Category Archives: Clients

Carol Kassie’s clients.

March & April at the Miznzer Park Cultural Center

09 Monday Mar 2020

Posted by in Clients, Mizner Park Cultural Arts Center

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

March & April at
Mizner Park Cultural Center:
Festival of Classics: A Night of Short Performances
& Artist Conversations – March 16
Tovah is Leona – March 28 & 29
Wiesenthal – April 3-5
Hank Williams and My Honky Tonk Heroes – April 8
Judy Carmichael: Swing Time!  A Celebration of the
Great American Song Book – April 17
Harrison Greenbaum:  What Just Happened?
A Comedy + Magic Show – April 25

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

March 9, 2020

BOCA RATON, FL:     Mizner Park Cultural Center will once again host a wide variety of entertainment and events over the coming weeks.  Comedy, music, magic, and live theatre are all on the popular venue’s schedule during March and April.

On March 16th, the award-winning actor Avi Hoffman will host Festival of Classics: A Night of Short Performances and Artist Conversations.  The show, presented by Joseph Papp Yiddish Theatre, Shakespeare Troupe of South Florida, Grace Arts, New City Players, and Thinking Cap Theatre with Emily Ricca Dance Collective, will showcase local South Florida companies performing the Classics.  Hoffman, who will be joined by special guest Susan Papp, will take on the persona of Joseph Papp, the American theatrical producer and founder of the New York Shakespeare Festival and the Public Theatre.

Tovah Feldshuh

Six-time Tony and Emmy nominated star Tovah Feldshuh returns to the theatre on March 28th and 29th for four encore performances of Tovah is Leona! a musical production featuring highlights from the new Broadway-bound musical Queen of Mean, based on Piers Ransdell’s New York Times best-selling biography of Leona Helmsley.  In the production, which sold out in January, Feldshuh, as the disgraced doyenne, comments and sings about anything and everything – from her meteoric rise from office temp to trophy wife, from wheeler-dealer to hotel magnate, to her relationship with real estate rival Donald Trump.

Tom Dugan as Simon Wiesenthal

Wiesenthal, the story of ‘an ordinary man who did extraordinary things’, will run for four performances only, from April 3rd – 5th.  Written by and starring Tom Dugan, Wiesenthal is the riveting true story of Simon Wiesenthal.  Nicknamed ‘The Jewish James Bond’, he devoted his life to bringing more than 1,100 Nazi war criminals to justice. Intelligent, funny, flawed, and noble, Wiesenthal was a universal hero.

Jason Petty will bring his acclaimed musical review, Hank Williams and my Honky Tonk Heroes, to the Cultural Center on April 8th.  Petty a masterful singer, actor, and historian, whose musicianship and songwriting abilities have won him numerous performances at The Grand Ole Opry, will recreate the magic that Williams and his ‘honky tonk heroes’ – the giants of country music – created.

Grammy-nominated pianist, vocalist, and songwriter Judy Carmichael will celebrate the music of swing piano greats with an evening of classics from the Great American Songbook in her show Swing Time!  A Celebration of the Great American Song Book on April 17th.  From the Gershwins to Cole Porter to Fats Waller and Peggy Lee, Carmichael’s mastery of the piano style popularized by Count Basie and James P. Johnson among others, has been lauded all over the world.

Harrison Greenbaum

Harrison Greenbaum will return to the Mizner Park Cultural Center with What Just Happened?  A Comedy + Magic Show on April 25th.   The award-winning magician and comedian, who has been featured on “America’s Got Talent”, NBC’s “Last Comic Standing”, and National Geographic’s “Brain Games”, has created a unique blend of comedy and magic, jaw-dropping cutting edge illusions, mind reading, and legerdemain, much of it invented specifically for this performance, and never seen before.

Tickets to each of these performances, as well as many other Mizner Park Cultural Center performances are on sale now and can be purchased online at http://miznerparkculturalcenter.com or by phone at 844-672-2849. Ticket details are below.

The Mizner Park Cultural Center is located at 201 Plaza Real, Boca Raton, FL 33432. Website: http://miznerparkculturalcenter.com/Like us on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/MiznerParkCulturalCenter/

For more information about the Mizner Park Cultural Center, and any of these shows, please contact Carol Kassie at Carol@CarolKassie.com / 561-445-9244.
~
Ticket prices and performance times:

Festival of Classics: A Night of Short Performances and Artist Conversations
Monday, March 16, at 2:30 pm & 7:30 pm
Tickets:  $25-$50Direct link for tickets:  https://miznerparkculturalcenter.com/events/festival-of-classics/Tovah is Leona
Saturday, March 28 at 3 pm & 8 pm
Sunday, March 29 at 2 pm & 7 pm
Tickets: $49 – $59
Direct link for tickets:  https://miznerparkculturalcenter.com/events/tovah-leona-march/2020-03-28/Wiesenthal
Friday, April 3 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, April 4 at 2:00 pm & 7:30 pm
Sunday, April 5 at 2:00 pm
Tickets:  $45
Direct link for tickets:  https://miznerparkculturalcenter.com/events/wiesenthal-2/2020-04-03/Hank Williams and My Honky Tonk Heroes
Wednesday, April 8 at 7:30 pm
Tickets: $39 – $45
Direct link for tickets:  https://miznerparkculturalcenter.com/events/hank-williams/Judy Carmichael:  Swing Time!  A Celebration of the Great American Song Book
Friday, April 17 at 7:30 pm
Tickets:  $37 – $47
Direct link for tickets:  https://miznerparkculturalcenter.com/events/judy-carmichael/Harrison Greenbaum:  What Just Happened?  A Comedy + Magic Show
Saturday, April 25 at 7:30 pm
Tickets: $29 – $39Direct link for tickets:  https://miznerparkculturalcenter.com/events/harrison-greenbaum-3/For tickets to all shows at the Mizner Park Cultural Center, and for more information: https://miznerparkculturalcenter.com/   or call 844-672-2849.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Southeastern Premiere! The Award-Winning Play CHASING JACK at The Willow Theatre in Sugar Sand Park March 12 – 22

18 Tuesday Feb 2020

Posted by in Clients

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Jolt Productions, Inc. In Association with
Midlife Crisis Productions
Presents
The Southeastern Premiere of
Chasing Jack
March 12 – 22, 2020

 “This riveting, insightful and roller coaster of a ride is not done
until the last card is drawn.”
~ Susana Bowling – Times Square Chronicles

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

February 18, 2020

BOCA RATON, FL:   Chasing Jack, the award-winning play by John S. Anastasi, will have its southeastern premiere at the Willow Theatre in Sugar Sand Park this March.  The production, to be directed by Peter J. Loewy, will begin previews on March 12th and open on March 14th.  The show will run through March 22nd.

Chasing Jack, which won the Best Play Award at the 2019 New York Theatre Festival Summerfest, is the story of Dr. Jack Chase, a surgeon with a serious gambling addiction.  Through the lens of a malpractice lawsuit that could end his career, Chasing Jack explores familial relationships, medical ethics, and the potentially crippling effects of addiction.   The stakes couldn’t be any higher as Jack looks back at pivotal moments in his life, his relationships, and his career.

John Anastasi, M.D.

“I had written several plays, three of which were produced Off Broadway,” playwright John Anastasi said recently, when he was asked how Chasing Jack came about.  “It was after a reading of my play I Forgive You Ronald Reagan, starring Lucie Arnaz and her husband Laurence Luckinbill, and we were all out for dinner.  Lucie asked me about her mother’s aortic dissection (I am a thoracic surgeon in ‘my other life’!) and we started talking about heart surgery.  She listened to all the stories and was mesmerized, and at the end of the evening she said, “You write well but the best stories are when you write and talk about what you do!”  My response was that I spend 14 hours a day doing heart surgery, the last thing I want to do is sit in front of a computer and write about it.

“So, two plays later I was at the opening night party of my play, Would You Still Love Me if, with Kathleen Turner,” Anastasi continued.  John Patrick Shanley came up to me and said almost the same thing: “Write about what you know…” There are two things I love, medicine and the law.  My daughter is a lawyer.  So, I started to think of how to connect them all and after an especially difficult operation, the germ of the story began.

“I don’t want anyone to get the idea that I’m Jack, because I’m not,” he says.  “Some of me is in him as I believe some of me is in all the characters I write, even the women.  The monologues Jack speaks regarding what it’s like to be a heart surgeon are very real.   The addiction concept is drawn from having the unfortunate experience of operating on drug addicts over the years, and watching them lie, betray, and systematically destroy every relationship, especially the people who love them the most.”

Anastasi and Director Loewy have cast a combination of local and out of town actors in the production.  Galen Murphy Hoffman will play Dr. Jack Chase, and two-time Tony Award nominee Crista Moore will portray the attorney Ockerman – the first time a woman has played this role.  Other cast members include India H. Jarvis as Taylor, Elana Valastro as Rebecca, David Sadaka as The Judge, Rick Malone as Robert, Ben Prayz as Dr. Fox, and Francis Allen as Dr. Noel.

Chasing Jack will run from March 12th – 22nd at the Willow Theatre in Sugar Sand Park.  Tickets are $30; group rates (6 or more tickets purchased in one transaction) are $25.  Tickets can be purchased online at sugarsandpark.org/chasing-jack  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 Chasing Jack please visit www.chasingjacktheplay.com/.  To arrange for interviews, or for photos, or to arrange to see the production, please contact Carol Kassie at carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244.

This is a story about a world-class gambling obsession
that starts off at 100 miles-per-hour and builds from there.
It’s not a courtroom drama.
It’s a courtroom bombshell.

~*~

Chasing Jack
March 14 – 22, 2020
Preview performances March 12 & 13.
By John S. Anastasi
Directed by Peter J. Loewy
Tickets: $30 / $25 for groups of 6 or more
For tickets:  561-347-3948 or https://sugarsandpark.org/chasing-jack
Showtimes:
Thursday, March 12 at 7pm
Friday, March 13 at 8pm
Saturday, March 14 at 2pm
Saturday, March 14 at 8pm
Sunday, March 15 at 2pm
Thursday, March 19 at 7pm
Friday, March 20 at 8pm
Saturday, March 21 at 2pm
Saturday, March 21 at 8pm
Sunday, March 22 at 2pm
All performances will take place in
The Willow Theatre at Sugar Sand Park
300 South Military Trail,
Boca Raton, FL 33486

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Pigs Do Fly Productions presents HELEN ON WHEELS – March 5 – 29, 2020

11 Tuesday Feb 2020

Posted by in Clients, Pigs Do Fly Productions

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Pigs Do Fly Productions
presents
Helen on Wheels
March 5 – 29, 2020

“‘Helen on Wheels’ is a lovely play about real people, and its gentle humor provides the structure for a very funny lesson on living your life, and no one else’s, no matter how old you are.” ~ Mary Ann Johnson, MD Theatre Guide

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

February 11, 2020
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL:  A feisty, bingo-playing, gun-toting, ruckus raising, independent woman!  That’s Helen Wheeler, the title character in Pigs Do Fly Productions next outing – Cricket Daniel’s comedy Helen on Wheels.  The show will run from March 6th through March 29th at Empire Stage in Fort Lauderdale.  There will be a preview performance on March 5th.

Ellen Wacher

“We had such a great response to our recent production of Cricket Daniel’s The Lost Virginity Tour that I was pumped to look at this play too,” says Ellen Wacher, Pigs Do Fly’s founder and Executive Producer.   “Helen on Wheels is totally enjoyable, far out, very funny, and perfect for us, and for the times.”

Elizabeth Price, who recently received glowing reviews in Primal Forces Productions’ Villainous Company will direct Helen on Wheels: 

“Nostalgia for the past, good times. Pushing boundaries, living out loud. Seeing what’s really important, not buying into what people think we should be and do, missed chances, new opportunities… these are things that everyone, no matter what their age, can relate to.”  Price says.

Elizabeth Price

“The play is about a woman who has lost the man she spent her whole happy life with, and now she’s acting out in crazy but hilarious ways as she looks for who she is on her own,” she says. “Another chance for love comes along and she has to decide which way to go. Essentially, we get to see how the sweetness of the past doesn’t end when something new begins.

“This company has a great mission,” Price continues. “I want to see and tell stories that reflect what the whole of life looks like, not just life’s early phases.”

Price has cast Beverly Blanchette as Helen, and Carol Sussman as her best friend and partner in crime Zona. Rounding out the troupe are David Hyland as Seth, Todd Bruno as Nelson, and Dave Corey as Elmer.

“I am thrilled to have Helen on Wheels produced by Pigs Do Fly Productions,” playwright Cricket Daniel says.  “This play is very personal to me because it was inspired by my own mother, who loved two things… my Dad and Bingo!  I had an absolute blast creating these characters.  I think the heart of Helen on Wheels is the friendship between Helen and Zona.  Everyone needs a best friend that will wipe your tears… and help you break out of jail.  Everyone needs a Zona!”

Cricket Daniel

Cricket Daniel holds a theater degree from UC Santa Barbara and studied Shakespeare in Cambridge, England. She has an extensive background in improv, stand-up and theater. Cricket was a member of the national improv troupe Comedy Sportz and has performed stand-up at The Ice House and The Improv and has performed regularly in local community theatre productions. Her short play Break Dreams has been staged in New York City, Miami, Colorado Springs, Eugene, Oregon, and in Austin, TX. Her full-length play Love, Laughter & Lucci took home Best Production, Best Actress and Best Actor awards at the 2012 Golden Gravel Awards. Her full-length play Helen On Wheels was a finalist in the 2015 New Play Development Workshop through Route 66 Theatre in Chicago. Cricket is a 2012 recipient of an Arts, Beautification, and Culture Award for her contribution to local theater and is a member of The Dramatist Guild of America. She lives in Bend, Oregon with her husband and daughter.

There will be a preview performance of Helen on Wheels’ on March 5th; the production will open on March 6th and run through March 29th.  Tickets are $39 and are available online at www.pigsdoflyproductions.com  or by calling 866-811-4111.  Performances are on Friday, and Saturday at 8 pm, and on Sunday at 5 pm. All performances will take place 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, or to arrange to see the production, please contact Carol Kassie at carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244.

Funding for this project is provided in part by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners as recommended by the Broward Cultural Council.

~*~

Helen on Wheels
Preview Performance: Thursday, March 5, 2020
Runs from March 6 – March 29, 2020
By Cricket Daniel
Tickets: $39
Tickets:  866-811-4111 / www.pigsdoflyproductions.com
Performances:
Friday, & Saturday: 8 pm
Sunday: 5 pm
All performances will take place at
Empire Stage
1140 N Flagler Drive,
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304
www.pigsdoflyproductions.com
Like Us on Facebook!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

DISNEY’S BEAUTY AND THE BEAST at the LPAC – February 20 – March 8

06 Thursday Feb 2020

Posted by in Clients, Lauderhill Performing Arts Center

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Lauderhill Performing Arts Center (LPAC) in Collaboration with
Broadway Palm presents
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast
February 20 – March 8, 2020

“As Broadway musicals go, Beauty and the Beast belongs right up there with the Empire State Building, F. A. O. Schwarz and the Circle Line boat tours.”
~ David Richards, The New York Times, April 19, 1994

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

February 6, 2020

LAUDERHILL, FL: Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, the Lauderhill Performing Arts Center and Broadway Palm’s final production of their inaugural season, will open on February 20th and run through March 8th.

Based on the beloved Disney movie, Beauty and the Beast is filled with magical moments, spectacular costumes, and of course, a classic love story.  The award-winning musical, which played for thirteen years on Broadway, can be described as the perfect family entertainment – and a marvelous introduction to theatre for children of all ages.

This ‘tale as old as time’ tells the story of Belle, a young woman in a provincial town, and the Beast, who is really a young prince trapped under the spell of an enchantress. If the Beast can learn to love and be loved, the curse will end, and he will be transformed into his former self. But time is running out, and if the Beast does not learn his lesson soon, he and his household will be doomed for all eternity.

Beauty and the Beast will be directed and choreographed by Amy McCleary.  Her work on Kinky Boots, which is just finishing its successful LPAC run garnered rave reviews and standing ovations. The show’s musical director is Lizzie Webb. 

McCleary’s cast includes James Arthur Douglas as the Beast, Rebecca Kelley as Belle, Jesse Luttrell as Gaston, Travis Brown as Lumiere, Frank Hughes as Cogsworth, and Shannon Connolly as Mrs Potts. South Florida actors Eytan Deray will play LeFou, Peter Librach will play Maurice, and Colleen Pagano will be Wardrobe. Young locals Jaxon James and Samson Poland will share the role of Chip.  Other South Floridians cast are Brandon Santos, Robert Alaya, Tyler Counts, Jennifer Fain, Bailee Cudmore, Lauren Cagnetta, Ashley Rubin, Erica Seelig, Lyla Chaubal, and Lila Drowos.  Sam Lariviere, Joel Libed, “Scoob” Decker, Kiersten Benzing, and Megan Urz are also cast.

Disney’s Beauty and the Beast will run from February 20th – March 3rd. Ticket prices range from $35 – $55 and are available online at https://lpacfl.com or by calling 954-777-2055.  Performances are on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:30 pm, and Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2 pm.

The Lauderhill Performing Arts Center (LPAC) has hosted numerous theatrical events and productions since it opened its doors in January 2016 and has grown its audiences to include theatre patrons from not only Broward County, but Miami/Dade and Palm Beach counties as well. The theatre is located at 3800 NW 11th Place (33311), in the Central Broward Regional Park on the Northeast corner of Sunrise Boulevard and State Road 7.  For more information about LPAC visit https://lpacfl.com.

For more information about  Disney’s Beauty and the Beast please contact Carol Kassie at carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244.

~

Disney’s Beauty and the Beast
February 20 – March 3
Music by Alan Menken
Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice
Book by Linda Woolverton
Tickets:  954-777-2055 / https://lpacfl.com/
Performances:  Thursday, Friday, & Saturday at 7:30 pm
Wednesday, Saturday & Sunday at 2 pm
Tickets:  $35 – $55
All performances at
The Lauderhill Performing Arts Center (LPAC)
3800 NW 11th Place
Lauderhill, FL 33311
https://lpacfl.com/
Like Us on Facebook!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

THE SECRET COMEDY OF WOMEN’S Barbara Gehring’s Film ‘The Social Dilemma’ Debuts to Rave Reviews at The Sundance Film Festival

06 Thursday Feb 2020

Posted by in Clients, Mizner Park Cultural Arts Center, Playhouse Productions

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

THE SECRET COMEDY OF WOMEN’S
Barbara Gehring’s Film
‘The Social Dilemma’
Debuts to Rave Reviews at
The Sundance Film Festival

The Secret Comedy of Women runs through February 23rd
at the Mizner Park Cultural Center.

“Forget Victoria’s Secret; it’s Linda Klein and Barbara Gehring who know the real secrets, at least to making ladies laugh!” ~  Ilana Rothman – Ilana in Theatre Land

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

February 6, 2020

BOCA RATON, FL:  Barbara Gehring one of the co-creators and stars of The Secret Comedy of Women just returned from “…a whirlwind of a weekend at the Sundance Film Festival.   Our movie’s premier got a standing ovation,” she reports, “And a great review in The Hollywood Reporter!!” ‘“The Social Dilemma’, the film she was at Sundance to promote (and which Variety called a ‘lively and entertaining documentary, whose accessibility is heightened by some narrative play acting’) examines the pervasive influence of social media on society.

Gehring, and her partner Linda Klein have been performing in The Secret Comedy of Women at the Mizner Park Cultural Center since January 15th; the show will run through February 23rd.  The Secret Comedy of Women was inspired by the earnest and absurd writings in Gehring and Klein’s girlhood diaries, which were written well before the term social media was even coined – when secrets were shared with a few best friends, rather than the entire world.  It celebrates the joys of the journey from girlhood to womanhood and explores the universal female experience through a rollicking spectacle of sweetly-sharp comedy, songs, dances, stories, improvisation, and spontaneous moments of discovery that all women share.

Barbara Gehring and Linda Klein both began writing and performing comedy at an early age.  While young Barbara directed elaborate puppet shows in her secret fort thousands of miles away in Winnipeg, Canada, little Linda was producing extravagant backyard circuses in a tiny Colorado mountain town.  Neither could have foreseen how well these skills would blend together decades later when they wrote The Secret Comedy of Women.  Had they known each other all those years ago, The Secret Comedy of Women is exactly the type of show they would have created together and now as adults, it is exactly the kind of show in which they’ve always wanted to perform. Gehring and Klein have successful careers in the entertainment industry beyond comedy, and have rich expertise in the areas of training, writing, creative thinking, logistics, administration, marketing, and public relations.

The Secret Comedy of Women will run through February 23 at the Mizner Park Cultural Center.  Tickets range from $45 to $65; group rates are also available.  Tickets can be purchased online at playhouseinfo.com/miznerpark or by phone at 844-672-2849. (For group sales call 888-264-1788).           

For more information about The Secret Comedy of Women please contact Carol Kassie at carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244 or visit www.SecretComedyOfWomen.com

The Secret Comedy of Women®
By Barbara Gehring & Linda Klein
January 15 – February 23, 2020
Tickets:  $45 – $65
For Tickets:  844-672-2849 / playhouseinfo.com/miznerpark / or
miznerparkculturalcenter.com/
Group Sales: 1-888-264-1788
Performances:
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:30 pm
Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2:30 pm
All performances will take place at
Mizner Park Cultural Arts Center
201 Plaza Real (2nd Floor)
Boca Raton, FL 33432
www.girlsonlycomedy.com/
Like Us on Facebook!

Reviews for ‘The Social Dilemma can be found online at:
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/social-dilemma-review-1273606
https://www.indiewire.com/2020/01/the-social-dilemma-review-sundance-1202207034/
https://variety.com/2020/film/reviews/the-social-dilemma-review-1203487761/

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Faye Sholiton’s THE INTERVIEW at Congregation B’nai Torah – February 26th

03 Monday Feb 2020

Posted by in Clients, Shari Upbin

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

Powerful Memories… Powerful Theatre…

The Interview
by Faye Sholiton

“We awakened a lot of memories,” the interviewer tells her subject.
“They were never asleep,” the survivor replies.

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

February 4, 2020

BOCA RATON, FL: The B’nai Torah Cultural Arts Series 2020 theatrical presentation, The Interview will be presented for one performance only on February 26th at 7:30 pm in the Eleanor and Paul Weiner Cultural Center at B’nai Torah Congregation.

Faye Sholiton’s deeply moving memory play about the legacy of human suffering, courage and humanity, mothers and daughters, and forgiving and being forgiven, The Interview is at once a powerful documentation of a horrific historical event and one artist’s deeply felt response to it. Written with clarity and feeling, it resonates on all levels.  The Interview will be directed by Shari Upbin.

Fifty years after her liberation from the Nazi death camps, Bracha Weissman still suffers the aftermath of her old trauma.  When she allows Ann Meshenberg, the child of other survivors, into her suburban Cleveland home to take testimony for an archival videotaping project, Bracha reviews the legacy she has left her own daughter. The Interview is a story about mothers, daughters and memory. It is about forgiving and being forgiven.

Shari Upbin

“I chose this play for B’nai Torah Cultural Arts Series especially for this commemorative 75th year of the liberation of Auschwitz,” Upbin explains. “This story must be told and seen by all audiences. In keeping with the theme of mothers and daughters and forgiveness – a theme running through most of the plays I have presented for the past four years – this one perhaps is the most poignant,” she continues. It is told with pathos, pain, and humor, which is our Jewish heritage. The theme of The Interview will resonate with all of us who must remember and honor our past, as we look to forward to the future of our next generation.”

Fern Katz will play Bracha Weissman, who has transformed herself into an emotional recluse – her identity defined by the loss of her family in the Nazi death camps she miraculously survived.

Peggy Linker will take on the role of Ann Meshenberg, who arrives one day to record Bracha’s testimony for a video archive.  Ann, the daughter of Holocaust survivors, has her own agenda: the need to ask a stranger what she could not ask her parents.

Nancy Turetsky will play Bracha’s estranged daughter Rifka, and Jason Pierre will take on the role of videographer Chris MacDonald.

Playwright Faye Sholiton developed her work in the Cleveland Play House Playwrights’ Unit from 1996-2011 and is a charter member of Dobama Theatre’s Playwrights’ Gym. Her full-length works have been read or produced in more than four dozen venues worldwide and have won more than 20 national honors. She is a four-time winner of Individual Excellence Awards from the Ohio Arts Council. Her work has been published by Applause, ArtAge, Meriwether, Smith & Kraus, Speert Publishing and the International Centre for Women Playwrights (ICWP). Prior to writing plays, she was an award-winning journalist for local, regional and national publications. She teaches writers of every description, including high school and college students, community groups and cruise ship guests. Professional affiliations include the Dramatists Guild, which she served as Regional Representative for Northern Ohio 2009-2016; the Alliance for Jewish Theatre; and ICWP. She is Founding Artistic Director of Interplay Jewish Theatre, a company that produces staged readings of Jewish themed works. Most recently, she has written a screenplay based on the life of Howard Mechanic, the last prisoner of the Vietnam War.

The Interview will be performed on February 26th at 7:30 pm. Tickets  are on sale now, and can be purchased on line at www.btcboca.org or by phone at 561-392-8566. Tickets $36 ($25 for B’nai Torah congregants).  B’nai Torah Congregation is located at 6261 SW 18th Street, in Boca Raton (33433).

~

The Interview
By Faye Sholiton
Directed by Shari Upbin
February 26, 2020 at 7:30 pm
Tickets: $36 ($25 for B’nai Torah Congregants)
For tickets:  561-392-8566 / www.btcboca.org
The performance will take place at
B’nai Torah Congregation
6261 SW 18th Street
Boca Raton, FL  33433

Tovah Feldshuh Returns to the Mizner Park Cultural Center in TOVAH IS LEONA March 28th & 29th

20 Monday Jan 2020

Posted by in Clients, Mizner Park Cultural Arts Center

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

Back by Popular Demand!

Tovah Feldshuh
Returns to the Mizner Park Cultural Center
in
Tovah is LEONA!
Saturday & Sunday,  March 28th & 29th

“Dead 12 years, and I can still nail a middle C!”
Tovah Feldshuh as Leona Helmsley

“This Is A Do-Not-Miss!! Tovah Embodies This New York Name With Every Fiber Of Her Being”
—Times Square Chronicles

 

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

January 20, 2020

BOCA RATON, FL:  Six-time Tony and Emmy nominee Tovah Feldshuh will return to the Mizner Park Cultural Center on March 28th and 29th for a limited engagement with her Broadway-bound musical Tovah is LEONA! The show, in which Feldshuh assumes the persona of real estate mogul and hotelier Leona Helmsley, played to sold-out houses in early January.

As Helmsley, the disgraced doyenne comments and sings about anything and everything – from her meteoric rise from office temp to trophy wife, from wheeler-dealer to hotel magnate, to her real estate rival Donald Trump.

Created by Feldshuh with Director Jeff Harnar and Musical Director James Bassi (and based on the New York Times best-seller by Ransdell Pierson) Leona Helmsley is given one hour up from Purgatory to “set the record straight!!” …..and sing a few show tunes. She fulfills her dream to star in her own cabaret show as she sings for her innocence in a long awaited RE-trial with the audience as her jury.

Tovah is LEONA! features original music by Ron Passaro, lyrics by David Lee, and a book by Alex Lippard and David Lee.  The show is directed by Jeff Harner, and Musical Director James Bassi provided the musical arrangements and additional lyrics.

Tovah Feldshuh

Tovah Feldshuh is a six-time Emmy & Tony nominee and has been awarded three honorary Doctorates of Humane Letters. Additionally, for her theatre work, she has won four Drama Desks, four Outer Critics Circle Awards, three Dramalogues, the Obie, the Theatre World, and the Helen Hayes and Lucille Lortel Awards for Best Actress.

On Broadway: Yentl, Cyrano, Rodgers & Hart, Dreyfus in Rehearsal, Sarava!, Lend Me a Tenor, Golda’s Balcony Irena’s Vow, and the show stopping trapeze-swinging Berthe in Pippin. Off-Broadway and around the country: Dozens of productions playing everything from three queens of Henry VIII and Tallulah Bankhead to Yussel “The Muscle” Jacobs, nine Jews from birth to death in Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh! and most recently Holocaust Denier Brenda Goodsen opposite Ed Asner in The Soap Myth. This summer she starred in the world premiere of Wade Dooley’s The Prompter directed by Scott Schwartz, where she played Irene Young, a legendary diva making her Broadway comeback after a 40-year absence. Immediately on the heels of The Prompter, she filmed Clifford for Paramount Pictures, went to the Sing-Sing in New Guinea, and flew from there to Los Angeles to star as Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the LA Premiere of Jonathan Shapiro’s Sisters-In-Law. She has just completed filming Edith Hagigi’s BLEECKER with Ben Stiller.

On TV: Deanna Monroe on “The Walking Dead”, Danielle Melnick on “Law & Order”, POTUS Pauline Mackenzie on “Salvation”, and Naomi Bunch, on “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” where Feldshuh can be seen singing the dignified showstopper: “Where’s the Bathroom!” Films include: Kissing Jessica Stein, (Golden Satellite Award), A Walk on the Moon, Brewster’s Millions, Just My Luck, Daniel, The Idolmaker, and most recently, Ms. Feldshuh’s award-winning performance as Prime Minister Golda Meir in Golda’s Balcony has been made into a film entitled Golda’s Balcony The Film which has won 20 out of 20 Audience Choice Awards. Her one-woman show “Tovah is LEONA!” enjoyed sold-out engagements at 54 Below in New York and at Feinstein’s at the Nikko in San Francisco.  Feldshuh is thrilled to bring the infamous Leona Helmsley direct from Purgatory to sunny Florida where Leona was once a resident in Palm Beach. Follow Tovah’s travels around the world on Instagram @tovahfeld. www.tovahfeldshuh.com/

Tickets for Tovah is LEONA! are on sale now and range in price from $39 – $59. Tickets can be purchased online at http://miznerparkculturalcenter.com or by phone at 844-672-2849.  Group rates are available.  The Mizner Park Cultural Center is located at 201 Plaza Real in Boca Raton (33432).

For more information about Tovah is LEONA! to arrange for tickets, or to speak with someone involved in the production, please contact Carol Kassie at Carol@CarolKassie.com / 561-445-9244.

“Tovah Is a Life Force!” Theater Pizazz

“Fast, funny and vastly entertaining.” Cabaret Scenes

~

Tovah is LEONA!
Saturday, March 28 at 3 pm & 8 pm
Sunday, March 29 at 2 pm & 7 pm
Created by: Tovah Feldshuh, James Bassi, & Jeff Harner
Directed by Jeff Harner
Musical Director:  James Bassi
Music by Ron Passaro
Lyrics by David Lee & Alex Lippard
Tickets: $39 – $59
Group rates:  $10 off for groups of 12 or more.
For tickets:  http://miznerparkculturalcenter.com/  844-672-2849
All performances take place at
The Mizner Park Cultural Center
201 Plaza Real, 2nd Floor
Boca Raton, FL 33432
Like us on Facebook!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

 

KINKY BOOTS Opens at LPAC on January 23rd

16 Thursday Jan 2020

Posted by in Clients, Lauderhill Performing Arts Center

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

Lauderhill Performing Arts Center (LPAC) in Collaboration with
Broadway Palm presents
Kinky Boots
January 23 – February 9, 2020

“Kinky Boots” is about finding your passion, overcoming prejudice and transcending stereotypes.”  Ben Brantley – The New York Times

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

January 17, 2020

LAUDERHILL, FL: Kinky Boots, The Lauderhill Performing Arts Center and Broadway Palm’s third production of their inaugural season, will open on January 23rd. The multiple award-winning musical will run through February 9th.

Inspired by a 1999 BBC documentary, the musical tells the story of Charlie Price who reluctantly inherits his family’s business, Price & Son, a shoe manufacturing company on the verge of bankruptcy.  A chance encounter with Lola, a drag queen in need of some ‘sturdy stilettos’, inspires Charlie to work with Lola and his factory staff to turn the business around, and in doing so they both find they have more in common than they would have ever imagined

“Kinky Boots is a story taken from true events, about a young man who must learn to adapt to keep his family’s shoe making company in business,” explains the show’s director Amy Marie Cleary. “At its heart the show is about accepting others and accepting yourself. Both lead characters go on a huge journey in learning to trust themselves and honor their pasts while looking toward the future. It’s a wonderful story about the family we are born into and the family we create.”

Kinky Boots was adapted for the stage and written by four-time Tony Award-winner (and American Theater Hall of Famer) Harvey Fierstein.  The music and lyrics were written by pop icon and Grammy and Emmy Award-winner Cyndi Lauper.  “How much of a stretch is it for me to write songs about fashion, funny relationships, people changing their minds and shoes?” Lauper said in an interview with the Chicago Tribune about the show. Her process was to conceive a song and sing it into her iPhone, and the show’s orchestrator Stephen Oremus would write it down!

Kinky Boots will feature Luke Yellin as Charlie Price, David LaMarr (appearing through courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association) as Lola, Jennifer Fain as Charlie’s girlfriend Nicola, Tim Beekman Davis as Don, and Payton Reilly as Lauren, one of Charlie’s key factory workers.  11-year-old Daniel Font-Wilets of Plantation, Florida will play Young Lola, and 11- year-old Brayden Labgold-Carroll of North Miami Beach will play Young Charlie.  Other cast members include Jeffrey Duncan, Michael Hegarty, Christopher Martin, Nathan Quay Thomas, Christopher Russell, Sam Arlen, Jermarcus Riggins, Stephen Vaught, Gideon Chickos, Andy Nuanhngam, Dwight Robinette, Lester Gibbs, Caleb Schaaf, Danielle Poznanovic, Allie Tamburello, Erica Sample, Laura Titus, and Megan Orlowski.

The show’s Choreographer is Chris Kane and the show’s Musical Director is Tracy Thomas.   Set Design is by Evan Adamson, Lighting Design is by Russell Thompson, and Sound Design is by Chris McCleary.

Kinky Boots will run from January 23rd – February 9th. Ticket prices range from $35 – $55 and are available online at https://lpacfl.com or by calling 954-777-2055.  Performances are on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:30 pm, and Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2 pm.

The Lauderhill Performing Arts Center (LPAC) has hosted numerous theatrical events and productions since it opened its doors in January 2016 and has grown its audiences to include theatre patrons from not only Broward County, but Miami/Dade and Palm Beach counties as well. The theatre is located at 3800 NW 11th Place (33311), in the Central Broward Regional Park on the Northeast corner of Sunrise Boulevard and State Road 7.  For more information about LPAC visit https://lpacfl.com.
~

Kinky Boots
January 23 – February 9
Music & Lyrics by Cyndi Lauper
Book by Harvey Fierstein
Based on the Miramax motion picture of the same name, written by Geoff Deane and Tim Firth Tickets:  954-777-2055 / https://lpacfl.com/
Performances:  Thursday, Friday, & Saturday at 7:30 pm
Wednesday, Saturday & Sunday at 2 pm
Tickets:  $35 – $55
All performances at
The Lauderhill Performing Arts Center (LPAC)
3800 NW 11th Place
Lauderhill, FL 33311
https://lpacfl.com/
Like Us on Facebook! 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The 2020 Edition of the Princeton Triangle Show – ONCE UPONZI TIME – at the Crest Theatre, January 28th

13 Monday Jan 2020

Posted by in Clients

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

The 2020 Edition of Princeton’s Famous Triangle Show
ONCE UPONZI TIME
A Musical Comedy About the American Scheme

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

January 13, 2020
DELRAY BEACH, FL: The Princeton Triangle Club, continuing its 129 year tradition of presenting an original student-written musical, will bring the newest Triangle Show Once Uponzi Time, to Palm Beach County’s Crest Theatre at Old School Square for one performance only. This musical comedy about the American Scheme, featuring a cast of 22 undergraduates, will be performed on Tuesday, January 28 at 7:30 p.m.
When plucky young capitalist Chloe O’Ponzi leaves her family’s hot dog stand to work for Goldfish Snachs, the biggest bank on Wall Street, she stumbles upon a less-than-legal family secret that just might finance her new ambitions. Featuring duplicitous derivative dealings, Wall Street wackiness, and an introduction to hedge fund phone etiquette, Once Uponzi Time is a hilarious evening at the theater for anyone operating under the paradigm of late-stage capitalism!

For 129 years, the Princeton Triangle Club has created an original musical comedy – written and performed by students, directed and choreographed by professionals – as one of Princeton’s most well-known and best-loved traditions. Triangle has the distinction of being the oldest co-ed touring collegiate musical-comedy troupe in the nation and takes the Triangle Show on a national tour each year. The Club boasts a rich history and long list of distinguished alumni including F. Scott Fitzgerald ‘17, Jimmy Stewart ’32, Brooke Shields ’87, and Ellie Kemper ’02. The club’s one hundred current members work on five sides of the club — cast, pit orchestra, tech, business and writers — and have diverse academic interests. Triangle is also proud to have had a number of alumni working on its professional team, including music director Peter Mills ‘95. This year’s show is directed by DeMone Seraphin and choreographed by Ashley Marinelli.         

Once Uponzi Time will run for one night only, on Tuesday, January 28th at 7:30 pm at the Crest Theatre in Old School Square.  Tickets are $30 ($20 for children, students and/or alumni ’15-’19).  Tickets are available online at  http://www.triangleshow.com.

~

Once Uponzi Time
Presented by the Princeton Triangle Club
Tuesday, January 28th at 7:30 pm
Tickets: $30 ($20 for children, students and/or alumni ’15-’19)
For tickets:  http://www.triangleshow.com / 267-251-0379
The Crest Theatre at Old School Square
51 North Swinton Avenue
Delray Beach, FL 33444
http://www.triangleshow.com
Like Us on Facebook!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

THE SECRET COMEDY OF WOMEN Opening January 15th at The Mizner Park Cultural Center

30 Monday Dec 2019

Posted by in Clients, Mizner Park Cultural Arts Center, Playhouse Productions

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

THE SECRET COMEDY OF WOMEN®

Opens January 15th for a Limited Engagement at
Mizner Park Cultural Center

“If there is a mystique that defines the feminine and a gap that obstructs understanding between the sexes, Gehring and Klein have probed it with intelligence and sensitivity and loads of good-natured laughs.”
~ Herbert Paine, BroadwayWorld.com

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

December 30, 2019

BOCA RATON, FL: – Ladies! Gather your girlfriends and your fun-loving men! The Secret Comedy of Women® will open the Mizner Park Cultural Center on January 15th and run through February 23rd.

The Secret Comedy of Women celebrates the joys of the journey from girlhood to womanhood. An immersive theatrical experience that rejoices in the challenges of being a woman – from boys to bras and pantyhose to menopause – this two-woman show explores the universal female experience through a rollicking spectacle of sweetly-sharp comedy, songs, dances, stories, and spontaneous moments of discovery that all women share.

Inspired by authors Barbara Gehring and Linda Klein’s earnest and amusingly absurd writings in their girlhood diaries, The Secret Comedy of Women is a mix of sketch, improvisation, audience participation, witty songs and clever videos. The show reminds audiences of the very funny and very charming similarities between all women. “It’s really like a girlhood reunion,” says Klein. “Our show is something highly universal, made personal. It’s for women of all ages – and for the men who love them,” adds Gehring.

The Secret Comedy of Women actively engages its audience with its high spirited, good-natured style of humor. With reviewers calling the show “…truly brilliant.” (Denver Post) and “Laugh out loud comedy!” (Broadway World) it is no wonder that this “two hour celebration of bras, purses, showers, breastfeeding and menopause” (Pittsburgh Tribune) ran continuously for nearly two years at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, and has played to over a quarter of a million women across North America.

Barbara Gehring and Linda Klein both began writing and performing comedy at an early age.  While young Barbara directed elaborate puppet shows in her secret fort thousands of miles away in Winnipeg, Canada, little Linda was producing extravagant backyard circuses in a tiny Colorado mountain town.  Neither could have foreseen how well these skills would blend together decades later when they wrote The Secret Comedy of Women.  Had they known each other all those years ago, The Secret Comedy of Women is exactly the type of show they would have created together and now as adults, it is exactly the kind of show in which they’ve always wanted to perform. Gehring and Klein have successful careers in the entertainment industry beyond comedy, and have rich expertise in the areas of training, writing, creative thinking, logistics, administration, marketing, and public relations. .

The Secret Comedy of Women will run from January 15 through February 23 at the Mizner Park Cultural Center.  Tickets range from $45 to $65; group rates are also available.  Tickets can be purchased online at http://playhouseinfo.com/miznerpark or http://miznerparkculturalcenter.com, or by phone at 844-672-2849. (For group sales call 888-264-1788).           

For more information about The Secret Comedy of Women please contact Carol Kassie at carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244 or visit www.SecretComedyOfWomen.com

In the attached photos:
Barbara Gehring & Linda Klein in The Secret Comedy of Women.
Photo credit:  Tony Shapiro

~

The Secret Comedy of Women – Girls Only
By Barbara Gehring & Linda Klein
January 15 – February 23, 2020
Tickets:  $45 – $65
For Tickets:  844-672-2849 / http://playhouseinfo.com/miznerpark or
http://miznerparkculturalcenter.com/ 
Group Sales: 1-888-264-1788
Performances:
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:30 pm
Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2:30 pm
All performances will take place at
Mizner Park Cultural Arts Center
201 Plaza Real (2nd Floor)
Boca Raton, FL 33432
MiznerParkCulturalCenter.com
www.girlsonlycomedy.com
Like Us on Facebook!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.