New York Rangers Can Save Hockey, Synchro, Figure Skating New Roc Orphans

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WPCNR VIEW FROM THE  EIGHTH AVENUE MEZZANINE. By “Goal” Gordon. May 7, 2008:


Let me tilt back my fedora, light up a Lucky, and pound this out on my  Royal Corona keys while in the quiet of the old Garden press gondola. The real  Garden. The one with the blue haze of cigar smoke hanging in the upper deck, when the ice was made by hand cart and the players played without helmets, when Gumper was in Goal and Andy Bathgate, Camille Henry and Andy Hebenton were my favorites, and the New York World Telegram and Sun called them the Blueshirts, and they used to run 1-inch ads in the sports sections, reading “Hockey Tonight Toronto 7 PM Fastest Game on Earth.”


 



Madison Square Garden 1950s. Eighth Avenue and 49th Street.


Now that hockey, figure skating, (I remember the Ice Capades), has grown and now faces an ice crisis. I think The Rangers have the oppportunity to give back to the community a favor that will never be forgotten, and make a memory as warm as the 1994 Stanley Cup. A selfless gesture that will be appreciated so much by the community that has loved them so long.



What We Would Give for some Ice — like Yost Arena in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Just 10 Hours Away


 


You see they have closed the New Roc rink in New Rochelle.  New Rochelle city government is reported thinking about building a new rink. Meanwhile New Rochelle High School, Rye,  and some other hockey teams, not to mention the Team Image of Yonkers, the Synchronized Skating 4th  Ranked National Team,  have no place to skate or practice. Most of the rink slots in Mount Vernon, E. J. Murray Rink, Westchester Skating Academy, Katonah Harvey School, and in Stamford and Greenwich are filled.


But there is a rink that is only used eight months a year.


And the New York Rangers are not using it now.


 



It opened in 2002 in Greenburgh. It is the practice home of the New York Rangers. It is a private facility that only is used by the Rangers, Knickerbockers (not  enough), and the New York Liberty in Tarrytown.


WPCNR contacted the Rangers public relations department, leaving phone messages and two e-mails asking if the Rangers could possibly have an interest in stepping up and really helping the hockey teams, the  figure skaters and the Team Image Synchronized Skating team by working out  a plan to share their ice.


The Rangers as usual have made their early exit from the playoffs and that ice is just there. The Rangers could charge for the ice time, and win so much good will from hockey, figure skating teams, and of course the figure skating community, if they could work out a plan. Even during the hockey season, the Rangers only use the rink certain hours of the day.


However, the Broadway Blues publicity department apparently did not want to explore this one with the press.


It is a natural idea if the corporate legal types can work out the liability issues.


Sports teams help a lot with the community, mainly giving gift drives, and public appearances for a good cause.


Here, the Rangers now have what a lot of teams and kids and parents who love skating need – ice.


With Ranger stars putting in occasional appearances when local teams practice, the public relations value would do the Garden a lot of good, considering the horrid publicity a certain basketball team enjoyed last fall.


Since many teams pay for the ice anyway they would most likely be willing to pay the Rangers for their precious ice.


The Rangers could score a hat trick with this idea.


All it takes is a few phone calls to explore the possibility.


Let’s Go Rangers!


Make that call to New Rochelle High School, Rye, and Team Image. Explore needs how you can help.


This is really for the kids and they would love the Rangers for life.


High school hockey players and figure skaters grow up to be season ticketholders some day.


With the right handling, this could be the greatest thing a sports team has ever done for so many people who love hockey and the ice sports.


All it takes is Jim Dolan to reach out, figure out how to share the ice (for pay, of course), and tell his lawyers to make it work and it can get done.



Teams have already been trying to book ice, but to show you how crowded the rinks already are, Team Image, shown at the Providence Rhode Island National Syncronized Skating Championships could only find ice at 4 in the morning at Westchester Skating Academy.


Is hockey doomed for New Ro and the other hockey sixes that used New Roc?


The Rangers have the closest rink.


They are the local team to our southern Westchester hockey teams.


The youngsters need the Blues to come through.


The Devils and the Islanders are too far away to be practical.


But if the Rangers don’t, the Devils and the Islanders could step up, too.


Hockey and figure skating and synchro skating are sports that the players and the athletes love. They admire the Ranger players and live and die with them.


The Rangers could pay them back this year with a gesture of sharing their ice that will be talked out for decades.


 


 

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Finishing Off Obama

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WPCNR NEWS & COMMENT. By John F. Bailey. May 7, 2008 UPDATED May 8, 2008:


It’s all going according to plan.


Barack Obama’s faltering in the stretch, the media’s unfailing cooperation with America’s political establishment, combined with Senator Obama’s main character flaw as a politician (his sense of decency), has been exploited by the Clinton campaign to frustrate Mr. Obama’s ability to achieve a first ballot Presidential nomination at the Democratic convention.


As I wrote months ago, the Clinton strategy is to deny Mr. Obama the first ballot nomination, freeing up the pledged delegates and the Super Delegates to hand it to Mrs. Clinton on the second or third ballot, with the rationale that Mrs. Clinton has shown the ability to win the big electoral states more than Senator Obama.


Doesn’t anyone see this except me?



The tally to date for the First Ballot of pledged delegates is Obama 1,815, Clinton 1,672. Obama needs 2,025 for the nomination.


In the remaining primaries there are 217 votes at stake. If Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton split them, Obama falls short by about 100 votes. If Mrs. Clinton runs the table winning them all as she is expected to do, it is a dead heat on first ballot.


The Michigan/Florida controversy and how the Party that staged this mess deals with that issue could cost Obama the nomination and ultimately the Democratic Party the Presidency.  The Party’s petty refusal to recognized Michigan and Florida early primaries now looks downright foolhardy.


Michigan has 128 pledged delegates and 28 Super Delegates. Florida, 185 pledged delegates and 25 Super Delegates.


There is a plan to split them out there which would give Obama 156 votes that would if the remaining primaries are split with Obama getting 108 votes give him the nomination 1,815 plus 264 votes equals 2,079.


(As of May 8, the count now stands at 1,847, Obama, 1,647, Clinton, after the final counts were in.)


If Michigan and Florida continue to not be counted, it is far more realistic to assume there will be a deadlock on the first ballot.


Hence the importance of how Michigan and Florida are counted. Will the committee free up the delegates to vote any way they please on first ballot? (Delegates are in the process of being credentialed now according to an Associated Press report.)


It is conceivable that a decision will be made freeing up the Michigan Florida delegates to vote as they see fit – ignoring the primary results in which Obama did not campaign.


Not only that, but if Michigan and Florida are invited in to the party, it is even more likely there will be a deadlock on the first ballot, because the number of delegate votes needed for first ballot nomination goes up to over 2,200.


On other hand, seating the delegations and splitting the votes could give Obama the nomination on the first ballot.


The Democratic National Committee will make that decision. Whose side will they come down on? Mr. Obama or Mrs. Clinton? Who do you think?


Freeing them up and seating them to vote, throwing out the results of the two primaries is Mrs. Clinton’s best chance, and the Democratic Party’s most face-saving move. But it is not good for Mr. Obama. I reckon it would guarantee a First ballot deadlock.


Another possibility is to give half votes to pledge delegates and full votes to the Michigan/Florida Super Delagates that would also cleverly deny Obama a first ballot nomination.


So what if there is a first ballot deadlock?


Perhaps I am naïve and I will believe that the labor leaders, the party stalwarts, the key office holders who comprise the Super Delegates will blow off the Clinton machine that has been running the party for sixteen years – and on ballot two – ignore the pressure and( there will be pressure) and award the nomination to Mr. Obama after the pledged delegates are released.


Right.


The Denver Dumping of Obama is all set up.


The Clintonista mantra was in full chant Tuesday evening on CNN. Again and again the theme was sounded: she was more electable; she has more attractiveness to white middle class voters, the polls show her beating Senator McCain. The Obama pundits had little to throw against these Barack bombs that had the purpose of being a self-fulfilling prophecy: that even though Mr. Obama pulled more votes, votes in primaries do not matter.


Except in Florida and Michigan, that is.


The May 31st Democrat meeting to decide how the votes of those two states will be handled at the convention is pivotal. If those votes are allowed in to be counted, that adds two more states into the Clinton column. Again, with the talk of how excluding those states from the convention on the propaganda outlets last night, you could see the framework and justification for counting Florida and Michigan at the convention being justified.  (“We can’t win the general election if we do not make peace with Florida and Michigan, so we just have to let their votes count in the election.”)  Mrs. Clinton with the face of a vampiress sinking her elongated bicuspids into Mr. Obama’s jugular, her eyes gleaming made this a telling point in her Indiana victory speech.


Mr. Obama made what looks to be a fatal tactical error in not pushing for a revote to be held in those states (obviously because he felt he did not need to, and seemed to be cruising to the nomination last spring), he is not going to win any revote there. The Michigan and Florida delegates are going to go to the Clinton camp.


Can you feel it, friends?


I sensed real unease on the part of Obama supporters in the soundbites I heard last night.


They have every reason to feel uneasy.


Their candidate has been at a loss to combat this Clinton groundswell.


And why is that?


Mr. Obama has played by the rules of the party, and now subtlely, he has been assuming the knowing look of the Coyote in the Roadrunner cartoons, of late, realizing too late that he has been set up. That the party never meant to really not count Ohio and Michigan. That despite his commercials and spending, his message of hope, change, and reason has gotten lost in the media handling of the Jeremiah Wright thing – which this commentator predicted would happen months ago. Mr. Obama was not “swift-boated,” he was “pulpited.”


Still – the media’s failure to make an equal amount of coverage to Mr. McCain’s official pastor-endorser and that pastor’s equally offensive pronouncements – shows to the media’s everlasting lack of news judgment – a distinct effort to derail the Obama campaign with a non-issue.


Who cares what one pastor thinks?


If you’re a white “Christian pastor” expressing hatred with over-the-top views, as Mr. McCain’s endorsing pastor is, well, that’s OK.  If you’re a black pastor, well according to CNN, FOX and the like – well hey, that’s espousing hatred – and Obama should disassociate himself. And remember, Mr. Obama never appeared to this reporter’s knowledge with Mr. Wright in a presidential endorsing media event as Mr. McCain’s did.


Talk about your double-standard. Talk about concentrating on minutiae while thebigger issues of windfall gas profits, foreclosures, Wall Street bailouts, Federal Reserve Discounting like Korvettes. Are there any News Directors any  more?


Just a slight double standard. Let’s face it. The media was given something to use against Obama and perhaps were “told” they  should use it. They had something to report about John McCain on an absolutely parallel situation and downplayed it.


Wonder why?


Senator Obama is a threat to the establishment that runs this country. The establishment cuts across party lines and has worked for years together. The last eight years a little too closely. 


So, when a commentator said last night – a Republican commentator – said that the Democratic nominee will be chosen by Super Delegate Elitists – which was vehemently denied by a Democrat super delegate, the Republican was saying a little more than she should.


She was right.


Look for more Obama-discrediting to follow in the next month or two.


How the Senator confronts this created groundswell against him is the political crisis of his life.


He has to come out swinging now and put the Super Delegates on the spot.


He has to challenge them and not in a nice guy way, either.


What will work to save him?


Meanwhile, the ground has been laid: You have to hand it to the Democratic Party. The Republicans have lead this country to the brink of financial ruin. They have no idea how to get us out of Iraq. They have no idea how the economy works. They think $5 a gallon gas is O.K. Their chief spokesperson says continue the tax breaks for the upper incomers permanently. While their partners in crime, the congress does nothing.


However, the Democratic Party has managed to make the fall election a toss-up.


The Clintons, ever the self-promoting, me-first Clintons have effectively shattered Obama’s candidacy by killing his credibility. They have even managed in the process to alienate the minority voter. However, they will most likely attempt to mollify Mr. Obama by offering him the vice-presidency, “the David Patterson Role.”


We have to thank Mr. Obama for his great run. For, in doing so, he has established how racist the country  is  the hording of power and consolidation of and maintaining the status quo. It has always been thus, but the Obama run has proven that.


Obama looks finished.


Another beautiful job by the Clintons.


Can he come back?


I doubt it.


He was so close, too.

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Council Approves The Venue for Bloomingdale Road, 6-1

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WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. May 5, 2008: The Common Council approved construction of The Venue this evening, an upscale mini-mall to be built on the present parking lot opposite Bloomingdale’s. The vote was 6-1, with Milagros Lecuona voting against.



The Venue, approved this evening, will be a 15 store plus restaurant shopping center at 120 Bloomingdale Road, across the way from Bloomingdale’s department store. It is described as a 46,000 square foot retail development to go on the parking lot of the former Nestle building (currently the offices of the New York State Department of Labor). The site is shown above, across from the entrance of Bloomingdale’s, looking West. The shopping center would be built on the parking lot.


 

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Felix – He’s Got a Backbeat You Can’t Lose It – Another Westco R N R Blast

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WPCNR Rockola. By KKIX THE BIG 1440’S Big Melvin Mead “The Rock Daddy Show With All the Hits You Need”. May 5, 2008: He shows up minutes before concert time.  Bounces on stage dressed in black, hits the keyboard with the seductive good time individual  signature dum dum plunk diddee plunk plunk plunk, dum dum plunk diddee plunk plunk plunk of Lonely Too Long and you know it’s been  way too long since you’ve heard that Felix Cavaliere’s Rascals sound since the 60s.



Fasten your seatbelts, rock and roll turbulence ahead! Felix Cavaliere and His Rascals Blasted the 60-Somethings at Irvington Town Hall — the latest in the White Plains Westco Gold Star “Tour” Saturday night. Irvington Town Hall Theatre will never be the same!




Felix Cavaliere and Susie The K After the Rascals Blast — White Plains own Susan Katz, founder of Westco Productions — rapidly assuming the title of “Westchester’s First Lady of Rock N Roll.


Like rocking a coin solidly into the slot – you get a big round mound of sound and all hits all the time—from the first note Mr. Cavaliere plays. Felix Cavalier’s  Rascals – the latest rockologists to emerge from White Plains Westco Productions “DynamicVeebleVetzer Time Machine”  they call the Gold Star Series — laid down a wall of sound of Felix’s Rascals hits splashing the sound canvas of the seething shoulder to shoulder Town Hall Theater with Jackson Pollack madness in sound, with slashing, driving, get-into-your-body and make-you-bob-to-the-beat rock and roll the way a rock and roll party should be.


Whoever coined the term rock concert got that wrong. Rock’s not a concert, man, it’s a zone – the good time zone — a party, man.



 That’s what Felix Cavaliere turned the Irvington Town Hall into Saturday night.  Westco Productions continued their uncanny stroke-of-genius programming: the Westco Gold Star series. Each 60s  and 70s rock group they have brought back to “sophisticated Westchesta”  have opened up tapped into a secret outlet, a yearning, a craving for rock-n-rollers too old too rock and roll no more, but they kinda like the music.  


A sellout crowd  streamed in, beeping the hand-held scanners at the rate of a supermarket cash register on Super Bowl Sunday Saturday night. The Lettermen, Judy Collins, The 5th Dimension, Gary Puckett, The Association, The Kingston Trio have all brought out different audiences, Susan Katz and Peter Katz the promoters say, and the series has struck a loyal following in Westchester County, Saturday night kept the hits coming back – sounding better than ever



Felix, working up a sweat in minutes, pounding the Hammond and making it a living, rockin thing.


Mr. Cavaliere – no stranger to playing the metro area – showed why: he delivered just the great Rascals music man – the straight ahead, fidgety, signature rock and roll keyboard style that opens up your party spirit and makes you feel “Good Lovin’” all night. Well, at least for an hour and 30 minutes, Cavaliere and his three sidemen  overmodulated raucously enough to wake up Rip Van Winkle from his siesta on the Town Hall lawn.



The Pyschedlic Medley


It was all Racals there – the punctuated contrapuntal organ keys to start Lonely too Long, the swells of organ crescendos – not heard since The Happy Organ – flowing like a flood of wine across a picnic blanket on “Good Lovin”.



Cavaliere’s side men, Mark Prentice’s bass (left) sounded like a power drill. Lead guitarist Mike Severs (right) laid in clear, aggressive nasty licks like a chain saw over Mr. Cavalieri’s signature organ segues. Severs  recreated the essence of  psychedelia in a medley in the second half of the show, His lead guitar lent a power dimension to the Rascals hits that sounded better, danceable, and thumped into you from the feet up through the body, with the Roadway Truck backbeat of drummer Vince Santoro.


The sold-out hall bobbed  its  heads in sync throughout the spontaneous big beat mayhem on stage.



Cavaliere was a pied piper – an icon preaching  the old time beat and exposing the rock roots of the audience with an attitude. Felix recreated the old time rebel look tonight, coming on stage and doing his thing. No anecdotes – just the hits man. The crowd was in rock and roll shock –  they bobbed heads, clapped hands, but were not moved to dance as if they were awed in reverence by the sweaty, grinding crescendos of tightly tracked, pounding songs dominating the hall – not heard this way in sometime – and sounding better than records. 


From Lonely Too Long, Felix and his beatmasters, Prentice and Severs mixed in those dance staples – including Midnight Hour – handled by drummer Santoro – cooling down to Groovin –getting to the heart of teen love pain on Do What You Know You Should – made all the more harsh by Felix’s full-swells of Hammond glory. His medleys were things of rock and roll genius mixing his hits with other gotcha songs.



In the second half,  with little time inbetween songs, the group’s highlights included What You tryin’ to do to my Heart where the drums shook your bones – and the snarling, Ain’t Gonna be Your Clown No more. The recognition of  old feelings in these songs is just right made possible by the way Felix and the Rascals confront you with the sound.


A long version of Good Lovin in the second half – complete with sing-a-along was just enough audience relationship. To tell you the truth,  the audience appeared stunned by the big ball of rock and roll Felix, Mike, Mike and Vinnie throw out there Saturday night.


The slow songs, which yours truly never really liked when they were hits, were better with a little soul – How Can I Be Sure was a winner the way Felix sings it today – and the one song that Cavalieri got sentimental on, People Got to Be Free  he dedicated to our servicemen and willing, expressing the thought that he hoped their sacrifices would not be in vain. A telling thought.


My favorite was Felix’s working the organ into the classic medley of  Good Lovin’ into La Bamba, Bo Diddley and Mustang Sally, — topped by a pyschedelic medley, featuring Led Zepp and Jimmy Hendrix tunes. All that was missing was incense in the air.


Your rock and roll pal, Big Mel Mead has to say that the hits being recreated by the original artists on the Westco Gold Star “Tour” never sounded this good when I was spinning them on my Rock Daddy Show 1440, KKIX Hit Music Radio Clear Channel the Rock of the Midway.



There is no such thing as an old rock and roller. Felix Cavaliere and His Rascals proved rockers just rock better the older they get!  Here Felix Says Good Bye to the fans, but not before he stayed for an hour meeting and signing autographs for the aficionados.



 


The faithful should check in at www.westcoproductions.com for a peek at the just-released Gold Star Tour this autumn.

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Should the School Budget Be Voted Down This Year?

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WPCNR MR. & MRS. & Ms. White Plains Poll. May 4, 2008: The recent poll on taxes has indicated that 93% of 346 respondents feel the present 7% annual increase in city and school taxes combined cannot be sustained. The school tax increase is 8.6%  (not 6% as reported by the district newsletter) thanks to the secret BASIC STAR Cut and Enhanced STAR cuts the legisature passed quietly April 14 (and still after three weeks, no other media other than WPCNR has reported this legislative sleight of hand). In their newsletter the school district describes the tax rate increase as 5.98%, failing to mention that the amount of your taxes for a median home is a fat 8.6%.  The $15,000 Assessed home paid $7012 in school taxes this year, and in 2008-2009 will pay $7,618.


Since the people have no control over the city budget, but can vote on whether to approve the school budget, we’d like to know how the public feels. Should White Plains send the school district a message to cut by voting down the school budget, effectively cutting the budget about $700,000 according to the School District newsletter, holding the budget to a 3.36% increase? .


The vote comes up May 20. There will be a public hearing on the School Budget May 12, 2008.

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You’re Now Leaving the USA – German School’s Katharina on Skyliners Gold

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WPCNR RINKSIDE By Katharina Devitofranceshi, The German School, White Plains. May 4, 2008: Synchronized Skating: Those are two words you don’t hear very often and most likely tell you nothing (that is unless you’re in the 10th grade of German School New York in White Plains, then you know all about it.)






The Skyliners of New York, the Tri-State Area’s Zagreb Snowflake Trophy Junior Gold Medal Winners, skating in the Frasier, Michigan  Syncrhonized Skating Junior Qualifier in January. The Junior team holds tryouts tonight in Rye, and here a member of the team, attending the German School here in White Plains, Katharina Devitofranceschi reflects on the team’s unforgettable journey, representing the USA in Croatia in March.


 


 



Skyliners 2008 Juniors skating their Short Program in Frasier, Michigan in January.



The basic gist of it is, sixteen girls skate together as a unit and (most of the time) synchronized to complete a short program (2 and  ½ minutes), and a long program (4 minutes), each program is jam-packed with a series of difficult elements showing skill, strength and flexibility.


Sounds easy? It’s not. It’s hours of hard work both on ice and off, laden with sweat, lots of yelling, tears and blood, and I’m not over-exaggerating either. Most of us have the scars to prove it.


But, as a team with an incredibly close bound, we are always there for one another.


Being on The Skyliners is much like eating candy: We bit through the hard candy coating and are rewarded with a yummy, soft center.


 


 


In this case, the chewy center was an international assignment from United States Figure Skating to skate in Croatia and the title TEAM USA.


So overseas we flew in March to compete in the Zagreb Snowflake Trophy Competition March 9-14, a first flight abroad for most girls on our team, and 12 hours later we made it all the way to Zagreb. We all agreed that it was a surreal sensation to finally be there, after all the anticipation which had built up since August.


 


 



Katherina is third from left, front row — posing with the Juniors at the 2008 Eastern Regional Synchronized Skating Championship in February when the team finished second.


Photo, Courtesy, Lawrence H. Cooke


 


We spent most of the days leading into the competition having extra practices, fine-tuning the programs to perfection and listening to our coaches’ (Josh Babb and Jenny Gibson) and parents’ “motivational speeches.” (They got old fast, trust me.)


When the Zagreb Snowflake Trophy Competition actually began, it was absolutely nerve-wracking, knees shaking and jitters, all that good stuff. Our first shock came when we got our scores. They were much lower than anticipated. Dissappointed and heads hung low, we made our way to the locker room in silence, despite the fact we were in first place. But it didn’t mean anything because the favorite-to-win had yet to skate.


But our biggest surprise came when we found out, we, the underdogs, had won! Twenty of the loudest screeches erupted simultaneously. Naturally, celebrating and partying (with the awesome Aussies) ensued.


This year (2007-2008) has undoubtedly been the most trying year, what with juggling school and skating constantly, but our parents’, coaches’ and teachers’ support made everything that much easier. Those last moments in Croatia, standing up on the podium, were unforgettable. The Skyliners’ organization is still pretty young, so to have won the gold at our first international assignment (an accomplishment in itself, was unexpectedly incredible!


I know no matter what happens next year internationally, for good or bad, nothing can make me forget that unimaginable sense of accomplishment as a team.


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Disney Pixie Dust Blesses WBT Beauty with Soaring Belle, Sympatico Beast

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WPCNR CENTERSTAGE. Theatrical Review by John F. Bailey. May 3, 2008 Updated with Pix: Children of all ages will thrill to Westchester Broadway Theatre production of Beauty and The Beast, which opened this week, bringing the classic Disney movie and Broadway show  to close-up and personal life. All it takes is a liberal sprinkling of Disney Pixie Dust from Tinkerbell  to coax  new pyrotechnics and heights to the dinner theatre that has been giving its own unique stagings of Broadway classics in the round for 34 years.  Thursday evening the Disney magic – if not the  Broadway magic – recreated anew the enchantment of Beauty and The Beast.



A Love for a Once and Future Time: Rena Strober as Belle. Joseph Mahowald as The Beast make everyone’s favorite fairy tale new again at Westchester Broadway Theatre. All Photos, Courtesy, Westchester Broadway Theatre, by John Vecchiolla





Rena Strober is a strong, spunky Belle  who touches your heart, brings on the tears, and uplifts the spirit with her articulated, up-and-down-the-scale mastery of Belle’s reach-inside-and-make-you-feel songs : Home (We Are Where We Shall be Forever) with Maurice (her father), and the splendid song that delivers the essence of falling in love, A Change in Me . `



Joseph Mahowald’s Beast is simpathetic, human, though the book does not give Mr. Mahowald much dialogue to do so, he becomes more human in Act II.  The spunky, spirited heroine who stands on her own,  Belle, first vexes him, then charms him.  His grouchiness and temper come under control. 


Mahowald’s body language as the Beast conveys power and fierceness with a visage that will not terrorize the children – though in fairness to Mahowald he does not have much time in Act One to allow audience to see the good within or feel sympathetic to him.



Mahowald’s rich baritone fills the tiered hall on the Beast’s signature song in Act I – How Long Must This Go On?


Mahowald absolutely delivers  How Long Must This go On? portraying painfully the heartbreak within over his fate (doomed to a Beast’s existence for his treatment of an enchantress in the distant past).


The scene of his transformation opens the show – and electrifies the audience  — not as techno-ed up as Broadway can did  it – but the darkness, the lighting flashes and the explosive pops of flame are loud enough and bright enough to show magic is going on without scaring the young ones. The magic continues!


When Mahowald closes Act I, singing If I Can’t Love Her – you wonder why no one has never made a commercial recording of this song, the regret tears you up.  Mahowald’s vulnerable delivery in that big Riatt-like voice of his brings forth pity for the Beast and makes you root for him. But then, I am a sentimentalist.



Driving the forces of evil in a most devilish and entertaining way is whom I consider to be the ultimate Gaston, Jonathan Burgard – muscled, striding, bigger than life he seems to have stepped out of The Beauty and The Beast movie – into life.  Here he cavorts with admiring ladies, left to right, Jessica Dillan, Floryn Glass, and Katie Sina in the village square singing Gaston, his personal theme song.


A lot of others think so, too. He has played Gaston five times in productions up and down the East Coast. Thursday night he showed why. His preening and superior self-confidence was chuckle-heavy offensive. His comic delivery, clear. Voice deep and macho, and no actor sings about himself better on Gaston’s star-turns in Act One – Me  and Gaston in a marvelous scene. Burgard is aided in his cavorting by Adolpho Blaire as his Lefou whose acrobatics and sychophantic palling around with Gaston is a human recreation of the attitudes of the two  in the movie.`


 



The endearing, comic, daffy Beast Castle Staff — Left to right, Talana Deshaies as Babette, the elegant Lumiere (Rick Hilsabeck), William Hartery as the punctual, proper Cogsworth, Stacia Fernandez as Mrs. Potts and Marguerite Willbanks as Madame de la Grand Bouche — whose tricks with the dresser she is slowly turning into — will delight the children, and of course, Chip, the teacup, Michael Herwitz. 


 Belle’s beginning of captivity in the Beast’s castle is softened by Cogsworth  (solidly characterized by William Hartery as the butler turned into a clock by the enchantress, and Lumiere (played by Rick Hilsabeck with the perfect j’ne sais quoi) the chef, whose hands have become candlesticks which actually light – you have to see this. Hartery and Hilsabeck pick the dark tone of the opening and kick the enchantment up another notch.



The Pixie Dust magic casts its spell capturing you for the rest of the night with the staging of Be Our Guest. 


Be Our Guest, with plates dancing, the set expanding, opening up  to multi-levels before your eyes will make your jaw drop as the small stage gains depth and turns into a magnificent dining hall with the ensemble delivering a spectacularly choreographed number combining costumes and steps and pacing that is beyond Vegas. It is easily the best full-cast dance spectacular WBT has ever staged in the eight years this reporter has been reviewing their productions. Kudus to Director and Choreographer Richard Stafford on this number alone.


However Belle fleas the Beast’s lair when she invades the forbidden West Wing of the Castle. As The Beast dispairs, singing If I Can’t Love Her to end the hour and 20 minute first act – with the haunting lines “So little is left of me… “ and “Long ago I should have seen all the things I could have been…” The way Mr. Mahowald delivers this song will break your heart. He makes his hurt inside, hurt inside you.


The Second Act builds on the first, heightening dramatic intensity – but is so well acted – you even though you know the story – you are worried about the Beast and Belle.


Of course, when Belle flees the castle, wolves (a frightening bunch) attack her and The Beast viewing the action in a magic mirror, comes to her rescue. Romance then blossoms. A touching scene of her aiding his wounds, is followed by his gift of his library.


Two numbers by the terrific entourage of actors and actresses move the romance along in believable fashion, singing “Something There,” and Mrs. Potts (Stacia Fernandez) delivering the title song Beauty and The Beast – that tells you what is happening between the odd couple who dote more and more on each other.  Again the WBT set opens up to the stars magically, creating a grand romantic vista.


At this juncture Belle delivers her knockout love song – A Change in Me. Ms.Strober does not sing this, she  shimmers it exquisitely  endowing it with a grace that renders in melody blossoming love in bloom. It is exactly how a person in love feels.  Strober handles the Belle songs superbly and is every bit the Belle of the movie, wholesome, spirited, plucky.



Of particular note is Strober’s duet with David Titus, playing her father, Maurice. Their duet No Matter What” when his invention of an automated log splitter (hilarious at best) is a marvelous statement of how fathers and daughters feel about each other.  Titus gets the most out of his lines, too. His Rodney Dangerfield eyes bring instant merriment.


 Belle comes to aid her father, about to be asylumed due to a dastardly blackmail plot by Gaston.  The Beast is put in danger as Gaston leads a mob to the castle to kill him.


In the denouement, a duel between Gaston and the Beast, on a castle tower that rises up out of the stage, you almost think it is not going to end happily – preserving suspense to the end.


 


The famous final scene produces a magic happy moment producing bravos for Lumiere, Cogsworth, Gaston, Beauty and Beast, good triumphing!


The larger than normal live orchestra does not deliver the Big Broadway sound – however it stays under the singers so all words are not drowned out.


The sets are detailed and employ ingenious creative use of the WBT’s mechanical abilities. Rising turrets out of nowhere. Lurking wolves. Magnificent costumes create the Disney enchantment WBT style. The set design, through the magic of rotating arches turns the little stage into the illusion of a vast brooding castle.


Give me some of that pixie dust!


The Disney dream never fails.


Beauty and The Beast runs 2 hours and 20 minutes. It began at 8:20 and ended at 10:45 with a thirty minute intermission.


It runs through August 9. For information, contact www.broadwaytheatre.com.

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County Clerk — Avoid Deed Copy Ripoff Scheme.

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WPCNR BUNKO BULLETIN. From Westchester County Clerk’s Office. (Edited) May 3, 2008: Westchester residents are hereby advised that they need not pay up to $60 for a certified copy of a deed to their home, that certified copies are obtainable from the County Clerk’s Office for as little as $6.


 


Westchester County Clerk Timothy C. Idoni warns county residents to beware of a new series of direct mail solicitation letters sent from companies offering to obtain a certified copy of a homeowner’s deed.  Idoni advises homeowners to stay away from companies such as the New York Record Retrieval, Inc. that are charging excessive fees for a certified copy of a deed.   This company is sending out official looking letters to county homeowners advising that “[t]he U.S. Government Federal Citizen Information Center website recommends that property owners should have an official or certified copy of their deed.” The letter states that homeowners can order a copy of their deed for the fee of $59.50 by mailing in or faxing a return form with payment information.


 


Westchester County Clerk Timothy C. Idoni warns county residents to beware of a new series of direct mail solicitation letters sent from companies offering to obtain a certified copy of a homeowner’s deed.  Idoni advises homeowners to stay away from companies such as the New York Record Retrieval, Inc. that are charging excessive fees for a certified copy of a deed.   This company is sending out official looking letters to county homeowners advising that “[t]he U.S. Government Federal Citizen Information Center website recommends that property owners should have an official or certified copy of their deed.” The letter states that homeowners can order a copy of their deed for the fee of $59.50 by mailing in or faxing a return form with payment information.


 


 “If you receive a letter from a company asking you to pay an exorbitant fee for a copy of your deed, throw it away!” cautioned Idoni. Homeowners, who want a certified copy of their deed, can easily obtain it from the county clerk’s office for the minimal cost of only $5.00 for up to five pages and $1.00 for each additional page.  “Homeowners are not obligated to pay a non-government agency for a document which is kept on file and properly recorded in our office,” said Idoni. 


 


The Land Records Division of the County Clerk’s office records all documents pertaining to real property transactions in Westchester County.  Assuring homeowners, Idoni stated, “Once your deed is filed and recorded in our office, it remains valid whether or not you have a certified copy in your possession.” 


 


For homeowners, there are several options for obtaining a certified copy of a deed.   Visit the Office of the Westchester County Clerk, at 110 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. in White Plains, Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. excluding legal holidays to speak with staff in the Land Records Division, who can assist you with your request.  Homeowners who cannot visit the office in person can call 914-995-3094.  “Make sure to have the exact name or names of the property owners and property address available before calling or visiting us,” said Idoni. Requests for certified copies can also be obtained by mail or email at


cc-land@westchestergov.com. Information on obtaining a copy of a deed can be found on the county clerk website at westchesterclerk.com.


 

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The Real Deal: Destination Weddings

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WPCNR’S THE REAL DEAL By The Wedding Jeannie, Jeannie Uyanik of C&G Weddings, WPCNR Columnista May 3, 2008: Destination events used to conjure up images of having to take a plane all the way out east – from Pennsylvania.  Its quite common now a days to have the majority of guests at an event flying in from all over the world, traveling for 16 hours one way just to join a couple for their big day.  It’s for this reason precisely, that rehearsal dinner rules and etiquette have changed so drastically (next weeks topic in depth); they don’t require the old yard stick of inviting anyone coming in from out of town as that would generally precipitate having two weddings.


 



Jeannie Uyanik, Planner to the World


The Wedding Jeannie


 


So for the purpose of this column’s discussion, a Destination Wedding is not one where most of the guests have to travel to attend your wedding, which is being hosted either in the couples’ home town, or the home town of one of the immediate families.  It is one where all the guests, including the bride and groom will have to travel to get to it; this does not mean that it has to be out of the country, a certain size or a certain distance away.  It simply means that neither you nor anyone attending the wedding actually lives where it’s taking place.  And then the fun begins.


 



 


Clearly, there are a few good reasons to do destination weddings, and as couples embark on a discussion of if they should or should not, consider the following:


 


1)      Is your aim to limit the budget or the guest list?


 


We find that most couples who begin to plan destination weddings do so because they are either trying to save money and figure that a far away wedding, will not only limit the budget, but also inevitably the guest list.  Neither is necessarily true.  Many of our clients are shocked when they realize how much more a destination wedding can cost.  And since most would have in theory preferred a big city locale, they are often pleasantly surprised to find that their dollars will go a lot farther at home.  Why?  Simply because there are so many additional costs that you have to cover when getting married farther away. 


 


i)                    You will usually have to foot the bill for at LEAST one trip to the destination of choice before the wedding.  Our experience shows that it will probably be two or three to make sure that everything is in place and in order.  This will require hotels, flights, transportation and food.  This adds up pretty quickly, particularly if you have chosen a destination that is also popular for the rest of the world.


 


ii)                   Hotel accommodations for guests when you are planning a destination wedding become a lot more important for the bride and groom to arrange for obvious reasons.  Many couples will choose to subsidize the room rate for the hotels, or they will feel obligated to if they have chosen a destination and time of year that is particularly costly.  This is something that many couples struggle with, but we find that since the hotel rates are usually the biggest reason that guests are not able to come, the majority of couples tend to subsidize rates. 


 


iii)                 Events as a whole for the time that guests are with you for your wedding become more important.  If you are doing a wedding in a city with which everyone is fairly familiar or lives, its less important to ensure that a) all guests are invited to the rehearsal dinner, or that there is a farewell brunch b) all guests feel that they are able to see the location, or be given a tour of some sort to get to know it and c) feel that they are participating in more of a “wedding weekend” rather than a 1 day event – especially if costly or lengthy travel is involved.


 


iv)                 Welcome baskets are a must.  When you invite every single guest to travel for your wedding, the least that you can do is give them a small token of your appreciation upon arrival – clearly, this is a lovely gesture for any wedding, but it’s an absolute necessity for a destination wedding.  Not doing so would be an egregious breach of etiquette and not spending the time or even money to make it something special or meaningful would be even worse!


 


v)                  Don’t ever expect that your guest attendance list will be lighter just because the wedding is farther.  The attrition rates for destination weddings tends to be in line with those close to home mainly because travel for weddings is so common place now a days and also because people use destination weddings as an excuse to get away or go see a location to which they have not been before.  The higher than expected rate of return always shocks destination wedding couples; both emotion and purse alike.  Many expect that the decrease in guest count will reduce the costs, but when the guests send the excited responses, the dollars go up!


 


2)      Do you have a specific location in mind, or are you willing to get married anywhere?


 


Many couples (given the above) will simply pick a destination randomly.  This is tough because it’s hard to fall in love with a place on demand and through intensive research on-line.  We always recommend that if a destination wedding is a must, choose a location that is genuinely meaningful to you and your fiance.  This will have a great impact on how guests feel about traveling there, about how you feel going there to prepare in advance of the wedding and of course, how the entire event takes shape.  It’s important to pick a destination wisely though especially since many couples assume that island weddings or international weddings will definitely be cheaper. 


 


That is certainly not the case.  With a currently weak dollar, the hope to stretch the budget is often just that. Often, even when services and goods are cheaper, so many things are more nebulous than when dealing in your own home town; in turn you have to take more expensive routes to ensure that details are being executed flawlessly. 


 


For instance, while you might not get married at the Four Seasons in New York City, given that it’s cheaper on a small island, you would and should consider a 5-star resort facility in order to guarantee quality.  What that translates to is that you will not necessarily have paid 5-star prices in the destination location, but it does not mean that you have saved money relative to doing it at home.   Often couples will pick a destination because of a specific resort or hotel (i.e. the Four Seasons in Costa Rica or the Ritz Carlton in Cancun).  Having your wedding or event at a hotel when doing destination planning is useful for everyone.  It removes the need and cost for transportation and eliminates an extra layer of complications. 


 


3)      Does the time of year that you would love to have your nuptials match that of the destination locations’ best or worst weather?


 


Many locations for destination weddings are of course warmer weather islands that couples flock to in the winter.  Of course, this can be a travel nightmare for guests, given that if you want to be in warm weather, the likelihood is high that everyone else does too.  What we see in response to that, is couples’ trying to go at off season times; in theory great, but off season is named that for a reason. 


 


Often this can be hard because hotels and restaurants shut down in the off months, either to refurbish or because traffic is low and hurricanes and or bad weather are typical during the off-seasons which would be risky for an event where airplane travel plays such a huge role.   High season is not only busy, but also expensive, so when determining location think about weather, and the likelihood that you might be competing with other guests not coming to celebrate your wedding. 


 


4)      Are you upsetting more people than you really want to by wanting to fly away?


 


Destination weddings can be contentious issues at family dinners when the families are not clear on why the couple is planning to “run away” to get married.  It’s important to explain to families the rationale behind the decision and to really attempt to include them as much as possible.  We have found that many families are only upset because they feel that they won’t be able to contribute as much, or that they will not have the same roles as they would if the couple were getting married closer to home (theirs or yours).  Preempting a lot of the concerns, responding PRO-actively rather than reactively to questions about details, hotels, flights, and dates will help pave the way for stress free planning that also gets everyone excited rather than anxious.


 


Destination weddings are a wonderful way to create an intimate wedding reception, provide a unique adventure for you and your guests and ensure that your wedding stands out from all the others.  We are huge fans of destination events, but it’s important to really understand all the issues with them before pulling the proverbial trigger. 


 


 


 


 


 


 

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Cappelli Lands TRO in Round One .Judge Halts City from Taking out Ritz Rock.

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WPCNR WHITE PLAINS LAW JOURNAL. May 2, 2008: A lawsuit filed against the city by LC Main LLC  this week, accusing the city of “abuse of discretion,” in the city  effort to direct LC Main to remove the Ritz Carlton granite stone on the Renaissance Square traffic island, was continued to May 16 today.



City and The Super Developer Go to Court over The Ritz Rock on the traffic Island in center of picture on Renaissance Square.


 A Temporary Restraining Order issued by Acting Supreme Court Justice Susan Cacace, prevents the city from removing the Ritz Rock until arguments are heard. The city has until May 16 to submit their case for removal of the sign, and LC Main LLC has until May 23 to rebut.  Meanwhile the stone stands.


The Common Council considers the monument to have been erected without permission, dangerous to auto traffic and commercial use of city property.



 


 


 


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