Guys and Dolls on Stage at Scarsdale High School this Weekend
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Despite Hurricane Sandy which stopped much of Scarsdale in its tracks for a week, the Scarsdale High School Drama Club weathered the weather and is proud to present this year’s musical Guys and Dolls November 16, 17, and 18 at Scarsdale High School. "Guys and Dolls," A Musical Fable of Broadway, is based on Damon Runyon’s fabulous stories of Broadway and is set in his mythical New York City. This musical romantic comedy is considered to be one of the greatest musicals of all time. Frank Loesser’s toe-tapping score, including fan-favorites such as “Luck Be a Lady,” “Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat,” and “A Bushel and A Peck” is the perfect music to complement Runyon’s colorful characters.
The show has something for everyone including fun dance numbers, big laughs, and romantic love ballads. The main characters are Sarah Brown (played by Sophie Laruelle); a mission sergeant bent on fixing all the troubled sinners of Broadway; Sky Masterson (Nick Cioffi); a smooth, high-betting gambler; Miss Adelaide (Ali Whitney); star of the Hot-Box night club; and Nathan Detroit (Gavin Elwes); head of the oldest-established crap game in New York.
Nathan Detroit starts the story in a fix; he has no place to hold the crap game and he is out the $1,000 to furnish the spot. His 
sidekicks Nicely Nicely Johnson and Benny Southstreet convince him he should bet Sky Masterson that he can take Sergeant Sarah Brown to Havana. Meanwhile, Miss Adelaide of the Hot-Box night club is engaged to Nathan Detroit and after 14 years is more than ready to tie the knot. The four characters, along with the large cast of crapshooters, Hot Box dancers, mission girls, and Havana dancers, perform a fun and exciting, classical Broadway musical that shouldn’t be missed!
The talented cast includes: Sayeef Alam, Josh Ben-Ami, Celia Berman, Doug Berman, Molly Bookner, Ava Bradlow, Nicole Brenner, Rebecca Buchwald, Nick Cioffi, Vicky DiSalvo, Caroline Donat, Chris D'Silva, Gavin Elwes, Sunny Feinstein, Gabi Gaujean, Steven Gluck, Luis Grisanti, Caroline Huh, Rebecca Jacobs, Sophie Laruelle, Adam Lerner, Bryant Lo, Ilana Newman, Briana Orrico, Marco Pompa, Rebecca Primoff, Sydney Prince, Megan Reynolds, Sydney Robinson, Biana Rogoff, Nicole Root, India Stachyra, Jake Staffin, Ali Whitney, Alexa Winowsky and Julia Zecchini.
"Guys and Dolls" will be performed on Friday, November 16th at 7:00 PM, Saturday, November 17th at 7:00 PM, and on Sunday, November 18th at 2:00 PM. Tickets are available online at http://shsguysanddolls.eventbrite.com.
Halloween - One Week Late
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Scarsdale High School seniors didn’t let Hurricane Sandy ruin their Halloween. The seniors were originally scheduled to follow a longstanding tradition and wear costumes to school on Halloween morning, Wednesday October 31. But when the Village was knocked out by the storm, school was cancelled. Kids rescheduled their day of masquerade for the following Tuesday, November 6, and fortunately missed the Nor ‘Easter that rolled in the following day.
Here is the class of 2013 dressed up as Santas, Black Swans, Pizza Chefs, Gangstas, the Sesame Street gang, and more. Their happy faces and colorful garb are a welcome respite from power outages, snarled branches and chaos.
Holiday Boutique at WRT
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The Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ) at Westchester Reform Temple are sponsoring their Annual Holiday Boutique. The event on November 29, 2012 from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm features over 35 specialty vendors displaying a range of enticing, one-of-a-kind items at varied price-points, and a “CASH FOR GOLD” table. High fashion women’s clothing, designer handbags from around the world, contemporary apparel and selection of choice jewelry hand-crafted here in New York and as far away as Israel are especially attractive. There are gifts for everyone from warm to wear to delicious to eat: olive oils to taste and choose; catered, gift wrapped desserts; personalized children’s party favors and gifts; beautiful children’s clothing crafted from new, vintage and recycled fabrics; artistically designed scarves and sarongs from Asia; unusual hand knitted scarves; luxurious accessories; art bags; note paper…so many choices. Handcrafted Judaica items are especially discounted.
Emphasizing the theme that “shopping can be charitable,” the line-up of goods from local merchants to Israeli-made items gives shoppers the opportunity to fulfill personal meaningful goals as well as support vendors whose proceeds benefit children’s charities worldwide. Sales of handmade South African items help fund a pediatric HIV/AIDS clinic in Durban. Profits from the boutique benefit WRJ designated charities in Westchester and Israel.
There is no admission fee to this event, which is open to the public. Parking is also free. Checks and credit cards are accepted. Westchester Reform Temple is located at 255 Mamaroneck Road, Scarsdale, NY. For more information, please call 914-723-7727 or visit www.wrtemple.org.
Judaica Craft Show in White Plains November 10-11
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A dazzling array of Judaic crafts and jewelry will be shown and sold at the annual Bet Am Shalom Synagogue Judaica Craft Show, now in its 19th year. The show begins on Saturday, November 10, at 8:00 pm and continues on Sunday, November 11, from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm. Admission is $8.00 per person (Sunday re-entry free if paid Saturday night), or $7 with the invitation card or an online voucher.
The show features hundreds of unique works in all price ranges, created by 50 artists – nearly half from Israel, the rest from the U.S. and Canada; they include many well-loved favorites along with a dozen entirely new to the show. Featured are one-of-a-kind items representing the finest in handcrafted Judaica ritual items and stunning contemporary jewelry in original designs. Visitors will also discover beautiful objects in ceramic, silver, fabric, wood, paper and other media, created for ritual, decorative and practical use in the home and synagogue.
The artists, who will be present to talk with visitors about their work, were selected by Judaica art specialists from a large pool of applicants. Also on view will be the Judaic crafts of ILAN, the Israel Foundation for the Handicapped. Local artists exhibiting include Rachel Heisler of Scarsdale and Beth Haber of Poughkeepsie.
Ann Schaffer, show chairperson, said, "Jewish tradition encourages us to create, beautify and celebrate all aspects of Jewish ritual and practice. It is a joy to see how the show’s artists creatively imbue even functional objects with meaning, in work that is always fresh and original.”
She added, "Many Judaica collectors visit the show year after year to keep current with new developments in the field, because this is the only juried show of its kind and caliber in the Northeast."
Funds from the show support the artists and Bet Am Shalom Synagogue and its vibrant role in the Westchester Jewish and wider community. Approximately 200 volunteers help with the logistics of this annual event.
Bet Am Shalom Synagogue is located at 295 Soundview Avenue (near Route 125/Old Mamaroneck Road) in White Plains. For additional information and directions please call 914-946-8851 Monday through Friday or visit www.betamshalom.org .
Samples of the artists’ work and a discount voucher may be found at www.betamshalom.org/judaica_craft_show .
At the Movies: Get Smashed and Go Psycho
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It’s opening day today. And, you know I’m not talking baseball. I’m talking about that other American past-time…the movies. I had the privilege of screening several new releases at the Hamptons International Film Festival, also known as HIFF. The weekend was an absolute blast, and I can’t wait for next year. I know. I’m getting ahead of myself. So, let’s get down to business.
My husband Mark and I embarked on our weekend adventure, with fellow cinephiles and close friends, Dayna and Steve, ready to devour one film after the other. While the boys played a punishing 36 holes of golf on Friday, Dayna and I set out to see our first flick, Between Us. We sat down full of artful anticipation, and hopeful the air conditioning would kick-in at any moment. That theatre was a sauna. The Director, Dan Mirvish, outfitted in his straw-fedora, bounded to the front of the theatre and introduced the film. He was so excited. I was so excited for him. The cast stars Julia Stiles, Melissa George, Taye Diggs and David Harbour. Put it all together, and I thought we had a winner.
Not the case. Oy. I hate to do this. But, I have to. The movie was painful. Painful to sit through, painful to watch, and just plain painful. At one point, I leaned over to the woman at my left and asked, “Do you like this?”
She sighed, and said, “No.”
I whispered back, “If I wanted to spend more money to examine all the ways marriage sucks, I would have spent an extra day in therapy this week.”
The movie explores the state of two marriages at varying stages in their “marriage-cycle.” When one couple is happy the other one is miserably volatile, and when that couple seems to work things out, the once happy couple is teetering on destruction. It is a “talky” film that promised a darkly comedic portrayal of marriage. Well, there was no comedy in any of those relationships. I can definitely tell you that much.
When the lights finally came back on, Dayna and I high-tailed it out of there. No Q&A for us. So, what are two girls to do with time on their hands? You got it. Shop.
The best part of Between Us…shopping at Nili Lotan. So, we went right next door to Nili Lotan and took a look around. Dayna bought a shirt and I made friends with the manager of both the Tribeca and East Hampton stores, Melanie Dardik. I found out she’s a Venezuelan Jew, she loves New York, and her Uncle was one of the Knesset members to hand down Eichmann’s death sentence in 1961. What can I say? People tell me stuff.
Later that evening, we hit the screening of Martin McDonagh’s Seven Psychopaths. This film is great. The acting is amazing,
which shouldn’t be surprising considering the all-star cast. We’re talking Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken, Tom Waits and Woody Harrelson. As the title implies, a fair amount of psychotic behavior is displayed throughout the film in plenty of bloody gory detail. Yet, it’s a feel-good film. And, I walked away with a big smile.
Colin Farrell plays Martin, the screenwriter with writer’s block who ends up crashing at his friend’s place after his girlfriend kicks him out. His friend, Billy, is played brilliantly by Sam Rockwell. Billy is a sometime actor, co-operating a dog-kidnapping business with his partner Hans, fantastically played by Christopher Walken. Only, this time, they stole the wrong canine, because now they have a local crime boss on their heels. Oh, and in the middle of all this, Billy is trying to help Martin write his screenplay, Seven Psychopaths, by putting out a newspaper ad calling all psychopaths to contact Martin with their story. Fabulous.
Seven Psychopaths takes an almost parody-like approach to the “killing-spree” film and the screenwriting process itself. All in all, a bloody fun romp.
Saturday was our movie-marathon day. I wasn’t sure if Mark, Dayna and Steve could keep up with me, but I couldn’t wait to see them try.
Our first film of the day was a special screening of the Terrence Malick classic, Days of Heaven (1978), starring Richard Gere, the recipient of the 2012 Golden Starfish Award for Lifetime Achievement in Acting. This movie is majestic and poignant and soulfully beautiful, with powerful Biblical overtones. Days of Heaven received an Academy Award for cinematography, and is currently preserved in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. This is a powerful film of love and loss that everyone should see at least once.
We immediately headed down the street to our next movie, SMASHED. It was just Mark and I, and we were both beyond excited for this film. (Dayna and Steve left us for lunch, but we powered on.) I thought it looked awesome, and Mark, being a huge Breaking Bad fan, was psyched to see Aaron Paul’s (he plays Charlie) performance. And, he did not disappoint. He’s unbelievable in this film.
Before I go any further, I’m going to simply say…See this movie! It’s fan-freakin-tastic. If I were to pick the indie Oscar film of the year, it’s Smashed. This movie is so incredible and left such an indelible mark on my heart and mind that I’m still absorbing it a week later. This movie was made for around $500K in roughly 19 days, and it couldn’t be any better.
The Director, James Ponsoldt, gives us an honest look into a marriage, where both people are functioning alcoholics and completely co-dependent. His approach to addiction is so true-to-life and comedic that you can’t help but relate to the characters and their struggles. It’s what he has to say about who we choose to surround ourselves with that affected me the most. Just because you love someone doesn’t mean they’re good for you, or healthy for you to be around. And, sometimes, relationships have to die so you can live.
But, it’s Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s performance, as Kate, that held me captive. After throwing up in front of her first grade students, she’s persuaded to attend an AA meeting by one of her work colleagues, Dave (Nick Offerman from TV’s Park’s and Recreations). Winstead’s gritty portrayal of a functioning alcoholic is mesmerizing. If she doesn’t get nominated for an Oscar then there is just something wrong with the Academy.
We’re totally with Kate on her journey to sobriety, bumps and all. She forges a relationship with fellow AA member, Jenny (Oscar winner Octavia Spencer from The Help), who eventually becomes her sponsor. Octavia Spencer provides another level of perfection to an already seamlessly perfect movie.
Along with her strengthening sobriety, Kate’s friendship with Jenny is another thorn in her already tenuous marriage to Charlie, played by Aaron Paul.
When the movie was over, the audience applauded. I haven’t been to a film where the audience applauded at the end, in well, I don’t know how long.
Mark and I stayed for the Q&A session with James Ponsoldt and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. They were so nice and friendly and amazing. Of course, I gushed over the film and Mary’s performance, which I informed her deserved an Oscar nod, at the very least. (I hope she doesn’t mind that I’m calling her Mary.)
Smashed is honest, humorous, and all heart. See Smashed, and drink responsibly.
Our last film of the festival, was Oscar winner (Hotel Rwanda) Terry George’s Whole Lotta Sole, starring Brendan Frasier. Unfortunately, after Smashed, we all went to The Blue Parrot, and, well, got smashed. They have these jalapeno infused margaritas that I just couldn’t resist.
I made it through the first 20 minutes of the film and passed out. The movie started after 9pm and I was tired. What can I say? It looked cute. And, Terry George and Brendan Frasier seemed really nice. Oh well. Next year, I’ll plan it all out better, like getting my drink on after all the movies on my list and not before.
Anyway. I think you’re armed with the necessary information to go forth and purchase the right tickets. So, this weekend, while others are going ga-ga over Argo, you know where you’ll be, right? Getting Smashed and seeing Seven Psychopaths. Happy movie-going!
Contributor Sharon Lippmann, writes about her "so called suburban life" as a proud resident of Scarsdale, NY. She is a writer, blogger, mom, wife, daughter, sister, friend and one sassy chick. She loves exploring the interesting, strange, perplexing, vexing, ridiculous and funny that life offers up frequently. Enjoying more of what she has to say about nothing, and, well, everything at mydailypill.com.
