Page 22 Thursday, June 25, 2015 The Westfield Leader and The Scotch Plains – Fanwood TIMES A WATCHUNG COMMUNICATIONS, INC. PUBLICATION

Union County Freeholder InitiativeProvides Aid to Local Arts Groups

Susan M. Dougherty for The Westfield Leader and The Scotch Plains-Fanwood TimesFOR RENT…Mystic Theater performers of Linden, under the direction ofHoward Whitmore, sing a musical medley from “Rent” at the press conference onTuesday, June 16 where Union County Freeholder Chair Mohamed S. Jallohannounced UCACT (Union County Advancing Community Theatre) grants toseven area theaters.

By SUSAN MYRILL DOUGHERTYSpecially Written for The Westfield Leader and

The Scotch Plains-Fanwood Times

RAHWAY – The under funded artsneed all the help they can get, so that’swhy Union County Freeholder Chair-man Mohamed S. Jalloh’s initiative tosupport live theater is so welcome. Ata recent formal announcement of theprogram held at the historic UnionCounty Performing Arts Center(UCPAC) in Rahway, the FreeholderChair was clear as to why he supportsthe arts. “Plays are not just entertain-ment. Live theatre gives us a chance tostop and learn how to listen to eachother,” he said.

His initiative is UCACT (UnionCounty Advancing Community The-atre) which debuted in March with theproduction of the musical Dreamgirls.Because of the successful reception ofthat show, the initiative went forwardand now will assist seven communitytheaters with grants. The recipientsfor this cycle of grants include: UnitedYouth of NJ’s presentation of the play,Mandela: Apartheid to Die For, TheTheatre Project’s presentation of Le-gally Blonde Jr., Vanguard TheatreCompany’s presentation of Hairspraythe Musical, Fearless Hearts, Inc.’spresentation of Wild Party, Someone’sDaughter’s presentation of The Wiz-ard of Oz, and People Helping People’spresentation of Murphy’s Law – GroupTherapy Gone Wild.

All of the shows will take place overthe next months on the Mainstage ofUCPAC in Rahway or at the ArtsCenter’s 300-seat, companion theatre,Hamilton Stage in Rahway.

At the Tuesday, June 16 announce-ment, the Chairman said the arts ben-efit the whole community in a varietyof ways. “Community theatre is a col-laborative art with important eco-nomic, cultural and social benefits,”he said. “UCACT aims to provide astrategic platform to support the de-

velopment of our rich theatre talent.The County is leveraging our existingresources and broadening the defini-tion of economic development andpublic recreation to include supportfor community theatre.”

Larry McCullough, Executive Di-rector of Union County PerformingArts Center, concurred. “We are pleasedto have established groups performhere, but it’s important to give newvoices and groups their first chance tobe on a professional stage. Our privateand public partnerships will help getthe word out about live theatre that isavailable in Union County.”

Some of the groups involved in theinitiative give scholarships for theirprograms. Barbara Brady, choreogra-pher of the Mystic Theatre of Lindenthat produced Dreamgirls said that theirorganization gives “Reach for the StarsScholarships” annually for students intheir summer program. “There are de-serving children out there who would

like to participate in theatre and ourscholarship takes the economic burdenoff the family,” she explained.

Brian Remo, founder of FearlessProductions shared his involvement.“We are giving back to the communitywith our 501c3 program FearlessHearts.” Their show, Wild Party, a mu-sical by Andrew Lippa, will be pre-sented at UCPAC’s Hamilton Stage inSeptember.

UCACT grants funding covers thehard costs associated with putting upa production at the Union CountyPerforming Arts Center. Through cre-ative partnership and a holistic ap-proach, the program crates a success-ful business model for CommunityTheatre, allowing them to providequality performances while also thriv-ing financially.

For more information about datesand tickets, contact the UCPAC BoxOffice at (732) 499-8226 or visitucpac.org.

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Young Frankenstein at Plays-in-The-Park Showcases Local Talent

By SUSAN MYRILL DOUGHERTYSpecially Written for The Westfield Leader and

The Scotch Plains-Fanwood Times

EDISON – There’s CommunityTheater and then there’s Plays-in-the-Park (PIP) that takes theater toa whole new level. With audiencesthat are the size of most Broadwayhouses, it’s often referred to asMiddlesex County’s Broadway.Sponsored by the Middlesex CountyBoard of Chosen Freeholders, PIP’shilarious season opener, YoungFrankenstein, is Mel Brooks’ comicgenius that unfolds at the open-airtheater.

Gary Cohen, producer/director ofPlays-in-the-Park, tells auditionersat call backs every year, “Lookaround. You are all on the A List.”And that they are. No weak linkshere in acting, singing or dancing orany other part of this production.The show requires full out, over thetop performances and that’s whatthey give.

From the opening number, “TheHappiest Town,” set inTransylvania, to the next scene in amedical school in NYC with theintroduction of Dr. Frederick Fran-kenstein (Michael Louis) and hissong, “The Brain,” the audience seesenergy and laughs are in store. Andit’s obvious that 21st century tech-nology will be utilized instead ofjust traditional roll-on sets. A backwall of mammoth projections setsthe various scenes - a train, a boat,a library, the laboratory of Dr.Frederick Frankenstein’s grandfa-ther, and a hilarious hay ride where

the projection is not just a still shot,but a video clip pulling the charac-ters and audience into the action.There are even black and whitescenes from the original 1930smovie that flesh out the much an-ticipated lab scene. That scenewhere the brain for the monster issecured is shot using the currentactor and it works big time.

Corny jokes like the old, “Walkthis way,” are delivered by comicactor extraordinaire and Westfieldresident Billy Geltzeiler. As thehumpback whose hump keeps shift-ing, Mr. Geltzeiler manages to stealevery scene he’s in. The “TogetherAgain” number with Dr. Franken-stein is delivered brightly in voiceand choreography. The doctor getslots of laughs himself with extra bitssprinkled in by director Cohen. Mr.Louis’ speaking and singing voice isright on the money in strength, in-flection, tone and delivery.

The show is rife with doubleentendres from Frederick’s ego-cen-tric fiancée Elizabeth (Ali Gleason)in “Deep Love,” to “Roll in theHay” by the supposedly sweet Inga(Kelliann DeCarlo). Katie Riley’sperformance of the creepy FrauBlucher is a scream in “He Vas MyBoyfriend.” The unlit candle bitworks every time. And all three galsreally know how to sell a song aswell as milk a solid note for all it’sworth. Veteran lighting director Ro-man Klima shows his precise tim-ing especially when the last beat ofthe song, “He Vas My Boyfriend,”is illuminated perfectly “on the but-

ton.”Michelle Massa, assisted by

Emma Schwartz, recreates the origi-nal choreography of Susan Stromanand it pops on the giant stage. Thebest number tears it up in “Puttin’on the Ritz” where tuxedoed tapdancers rock out wearing monster-like booties.

A substantial orchestra of a dozenprofessional musicians follows mu-sic director Nick DeGregorio’s ablelead. The sound design, by MattBoyle, even in the cavernous spaceis impeccable.

The acappella quartet lends asweet note in Act II as does thelovely voice of the seductress Ingain “Listen to Your Heart.” JayLowman’s “Please Send Me Some-one,” never gets too sappy becauseof the gags pertaining to his charac-ter, the blind Hermit. The show issilly, raucous, unbridled fun. Al-though it carries a PG rating, littlekids probably wouldn’t get most ofthe jokes anyway and The Monster(Scott Daniels) is never terrifying,even when he comes out into theaudience.

This parody of the 1930s film isall about fast pacing, solid singingand split-second comic delivery. Gotit. And pizzazz. Got it. Entertain-ment. Got it. You can get in on thatfun tonight through Saturday nightat Roosevelt Park Theatre behindthe Menlo Park Mall. Bring a lawnchair and bug spray.

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