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Teaneck New Theatre (TNT), in association with The Hackensack Cultural Arts Center (HCAC), will present "Man of La Mancha" as the opening production of its 21st season. The 1965 hit Broadway musical has a book by Dale Wasserman, lyrics by Joe Darion and music by Mitch Leigh. "Man of La Mancha" is directed by Hackensack resident Greg Liosi, with musical direction by Steve Banyra of Passaic. This audience favorite takes the stage at HCAC, 39 Broadway, Hackensack, on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. March 9-25, 2007.
Director Liosi has a personal reason for deciding to stage this musical. "When I was four years old my dad purchased a hi-fi system with ‘lifelike stereo sound’ and bought the soundtrack to "Man of La Mancha". The system came with headphones, so I listened to the soundtrack over and over, singing the score and mimicking the instruments," explains Liosi. "Now," he says, "I will be directing my father in the very show he introduced me to almost 30 years ago." (Liosi, who’s a theater director and arts director of The Hackensack Cultural Arts Center, is directing his dad, George Liosi of Hackensack, in the role of governor/innkeeper.)
Heading the cast are Maywood’s Neil Kahn as Cervantes/Don Quixote, Union City resident Carlos R. Fernandez as manservant to Cervantes/Sancho Panza, and Lisa Garrabrant of Little Falls as the wench Aldonza/Lady Dulcinea.
Featured players include Oriana Barros (Fort Lee) as Antonia, Quixote’s niece; Gus Ferrari (Montclair) as the Duke, Antonia’s fiance; and Frank McDonnell (River Edge) as the padre. Additional cast members are Marilyn Kaplan (Teaneck), Fran Cassell (Carlstadt), Barbara Pernetti (Saddle Brook) and Harry Bates (New Milford).
Tickets for "Man of La Mancha" are $18; $16 for students, seniors and theatre parties of 10 or more. For reservations and information, call TNT at (201) 692-0200.
Lend Me A Tenor (July 13-22), the long-running Broadway farce by Ken Ludwig, earned a Tony nomination in 1989 for Best Play and the Best Actor Tony Award for Philip Bosco.
The scene: Cleveland, 1934. World renowned tenor Tito Morelli, known as Il Stupendo, is to sing his greatest role (Otello) with the local opera company. It’s the chance of a lifetime for the company manager. But since this is a farce, not much goes right. Tito arrives late, passes out and is presumed dead. So - the manager’s assistant (an aspiring tenor) dons Tito’s costume and makeup and sings his role. Doors slam, women chase the revived Tito and the bogus Tito, and nobody knows who’s who. A lot more goes wrong, too. It’s all frenzied, frantic and - hilarious.
CAST
(in order of appearance)
MAX - John Dunphy
MAGGIE - Bonnie Rosenbaum
SAUNDERS - Neil Kahn
TITO - Gus Ferrari
MARIA - Mary-Ann L. Barranger
BELLHOP - Hunter Lerma
DIANA - Diane Moran
JULIA - Beatriz Esteban-Messina
The premise: Three successive couples staying in the same suite at New York’s Plaza Hotel face precarious (and hilarious) predicaments. Couple number one, Karen and Sam Nash, are in the suite they occupied during their honeymoon. Twenty-odd anniversaries later they’ve drifted apart. Is Sam having an affair? Do they even want to save their marriage? Couple number two, Jesse Kiplinger and Muriel Tate, face a very different state of affairs. Jesse, a much-married movie producer at loose ends, decides that having a fling with his childhood sweetheart (now a suburban housewife) is just the ticket. Will this Hollywood rogue have his way? Is Muriel still attracted to him? Couple number three, Norma and Roy Hubley, confront a more complicated conundrum. Their daughter, about to be married in the hotel, has locked herself in the bathroom and won’t be wed. Can frantic Norma and volatile Roy change her mind? Can anyone? For the "Plaza Suite" characters, these daunting difficulties provoke panic. For "Plaza Suite" audiences, these diverting dilemmas provide non-stop laughter.
The cast: Karen Nash is played by Marilyn Schilkie of Teaneck. Karen’s possibly philandering husband Sam is Ed Gross, also from Teaneck. Movie producer Jesse Kiplinger is portrayed by Christopher Sienkiewicz, a Rutherford resident. His childhood sweetheart Muriel Tate is Jill Haas of Midland Park. Mother-of-the-bride Norma Hubley is played by New Milford resident Barbara Liebgott. Norma’s explosive husband Roy is Maywood’s Neil Kahn. Also in the cast are Leigh Adel-Arnold (Teaneck) as Jean McCormack, Sam Nash’s secretary; Cedric Brown (Garfield) as the bellhop; and Oriana Barros (Ft. Lee) as Mimsey, the reluctant bride.
Tickets for "Plaza Suite" are $15, $12 for students and seniors, and $10 for theatre parties of 10 or more. For reservations and information, call TNT at (201) 692-0200.
The premise: In the midst of holiday preparation, Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve has an argument with his teenage niece Marjorie, who decides to leave home. Can everything be resolved in time for the family’s Christmas celebration? We wouldn’t bet against it!
The cast features George Morgan of West Paterson as Gildersleeve, and includes Karol Johnson (New Milford) as Marjorie, Oriana Barros (Ft. Lee) as Leroy, Carol Campione (Teaneck) as Birdie, Ed Gross (Teaneck) as Judge Hooker, Rick Pascal (Fairlawn) as Floyd, Diana Gross (Teaneck) as Leila, Doreen Danue (Edgewater) as Eve, and Nick Latrenta (Montvale) as Peavey. The announcer is played by Jason Lewis of Ridgewood.