Voy, Lancaster

Among the many thoughts racing through my mind while watching a production of Good Thing by Jessica Goldberg at the Hudson Mainstage Theatre last Thursday included: What's a nice Jewish lady doing writing a play like this? Why are all six characters in the play so hurtful, so mean, so dumb, so unimaginative? Why is this audience of twenty and thirty-year olds laughing when these characters utter profanities and scream at one another? How can two people consume a dozen bottles of "beer" in five minutes... FULL STORY

Jen Schefft
By Mary Montoro
A recent book signing found Jen Schefft, a personality from television's The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, at a book signing for her new book, Better Single Than Sorry. You may remember her from the The Bachelor's third season when Firestone Vineyard heir Andrew Firestone chose Jen over 25 other women to be ‘the one’. That relationship, no surprise, quickly fizzled. Then she was the third woman on The Bacherlorette, again searching for that connection. Jen made television dating history when she didn’t choose either guy. We can only imagine the trouble she went through after the final scene ... FULL STORY

Ace

Cast Photo by Craig Schwartz

By January Riddle
It’s 1952 in St. Louis, Missouri, and a family of two is falling apart. A well-meaning social worker (but aren’t they all well-meaning?) and a host of doctors and teachers are trying to convince a mother with depression that her pre-teen son will be better off in foster care. “Ah, how misguided an era the fifties were!” we might say now in more educated (and less well-meaning) times. At the same time, we might wish for the implications of that era when patriotism was paramount and people knew their familial roles. More than that is said and implied in Ace, a new musical about aviation heroes... FULL STORY

Camelot-The Graying of the King

Cast Photo by Craig Schwartz

By Roxie Lee
You wonder how these things get started. One producer turns to another and says, “Hey, here’s an idea: Let’s mount a play around Michael York! He’s classy, he’s British and he’s more accessible than Jeremy Irons!”
“Great idea! What do you suggest?”
“A Musical!”
“A MUSICAL?!?! With Michael York?”
“He was in Cabaret, remember?”
“Yeah, but he didn’t sing –mostly he held Liza’s coat.”
“He was Judas in “Superstar!”
“When?”
“Long time ago – maybe the original.”
“Wasn’t Carl Anderson in the Original?”
“No, the ORIGINAL.”
FULL STORY