Broadcaster Arlene Herson To Be Honored at a Silent Auction at Boca Raton’s Gallery 22

08 Wednesday Mar 2023

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Broadcaster Arlene Herson
To Be Honored
at a Silent Auction at
Boca Raton’s Gallery 22

Proceeds to benefit YI Love Jewish’ mission to fight antisemitism through the arts.

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Alessandra Lasanta
Alessandra@yilovejewish.org / 888-945-6835
Contact:  Carol Kassie
carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244

March 8, 2023

BOCA RATON, FL:  Broadcaster/journalist/philanthropist Arlene Herson will be honored at a Silent Auction on March 22nd.  The event, which will take place at Boca Raton’s Gallery 22, will be co-sponsored by the gallery and YI Love Jewish.  The proceeds from the auction will benefit YI Love Jewish’ mission to fight antisemitism through the arts.

The Silent Auction will be hosted by Yaacov and Sue Heller and will feature works by a number of world-renowned artists including Laurence Gartel (Father of Digital Art), Martin Levin (Kristallnacht Series), Frank Stumer, Sir Kelly Fawaz, and Yaacov Heller.

Award-winning performer and YI CEO Avi Hoffman will act as master of ceremonies and pianist Phil Hinton will provide live music during the evening.

Tickets for the Silent Auction are $100 and available online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/557150571357. The ticket price includes entry into the event, the silent auction, live music, and wine and cheese. 

Arlene Herson’s illustrious career includes numerous interviews with famous and distinguished personalities on both radio and television.  She produced The Magic Flute with Victor Borge conducting, and the musical 1776 with members of Congress playing the Founding Fathers. She was appointed by President George W. Bush to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, by Governor Jeb Bush to the Florida Film & Entertainment Advisory Council, and by President George H.W. Bush to the Take Pride in America Advisory Board.  She is one of the few non-lawyers appointed to the Florida Bar Grievance Committee.

YI Love Jewish is a division of the Yiddishkayt Initiative, a not-for-profit organization that celebrates and promotes Jewish history, life, and culture and their positive and far-reaching impact on the world.

For more information about YI Love Jewish and the Silent Auction, visit the organization’s website at www.YILoveJewish.org, email info@yilovejewish.org or contact Alessandra Lasanta –alessandra@yilovejewish.org / 888-945-6835, or Carol Kassie – carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244.

~

Fighting Antisemitism Through the Arts
A Silent Auction at Gallery 22 Honoring Arlene Herson
Wednesday, March 23, 2023, at 7:30 pm
Tickets: $100 (There are a limited number of tickets available)
For tickets:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/557150571357
The event will take place at
Gallery 22
320 Esplanade #53, Boca Raton, FL 33432

  • Arlene Herson

YI Love Jewish to Present Free Readings of Josef Mundi’s IT’S GOING AROUND

01 Wednesday Mar 2023

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YI Love Jewish
To Present Free Readings of
Josef Mundi’s Controversial Israeli Play
It’s Going Around


A new translation by Avi Hoffman will premiere in Boca Raton and Miami Beach in March

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Alessandra Lasanta
Alessandra@yilovejewish.org / 888-945-6835
Contact:  Carol Kassie
carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244

March 1, 2023
BOCA RATON/MIAMI BEACH, FL:  As part of the YI Love Play Reading Series, YI Love Jewish will present Avi Hoffman’s English translation of the controversial Hebrew thriller It’s Going Around by Josef Mundi, for audiences in Boca Raton and Miami Beach on March 26 and March 28, 2023. 

An award-winning Israeli psychodrama about idealism, identity, and insanity, It’s Going Around speculates as to what happens when Dr. Theodore Herzl, the Father of Zionism and the concept of a Jewish State in Palestine, meets Franz Kafka, noted author, playwright and assimilated Jew, in an insane asylum in modern-day Israel. This play is the only one in the history of the State of Israel to be shut down by the authorities in the 1960s; it was eventually reinstated by the Israeli Supreme Court, and ultimately became one of the most important and successful plays in the history of Israeli Theatre.

Avi Hoffman translated, adapted, and will direct the reading, and will take on the role of Franz Kafka.  It’s Going Around will also star South Florida favorites Dave Corey as Theodore Herzl and Ilana Isaacson as The Secretary.  The events are free however donations are always welcome.   To RSVP:  Click on https://yilovejewish.org/yiloveplayreadings/

YI Love Play Readings is sponsored by the Greater Miami Jewish Federation Jewish Incubator Grant 2023, and the Afran Foundation and is co-sponsored by Dr. Bruce and Lesley Zafran of Parkland, the Sue and Leonard Miller Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies/George Feldenkreis Program in Judaic Studies at the University of Miami, The Betsy South Beach, Miami Beach JCC, the Alper JCC and the Adolph & Rose Levis JCC, Mo’s Deli, and the Yiddish Theatre Alliance. 

With a six-year history of seasonal play readings as a way to educate and entertain, YI Love Jewish now has developed a year-long series that includes scholarly lectures with an aim to highlight different aspects of Jewish life, culture, language, and history. Each of the 2022/2023  YI Love Play Readings will be performed and filmed in front of a live audience in Boca Raton and Miami after which they will be made available to schools, Jewish centers, cultural partners and online audiences across the world.  The It’s Going Around reading is part of the organization’s celebration of Israel’s 75th Anniversary.

For more information about YI Love Jewish visit the organization’s website at www.YILoveJewish.org, email info@yilovejewish.org or contact Alessandra Lasanta –alessandra@yilovejewish.org / 888-945-6835, or Carol Kassie – carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244.
~
It’s Going Around
By Josef Mundi
Translation by Avi Hoffman
March 26 & 28, 2023
Tickets:  Free (donations are welcome)
To reserve:  https://yilovejewish.org/yiloveplayreadings/
March 26 at 3 pm
Adolph & Rose Levis Jewish Community Center
21050 95th Avenue South
Boca Raton, FL  33428
March 28 at 7:30 pm
Miami Beach JCC,
4221 Pine Tree Dr.
Miami Beach, FL 33140


Avi Hoffman was recently awarded Congressional recognition, was invited to the Vatican to meet Pope Francis and was inducted into the Bronx Jewish Hall of Fame for his lifetime work advancing Jewish culture, Yiddishkayt and Holocaust awareness through the charity he founded the Yiddishkayt Initiative, Inc. (YILoveJewish.org). As an actor, he was nominated for a NY Drama Desk Award for his Yiddish language portrayal of Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman. He is best known for his Too Jewish Trilogy: Award winning one man shows Too Jewish, Too Jewish, Too! (PBS, Performer of the Year ’95 – NY Press Magazine; L.A. OVATION award – Best Actor In a Musical 2001; NY Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle award nominations) and his latest show Still Jewish After All These Years. On TV, he was featured as Sid Raskin in the Starz TV series Magic City, as well as on Netflix’ Bloodline,A&E’s The Glades and on the NBC series Law and Order. He starred in the International Award winning short Yiddish Films: Shehita (Best Thriller – HollyShorts Festival) , BOXED and the motion picture – The Imported Bridegroom. He was seen in the PBS documentary They Came For Good: A History of the Jews in the US. Avi has performed all over the world, has numerous acting and directing credits and has received multiple awards and nominations. Visit him at www.YILoveJewish.org

  • Josef Mundi
  • Ilana Isaacson
  • Dave Corey

Tickets for GREASE at the Delray Beach Playhouse are on Sale Now

28 Tuesday Feb 2023

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Auditions to be held May 1st & 2nd

“Grease … is everything that you look for in a lighthearted night at the theatre: music that you want to sing and dance along to, strong performances, and a lot of sparkle.”
Abbie Grundy, BroadwayWorld.com – May. 18, 2022 

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Carol Kassie
carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244

March 1, 2023

DELRAY BEACH, FL:  Tickets are now available for the Delray Beach Playhouse’ production of Grease, the rollicking rock ‘n roll musical that is both an homage to the idealism and the music of the 50s, and a satirical look at teenagers’ universal and age-old desire to be provocative and rebellious.  The show will run at the popular Delray Beach venue from August 11th through August 27th.

At Rydell High School the ‘Burger Palace Boys’ are acting tough and stealing hub caps, and their gum-snapping, chain-smoking ‘Pink Ladies’ are looking hot in bobby sox and pedal pushers. But at the heart of Grease is the romance between top Burger Boy hot-rodder Danny Zuko and sweet ‘new girl in town’ Sandy Dumbrowski.   Can Danny maintain his ‘cool dude’ status and still make Sandy his girl?!

Grease has become one of the world’s most popular musicals and has a cult-like following – especially among teens. The show’s book, music, and lyrics are by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, and the show features such iconic classics as “Summer Nights”, “Hopelessly Devoted to You”, “Beauty School Dropout”, “Greased Lightning”, and “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee”. 

Auditions for the production will take place at the Playhouse on May 1st and 2nd at 7:30 pm.  All roles are open, and actors of all ethnicities, genders, and ages are encouraged to attend.  The Audition Notice can be viewed below.

The production will be directed by Suzanne Dunn.

Tickets for Grease are $42 and are available online at https://delraybeachplayhouse.com or by calling 561-272-1281.

For more information about The Delray Beach Playhouse, please visit https://delraybeachplayhouse.com or contact Carol Kassie at carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244

This press release can be viewed online at TBA

~

Grease
August 11 – 27, 2023
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey
Tickets: $42
Click HERE for tickets  or
Call 561-272-1281
Performances:
Friday, & Saturday at 7:30 pm
Saturday & Sunday at 2:00 pm
All performances at
The Delray Beach Playhouse
950 NW 9th Street,
Delray Beach, FL  33444

~

AUDITION NOTICE:

Auditions for GREASE – May 1st and 2nd at 7:30pm at the Delray Beach Playhouse located at 950 NW 9th Street, Delray Beach, 33444. All roles are open and actors of all ethnicities, genders, and ages are encouraged to attend. 

Performers are asked to prepare 16-32 bars of a song that best showcases their range. Accompaniment will be provided – bring sheet music. You may also provide your own accompaniment via cell phone or other electronic device. 

All auditionees should be prepared to dance/move and may be asked to read from the script. 

Performance dates are August 11th through 27th. Show days are Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm and Saturday and Sunday at 2pm. Rehearsals will begin June 12th with a staggered schedule. 

GREASE is a part of Delray Beach Playhouse’s community theater schedule and roles are non-paid. 

Please email Director Suzanne Dunn at potpie13@me.com with any questions. 

Characters:

Sandy Dumbrowski
PART SIZE: Lead
VOCAL PART: Soprano

Danny Zuko
PART SIZE: Lead
VOCAL PART: Tenor

Sonny Latierri
PART SIZE: Supporting
VOCAL PART: Baritone

Betty Rizzo
PART SIZE: Supporting
VOCAL PART: Alto

Kenickie
PART SIZE: Supporting
VOCAL PART: Tenor

Roger
PART SIZE: Supporting
VOCAL PART: Tenor

Frenchy
PART SIZE: Supporting
VOCAL PART: Alto

Marty
PART SIZE: Supporting
VOCAL PART: Alto

Jan
PART SIZE: Supporting
VOCAL PART: Alto

Doody
PART SIZE: Supporting
VOCAL PART: Tenor

Vince Fontaine
PART SIZE: Featured
VOCAL PART: Spoken

Miss Lynch
PART SIZE: Featured
VOCAL PART: Spoken

Radio Voice
PART SIZE: Featured
VOCAL PART: Soprano

Cha-Cha (Charlene Digregorio)
PART SIZE: Featured
VOCAL PART: Alto

Patty Simcox
PART SIZE: Featured
VOCAL PART: Alto

Eugene Florczyk
PART SIZE: Featured
VOCAL PART: Tenor

Johnny Casino (Clarence)
PART SIZE: Featured
VOCAL PART: Tenor

Teen Angel
PART SIZE: Featured
VOCAL PART: Tenor

The Pink Ladies
PART SIZE: Ensemble
VOCAL PART: Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Alto

The Burger Palace Boys
PART SIZE: Ensemble
VOCAL PART: Tenor, Baritone, Bass

Students at Rydell High School
PART SIZE: Ensemble
VOCAL PART: Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone, Bass

Norman Shabel’s ‘Dysfunctional Comedy’ MARTY’S BACK IN TOWN! in Aventura and Boca Raton in March

07 Tuesday Feb 2023

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Ebenezer’s Entertainment
to present
Norman Shabel’s ‘Dysfunctional Comedy’
Marty’s Back in Town
In Two South Florida Venues

Shake many a family tree and you’ll likely find the same nuts!

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Carol Kassie
carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244

February 7, 2023

AVENTURA & BOCA RATON, FL:  Marty’s Back in Town!, Playwright Norman Shabel’s comedic drama about the ups and downs of a dysfunctional family and their relationships with each other and with the “black sheep” who is returning home after 10 years, will run at the Alan and Diane Lieberman Theatre at the Michael-Ann Russel JCC in Miami from March 9 – 19, and at The Studio at Mizner Park in Boca Raton from March 24 – April 2nd.

Shabel, whose well-received courtroom drama A Class Act had a successful run in Boca Raton in 2022, admits to drawing on his own “true life’ experiences to fashion this story:

Norman Shabel

“Marty’s really done things the family didn’t like over the years,” Shabel explains.  And now he thinks he’s dying so he arrives ‘home’ with his wife… and it’s how the family reacts.  That’s the fire under this play – his return.

“Those things could have happened over many, many years, or many, many months, or many, many days,” Shabel continues.  “And what I’ve done is, I’ve compressed these characters – their actions and their issues, their attributes, their good things, their bad things, their hatreds, their fears – into an hour and a half or two hours, so the playgoer will know, this is the character, this is what he’s all about, this isTh his life.  And the difficult part, of course, is putting a lifetime into an hour and a half or two hours.  And I think that’s what I’ve done in Marty’s Back in Town!

Shabel has tasked Seth Trucks with directing the production, and Trucks has convened a stellar cast to bring Marty and his family to life:

James A. Skiba will play Marty, Ben Prayz will play his brother Ronald, Francine Silvers will play his sister, Susan, and Christine Chavers will play the family matriarch.  Also cast are Leslie Kandel, Blaine DeBerry, Emma Mcavoy, and Peter Galman who will play the family patriarch, Sam.  Galman will also take on the role of Assistant Director for the Production, along with Chris Cooper.  Harold Petion is the production’s Stage Manager.

Brooklyn-born, successful New Jersey class-action attorney turned author Norman Shabel has been driven to write ever since he can remember. By the time he was in his twenties he had written several novels that ended up stuffed in drawers as he launched his legal career, married and had a family. To date Shabel has written 7 plays and 8 novels, some written in long-hand, hunched over his desk while waiting for a jury verdict to come in, and all dealing with either crime, relatable family dynamics or both.  Three of his plays have been produced Off-Broadway in New York, Philadelphia, and in several theaters in South Florida.

Marty’s Back in Town! will run at the Michael-Ann Russell JCC from March 9 – March 19, and at the Studio at Mizner Park from March 24 – April 2. Ticket prices range from $25 to $45.

The Alan and Diane Lieberman Theatre at the Michael-Ann Russel JCC is located at 18900 NE 25th Street in Miami (33180). The Studio at Mizner Park is located at 201 Plaza Real, in Boca Raton (33432).

For more information about Marty’s Back in Town!, or to arrange to see the production, pleasecontact Carol Kassie at carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244.

~

Marty’s Back in Town!
By Norman Shabel
March 9 – 19
Performances:
Thursday, March 9 & 16 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, March 11 & 18 at 8 pm
Sunday, March 12 & 19 at 5 pm
For tickets: https://www.ticketplate.com/martysbackintown
Performances at:
The Alan and Diane Lieberman Theatre at the Michael-Ann Russel JCC
18900 NE 25th Street
Miami, FL 33180

March 24 – April 2
Performances:Friday & Saturday at 7:30 pm
Sunday at 3:00 pm
For tickets: https://tinyurl.com/28as53yp
Performances at:
The Studio at Mizner Park
201 Plaza Real, 2nd Floor
Boca Raton, FL 33432

  • Norman Shabel
  • Seth Trucks
  • Ben Prayz, Christine Chavers, Francine Birns, Christian Cooper, Leslie Kandel
  • Ben Prayz, Emma McAvoy
  • Ben Prayz, James Skiba & Cast
  • James Skiba


MY SON THE WAITER: A JEWISH TRAGEDY & STILL NOT FAMOUS – at the Boca Black Box Center for the Arts – March 22- 23

06 Monday Feb 2023

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Brad Zimmerman is Back with a
Brand New Show!

My Son the Waiter:  A Jewish Tragedy
 & Still Not Famous

March 22 – 23, 2023

“Being an artist is about the journey, not the destination.”
~ AZ Republic

For Immediate Release
Contact: Carol Kassie
Carol@CarolKassie.com/561-445-9244  

February 7, 2023

BOCA RATON, FL:  Brad Zimmerman’s newest show, My Son the Waiter:  A Jewish Tragedy & Still Not Famous will make its South Florida debut March 22nd and 23rd at the Boca Black Box Center for the Arts. 

Zimmerman’s hilarious and poignant story is still universal in its message:  If you embark upon the journey to follow your dream, and demonstrate the grit and passion required to ‘make it’ as an artist, the rewards that come from never giving up are very much worth the ‘blood, sweat, and tears’.  

Brad Zimmerman

“I have been working on this show for about 6 years,” Zimmerman explains. “It is not a hybrid as the first piece was – which means half standup/half theatre. This is more of a play. As the first one does, it chronicles my journey – starting when I was very young – and takes the audience right up to the present. But it is done in more of a play format. There is lots of humor but also poignancy.

“The reason I started to work on this is that even while performing the first show it gave me a creative outlet – and without that, I wouldn’t have known what to do with myself,” he continues.  “In this second piece I don’t glaze over things…I dive into them more deeply than in the first piece, which I think makes for a more universal and relatable performance. And even if the audience is familiar with my story in general, they will find this play to be nothing like the first one. Of course,” he concludes,  “There are stories about my childhood and my education and my introduction to theatre and comedy and my social life …and naturally… my mother!”

Brad Zimmerman moved to New York and ‘temporarily’ worked as a waiter for 29 years while pursuing his career as an actor. Eventually he got a role on the Sopranos and work as a comedian, opening for Joan Rivers for eight years, as well as for Brad Garrett, and George Carlin.  His first show, My Son the Waiter: A Jewish Tragedy has played throughout the United States for over ten years.

My Son the Waiter: A Jewish Tragedy & Still Not Famous will run March 22nd and 23rd at the Boca Black Box Center for the Arts.  Tickets are on sale now and are available online at https://mysonthewaiter.com/  or by phone at 561-483-9036. Tickets range from $46.50 – $61.50.

More photos can be downloaded from https://mysonthewaiter.com/media.htm

For more information about My Son the Waiter: A Jewish Tragedy please visit http://mysonthewaiter.com or contact Carol Kassie at 561-445-9244 / Carol@CarolKassie.com.

~

My Son the Waiter:  A Jewish Tragedy & Still Not Famous
By Brad Zimmerman
March 22 & 23, 2023 at 7:00 pm
Tickets:  $46.50 – $61.50
Phone:  561-483-9036On Line: MySonTheWaiter.com
Boca Raton Center for the Arts
8221 Glades Road, #10
Boca Raton, FL  33434

Praise for My Son the Waiter: A Jewish Tragedy:

“Delicious! Distinctly original… powerfully poignant.” “Great Comedy!” ~ The New York Times

“A Must See. It’s Hysterical, Heartfelt, Timely and Poignant. I cried, I laughed, I forgot where I parked.” ~ Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond)

“Zimmerman is a funny man with funny material.” ~ Thomas Burns Scully (On Stage)

“This is easily the funniest show to hit an off-Broadway stage since ‘Old Jews Telling Jokes.’ What makes this SUPERIOR is that it isn’t just jokes. It’s a life.” ~ The Jewish Daily Forward

 “AN ABSOLUTE MUST-SEE! You’ll laugh and you’ll walk out of the theater with a lesson: If you can find something that you truly love, it gives your life meaning. ~ Palm Beach Arts Paper

  • Brad Zimmerman

Rupert Holmes’ ALL THINGS EQUAL – THE LIFE & TRIALS OF RUTH BADER GINSBURG at the Delray Beach Playhouse

02 Thursday Feb 2023

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Rupert Holmes’
All Things Equal –
The Life & Trials of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
at the Delray Beach Playhouse
February 15 – 19 Only!

“Be uplifted by this play and vote like our democracy hangs in the balance.”
~ Jon Palmer Claridge, Tampa Bay Creative Loafing

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Carol Kassie
carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244

February 2, 2023

DELRAY BEACH, FL: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg welcomes theatre goers into her cozy chambers to convey, over the course of ninety fascinating and often funny minutes, a sense of her life and its many trials in award-winning playwright Rupert Holmes’ homage to the ‘Notorious RGB’.  All Things Equal – The Life & Trials of Ruth Bader Ginsburg will run from February 15 – 19 at the Delray Beach Playhouse.

“In creating this play about her richly-lived life and hard-fought struggles, I came to ever more deeply marvel at [Ginsburg’s] strength, tenacity, sly wit, and compassion,” Holmes said recently. “Our play also reveals the love song that ran through her remarkable life and shares the music that was her giddy delight. All Things Equal offers each of us the chance to better know this woman, her yearning for equality, and her love for this nation’s precious institutions: Ruth … Justice … and the American way.”

Michelle Azar will portray Ginsburg as she reminisces about her life and her many trials: losing her mother the day before she graduated as valedictorian of her Brooklyn high school … being one of only nine young women studying law at Harvard while also raising a daughter and helping her husband battle cancer … fighting for women’s rights in the nineteen-seventies before condescending all-male courts … and taking courageous stands for human rights as a voice of reason amid a splintering and increasingly politicized Supreme Court.


All Things Equal will run from February 15 – 19 at the Delray Beach Playhouse.  Tickets are $49 and can be purchased online at delraybeachplayhouse.com/, or by phone at 561-272-1281.The Delray Beach Playhouse is located at 950 NW 9th Street, in Delray Beach (33444).

For more information about All Things Equal contact Carol Kassie at carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244.
~
All Things Equal – The Life & Trials of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
By Rupert Holmes
February 15 – 19, 2023
Performances:
Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, & Sunday at 2 pm
Friday & Saturday at 7:30 pm
For tickets:  https://delraybeachplayhouse.csstix.com/event-details.php?e=1028
Or call 561-272-1281
All performances at
The Delray Beach Playhouse
950 NW 9th Street
Delray Beach, FL  33444

RUPERT HOLMES, award-winning playwright-composer-lyricist-orchestrator-conducter-novelist-singer-songwriter is the first person in theatrical history to singly win Tony® awards for Best Book, Music & Lyrics. Broadway: The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Tony® & Drama Desk award winner for Best Musical, Book, Music, Lyrics, Orchestrations); Curtains with Kander and Ebb (Drama Desk award, Best Book; Tony® nom. Best Musical, Book, Lyrics); Say Goodnight, Gracie (Tony® nom. Best Play; LORT National Broadway Theatre Award, Best Play); Accomplice (Edgar Award, Mystery Writers of America); A Time to Kill (adapting John Grisham’s novel); Roundabout Theatre revival The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Tony® nom. Best Revival). Over twenty regional musicals and plays performed at major venues around the world. Novels: Where the Truth Lies (adapted for film starring Colin Firth, Kevin Bacon, dir. by Atom Egoyan); Swing #24 all books on Amazon. Coming in 2023: The McMasters Guide to Homicide: Murder Your Employer, Simon & Schuster/Avid Reader Press. Motion Pictures: Contributed songs to Golden Globe-winning score of A Star is Born (Streisand/Kristofferson). Television: Created and scripted all 55 episodes of AMC’s first original series Remember WENN. Recording: A Billboard #1 singer-songwriter of the 1970s and 1980s including his own iconic international hit “Escape (The Pina Colada Song)” featured in over 50 motion pictures; wrote, arranged & conducted platinum albums for Barbra Streisand; songs recorded by Barry Manilow, Dionne Warwick, Dolly Parton, Judy Collins, Britney Spears, Rita Coolidge, Renée Fleming, countless others. Recipient of the George M. Cohan Award from ASCAP and recently received an Honorary Doctorate from The Manhattan School of Music.

MICHELLE AZAR is humbled and thrilled to take on the life of the great Ruth Bader Ginsberg as voiced by the esteemed Rupert Holmes. Her performance background began in Chicago where she sang with the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s children’s choir. She received an MA and BFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and started working immediately as Janis Joplin in Beehive. Once moving to Los Angeles, she received Ovation awards for her roles in both dramatic and comedic roles with her theatre compa-ny, Neurotic Young Urbanites, and was the 2016 Stage Raw award winner for Best Actress in Eric Coble’s My Barking Dog, directed by Michael Michetti at the Boston Court Theatre. Other favorite stage credits: Bella in Lost in Yonkers; Berte in Boeing, Boeing ( La Mirada Theatre); Masha in Mayakovsky and Stalin (Cherry Lane Theatre); The Awakening of Spring (Circle Rep); and the creation of Constance Lily in the recent hit musical, Bronco Billy (Skylight Theatre). Select television and film credits include: NCIS: LA, How To Get Away With Murder, Criminal Minds, The Magicians, Aquarius, Community, and the recently released film, Senior Moment, with Gene Smart and William Shatner. The web-series she co-created with her real-life sister-in-law is currently in development for series. Michelle is no stranger to the one-woman show, as her own original piece, From Baghdad to Brooklyn, continues to tour around the country after its sold-out premiere at the United Solo Festival in NYC. The intention of the piece is to explore unconscious fears to bring about societal change, as paved the way by RBG. She is grateful to her family, to this entire artistic team for their faith in her, and to her manager, Alison Caiola, for having a hunch.

  • Michelle Azar as Ruth Bader Ginsburg
  • Rupert Holmes
  • Michelle Azar

Pigs Do Fly Productions to present Tom Dugan’s CEMETERY PUB – March 13 – 19, 2023

24 Tuesday Jan 2023

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Pigs Do Fly Productions
presents an
East Coast Premiere:
Cemetery Pub
March 3 – 19

“… fast-paced script, which is taut and sharp… Cemetery Pub is a terrifically entertaining piece of theatre…”
Paul Myrvold’s Theatre Notes, May 2022

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Carol Kassie
carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244

January 24 2023

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL:   Rehearsals will begin shortly for Pigs Do Fly Productions’ production of playwright/actor Tom Dugan’s Cemetery Pub.  This will be only the second time the play has been produced – the first time was in May 2022 in Dugan’s own Backyard Theatre in California. Cemetery Pub will run from March 3rd through March 19th at Empire Stage in Fort Lauderdale.

Set in the old-time and slightly run-down O’Brien’s Tavern (also known as the Cemetery Pub) across from St. Gertrude’s Catholic Cemetery as well as from the railroad tracks, Cemetery Pub is a dark comedy, and features a trio of fascinating characters: Dixie, the young owner of the bar, Ken O’Brien, Dixie’s uncle, and Danny, Dixie’s long-lost cousin.

Tom Dugan

This three-character play is somewhat of a departure for playwright Tom Dugan, who is well known to South Florida audiences for his award-winning play (and performances in) Wiesenthal, and several other one-person shows: “I grew up in a big Irish Catholic family, I had over 60 first cousins, aunts and uncles,” he explains.  “As the second youngest of the clan, no one sat me down to explain, who was who and what was what.  I was on my own to figure out my family history – I cobbled together a family narrative, based largely on half pieces of information, fortified by my own imagination.  My older siblings have pointed out to me recently that most of my assumptions are wrong, but they also pointed out that my version was much more entertaining.  This got me thinking about writing a play based not on the facts of my family story but rather the rumors and embellishments I came up with.”

“How I feel about this play is ‘Wow’”, says Pig’s Do Fly’s Executive Producer Ellen Wacher.  “It’s definitely a departure from many of the shows we’ve done in the past.  But it’s superbly written – I can visualize each scene – and it has a great deal of humor integrated with its serious subject matter and the characters’ lives.”

“To me, Cemetery Pub defies classification,” says the production’s director, Deborah ‘DK’ Kondelik.  “It is deadly funny, full of mystery and suspense, and at times even farcical. The characters and relationships are distinctively off-beat and captivating; there is an edginess to the play, a tongue-in-cheek kind of humor that will titillate audiences.”

Kondelik has cast Caroline Dopson as Dixie, David Corey as Ken, and Todd Bruno as Dan.

Cemetery Pub’s Stage Manager is Joseph Long, Dean Landhuis is the show’s Scenic Designer, David Hart will do the Sound Design, Preston Bircher will create the Lighting Design and serve as Technical Director, Jameelah Bailey will handle props, and Director Deborah Kondelik will coordinate Costumes. Jessica Kaschube is the Company Manager.

Tickets for Cemetery Pub are $39 and are available online at www.pigsdoflyproductions.com  or by calling 954-678-1496.  Performances are on Friday and Saturday at 8 pm, and on Sunday at 5 pm. All performances will take place at Empire Stage, 1140 N. Flagler Drive, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304.

For more information about Pigs Do Fly Productions, please visit www.pigsdoflyproductions.com.   For more information about Ellen Wacher, please visit www.ellenwacher.com.  To arrange for interviews, or for photos, please contact Carol Kassie at carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244.

~*~

Cemetery Pub
By Tom Dugan
March 3 – 19, 2023
Directed by Deborah Kondelik
Performances:
Friday & Saturday at 8 pm
Sunday at 5 pm
Tickets:  $39
For tickets:  www.pigsdoflyproductions.com / 954-678-1496
All performances will take place at
Empire Stage
1140 N. Flagler Drive
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304
www.pigsdoflyproductions.com
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/PigsDoFlyProductions/

Tom Dugan:  Dubbed by critics “A National Treasure,” for the past twenty years Tom Dugan’s one-man plays have thrilled audiences from Beverly Hills, to 42nd street, and have been the subject of many PBS programs throughout North America.   His play Wiesenthal, (Produced by Daryl Roth) honored with multiple awards and nominations (N.Y. Drama Desk, N.Y. Outer Critics Circle, L.A. Ovation, L.A. Drama Critics Circle), has enjoyed productions in Israel, India, Australia, Italy, and Mexico. A feature film of Wiesenthal is planned for 2024. 
Mr. Dugan’s one person plays include The Civil War Trilogy, Robert E. Lee – Shades of Gray (100% Sweet -Bitter Lemons), Frederick Douglass In The Shadow Of Slavery (“the best history lesson ever!” – Peninsula News) and The Ghosts of Mary Lincoln (Spellbinding – LA Times), The twentieth century trilogy; Tevye In New York! (“Delightful” – Broadway World) Wiesenthal (“Masterful”- Backstage), Tell Him It’s Jackie. (“Brilliant”- Curtain Up). Tevye In New York will have its Florida premiere at The Delray Beach Playhouse in December 2023. For more information contact; Tom.dugan@outlook.com

  • Tom Dugan
  • Dave Corey
  • Caroline Dopson
  • Todd Bruno
  • Deborah Kondelik
  • Ellen Wacher
  • Todd Bruno, Dave Corey, Caroline Dopson
  • Todd Bruno, Caroline Dopson
  • Caroline Dopson, Todd Bruno
  • Dave Corey, Caroline Dopson

TO LIFE 3: STORIES & MUSIC CELEBRATING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF JEWISH COMPOSERS TO THE GREAT HOLLYWOOD MUSICALS – January 20 – February 5 at the Willow Theatre

29 Tuesday Nov 2022

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January 20 – February 5, 2023

“Music doesn’t argue, discuss, or quarrel. It just breathes the air of freedom.”
~ Harold Arlen

“Hooray for Hollywood!” ~ Johnny Mercer

“You ain’t heard nothing yet, folks!” ~ Al Jolson

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Carol Kassie
carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244

November 29, 2022

BOCA RATON, FL:  George Gershwin.  Irving Berlin. Johnny Mercer. Harold Arlen. Sheldon Harnick.  Jerry Herman. These composers and many more will be highlighted in To Life 3: Stories & Music Celebrating the Contributions of Jewish Composers to the Great Hollywood Musicals.  The production will run from January 20th through February 5th at The Willow Theatre in Boca Raton’s Sugar Sand Park. To Life 3 is a follow-up to two previous To Life productions – both of which sold out at the Willow Theatre in 2019 and 2020. 

Featuring amusing anecdotes and fascinating historical facts, along with tributes to some of the greatest Jewish performers in Hollywood history, including Eddie Cantor, Danny Kaye, and Barbara Streisand, To Life 3 will be performed by five of South Florida’s award-winning musical theatre artists:  Julie Kleiner, Bruno Faria, Michael Materdomini, Amy Tanner, and Shari Upbin.

Hy Juter

Hy Juter (Jupiter Theater Company, LLC) will produce the show: “We’re extremely excited about this iteration of our To Life series,” he says.  “This time we’re focusing on Hollywood and the outstanding talents that contributed to those great musicals we all remember. We have an amazing cast – their talent is extraordinary! Our director, Shari Upbin, has also written the show this year.  Her background in theatre and her extensive knowledge of the Hollywood musical made her a natural choice to continue our tradition of presenting audiences with a unique combination of history, music, and fun!”

Shari Upbin

Upbin will also direct the production, and Bobby Peaco will serve as music director and pianist.

“To Life 1 and 2 featured the Jewish composers of Broadway,” Upbin says. “But what most people don’t realize is first of all, how many of them transitioned to Hollywood, and secondly, that there were numerous Jewish composers who wrote primarily for ‘the movies’.  I had an amazing time writing the script for the show,” she continues. “I learned so much – there are so many fascinating stories involving these amazingly talented individuals I can’t wait to share with our audiences. And of course,  I couldn’t leave out some of the greatest Jewish stars who left their indelible marks – Eddie Cantor, Danny Kaye, Barbra Streisand… so many and so memorable.”

To Life 3 will run from January 20 through February 5 at the Willow Theatre in Sugar Sand Park.  Tickets are $43; group rates (6 or more tickets purchased in one transaction) are $38.  Tickets can be purchased online at www.sugarsandpark.org/life-3 or by phone at 561-347-3948.  The Willow Theatre is located at 300 South Military Trail, in Boca Raton’s Sugar Sand Park (33486).      

For more information about To Life 3: Stories & Music Celebrating the Contributions of Jewish Composers to the Great Hollywood Musicals please contact Carol Kassie at carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244.    

~

Hy Juter (Jupiter Theater Company, LLC) presents
To Life 3: Stories & Music Celebrating the Contributions of Jewish Composers to the Great Hollywood Musicals
January 20 – February 5, 2023
Written and Directed by Shari Upbin 
Tickets: $43 / $38 for groups of 6 or more tickets purchased in one transaction
For tickets:  561-347-3948 or
https://www.sugarsandpark.org/life-3
Showtimes:
Friday & Saturday at 8 pm
Saturday, & Sunday at 2 pm
All performances take place in
The Willow Theatre at Sugar Sand Park
300 South Military Trail,
Boca Raton, FL 33486

About The Willow Theatre:
The Willow Theatre, opened in 1998, is a beautiful 155-seat proscenium theater, located inside Sugar Sand Park Community Center and allows for a unique experience for theatre patrons. Before or after a show, you may wander the nature trails, visit the Children’s Science Explorium, look at the art exhibit on display, or picnic at one of our pavilions.

  • Shari Upbin
  • Bobby Peaco
  • Julie Kleiner
  • Michael Materdomini
  • Bruno Faria
  • Amy Tanner
  • Hy Juter

MNM Theatre Company presents THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE – December 2 – 18

14 Monday Nov 2022

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MNM Theatre Company
to present
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
at the Willow Theatre

December 2 – 18, 2022

“…Hilariously F-U-N-N-Y (enjoyment, amusement or lighthearted pleasure) and delightfully Q-U-I-R-K-Y (characterized by peculiar or unexpected traits) night of theatre.”   Ilene Chalmers – DC Metro Theater Arts

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Carol Kassie
carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244

November 14, 2022

BOCA RATON, FL:  MNM Theatre Company will present The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at The Willow Theatre December 2 – 18.  This will be the award-winning company’s first production at the popular Boca Raton venue.   

Nominated for six Tony Awards, and winning 2, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee features an eclectic group of sixth graders (played by adult actors in uproariously comical caricatures), who arrive at a fictional spelling bee set in the geographically ambiguous Putnam Valley Middle School to vie for the spelling championship of a lifetime; the Bee is run by three equally quirky grown-ups. While candidly disclosing hilarious and touching stories from their home lives, the tweens spell their way through a series of (potentially made-up) words, hoping never to hear the soul-crushing, pout-inducing, life un-affirming “ding” of the bell that signals a spelling mistake. Six spellers enter – one speller leaves! At least the losers get a juice box!

Marcie Gorman

“We are so pleased to be making our Willow Theatre debut with ‘Spelling Bee’”, says Marcie Gorman, MNM’s CEO and Producing Artistic Director. “This show is fun, funny, and heartwarming all at once.  It’s a bit ‘raunchy’, that’s true – so it’s not for very young audiences – but we think it will appeal to theatre patrons of just about any age.  And there’s even some audience participation – it’s very possible someone will be invited onstage and asked to spell ‘syzygy*’!”

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee will be directed by Johnathan Van Dyke, who will also do the show’s musical staging: “I am so excited about digging into this gem of a show,” he says. “The content is so strong and a rare gift for actors to sink their teeth into such fulfilling material.  The humor, music, and poignancy are all so relevant to the human condition I think audiences are in for a wonderful time at the theatre.” 

Spelling Bee’s cast consists of Jen Chia as Marcy Park, Mikayla Cohen as Olive Ostrovsky, Jinon Deeb as Rona Lisa Perretti, Michael Harper as Chip Tolentino, Michael Materdomini as William Barfee, Geoffrey Mergele as Leaf Coneybear, Leah Sessa as Logainne Schwartzandgrubenniere, Troy J. Stanley as Vice Principal Douglas Panch, and James White lll as Mitch Mahoney.

As in the past, the production will be accompanied by a live band led by Musical Director Eric Alsford, with Rick Kissinger on woodwinds, Tim Kutcha on drums, Eden Marte on synthesizer, and Madalina Marcovel on cello.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’s Production Stage Manager is Francesca Barioli. The show’s Assistant Stage Manager is Anna Schulman, Production Manager/Set Design is Jordon Armstrong, Technical Director is Johnbarry Green, who will share Sound Design duties with Jordon Armstrong.  Penny Williams is Costume Design, and Abby Rasmussen is Props.

Tickets for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee are on sale now and can be purchased on line at www.willowtheatre.org, or by calling 561-347-3948.  Tickets are $45; a group rate of $35 is available if 6 or more tickets are purchased in one transaction.

For more information about MNM Theatre Company or The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, visitwww.willowtheatre.org or contact Carol Kassie at carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244.        

Please note:  The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee contains ridiculously childish adult material!  It is not suitable for children under the age of 13.      

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
December 2 – 18, 2022
Music & Lyrics:  William Finn
Book: Rachel Sheinkin
Conceived by: Rebecca Feldman
Additional Material by: Jay Reiss
Performances:
Friday and Saturday at 8 pm
Saturday and Sunday at 2 pm
Prices:  $45 ($35 for 6 or more tickets purchased in a single transaction)
For tickets:
Online: www.willowtheatre.org or mnmtheatre.org
Phone: 561-347-3948
All performances take place at
The Willow Theatre at Sugar Sand Park
300 South Military Trail
Boca Raton, Florida  33486

*The straight line configuration of three celestial bodies.


  • Geoffrey Mergele, Leah Sessa, Michael Materdomini
  • Leah Sessa
  • Michael Materdomini
  • Jen Chia
  • Mikayla Cohen
  • Jinon Deeb
  • Geoffrey Mergele
  • Leah Sessa
  • James White III
  • Jonathan Van Dyke
  • Marcie Gorman
  • Spelling Bee Cast
  • Jen Chia
  • Jinon Deeb & Troy Stanley
  • Leah Sessa
  • Michael Harper
  • Michael Materdomini
  • Mikayla Cohen & James White lll
  • Geoffrey Mergele
  • Spelling Bee Cast

Riveting Legal Drama! A CLASS ACT – November 11 – 20, 2022 at Sandrell Rivers Theater

20 Thursday Oct 2022

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A Riveting Legal Drama
A Class Act
at Sandrell Rivers Theater
November 11 – 20, 2022

“…always absorbing, always unpredictable.”
~ TheaterScene.net

“…contamination is really a national crisis, and the real scale of contamination is staggering. The more we test, the more we find it.”
~ Melanie Benesh, Legislative Attorney at the Environmental Working Group, Washington

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Carol Kassie
carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244

October 20, 2022

MIAMI, FL:   A major chemical company pours cancer-causing waste into the water supply, and a high-powered law firm brings a class action lawsuit on behalf of thousands of “the little people” – who might die from the poisonous water. Who wins?  Who loses?  A Class Act, Norman Shabel’s intriguing and timely look at the inner workings of our justice system will ask and possibly answer these, and other questions when the play runs from November 11th through November 20th at the Sandrell Rivers Theater in Miami.  

As the lawyers wheel and deal and decide whether to take a settlement or go to trial, it becomes increasingly unclear who is really winning. Who makes millions whether they win or lose? Which lawyers battle the best… or the worst? Who gets justice in the end? A Class Act is a sophisticated thrill ride that has been described as “engrossing and gripping”. It examines a world in which greed pervades, the loyal suffer, and morality is always relative.

Norman Shabel

“When I originally wrote the play, we were all probably peripherally aware that there was poison being dumped in the worlds’ drinking waters by non-caring corporations whose only consideration was saving expenses in the production of their products,” Shabel said recently.  “But of late there have been numerous articles and exposés – nationally and locally – that have brought the issue to the forefront. 

“In fact, this past June, the Environmental Protection Agency warned that ‘forever chemicals’ found in our nations’ drinking water are more dangerous than previously thought, and by some estimates, these toxic family of chemicals can be found in the blood of nearly every person on our planet.

“The issue of polluted drinking water is now in the headlines regarding Camp Lejeune, where millions of soldiers housed there were poisoned by deadly drinking water.  A Class Act involves the deadly drinking water in the fifty states of the US and the litigation that evolved from that awful water poisoning, etc.

“Courts are inherently dramatic places, and I guess I saw that connection between law and theater before I even realized it,” he continued. “A Class Act depicts the dramatically war-like negotiations between those corporate non-caring pollution perpetrators and the lawyers who represent the dying public.”

Attorney turned author and playwright Norman Shabel spent close to 50 years as a trial and class action lawyer.  He has drawn upon his experience to fashion a ‘pulled from the headlines’ look at what goes on in corporate America, in courtrooms, and behind the scenes.  A Class Act received excellent reviews when it played Off-Broadway in 2016.

A Class Act director Seth Trucks’ cast includes Lito Becerra, Adam Crain, Christopher Dreeson, Carey Hart, Harold Petion, and Nick Valdes.  Sara Grant will serve as the production’s Stage Manager.

A Class Act will run at Sandrell Rivers Theater from November 11 – 20. Ticket prices range from $25 to $40 and can be purchased online at https://normanshabel.net/plays/a-class-act-performance  or by phone at 305-284-8872.

Sandrell Rivers Theater is located at 6103 MW 7th Avenue, in Miami (33127).

For more information about A Class Act, or to arrange to see the production, pleasecontact Carol Kassie at carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244.
~

A Class Act
By Norman Schabel
November 11 – 20, 2022
Performances:
Friday & Saturday at 8 pm
Saturday & Sunday at 2 pm
Tickets: $25 (veterans, seniors, students with ID)/$35 (advance sale)/$40 (at the door)
For tickets: https://normanshabel.net/plays/a-class-act-performance
Or call 305-284-8872
Sandrell Rivers Theater
6103 NW 7th Avenue
Miami, FL 33127

  • Seth Trucks
  • Lito Becerra
  • Adam Crain
  • Christopher Dreeson
  • Carey Hart
  • Harold Petion
  • Nick Valdes
  • Kent Wilson
  • Sara Grant
  • Norman Shabel
  • R. Kent Wilson, Nick Valdes, Carey Brianna Hart, Christopher Dreeson
  • Lito Becerra, Adam D. Crain, Harold Petion
  • Bottom: Harold Petion, Carey Brianna Hart, Nick Valdes Top: Adam D. Crain, R. Kent Wilson, Christopher Dreeson, Lito Becerra