VINCENT PASTORE'S NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM
****
New Artists Theater Company
and the
Hoboken Historical Museum
****
New Artists Theater Company
and the
Hoboken Historical Museum
****
Vincent PastoreSopranos stars Vincent Pastore, who played Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero, and Maureen Van Zandt, who played Gabriella Dante on the HBO series, are appearing in New Artists Theater Company’s reading of Hoboken playwright Louis LaRusso’s 1980 off-Broadway play, Marlon Brando Sat Right Here. The cast includes several actors who have appeared on the Sopranos, Nicholas Giangiulio, Joe Lisi, Garry Pastore, Tony Rossi, Anthony Ribustello and Janet Sarno. Other actors are Gerard Canonico from the Broadway hit, Spring Awakening, as well as Sedley Bloomfield, Ernie Mingione and George Palermo (a Hoboken native, who starred in the ABC soap opera, “Loving”).
The reading, which will take place two nights only, Friday, June 5, and Saturday, June 6, at 7:30 p.m., near the Hoboken Historical Museum in the vacant retail space behind Starbucks, at 12th St. and Shipyard Lane, is a benefit for both the New Artists Theater Company and the Hoboken Historical Museum. Tickets are $25. Reservations are strongly recommended; please call 201-656-2240, ext. 6, to pay by credit card, or stop by the Museum at 1301 Hudson St. to reserve your seat.
According to director Frank Licato, Artistic Director of New Artists Theater Company, the play is set in a grittier Hoboken in 1955, a year after the excitement of hosting silver screen icon Marlon Brando and the multiple Oscar-winning cast of “On the Waterfront.” The regulars who frequent Gracie’s restaurant, the very longshoremen depicted in the movie, try to recall the glamour days when their hometown was a movie set. The plot centers on Beep-ity Beep, a failed singer who wants to reclaim Gracie’s affections. Their relationship is complicated by a double murder and a secret Gracie’s kept for 18 years.
The story is a prequel to Lamppost Reunion, LaRusso’s taut, realistic play about a famous singer with a score to settle in his hometown, which Licato directed two years ago at the Museum, with Pastore and other Sopranos actors. This led to a full production in New York at the off-Broadway Arclight Theater last fall, which played to sold-out houses.
The subject complements the Museum’s current exhibit, “Up and Down the River: A History of the Hudson, 1609 – 2009,” which celebrates the quadricentennial of Henry Hudson’s first voyage up the river that bears his name, and the bicentennial of Robert Fulton’s launch of the first steam-powered ferry. It also describes the rivalry between Fulton and Hoboken founder Col. John Stevens, who not only invented his own steam-powered ferry, but was part of the New York Yacht Club that sent the yacht America to capture an acclaimed British sailing prize and launched the America’s Cup competition. A lecture series hosted by the Museum covers these and other river-related topics.
About the New Artists Theater Company
New Artists is committed to an ensemble collaboration as well as artistic risk through its work with its permanent ensemble, guest artists, partner institutions and the community. It will be dedicated to a “rugged” realism through which its members will tell stories that reflect our lives, relationships and our world today. New Artists will be producing at least two plays per year and will be working with friends and colleagues to construct a dynamic place to create. In addition to Lamppost Reunion, Frank Licato also recently directed Arthur Miller’s A View From the Bridge at the Italian American Rep, Harold Pinter’s Ashes to Ashes, and Brian Friel’s Afterplay at the Garage Theater in Teaneck.
About the Hoboken Historical Museum
Founded 1986, the Museum’s mission is to educate the public about Hoboken’s history, diverse culture, architecture and historic landmarks. In 2001, the Museum moved into one of the oldest buildings on the waterfront, in the former Bethlehem Steel shipyard, at 1301 Hudson St., Hoboken, where it maintains a series of rotating exhibits. The Museum is open six days a week, 2 – 7 pm on Tues. – Thurs., 1 – 5 pm on Fridays, and noon – 5 pm on weekends. It offers special exhibits, tours, events and lectures, as well as educational programs for adults and children on a weekly basis. An updated schedule of events and an online catalog of many items in its collections are available at www.hobokenmuseum.org.
Photo By: RD/Leon/Retna
The reading, which will take place two nights only, Friday, June 5, and Saturday, June 6, at 7:30 p.m., near the Hoboken Historical Museum in the vacant retail space behind Starbucks, at 12th St. and Shipyard Lane, is a benefit for both the New Artists Theater Company and the Hoboken Historical Museum. Tickets are $25. Reservations are strongly recommended; please call 201-656-2240, ext. 6, to pay by credit card, or stop by the Museum at 1301 Hudson St. to reserve your seat.
According to director Frank Licato, Artistic Director of New Artists Theater Company, the play is set in a grittier Hoboken in 1955, a year after the excitement of hosting silver screen icon Marlon Brando and the multiple Oscar-winning cast of “On the Waterfront.” The regulars who frequent Gracie’s restaurant, the very longshoremen depicted in the movie, try to recall the glamour days when their hometown was a movie set. The plot centers on Beep-ity Beep, a failed singer who wants to reclaim Gracie’s affections. Their relationship is complicated by a double murder and a secret Gracie’s kept for 18 years.
The story is a prequel to Lamppost Reunion, LaRusso’s taut, realistic play about a famous singer with a score to settle in his hometown, which Licato directed two years ago at the Museum, with Pastore and other Sopranos actors. This led to a full production in New York at the off-Broadway Arclight Theater last fall, which played to sold-out houses.
The subject complements the Museum’s current exhibit, “Up and Down the River: A History of the Hudson, 1609 – 2009,” which celebrates the quadricentennial of Henry Hudson’s first voyage up the river that bears his name, and the bicentennial of Robert Fulton’s launch of the first steam-powered ferry. It also describes the rivalry between Fulton and Hoboken founder Col. John Stevens, who not only invented his own steam-powered ferry, but was part of the New York Yacht Club that sent the yacht America to capture an acclaimed British sailing prize and launched the America’s Cup competition. A lecture series hosted by the Museum covers these and other river-related topics.
About the New Artists Theater Company
New Artists is committed to an ensemble collaboration as well as artistic risk through its work with its permanent ensemble, guest artists, partner institutions and the community. It will be dedicated to a “rugged” realism through which its members will tell stories that reflect our lives, relationships and our world today. New Artists will be producing at least two plays per year and will be working with friends and colleagues to construct a dynamic place to create. In addition to Lamppost Reunion, Frank Licato also recently directed Arthur Miller’s A View From the Bridge at the Italian American Rep, Harold Pinter’s Ashes to Ashes, and Brian Friel’s Afterplay at the Garage Theater in Teaneck.
About the Hoboken Historical Museum
Founded 1986, the Museum’s mission is to educate the public about Hoboken’s history, diverse culture, architecture and historic landmarks. In 2001, the Museum moved into one of the oldest buildings on the waterfront, in the former Bethlehem Steel shipyard, at 1301 Hudson St., Hoboken, where it maintains a series of rotating exhibits. The Museum is open six days a week, 2 – 7 pm on Tues. – Thurs., 1 – 5 pm on Fridays, and noon – 5 pm on weekends. It offers special exhibits, tours, events and lectures, as well as educational programs for adults and children on a weekly basis. An updated schedule of events and an online catalog of many items in its collections are available at www.hobokenmuseum.org.
Photo By: RD/Leon/Retna
Comments