Golda's Balcony

Golda's Balcony follows the trajectory of the life of Golda Meir, from Russian immigrant to an American school teacher, to a leader of international politics as the first female Prime Minister of Israel, fourth overall.

Much of this tight-knit story of war and peace focuses on Golda in 1973, on the eve of the Yom Kippur War, when Israel was attacked by Egypt and Syria. According to the script by William Gibson, the bombs were loaded on planes that were awaiting Meir's order to take off and follow through on her threat to wipe out Egypt rather than yield the hard-won Jewish State to its enemies. Confident  Meir would retaliate,  President Richard Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger supplied Israel with the additional aircraft it needed to defend itself with conventional weapons.

The play uses flashbacks as Golda recounts the story of her life. She describes her role as a socialist Zionist, her emigration to Palestine in 1921, the birth of her two children and the break up of her marriage. These details form an intriguing backdrop for a dramatic look at idealism, power and the strength it takes to shape the destiny of a nation.

This fascinating one-woman show stars Kate Alexander, a powerhouse actress portraying Golda. It is directed by an internationally renowned director, Terence Lamude. Kate and Terence collaborated on this play in 2007 at Florida Studio Theatre in Sarasota Florida, it was extended for thirteen weeks.

Incredible projections on television monitors built in to the set and appropriate sound effects combined with the critically acclaimed acting and expert direction bring Golda's life to life before your very eyes.

"Radiant Alexander shines from Golda's Balcony"

- Pelican Press, Sarasota, Florida

"Kate Alexander delivers an impassioned performance from Golda's Balcony. She brings a fierce determination in telling the life story of the former Israeli prime Minister that matches the real woman's zeal in creating and defending the state of Israel as a homeland and haven for Jews."

- Sarasota Herald Tribune

The New York Times calls Golda's Balcony "Enlightening"  The New York Daily News says "Riveting" The New York Post says "Overwhelming" and Newsday raves "powerful"

Come see Golda's Balcony at West Hartford's award winning destination for professional theatre, Playhouse on Park. It's on stage now, through June 3rd. Adult tickets range from $22.50 to $32.50. Discounts for senior citizens, students and Let's Go Arts Members.  Call the Playhouse on Park box office at 860-523-5900 x10 to reserve your seat.

Comedy: Caged and Uncut

This Friday, come to Playhouse on Park to see improv comedians battle to the death inside a steel cage. This Saturday guffaw with ten uncircumcised comedians,  prattling on about life, love and size comparisons.

Pause, covers right ear with one hand and listens to inner voice.

Oh...sorry, my better judgement is telling me - that's not exactly what's actually happening this weekend.

Excuse me, I sit corrected. Please indulge me as I set the record straight.  There will indeed be two improv teams on Friday: Horse Lincoln vs. Sea Tea Improv, on stage, taking audience suggestions and turning them in to side-splitting laughter. Bodies will not hit the floor and apparently the cage is a metaphor. 

Saturday is the Second Annual Connecticut Comics Uncut. Ten comics, genital cleanliness unknown, will regale you with comedic anecdotes that may include the topics of life, love and other observations.  That's the long and short of it.

I would be remiss of course if I did not mention the mavens of mirth responsible for recruiting the talent that will have you gasping for breath this weekend: Claire Zick and Barbara Jurgelas.

Claire Zick, took her first improv class with the "Great Matt Smith at Freehold Theatre in Seattle." She was unemployed at the time and needed an activity to get her out of the house. 

Ms. Zick has an extensive background in improv, beginning with the aforementioned Matt Smith at Unexpected Productions in Seattle. Upon completing their education program,  she was a member of the ensemble there for years. "We did six shows a week back when I was a cast member. I was also the only female member of Sisters of Sal, the team that won the most in the Seattle cage match series." Says Ms. Zick of her experience. "I've performed with a variety of other groups, including  several of my own here in Connecticut and with Ryan Stiles." She adds.

With no real improv in the area, outside of a few groups and her desire to perform, she set out to build a community to support that. "Teaching was a way to help build that community. The more people who know about improv, study it and watch it, the better."  She ran the program under our previous incarnation, the Park Road Playhouse. "Tracy, Darlene and Sean were gracious enough to let me continue doing it when they took over the space."

Ms. Zick teaches improv classes at Playhouse on Park. Visit our website at www.playhouseonpark.org. Find the heading "Classes and Workshops" under the Home tab on the main page of our site. "Listening, focus, trust and an ability to let go of control" are the traits needed to excel at improv according to Ms. Zick. Be sure to come see our Cage Match comedy show this Friday, tickets are just $10.00. Also, if after you see the show you say "I could do that." - then do it. There's no reason why you can't.

Barbara Jurgelas set foot onstage as a stand up comic on an open mike night in 1985 at the now defunct Billy Jack's Cafe of Comedy in Glastonbury. She didn't always want to be a comedian. "I originally wanted to pursue acting. I was lucky enough to work for the Tonight Show from 1981 to 1985." Upon witnessing first-hand how many thousands of other people wanted to be in that business, was a turn off to her. "Also, based on the various plays I had already performed in, I really stink as an actress!"

What she lacks in acting, Ms. Jurgelas more than made up for when she was performing. I had the pleasure of seeing her act at the playhouse and at Jitters in Plainville, a coffee house with a monthly night of stand up comedy. She says that to be a good comedian, you should "Be true to who you are. Unlike acting where you portray someone else, comics should always be themselves, even if they exaggerate their own personality on stage."

Ironically stand up comedy takes us back to the previous proprietors, as did improv. "I had been wanting to bring comedy to the Park Road Playhouse for years, but they weren't interested. Since the Playhouse on Park took over, they contacted me to see if I was interested." Says Ms. Jurgelas of the origin of stand up comedy at the playhouse.

In selecting comedians, there's a method to the madness. "Whenever I put a show together, I always try to select comics based on an energy level." She says. "A comedy show show should 'build' in intensity. You would never hire a high-energy host to bring on a middle and/or headliner with a dead-pan personality." Adds Ms. Jurgelas. In other words, Robin Williams shouldn't open for Steven Wright, for that and other reasons.

Ms. Jurgelas retired from the performing end of the business in 2005. "Who knows, the urge could strike at anytime to get back up there." She says.

So there you have it, much more information than is required in order to attend a weekend of comedy, but you're a better person for knowing it. So this weekend, take off your drama pants and put on your comedy pants, those bell bottom pants tucked away in the dark recesses of your closet should do the trick.

Tickets are available at the door or by calling the Playhouse on Park box office at 860-523-5900 x10. Say hello to Claire and Barbara while your there, and keep an eye out for a sexy man in black strutting around the venue.

Audience Reacts to Showstoppers

Recently I contacted people who attended the opening night of "Showstoppers" at Playhouse on Park and here is what they said:

The best stop/time show yet. Don't miss it. A must for all dancers and wanna be dancers.

Jane Emerson  - Farmington

Showstoppers was a GREAT show...I loved the contrast in performances that lead up to an amazing finale. I was there with five of my girlfriends and we were on our feet at the end!

Kelley O'Shea - Vernon

At times I felt as if I were viewing snippets of a Broadway show. Having been a theater minor, I really got a kick out of the brief references to many Broadway shows.The costumes were so wonderfully bold and truly highlighted by the gorgeous, trim bodies of the dancers. I was impressed with the amount of acts there were this year. Truly a wonderful show that showcased all of the hard work and dedication of these talented dancers. Keep up the good work!

Audrey Saharek - Wethersfield

Great show. We really enjoyed it.

Denese Sullivan - Meriden

Very enthusiastic, my wife and I enjoyed it very much. It was very stimulating and artistic. We recommended  it to our daughter.

Richard Brigham - Windsor

Showstoppers was the perfect balance of dance, song, costume and theater. We were so impressed with the choreography and the blending of vocal numbers with dance. The vocalists and dancers were fabulous. In fact, we enjoyed ourselves so much that we are going to attend another performance this week.

Lynn and Lee Sherman - West Hartford

Fabulous. Very appropriate for older citizens. I thought they did an excellent job, and I didn't even fall asleep.

Bob Cave - West Hartford

I absolutely loved Showstoppers. It was much more than I had been expecting. The level of professionalism was fantastic, the stamina of the cast, absolutely incredible. I would recommend this show to anyone who needs a lift or anyone who wants to feel good, and it's affordable! Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Pam Leibow - South Windsor

I can honestly say I was smiling so much during Showstoppers that my lips were quivering. What great choreography, song selections, acting and dancing. This troupe is a jewel and more people should know about them.

Mary deManbey - Manchester

I attended the show with my nine year old granddaughter Sarah and in her words, the show was amazing! I smiled from from the opening number to the finale. The show was upbeat, the costumes were wonderful, and the dancing was non stop. Actually we are calling for more tickets to attend the show again. Kudos to Darlene and her dancers. We did not want the show to end. Thanks for a wonderful evening.

Marge Patefield - Enfield

We loved it. The staging, costumes and dances. The dancers were very talented and dynamic.

Elodie Plan - West Hartford

The performers were in great form and the fifteen costume changes added more pizazz  to their dancing. My foot never stopped tapping and I sang along mentally to all the great selections. Definitely an exhilarating and fun night fun night at Playhouse on Park. Having just moved here from Florida, I ran to the box office and purchased tickets to the next three shows.

Robert Italia - St. Petersberg

Thanks for your comments, keep them coming. Don't miss our next three shows: Golda's Balcony, Metamorphoses and Swinging on a Star. Maybe you'll be sitting next to Robert, you know he's going to be there.

Don't Stop This Show

That's what you'll be saying mere minutes into "Showstoppers" the latest production from Playhouse on Park's resident dance company, the stop/time Dance Theater, under the direction of Darlene Zoller.

Ms. Zoller conceived, directed and choreographed this rollicking great time.  She has filled this extravaganza with  popular tunes from some of Broadway's most recognizable shows, such as 42nd Street, Guys & Dolls, How To Succeed in Business, Chicago and You're A Good Man Charlie Brown and more.

Playhouse on Park veterans Hillary Ekwall and Rick Fountain reprise their roles from You're A Good Man Charlie Brown and Chicago respectively. Both appeared in Playhouse on Park's production of those shows last summer.

The entire company sings and dances with the unbridled passion they all have for their craft and having the opportunity to share it with others excites them. That excitement will thunder through the theater and pulsate through your veins, causing you to snap your fingers and tap your toes, perhaps even dance in your seat.

The uncontrollable urge to seat dance will be accentuated with an amazing light show, stellar sound, sexy costumes and sizzling hot dance routines, all to tunes you know and love and if you don't, you will after watching Showstoppers.

Come watch the entire company shake their derrieres and everything else God gave them. You are sure to be shaking your body on the way out, I know I did, but luckily no one saw, or they probably would have called an ambulance.

Showstoppers is at Playhouse on Park April 21 -29th. Call or visit the box office to reserve your seats today! Michael Barker, Lisa B. Caffyn, Lynsey Chartier, Becky Correale, Carolyn Cumming, Hillary Ekwall, Ali Forman, Rick Fountain, Constance Gobeille, Erica Misenti, Laurie Misenti, Spencer Pond, Sheri Righi, Melissa B. Shannon, Courtney Woods and Darlene Zoller can't wait to see you!

Why The Playhouse Hates Me

Apparently a once mutually adoring relationship between me and the management of Playhouse on Park has been replaced with a deep-seeded, burns when you pee animosity. This is news to me, because until just recently, I thought we had a Kumbaya, funny groin feeling you got climbing the rope in gym class relationship.

***Song break***
Kumbaya my Lord, kumbaya.
Kumbaya my Lord, kumbaya.
Kumbaya my Lord, kumbaya.
Oh Lord, kumbaya.

Someone's singing Lord, kumbaya.
Someone's singing Lord, kumbaya.
Someone's singing Lord, kumbaya.
Oh Lord, kumbaya.

Yadda, yadda, yadda, some one's laughing, crying, praying and sleeping, Oh Lord, kumbaya.
***End song break***

The news surrounding the demise of our storied relationship was first delivered by a cruel and unforgiving internet, specifically the calendar section of the Playhouse on Park website. (http://www.playhouseonpark.org/)

There you can access the complete calendar of upcoming events, as I did last Monday afternoon, while sitting alone in the box office. I stared at the calendar in shock. "How is this possible?" I wondered, as I simmered in disbelief. "How am I going to get all this information to the masses?" I said to myself as my simmering turned to a slow boil. It's obviously a mistake, there's no way all that information can fit on our marquee.

Striding confidently from the box office out to the marquee, secure in the knowledge that the plethora of events was an innocent mistake. Standing outside the theatre, looking up, I shook my head and laughed off the apparent over-booking.

Seconds later the animosity presented itself as Artistic Director Darlene Zoller delivered the decisive blow, as she walked up behind me, obviously aware of my conundrum, and said "Next time I'm going to schedule six events." she snarled, knowing full well that the marquee can only promote four events.

I was dumbfounded as Darlene gleefully swooped into the Playhouse, laughing at me all the way. Then suddenly I envisioned Artistic Director Sean Harris and Executive Director Tracy Flater, also laughing at me in a "You'll shoot your eye out, you'll shoot your eye out" manner, just like they did to poor Ralphie in A Christmas Story.

Fine, game on playhouse. I accept your challenge. You want to schedule multiple events, appealing to a wide range of customers, in an effort to promote the playhouse and increase sales, I'm in. Not only will I display the perfect marquee, but I'll incorporate all that information in to a concise blog post.

Entrain: World Rhythm Band. Saturday, February 3rd at 8:00pm

Fire & Ice: Mad Science Stage Spectacular Saturday, Feb. 4th 2:00pm

Comedy Night: Saturday, February 4th at 8:00pm

The Amanda Carr Quintet: Saturday, February 11th at 8:00pm.

Entrain brings their eclectic mix of infectious, upbeat world rhythms and melodic catchy songs back to Playhouse on Park, after a succesful performance in Blue Back Square last June.

Fire & Ice, a children's show that deals with fire and the properties of combustion and ice, using dry ice to demonstrate the different states of matter.

Comedy night features the return of Peaches Rodriguez, our headliner. She is a veteran stand-up comic for over 12 years working in New York City. Some of her touring credits include; The Rivera Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas and the Jack Daniels Latino Comedy Festival.

Amanda Carr performs songs from the Great American songbook. She is a multi-styled vocalist/pianist that began professionally in her teens in the rock and pop genre, but in recent years has focused on fresh interpretations of the Great American Songbook.

Take that Playhouse on Park, you got served.

Gift Cards for Playhouse on Park

Gift cards nowadays seem to be all the rage. No more endlessly perusing store aisles for presents that will merit a forced smile and a curt response from the gift recipient. No more doing battle with aggressive shoppers who see you as an obstacle between them and the latest must have item. The gift card phenomenon puts all that unpleasantness behind you.

Come see all the pleasant people at Playhouse on Park and purchase a gift card for the theater-lover in your life. When you do, the recipient of your thoughtful gift will have to have plastic surgery to get the smile off their face.

You may as well have plastic surgery too, because the amount of time you saved and the aggravation you avoided will have you grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

Our gift cards are available in any amount and can be used for any event here at Playhouse on Park. Visit our website, www.playhouseonpark.org or stop by the box office for a season brochure. Feel free to call the box office at 860-523-5900 x 10 with any questions you have.

Open Mic Nights

Release your inner rock star. Be the Broadway star you always dreamed of and join us at Playhouse on Park for our wildly entertaining open mic nights on Saturday December 10th and 17th following the performances of "Company".

The open mic nights will be lead by Music Director Colin Britt. Bring him your own music, or choose from ours. Sing alone or with a group or just enjoy some live entertainment in a relaxed, night club-like environment. Light refreshments will be served. The event is BYOB.

The open mic nights are free and you do not need to have attended the performance. The festivites will begin about 10 or 15 minutes after the 8:00pm performances. At that time, audience members and newcomers will be allowed re-entry in to the theater.

So leave the hurried preparations of the holiday season behind for awhile and have a blast! Don't worry, we didn't invite Simon Cowell.