November 2001 Westchester Playhouse

            General Meeting:  Wednesday, November 21, 2001 at 8:00 PM

            Hospitality:    This month’s goodies provided by Adina Silo

            Workshop:       The workshop scheduled for this month has been postponed.  The                                           substitute workshop was unknown at the time this was written.

West Side Story:  Directed by Jeff Wallach and produced by Michelle Rosen and Richard Potthoff, West Side Story closed Saturday, October 20.  It had a terrific run.  The benefit performance on Saturday, October 13 generated $500.00.  All the proceeds went to the Twin Towers Fund benefiting the families of the victims of the attacks in New York.  Thanks to the cast and crew who came together and donated their time and talents for such a worthy cause.  To those who attended, thanks for your support.

Ruling Class:  This Peter Barnes comedy directed by Jaz Davison and produced by De Cotter opened November 9 and plays through December 15.  Be sure to make your reservations so you don’t miss out on the fun.  A huge thank you from the cast and crew goes out to the following people for their participation on Work Sunday:

            Tom and Barbara Brophey, Michael and Maria Cohen, Sheldon and Arlene Cohen,             Ed Cotter, Casey Davison, William Goldyn, Bill Harred, Bobbie and Elisa Jackson,             Shellee James, Bob Martz, Alison Mattiza, Paul Mazerov, Sheldon Metz, Calia             Mintzer, Gert Nord, Tony and Lori Pereslete, Sally Pierce (!), Lee and Judy Polak,             Dorothy Rochlin, Charlotte Lee Schildkret, Bob Schnauss, and Adina Silo

The Elephant Man:  Sheldon Metz is directing this drama by Bernard Pomerancen and Calia Mintzer and Bob Sherman are producing it.  The Elephant Man  plays January 11 through February 16, 2002.  The cast will be announced in next month’s bulletin.

Mark your calendars now for Work Sunday on December 16.

Rain:  This period piece that takes place in 1928 is the story of Sadie Thompson.  Written by John Colton and Clemence Randolph, it has been approved by the board of directors to be directed by Sheldon Metz for the January/February 2003 timeslot.

Musical Concert Series 2001:  The Mikado, by W.S. Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan is being directed by Ben Lupejkis, produced by Jeff Wallach and Michelle Rosen, and musical direction is by Anoush Kavoukian.  Performances are Sundays, November 18, 25, December 2 and 9 at 7:00 PM.  The invitational performance for Kentwood members is Saturday, November 17 at 2:00 PM.

Musical Concert Series 2002:  The season hasn’t begun, but already we have a change in the slated concerts.  The March/April concert was supposed to be Show Boat but will now be The Music Man.  The first concert of the season will be Sweeney Todd directed by Jeff Wallach.  Auditions will be Monday, November 19 by appointment only.  Call Jeff (818)704-1221 for audition information and an appointment.  All roles are open.  Legit voices are needed.  An accompanist will be provided.  To audition prepare a song from the show (others are okay, too).

October Music Hall:  Jeff Wallach would like to thank the following talented performers from our October Music Hall:

            Judy Polak, Norma Northcott-Binmore, Jon Sparks, Marie Madera, Elizabeth                         Bouton, Melanie Marshall, Renee Travelli, Karen McCord, Susan Gorday, and Alison             Mattiza. A special thank you to Richard Potthoff for lights!

Season Tickets:  The board recently approved this revision to the free pass policy that’s been in place with season ticket subscriptions.  We will phase out the practice of giving each season subscriber a free guest pass to a Thursday performance of each of the six plays in the season when the guest accompanies the season subscriber.  In lieu of the six free guest passes, each subscriber will receive one guest pass to be used for a Thursday or Friday performance of any one play in the season.  To implement this change a notice will be mailed with each subscription renewal beginning on January 1, 2002.  The notice will state that this will be the last season for which six guest passes will be issued and that, starting with the next renewal, he or she will instead receive the aforementioned one guest pass per season.

This and that (that shouldn’t go unread): Comp tickets for the cast and crew of each show are available for use on the first four weekends of a run.  After that they can only be used

on an availability basis.  Bill Harred and Shellee James will be repotting one of the large plants on the patio (the pot is cracked).  The workshop/garage is neat, clean and organized thanks in large part to Dave Whale.  Please keep it that way!  The costumes are all sorted and out of the bin we rented (it should have been picked up by the time you read this).  Many of our old costumes were donated to the Goodwill and the Salvation Army.  A huge thank you to Maria Cohen and her team for all the sorting, etc.  Recently there have been a number of cars parked on 83rd Street on the theatre side that have been broken into in broad daylight.  Please use caution when parking.

Westchester Holiday Parade:  Yup folks, you have another chance to march in a parade this year.  The Kentwood Players entry is headed by Charlotte Lee Schildkret who is looking for more participants!  This year’s holiday parade “A Patriotic Holiday” is on December 9. Maria Cohen will coordinate costumes for everyone participating.  Please call Maria for an appointment to get a costume.  There will be a party following the parade.  For more information and to sign up, please call Charlotte.

Here, There, and Everywhere:  Valerie Sullivan (Nunsense) and Cynthia Manous (The Heiress) are appearing in Moon Over Buffalo at the Palos Verdes Playhouse in Torrance through November 17.  Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 PM. The Palos Verdes Playhouse is located at 2433 Moreton Street in Torrance. For reservations and information call (310)326-2287.  Jonas Rimson will be visiting the L.A. area the week of November 18.  He will attend the November Membership meeting, The Mikado, and a performance of The Ruling Class.  He’d love to see old friends at one or more of these functions.  Steve Lee’s documentary that chronicles our entry into the AACTFest earlier this year is scheduled to air on AT&T Broadband public access channel 43 on Sunday, November 25 at 7:00 PM.  Lizzi Luna Bartels will be appearing in Sockmuffin the Elf at the Globe Playhose opening December 7.  (Fridays - 7:30 PM, Saturdays 2:00 PM & 7:30 PM, and Sundays - 2:00 PM)The Globe is located at 1107 N. Kings Rd., West Hollywood. For tickets call (323)655-TKTS.  Elana Olanson from The Cover of Life is appearing in Heaven Can Wait at Theatre Palisades.  Performances are from November 9 through December 16.  For reservations call (310)454-1970.  Jeannette Lyons won two Desert Theatre League “Desert Star Awards” at their November 4th gala in Palm Desert.  She was voted Best Leading Female in a Comedy for her portrayal of Doris in The Cemetery Club and for Best Supporting Female in a Musical for her portrayal of Lady Higgins (Henry’s mum) in My Fair Lady.  The Desert Theatre League produced 67 productions during their 2000/2001 season.  Congrats and well done to Jeannette!  Abbott Rosenberg’s granddaughter, Laura Rosenberg, had six TV appearances in October:  West Wing (twice), Citizen Baines, Off Centre, Providence, and Gilmore Girls.  And speaking of TV appearances, Kristen Miller (Vicki and Rocky’s daughter) was the guest star on Off Centre on Sunday, November 11.  Margie Bates is the recipient of the 2001 Hanson-Dow Award for Excellence in Teaching.  She has been selected from the 74 faculty members of the UCLA Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry for this honor.  Wow!

In Passing:  I’m sad to report that Freeda Bogad, Calia Mintzer’s mother passed away  October 23 at the age of 105.  She was in good health, but then contracted pneumonia in the nursing home.  She was sent to Sherman Oaks hospital.  Her family was sure she would win yet another battle, and had a party planned to celebrate her 106 birthday on Thanksgiving.  Our condolences to Calia and her family for their loss.  Calia wants to thank all of the Kentwood Players that called, sent cards, and came to the service.

Celebrations:  A belated happy birthday to long time member Harvey Rosenberg (9/17).  Happy November  birthdays to Sue Carpenter (11/1), Ed Cotter (11/3), Michelle Rosen (11/3), Helen Geller (11/6), Mary Buhler (11/7), Jack Lyons (11/7), Eliezer Hastings (11/11), Barbara McMurray (11/13), Scot Renfro (11/14), Tara Potthoff (11/17), Jonas Rimson (11/25), Bo Beaudoin (11/27), Barry Morris (11/27) and Jenny Boone (11/30).  Happy Anniversary to Jack & Jeanette Lyons (11/09), Irv and Hellen Geller (11/15), Jack Weintraub & Jamie Hayes (11/16), and Mel & Renee Barmazel (11/27).

Just for the record:  If you have any information to go in next month’s bulletin please get it to me as early as possible, preferably by e-mail N6KOA.J@JUNO.COM.,   but as always you can leave a phone message, (310)204-1838.  Happy Thanksgiving!

                                                                                                              Until next month,