WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER SETS RECORD VISITS FOR YEAR 7,017,658 VISITS! 2,098,003 VISITORS MADE 6 VISITS A DAY EVERY DAY. 63,330 UNIQUE VISITORS MADE 133,730 VISITS IN DECEMBER. WPCNR AVERAGED 17,284 VISITORS A WEEK, VISITING 31,270 TIMES.

Hits: 0

WPCNR STAGE DOOR. Theatrical review by John F Bailey. April 2, 2011:

 

This is easy.

 

Singin in the Rain is a Rave.

 

Drop what you’re doing, Mr. and Mrs.Westchester and Mr. and Mrs. Manhattan, too.

 

Pick up that I-Phone, or have your girl dial Westchester Broadway Theatre or jump their website www.broadwaytheatre.com  for ducats to experience WBT’S “smashville and beyond” revival of Singin’ in the Rain, before every family, every community group, every young couple and all of those Manhattanites hear of this show.

 

It’s the most entertaining, lavish, technically brilliant,show this reviewer has ever experienced at the WBT. Yeah, yeah, I say that every new show, but Mr. and Mrs. Westchester, it’s true! They set a new standard every show. Bill Stutler and Bob Funking, the owners have a honey here.

 

Singin’ has everything you want.

 

 

It’s got a long-stemmed star you want to duet with, Shannon O’Bryan (above)as Kathy Seldon, with Co-heart throb, Jeremy Benton (here singing You Were Meant for Me, as star-struck innocent in Tinseltown to be in the movies. All Photos courtesy Westchester Broadway Theatre by John Vecchiolla

 

 

It’s got a dashing leading man Jeremy Benton as Don Lockwood, dancing and singin’ in real rain, above.Benton is  the Douglas Fairbanksie star who falls for the lovely.

 

 

 

It’s got Allie Schauer,(white dress) a comedienne colorata as glamorous, voice-that-could-break-glass silent actress Lina Lamont whose transition to talkees (sound pictures) gives the ingénue Kathy Seldon her chance in a voice over laugh-riot. It’s even got movies in the show. 

 

It’s got a supporting cast of A-list professionals quipping their funny lines seamlessly with characterizations you believe.

 

It’s colorful, dazzling every scene.

 

Its songs melt hearts:

 

 

Mr. Benton’s You Stepped Out of Dream (which you never hear any more and no one does but should),  strums and loosens tight heart strings. Men will recognize exactly what he means when they hear him sing You Stepped Out of a Dream.  Mr. Benton sings the feelings dreams are dreamed of.

 

Ms.O’Bryan’s You Are My Lucky Star shimmers with warmth and sincerity awakening the thrill of romance in every woman of what a gorgeous hunk does for you. O’Bryan and Benton’s duet on You Were Meant for Me, sparks so much romance,  the delightful leads’ chemistry is connected throughout the show. They’re good together. Really good. You believe they have a thing goin’ on.

 

But that’s not all Singin’ in the Rain has got.

 

It’s got more dancing feet, dancing more dances than you’d see on 42^nd Street.

 

Each dance different with a plot purpose (and some that don’t seem to be in there because they like to dance them). Man, this cast loves doing this show. You feel it. Everybody appears to be having great fun in this baby. 

 

Singin revives the musical version of the hit movie starring Gene Kelly in Mr. Benton’s role and Debbie Reynolds in the Shannon  O’Bryan role. The musical opened on Broadway in 1985. It captures the atmosphere of 1920s Hollywood so dead-on you would think it was written in that era. But it was not.

 

If you’re a movie fan, you’ll be thrilled with the pictures of Hollywood this production paints. This is the time when stars were idolized and premiers of motion pictures were described with live coverage on the radio. When producers lived in mansions overlooking the Pacific and ruled with absolute power. When stars were Gods.

 

 

From  the opening scene at Grauman’s Chinese Theater with celebrities Tom Mix, Charlie Chaplin, and others arriving, it just grabs you by the glamour.  Here, Cody Singer as Cosmo Brown; Mike Singer as the wonderfully comic director,Roscoe Dexter, Karen Webb as Dora Bailey, gossip columnist at the microphone arrive for the premier with William McCauley, the producer of Monument Pictures with his star, Lina Lamont, (Allie Schauer) Ms. Webb is a ringer for Hedda Hopper, the gossipist of the past.

 

Mr. Benton, playing Lockwood, the matinee idol of formula silent swashbuckler films (a la Douglas Fairbanks) is chased by adoring fans from the premier. You’re drawn hopelessly into the show lost in the glamour, the tinsel, the hopes, the search for the happy ending.

 

As Lockwood is chased into a park, he spies Ms. O’Bryan as Kathy Seldon sitting on  a bench. In a brief embrace with her, he escapes his comely pursuers. But Ms. Seldon, indignant, rebuffs his feigned embrace. She professes she is going to New York to go on the stage which is real acting. Benton’s Lockwood is both indignant and smitten. A female who is  indifferent to him and proud at the same time. They part, but dear audience, and men, we know Mr. Lockwood is hooked.

 

 

Ms O’Brady pops out of cake

 

Next stop the palatial mansion of producer of Monument Studios, R.F. Simpson, blusterously played in high mogul by William McCauley who gives the R.F.character a William Randolph Hearst/Cecil B. DeMille sendup all in one. Master of timing, McCauley delivers his laughs.  Benton as Lockwood is stunned when Ms. Seldon pops out of a birthday cake, prompting the first splendid song of da show, You Stepped Out of  A Dream.

 

Between the developing romance of star and ingénue, we are entertained by Cosmo Brown, “Donald O’Connor-ed” wonderfully  by Cody Williams in the seldom-heard Make ‘Em Laugh flashing back to when Lockwood and Brown were a team in the dance number Fit as a Fiddle.

 

Cody Williams (as Cosmo Brown), Tim Dolan, Andy Geary with Alexa Glover

 

Making her first appearance as a featured dancer is Alexa Glover as a willowy burlesque artist, who also returns to please the audience with her steal-the-stage presence in the number, Act II’s Broadway Melody   as The Girl in Green. A vision to watch, she is poetry in beauty who dazzles the eye with her fluent precision and passionate sophistication.

 

Enter the Talkees…not good if your voice is like cracked glass.

 

When Lina Lamont – HollywoodLand’s romantic lead with Mr. Benton’s Lockwood makes her first talkee, her excruciating voice is deemed in preview to be a disaster. At Lockwood’s mansion, the two sweethearts, Lockwood and Seldon with Cosmo hit upon the idea of Ms. O’Bryan’s dubbing onto Ms. Lamont’s voice to save The Dueling Cavalier movie

 

The Gene Kelly Moment

 

Mr. Benton takes Ms. O’Bryan home, and struck by his love for her he delivers a lively, perfect song and dance in rain that is real, singing and dancing Singin in the Rain.

 

Who needs Gene Kelly when you have Mr. Benton? His nuances are subtle, ease of step and lilt of voice and carefree manner and sureness of foot, and lighthearted performance makes every man’s heart remember how it feels when you love a woman and can think of nothing or no one else. It’s why that scene of Mr. Kelly’s so famous.

 

Warning to the front row: Mr. Bention has fun splashing through the rain drops. There are no off-color words in this show, so it is all right to take the kids.

 

How does stage set designer, WBT’s wizard of special effects, Steve Loftus create real rain indoors? You’ll just have to come and see the show.

 

Schauer Steals the Show.

 

Ms. Schauer is all laughs and diva in her role as the plotting actress Lina Lamont. A friend familiar with the movie paid Ms. Schauer a compliment, saying Schauer was dead-on on her portrayal of Lamont’s voice and mannerisms as acted by Jean Hagan in the original Singin in the Rain movie. That’s preparation!

 

Schauer negotiated the villainess/plotting star role, stealing the show in Act II with her bring-down-the-house delivery of What’s Wrong with Me?

 

Other highlights, (and this is a highlight reel musical, folks) are  Moses Supposes, a dance routine with Mr. Benton and Cody Williams mocking Ms. Lamont’s diction coach – filled with fast, fast, fast delivery of impossible puns– a tour de force by Williams and Benton. Not to be given any less notice is the dubbing scene in Act II and the ingenious finale where Lamont’s plot to take over Monumental Pictures seems about to be achieved.

 

 

A First Act Highlight in over-the-top production: Beautiful Girls with Con O’Shea Creal doing the honors. Busby Berkeleying, Ziegfieldesque, classic musical number lovingly, smashingly danced.

 

Will Kathy Seldon and Don Lockwood have their happy ending? Will Lamont be foiled against all odds? How would HollywoodLand handle it?

 

The production makes extensive use of film on the WBT’s video screens to show hilarious clips of Ms. Schauer as the prima donna, Lina Lamont, playing actual black and white silent movie scenes shot for the show, with Mr. Benton as Don Lockwood and Schauer in their 18^th century costumes. The movie screen interludes are new to this version of WBT’s Singin in the Rain and is an ongoing comic highlight.

 

When Lina Lamont is shown on film talking and singing with Ms. O’Brady doing her voice, it is a live stage triumph for WBT. A Special effect flawlessly staged live!

 

The orchestra under Jeff Daniels lays a bed that perfectly showcases the singers and pounds out the taps and trots and melodies seamlessly. The dancers—what can I say? Kudos to a great team effort.

 

Don’t take my word for it — the bravos and whoops and sustained applause after this 2-1/2 hour show said more than I can ever write about it.

 

 

Benton and O’Brady  front and center.

 

WBT has never put on a more engaging opening to closing entertainment than this show, and I have seen these for eleven years now. I have to say that WBT in this era of cutbacks is sparing no expense to deliver perhaps the best entertainment value in the metropolitan area reviving this classic. And you get dinner and parking free!

 

They’ll be Singin’ in the Rain through June. And in case you want to punch it up on your I-Phone the box office is 914-592-2222. The web is www.broadwaytheatre.com

Hits: 0

WPCNR ALBANY ROUNDS. From 89th District Assemblyman Bob Castelli. March 30, 2011:

Assemblyman Robert J. Castelli (R, C – Goldens Bridge) today released the following statement regarding his vote for this the 2011-12 New York State budget:

 “This year’s budget was one of compromise and contained the spending restraint necessary to put our state on a firm financial footing in order to meet today’s economic challenges and help produce a lasting recovery.”

“In keeping with my core mission of putting taxpayers first, in addition to enacting major spending controls, the Legislature was able to restore critical funding to our State’s Veterans’ homes, the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, and Westchester’s schools, providing much-needed education aid.”

“While this year’s budget was one of compromise, it is also a budget passed in good faith: faith that the governor will live up to his promises and work with the Legislature in the coming months to pass necessary reforms such as a property-tax cap, unfunded-mandate relief, Medicaid reform, independent redistricting, pension and medical-malpractice reform.”

 “Without these reforms, this budget, with all its fiscal restraint, will not be enough to pull us out of a decade-long decline and restore New York’s place as the Empire State.”

 

 

Hits: 0

WPCNR Campaign 2011 by John F Bailey March 31, 2011:

The special election to decide a new mayor for White Plains for the next two years, and eight months or so, takes place today at the 43 election districts in White Plains, a list of where you vote in each of these districts is posted on this site, and also the city website.

The race features Common Council President and current Acting Mayor Tom Roach,(Democrat,Working Families, and Independence Party lines), Bob Hyland,(Republican/Conservative) and former Councilman Glen Hockley, People Over Politics. The three met in a debate last week at the Council of Neighborhood Associations and also on television. Here is what this reporter gathered from the Council of Neighborhood Association Debate about these three candidates:

 

Hockley

 

Glen Hockley, delivered a powerful persona, saying he would conduct a sweeping cost study on all departments, but would not sacrifice public safety personnel.

 

He said, if elected Mayor he would concentrate on revenue raising methods and: sell overnight street parking permits and ease parking fees, possibly privatize garages, and sell advertising on city property.

 

On the FASNY issue (the bid to build a private school campus on the Ridgeway property),Hockley said it was time to recognize neighborhood sancity, saying what will probably happen is the city will disapprove it and FASNY could sell the property. He revealed no “pro active” solution.

 

He said he would work to revise the charter to allow a district based Councilmember system, where a councilperson was elected from different sections of the city so each section would have its own representative. Roach rejected that as possibly creating a money driven self-interest

 

Hyland

 

Bob Hyland demonstrated an easy-going quiet demeanor, saying he would concentrate on holding down cost of living in White Plains and making WP more friendlier to attract new business and work for property tax relief.

 

Hyland said he was a quick study and would rely on his Chief of Staff and separate Corporation Counsel to get him up to speed (quickly) on the inside baseball of legislation.

 

He sharply criticized Mr. Roach for rejecting purchase of Ridgeway by the city, creating,in part, the FASNY controversy now panicking the South End of Town. Hyland remarked in closing that his two opponents, Mr. Hockley and Mr. Roach would not approach matters that differently and if voters wanted a change in how things are done he would bring that. Hyland did not have a solution to Ridgeway.

 

Hyland, speaking to WPCNR at the Board of Education meeting Monday evening, told this reporter he would assign members of the Common Council to review individual Department expenditures and needs and report back with recommendations to prepare the 2011-12 City budget,instead of Council-as-Committee approach traditionally used (which was announced by city hall today). 

 

 

Roach

 

Tom Roach hammered on his experience of 9 years on the council, played up his restoring firefighters last week as Acting Mayor and liaisoning with Nita Lowey, and attempted to sell his ability to work hard and listen to all people. He mentioned the firefighter bring-back three times. In his closing statement, he called for employees to work together with him to cut employee costs without saying how. Labor negotiations begin soon.

 

Roach asked the public, what “face” they would rather have representing the city and promised to work to bring new businesses to the city.

 

Roach withheld comment on the FASNY/Ridgeway issue, saying since he was on the council, he could not render an opinion without compromising his unbiased ability to review.

 

Mr. Roach, speaking to WPCNR Wednesday about the Grant Avenue fire Monday morning said that based on his observances of city court on housing cases recently, he would formulate changes in penalties to property owners who violate city zoning and occupancy laws. (This issue did not come up in last week’s debate.)Roach said there was no indication that occupancy at the two family occupancy home on Grant was illegal in any way.

 

No Positions

 

What was not asked in the Council of Neighborhood Associations debate, and what to this reporter’s knowledge has not been addressed by any candidate, are these looming issues:

 

Do you believe the present $155.5M city budget should be cut or maintained?

 

Do you want to keep payroll where it is with no further layoffs? Will you continue a non-replacement policy?

 

Will you work to gain more Council on-going use of the proceeds from the windfall from the new ½% Sales Tax filling up the Reserve Fund.

 

Will you keep the present Administration?  Hyland said he would.

 

Will you share sales tax money with the School District?

 

The Decision as to who leads will now be decided in today’s election – maybe – if the election is not too close to call. Polls are open from 6 A.M. to 9 P.M.

Hits: 0

WPCNR POLICE GAZETTE. Special to WPCNR from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. March30, 2011:

The FBI, along with members of the NYPD, arrested Marat Mikhaylich for his alleged involvement in nine area bank robberies yesterday.

The arrest happened in Queens around 9:30 a.m. without incident.

The FBI was tipped off to his location this morning after a 2007 Gold Toyota Camry, which had been stolen by Mikhaylich yesterday, was found on 91st Avenue in Queens, New York. Mikhaylich had stolen the car after allegedly robbing a Cathay Bank in Edison, New Jersey on Monday, March 28.

“The Holiday Bandit’s three-month bank robbery spree has come to an end,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Janice K. Fedarcyk. “This should serve as a stark reminder to anyone who wishes to brandish a weapon, rob a bank, and put the lives of innocent civilians at risk: we will find you and bring you to justice.”

Hits: 0

WPCNR THE DUMP NEWS. By John F. Bailey. March 24, 2011:

Reverend Phillip Quealy, Pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows has received written assurance from the City of White Plains that the OLS Baseball field, scheduled for remediation by direction of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, has been found to have “no evidence of contamination…in the existing soil cover or underlying ash material.”  The statement is in a letter signed by the Commissioner of Public Works, Joseph Nicoletti. The letter has also been sent to the DEC.

In the letter the city, says “there is nothing to prohibit its continued use.” Nicoletti goes on to write, “the NYS DEC has established that a two (2) foot thick soil cap should exist on the field over the subterranean ash.”

The letter commits the city to lay an additional foot of soil on the entire field to assure a two foot thick soil layer throughout the field; “installation of new, vinyl coated backstop and chain link fencing as part of our proposed project. Further, we will reconstruct the clay infield and professionally remove and reinstall the existing playground equipment as well,” and possible replacement of two trees before the beginning of the 2011-12 school year.

A second letter from the city consultant on the dump remediation program,AKRF, outlines the testing done on the field.

Reverend Quealy told WPCNR he would be mailing copies of the letters to all OLS school parents.

Yesterday, the city would not tell WPCNR directly if they had advised the school the field was safe to use. Commissioner Nicoletti speaking to WPCNR said he did not have an estimate at this time what the field remediation would cost.

Reverend Quealy told WPCNR the field is currently available for use by students.