awarded for helping to start a a "rebirth" of the Livingston Community Players in 2002 after several years of dormancy. The Livingston Community Players has done nine shows since returning to the stage; next month there will be a performance of "The Wizard of Oz." "When it came down to honoring somebody, it was such as easy pick as to who to honor," Ackermann said. "She made such a contribution to community arts and community theater. She's also quite the personality as well. It …
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Play dramatizes the 20th century back story of the World Trade Center Twin Towers.
It is a compelling story of warring visions, rivalries, personality clashes, lies, deceptions, hidden agendas, and ambitions plus lives and a community destroyed. It's a story where a structural engineer rivets your attention — how often does that happen? It is the story of the beginning of the World Trade Center Towers as re-imagined by playwright Matt Schatz in "The Tallest Building in the World," which opened last month at the Luna Stage Theater Company and runs through Sunday, May 15. Usually these accounts are purely factual and told in hefty books such as David McCullough's magisterial histories of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Panama Canal, or Robert Caro's brilliant "The Power Broker" on Robert Moses, the urban …
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Take a look backstage as Paper Mill Playhouse prepares to open its new musical comedy.
If you're going to be in the audience for Paper Mill's production of "Curtains," one thing you should know is that the actors are having as much fun as you are. Jumping into a mix of big production numbers, sardonic comedy and murder (and that's just in the first scene), the cast relishes the job. Backstage, one can feel the enthusiasm of the cast members as they do what every performer does before a show: Costumes, wigs, makeup, stretches, moments of meditation. Unlike the ill-fated play within a play that is produced on stage, this is a cast that looks forward to getting out there and giving their all. Robert Newman of "Guiding Light" heads the cast as a stage-struck detective who is looking for clues and romance. Kim Zimmer, also a …
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Children's Theatre of Livingston gives young stars a chance to shine in a musical with a message.
Getting over 80 grade school kids together for a group photo is a daunting task -- never mind getting them to pull off a performance of a real musical. But the directors and producers of the Children's Theatre of Livingston have got it all under control. Working with a cast made up of second to fifth graders and a crew of backstage technicians and musicians from the middle school, they make it all work. Fatima Calcado founded the CTL with the premise that young kids needed an outlet to experience live theatre performance. For their fifth year of existence, Marlo Thomas' "Free To Be ... You and Me" was chosen as their vehicle. Combining the talents of many writers and artists such as Mel Brooks, Gloria Steinem and Shel Silverstein, the …
Friday, March 18, 2011
From beginners to master thespians, Patch has it all for local summer theater options.
Tired of all the toddler to teenage drama? Well, put all than youngster angst to good use at a local summer theater camp. Patch has everything from starter camps to rigorous Shakespearean training for those kids for whom "all the world's a stage"! As part of the SYLS Camp experience at Heritage Middle School in Livingston, campers will be offered the opportunity to participate in the 2011 Camp Play "Annie," which will be performed on August 4th at 6:30 p.m. Children will participate as actors and crew members who will be responsible for lighting, sound, sets, etc. under the direction of play directors Jill Murano and Michelle DeNick. This value-added activity will take place during the course of the camp day and is open to children who …
Joanne Smythe
7:59 pm on Tuesday, October 9, 2012
William, tickets for Thursday October 25th at 1:30PM are $104 per person. If this theater is having financial difficulties, perhaps it's because a day or evening out with the family costs $400 - $500. more ›