The General Meeting this month will be on Wednesday, December 21, 2005, 8:00 P.M. at the theater, Westchester Playhouse, 8301 Hindry Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90045. Party, Party, Party, Party, Party, Party, Party, Party, Party, Party, Party, Party, Party!

December is our annual Holiday Party to be hosted by your friendly Kentwood Board. Be sure to stick around after the meeting for the celebration, which will be upstairs in our surprisingly LARGE rehearsal hall. Although the party is hosted by the board, everyone is invited to bring their favorite dish. Okay to drop dishes etc upstairs before the meeting.

The Unsinkable Molly Brown, by Meredith Willson and Richard Morris, November/December Production

Director Vicki Miller, Musical Director Brian Murphy and Producers Ben Lupejkis and Patty Butler.

The Unsinkable Molly Brown closed this past weekend. Hope everyone had a chance to see this excellent production. Congratulations to everyone involved. Great work!

45 Seconds From Broadway, Neil Simon

January/February (2006)

Playing dates are January l3, 2006 to February l8, 2006.

Our January/February 2006 production will be 45 Seconds From Broadway, by Neil Simon, to be directed by Gail Barnardi, with Jim Crawford stage managing. The producers of 45 Seconds from Broadway, Calia Mintzer, and Lori Marple Pereslete, want to thank everyone who came down on Work Sunday on December 18 to help change out the set. Names to be announced in the January Bulletin.

Gail Bernardi, director of 45 Seconds From Broadway announced her cast:

Andrew Duncan......Ed Cotter
Mickey Fox......Jack Winnick
Arleen....Julie Frankel
Megan Woods......Jean Franzblau
Cindy.....Liz Laird
Bessie......Trenekia Danielle
Rayleen......Alice Eldridge
Harry Fox.....Ira Gewant
Bernie.....Vic Helford
Charles......Bruce Schroffel
Zelda......CeCe Baxter
Solomon......Craig Johnson.
Producers Calia Mintzer and Lori Marple Pereslete announce their crew:
Stage Manager.......Jim Crawford
Set Design........De Cotter
Script Supervisors.....Barbara MacMurray and Hilary Fitzsimmons
Graphic and Lobby Design......Michael Cohen
Costume Design...Maria Cohen
Sound Design.......Phil Brickey
Lighting Design......Tom Brophey
Properties.......Judy Polak and Barbara Haberman
Master Builders.....Ben Lupejkis and Jim Crawford
Booth Crew......Melvin Miller and Paul Croft
Publicity Photographer......Shellee James
Audition Crew.......Jeanne Spain, Gert Nord, Hilary Fritzsimmons.
                                        

Romeo & Juliet, William Shakespeare

March/April Production

Our March April 2006 production will be Romeo & Juliet, by William Shakespeare, to be directed by Don Schlossman and produced by Ed Cotter.

Audition Dates are: Saturday, January 14, 2006, 10 AM 3:00 PM & Sunday, January 15, 2006, 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM.

Director Don Schlossman requests auditioners to prepare a monologue, no longer than 2 minutes, from any Shakespeare play other than Romeo & Juliet, for their audition.

Cast Breakdown for the show is as follows:

Romeo Male 18-25

Juliet Female 18-25, to play younger

Escalus Gender Open 20-50

Paris Male 20-30

Lord Montague Male 40 plus

Lady Montague Female 30 plus

Lord Capulet Male 40 plus

Lady Capulet Female 30 plus

Mercutio Male 20-30

Benvolio Male 18-25

Tybalt Male 18-30

Frier Laurence Male 25-70

Balthasar Male 18-25

Sampson Male 18-25

Abraham Male 18-25

Apothecary Gender Open 30-90

Nurse Female 30 plus

Assorted citizens, musicians, street-people. Age and gender open.

All Roles are open. Any questions, call Producer Ed Cotter.

The Fantasticks, Book & Lyrics Tom Jones, Music Harvey Schmidt

May/June Production

Our May June 2006 Production will be The Fantasticks, Music by Harvey Schmidt, book and lyrics by Tom Jones, to be directed by Kirk Larson and produced by Lori A. Marple-Pereslete.

George Washington Slept Here, Moss Hart and George Kaufman

July/August Production

Our July August 2006 Production of George Washington Slept Here by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, will be directed by Phil Brickey. As of this writing, the producer job appears to be open, so give Phil a call!

Most Happy Fella, Music, Lyrics and Book by Frank Loesser

September/October Production

The board has approved our September October Production for 2006 as THE MOST HAPPY FELLA, to be directed by Ben Lupejkis.

Pinocchio, by Blanche Marvin

Sheldon Metz directed and Shellee James produced our Christmas Production of Pinocchio, by Blanche Marvin. Performances were fantastically received on Saturdays December 3, 10 & 17. The talented cast included Drew Fitzsimmons as Pinocchio, with cast Daniel Tennant, Jerrod Callen, Veda Foster and Santa Claus as himself. Sound was provided by Melvin Miller and lights were provided by Tom Brophey.

Sheldon forwarded a couple of photos taken after the December 10 show:

Q: Guess who? (Answer at the bottom of the bulletin)

The Emperor’s New Clothes, by Blanche Marvin

The board has approved our Spring Children’s Production as The Emperor’s New

Clothes, to be directed by Michael Murphy. Playing dates are scheduled as March 18, 25 and April 1, 2006.

Sheldon Metz, Shellie James, Phil Brickey and Melvin Miller announce a WORK SATURDAY to be held at the theater on January 21, 2006. Manpower and time are needed for a variety of jobs to clean up and organize the shop, the costume closets and the rehearsal hall. Sheldon expressed a need for men and women, tool savvy folks and not tool savvy folks! A lunch will be provided for all who attend and each worker will earn one point towards their required six points a year toward maintaining membership in Kentwood Players.

Dorothy Rochlin was 87 years young and that is not a euphemism. Despite her chronic illnesses, Dorothy was full of life and enthusiastic about living life to its fullest. Recently when considering buying a Jacuzzi, she decided on one in particular because it had a five year guarantee. At 87, a five year guarantee is definitely optimism and Dorothy was enthusiastic about everything including her precious project, cats. Dorothy loved and worked for them and they respected her. Dorothy was one of Maria’s ladies, feisty and funny always, with that extra special zeal for any garment handed to her. She was ready to do her all for Kentwood, contributing her time, talent and all sorts of "goodies" out of her grab bag of seemingly inexhaustible, thoughtful, generous gifts of love or as she called them, "unbirthday" gifts. Dorothy was an active, devoted member of the Mission Viejo Chabad Jewish Center where her "book club" looked forward to her arrival each and every week and to her contribution to the devotion and study among the mostly younger women of the Center. Dorothy, through her years of experience, was able to give them confidence, insight and a passion for life at every stage, the same way Dorothy inspired Kentwoodians who knew her well. Charlotte Lee Schildkret

Charlotte Lee Schilkret wrote to let us know the latest on Jerry Less, Kentwood Kid and son of Jim and Marie Less, longtime Kentwood members. Jerry, who had his Kentwood debut at ten as Mame’s Little Love in AUNTIE MAME, is living and working in New York. Recent work includes directing LOL, a comedy about cyberspace by Tony Sportiello, for 2005 Fringe Festival and adapting & directing Antony & Cleopatra at The Workshop Theater Company. His Bio, included in the program, sums up his body of work, prior to Antony and Cleopatra, as:

"Jerry Less adapted and directed the Workshop Theater Company’s critically acclaimed HENRY IV PARTS ONE AND TWO. Also at the Workshop, he has directed THE JAZZ AGE by Allan Knee, AUSTIN’S BRIDGE, a Musical by Bill C. Davis, CHEMISTRY LAB by Ben Alexander and LOL by Tony Sportiello, which he directed again for the NY Fringe Festival. His production of HALF THE BATTLE – the Susan B. Anthony story – toured the U.S. and played the Edinburgh Festival. In L.A., he directed PRIVATE LIVES and AUGUSTUS. Opera directing credits include Ashlawn Opera (Va.), Bronx Opera and Benjamin Britten’s ST. NICHOLAS for Christ Church Opera. Jerry has been a casting director for Stuart Howard, the Learning Channel and Rattlestick (including the Obie award winning VOLUNTEER MAN). He is a teaching artist for Theater for a New Audience."

Kim Ash 12/2, Vicki Miller 12/3, Drew Fitzsimmons 12/3, Dave Whale 12/4, Miriam Amster 12/8, De Cotter 12/10, Joyce Oshins 12/11, Doris Mazerov 12/13, Barbara Boone 12/16, Carol Becker 12/20, Tony Pereslete 12/26, Gene Warech 12/27, Dave Parke 12/27 and Calia Mintzer 12/31. Happy Birthday to all!!

Pauline & Bill Harred 12/3, Joyce & Mel Oshins 12/9, Fatima & Richard Potthoff 12/27, Linda & Dave Parke 12/27, Maria & Michael Cohen 12/30 and Roberta and Stan Jones 12/31. Congratulations to all!

Quiz Answer: a) Sheldon Metz

Larry Jones