A Holiday Tradition Since 1964 Tony Nominee Beth Malone ...By DEVON YANVARY Specially Written for...
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Page 18 Thursday, July 16, 2015 The Westfield Leader and The Scotch Plains – Fanwood TIMES A WATCHUNG COMMUNICATIONS, INC. PUBLICATION In July! A Holiday Tradition Since 1964 AMERICAN REPERTORY BALLET’ S Use promocode “ARBJulyNut” for 10% OFF Nutcracker tickets at Union County Performing Arts Center on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 2PM! www.arballet.org/NutcrackerInJuly NJAR Circle of Excellence Sales Award: 1997-2014 Direct Line: (908) 301-2006 Cell Phone: (908) 403-9330 [email protected] JAYNE BERNSTEIN Sales Associate © 2015 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Coldwell Banker® is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Owned and Operated by NRT LLC. WESTFIELD EAST OFFICE • 209 CENTRAL AVENUE • (908) 233-5555 COLDWELL BANKER RESIDENTIAL BROKERAGE Search for homes from your cell phone! Text “jbcb” to “87778” OPEN HOUSE: Sunday, July 19th • 1-3PM Spacious & impeccably maintained 7 room, 4 bedrooms, 2 bath Expanded Cape with light & airy, neutrally appointed rooms with gleaming hardwood floors. A winding front walk leads to the brick front entry porch of this enchanting home. The welcoming entry foyer has a coat closet and open staircase to the second floor. The expansive formal Living/Dining Room boasts an elegant fireplace and bay windowed dining area. The family room is awash with natural light to bring the fabulous outdoors in. It has a slider to the large deck for outdoor entertaining or simply relaxing. A lovely, updated eat-in-kitchen offers granite countertops, a tiled floor and backsplash, a bay window eating area and a door to the backyard. 2 bedrooms and a beautifully renovated bath complete this level. The 2nd floor offers 2 additional bedrooms, a walk-in closet and a full hall bath. For your additional storage needs, there is a one-car garage and full basement. Situated on a manicured, corner lot with mature plantings for privacy, close to shopping, dining and NYC transportation, this memorable home awaits you! 273 Hickory Lane, Mountainside Offered at $520,000 Photo Courtesy of Jeff Mazzola ON SET...Westfield High School sophomore, Julian Mazzola, addresses the audience on camera on the set of Nat Geo Kids. The 14 year-old is one of the hosts of the children's educational series that is filmed in New York City and airs on the YouTube Channel. Tony Nominee Beth Malone Inspires Aspiring Thespians By DEVON YANVARY Specially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Scotch Plains-Fanwood Times CRANFORD – Packed tightly into the Cranford Drama Club this past Friday was a crowd of aspiring ac- tresses and actors from the Center Stage Program, excitedly awaiting the arrival of Tony nominee Beth Malone. Just as one would expect from a Broadway star, Ms. Malone came in, fresh off the train from the New York City itself and began her interview with former co-workers and long- time friends Valarie Pineda and Chris Johnson. Ms. Malone spoke to the Center Stage students about making a dream into a reality, and how much of a nightmare that can sometimes be. Through seri- ousness and humorousness, she used stories from her own life, which every- body listened to attentively. Discussion of odd-jobs, like wait- ing tables and diving forklifts, took the forefront of the interview, as Ms. Malone illustrated to the teenagers that there is always room for change and success, no matter what path in life you’re currently on. Similarly, the topic of doubt was discussed; the uncertainty of following one’s dream, and that ever-present thought of “is this right for me?” And while some motivational speakers would have preached about endless possibilities, Ms. Malone spoke frankly about choices—spe- cifically how having too many choices is actually not as helpful as one would think. “Every decision takes you in a di- rection,” she said. She went on to say that having too many choices can sometimes lead us away from our goals and how sometimes options can be distractions. Malone stressed the importance of saying “no,” because this can often leave us open to better or more well-suited opportunities we may have missed otherwise. Finally, Malone spoke of failure. She expressed having tried her very hardest, on multiple occasions, and stated that she still failed despite her efforts. What made this a wonderful message was her acceptance of her failures and her final thought stating that failing is fine because things have a way of “working out anyway.” In her opinion, she stated that to “be kind to yourself and value your- self” was one of the most important things we can do. After 30 minutes of questions, a round of Pictionary broke out be- tween Ms. Malone and Mr. Johnson. The two faced off to see who draw the best hints, to which the Center Stage students found absolutely hilarious. Their laughter echoed well into the last round, and ended just before they switched roles with Malone, and treated the performer to a perfor- mance of their own. A brief segment was taken from their upcoming show “When You Wish Upon A Star – A Disney Cabaret,” which contained songs from The Lion King and Tarzan. The event ended with a group pic- ture, and Ms. Malone saying goodbye and hurrying off to catch the 4:15 p.m. train back to the city so that she could get ready for the next showing of Fun Home, her current Broadway role. The silence that followed was wistful as the teenagers clearly en- joyed their visit with Ms. Malone and still wanted more time with her. Only when one girl shouted, “She is so cool!” did the teens finally break their professional façade to excitedly recount the experience they had all just shared. Alliance Repertory Theatre Presents Venus in Fur at Mondo By SUSAN M. DOUGHERTY Specially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Scotch Plains-Fanwood Times SUMMIT – Hot and steamy is not the weather forecast, but describes the chemistry onstage in Venus in Fur, Alliance Repertory Theatre’s show now playing weekends at the intimate basement theatre in the Mondo Brownstone Building in Summit. The stage is always a per- fect medium for fantasy role play- ing and there are layers of it in David Ives’ play. This intriguing two-actor play comes alive with the talent of two amazing actors and artful direction of veteran actor/di- rector David Christopher, A thunderclap opens the scene where writer/director Thomas (the perfectly cast Jeff Ronan) is wrap- ping up auditions for the day. He’s a bit on edge since he hasn’t able to fill the major role of Vanda for his play. A striking girl in a belted trench coat (coincidentally named Vanda - the versatile Christy Richardson) blows in like a hurricane gust full of bluster and irritation. She’s upset because of the torrential rain, a heel caught in a subway grate and a per- vert on the train that was trying to molest her. Amid a string of F-bombs, she explains that although she’s hours late for her scheduled appointment for the audition, she figures she has nothing to lose by attempting to talk the director into giving her a chance to read for the part. When she takes off her trench coat, she’s dressed in a black leather bustier, garter belt and black stockings, a black leather mini skirt and a dog collar. Thomas corrects this actress when she refers to his play as “S and M porn.” He insists it is a great love story. And the sparring begins When Thomas hesitates in letting her audition, classic self doubt that plagues most actors overtakes Vanda. She tells him she realizes she’ll never get the role. “...I’m too young, I’m too old. I’m too big. I’m too small. My resume’s not long enough.” She supposedly “gets” it and prepares to leave. But the pas de deux is in full swing. She has a goody bag filled with props and costumes that she wriggles in and out of through out the 90-minute show. Mysteriously, Vanda has a copy of the full script. Thomas is taken aback, but she claims it was sent to her by her agent. A few other weird coincidences emerge: her name isn’t on the list of auditioners, her re- sume is strangely weak, and she seems to know the script by heart although she says she barely glanced at it. She has a plausible explana- tion for every improbable “coinci- dence.” A cat and mouse game ensues when Vanda morphs from hardened caterpillar in leather to elegant but- terfly in a flowing, cream – colored frock. Her crude, Brooklyn dialect transforms into perfectly articulated English, British flavor. She takes on feminine, elegant posture, voice and mannerisms of the character she is supposed to play. Watch Ms. Richardson’s body language – from her smile, posture, and stance, she is a master in presenting two dia- metrically opposed characters in the blink of an eye. While they role play, information about Thomas’ personal life spills out of Vanda. He’s intrigued yet a bit frightened as to how she knows so much about him. Mind games and manipulation mingle with self revelation to produce an entertain- ing evening. Both Mr. Ronan and Ms. Richardson elicit laughs and gasps because of their expert deliv- ery and razor-sharp timing. By the end of the night, Thomas and the audience don’t quite know the motivation of what he has writ- ten. But the journey for self realiza- tion of the play within the play is a thrilling one. If you didn’t get to see this pro- vocative play about the role of power and manipulation when it was on Broadway, put it on your must see list in the next two weekends. For tickets, call (908) 472-1502. www.goleader.com
Transcript of A Holiday Tradition Since 1964 Tony Nominee Beth Malone ...By DEVON YANVARY Specially Written for...
Page 18 Thursday, July 16, 2015 The Westfield Leader and The Scotch Plains – Fanwood TIMES A WATCHUNG COMMUNICATIONS, INC. PUBLICATION
In July!A Holiday Tradition Since 1964
AMERICAN REPERTORY BALLET’SUse promocode “ARBJulyNut”
for 10% OFF Nutcracker tickets at Union County
Performing Arts Center on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 2PM!
www.arballet.org/NutcrackerInJuly
NJAR Circle of Excellence Sales Award: 1997-2014Direct Line: (908) 301-2006Cell Phone: (908) [email protected]
JAYNE BERNSTEINSales Associate
© 2015 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Coldwell Banker® is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Owned and Operated by NRT LLC.
WESTFIELD EAST OFFICE • 209 CENTRAL AVENUE • (908) 233-5555COLDWELL BANKER RESIDENTIAL BROKERAGE
Searchfor homesfrom yourcell phone!Text “jbcb”to “87778”
OPEN HOUSE: Sunday, July 19th • 1-3PM
Spacious & impeccably maintained 7 room, 4 bedrooms, 2 bath Expanded Cape with light & airy, neutrallyappointed rooms with gleaming hardwood floors. A winding front walk leads to the brick front entry porch of thisenchanting home. The welcoming entry foyer has a coat closet and open staircase to the second floor. Theexpansive formal Living/Dining Room boasts an elegant fireplace and bay windowed dining area. The family roomis awash with natural light to bring the fabulous outdoors in. It has a slider to the large deck for outdoor entertainingor simply relaxing. A lovely, updated eat-in-kitchen offers granite countertops, a tiled floor and backsplash, a baywindow eating area and a door to the backyard. 2 bedrooms and a beautifully renovated bath complete this level.The 2nd floor offers 2 additional bedrooms, a walk-in closet and a full hall bath. For your additional storageneeds, there is a one-car garage and full basement. Situated on a manicured, corner lot with mature plantings forprivacy, close to shopping, dining and NYC transportation, this memorable home awaits you!
273 Hickory Lane, MountainsideOffered at $520,000
Photo Courtesy of Jeff MazzolaON SET...Westfield High School sophomore, Julian Mazzola, addresses theaudience on camera on the set of Nat Geo Kids. The 14 year-old is one of the hostsof the children's educational series that is filmed in New York City and airs on theYouTube Channel.
Tony Nominee Beth MaloneInspires Aspiring Thespians
By DEVON YANVARYSpecially Written for The Westfield Leader and
The Scotch Plains-Fanwood Times
CRANFORD – Packed tightly intothe Cranford Drama Club this pastFriday was a crowd of aspiring ac-tresses and actors from the CenterStage Program, excitedly awaiting thearrival of Tony nominee Beth Malone.
Just as one would expect from aBroadway star, Ms. Malone came in,fresh off the train from the New YorkCity itself and began her interviewwith former co-workers and long-time friends Valarie Pineda and ChrisJohnson.
Ms. Malone spoke to the Center Stagestudents about making a dream into areality, and how much of a nightmarethat can sometimes be. Through seri-ousness and humorousness, she usedstories from her own life, which every-body listened to attentively.
Discussion of odd-jobs, like wait-ing tables and diving forklifts, tookthe forefront of the interview, as Ms.Malone illustrated to the teenagersthat there is always room for changeand success, no matter what path inlife you’re currently on. Similarly, thetopic of doubt was discussed; theuncertainty of following one’s dream,and that ever-present thought of “isthis right for me?”
And while some motivationalspeakers would have preached aboutendless possibilities, Ms. Malonespoke frankly about choices—spe-cifically how having too many choicesis actually not as helpful as one wouldthink.
“Every decision takes you in a di-rection,” she said. She went on to saythat having too many choices cansometimes lead us away from ourgoals and how sometimes options canbe distractions. Malone stressed theimportance of saying “no,” becausethis can often leave us open to betteror more well-suited opportunities we
may have missed otherwise.Finally, Malone spoke of failure.
She expressed having tried her veryhardest, on multiple occasions, andstated that she still failed despite herefforts. What made this a wonderfulmessage was her acceptance of herfailures and her final thought statingthat failing is fine because things havea way of “working out anyway.”
In her opinion, she stated that to“be kind to yourself and value your-self” was one of the most importantthings we can do.
After 30 minutes of questions, around of Pictionary broke out be-tween Ms. Malone and Mr. Johnson.The two faced off to see who draw thebest hints, to which the Center Stagestudents found absolutely hilarious.
Their laughter echoed well into thelast round, and ended just before they
switched roles with Malone, andtreated the performer to a perfor-mance of their own. A brief segmentwas taken from their upcoming show“When You Wish Upon A Star – ADisney Cabaret,” which containedsongs from The Lion King and Tarzan.
The event ended with a group pic-ture, and Ms. Malone saying goodbyeand hurrying off to catch the 4:15p.m. train back to the city so that shecould get ready for the next showingof Fun Home, her current Broadwayrole. The silence that followed waswistful as the teenagers clearly en-joyed their visit with Ms. Malone andstill wanted more time with her.
Only when one girl shouted, “Sheis so cool!” did the teens finally breaktheir professional façade to excitedlyrecount the experience they had alljust shared.
Alliance Repertory TheatrePresents Venus in Fur at Mondo
By SUSAN M. DOUGHERTYSpecially Written for The Westfield Leader and
The Scotch Plains-Fanwood Times
SUMMIT – Hot and steamy is notthe weather forecast, but describesthe chemistry onstage in Venus inFur, Alliance Repertory Theatre’sshow now playing weekends at theintimate basement theatre in theMondo Brownstone Building inSummit. The stage is always a per-fect medium for fantasy role play-ing and there are layers of it inDavid Ives’ play. This intriguingtwo-actor play comes alive with thetalent of two amazing actors andartful direction of veteran actor/di-rector David Christopher,
A thunderclap opens the scenewhere writer/director Thomas (theperfectly cast Jeff Ronan) is wrap-ping up auditions for the day. He’s abit on edge since he hasn’t able tofill the major role of Vanda for hisplay. A striking girl in a belted trenchcoat (coincidentally named Vanda -the versatile Christy Richardson)blows in like a hurricane gust full ofbluster and irritation. She’s upsetbecause of the torrential rain, a heelcaught in a subway grate and a per-vert on the train that was trying tomolest her.
Amid a string of F-bombs, sheexplains that although she’s hourslate for her scheduled appointmentfor the audition, she figures she hasnothing to lose by attempting to talkthe director into giving her a chanceto read for the part. When she takesoff her trench coat, she’s dressed ina black leather bustier, garter belt
and black stockings, a black leathermini skirt and a dog collar. Thomascorrects this actress when she refersto his play as “S and M porn.” Heinsists it is a great love story. Andthe sparring begins
When Thomas hesitates in lettingher audition, classic self doubt thatplagues most actors overtakesVanda. She tells him she realizesshe’ll never get the role. “...I’m tooyoung, I’m too old. I’m too big. I’mtoo small. My resume’s not longenough.” She supposedly “gets” itand prepares to leave. But the pasde deux is in full swing. She has agoody bag filled with props andcostumes that she wriggles in andout of through out the 90-minuteshow.
Mysteriously, Vanda has a copyof the full script. Thomas is takenaback, but she claims it was sent toher by her agent. A few other weirdcoincidences emerge: her name isn’ton the list of auditioners, her re-sume is strangely weak, and sheseems to know the script by heartalthough she says she barely glancedat it. She has a plausible explana-tion for every improbable “coinci-dence.”
A cat and mouse game ensueswhen Vanda morphs from hardenedcaterpillar in leather to elegant but-terfly in a flowing, cream – coloredfrock. Her crude, Brooklyn dialecttransforms into perfectly articulatedEnglish, British flavor. She takeson feminine, elegant posture, voiceand mannerisms of the charactershe is supposed to play. Watch Ms.
Richardson’s body language – fromher smile, posture, and stance, sheis a master in presenting two dia-metrically opposed characters in theblink of an eye.
While they role play, informationabout Thomas’ personal life spillsout of Vanda. He’s intrigued yet abit frightened as to how she knowsso much about him. Mind gamesand manipulation mingle with selfrevelation to produce an entertain-ing evening. Both Mr. Ronan andMs. Richardson elicit laughs andgasps because of their expert deliv-ery and razor-sharp timing.
By the end of the night, Thomasand the audience don’t quite knowthe motivation of what he has writ-ten. But the journey for self realiza-tion of the play within the play is athrilling one.
If you didn’t get to see this pro-vocative play about the role of powerand manipulation when it was onBroadway, put it on your must seelist in the next two weekends. Fortickets, call (908) 472-1502.
www.goleader.com
