Light Night of the Soul is a riveting story based on the true-life experience of a spiritual teacher, author, and professional “Guiding Light” who has life figured out until she buys a 200-year-old house in the woods that comes with leaky pipes, an overgrown garden, and an angry ghost that was terrorizing her night after night.

Taking place during the pandemic lockdown, she is forced to battle spirits and confront traumatic memories of her past: a sexual assault, a murder in the family, and overwhelming anxiety that kept her from truly living, and certainly not living the dreams in her heart.

One thing Leah has realized through her work and this harrowing experience: “Houses aren’t haunted, people are.”

The captivating story is one of restoration and redemption – of home and spirit – and takes you into the depths of some of life’s most challenging moments, then guides you back to safety, hope and freedom. It is an intimate, funny, and scarily true one-woman journey – helping us all learn to trust the darkness.

Off-Broadway United Solo Festival in NYC

Saturday, Oct 18, 7pm

Theater Row

410 w 42nd St

NY, NY

TIX HERE

Artist: Leah Guy
Writer: Leah Guy
Director: Hamutal Posklinsky
Projection Designer: Marilys Ernst

SHOW TRAILER
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ind-9yL6BA

SHOW PAGE
leahguy.com/one-woman-show

SOCIALS
instagram.com/leahthemodernsage
facebook.com/leahthemodernsage

The post Former Jersey City Resident Leah Guy Debuts One-Woman Show Off Broadway in October-The Light Night of the Soul first appeared on River View Observer.

The post Presented by Jersey City Theater Center first appeared on River View Observer.

8 Choreographers Explore ‘Resistance†at White Eagle Hall

By Sally Deering

 Instead of performing on a stage away from the audience, the new dance show, OUT OF BOUNDS, curated by dancer-choreographer Meagan Woods of Jersey City, will have dancers moving on stage and in the audience.

The curtain goes up on OUT OF BOUNDS on Sat, June 2, at 8 pm and will feature eight choreographies by eight New Jersey dancer-choreographers, including Woods. The show goes on at White Eagle Hall, an extension of the Jersey City Theater Center, where Artistic Director Olga Levina invited Woods to curate a dance show that would engage the audience.

“Out of Bounds has some of the most incredible dancers and choreographers that have come together to celebrate dance and the Jersey City community,” Levina says. “Meagan has always embraced the community and in turn the community embraces her.”

OUT OF BOUNDS features Robert Mark Burke, Lauren Connolly, Katelyn Halpern, Joe Monteleone, Morgan Refakis, Nick Sciscione and Heather Warfel. Each dance was created or selected specifically for Resistance, JCTCâ€s current thematic series. JCTC selects topics global in scope yet relevant to the community then explores this theme through a variety of art genres, including visual arts, readings, theatre and dance.

“To design the evening, I reached out to choreographers who I really admire,” Woods says. “Each of their styles is bold, rich and engaging, I chose an evening that will be varied. Weâ€re using the space in a unique way. The dancers will be performing on two levels: the main floor space and the elevated stage space. It will be a great way to experience the show.”

Although the performances will be immersive, Woods says, the show is not interactive.

“The production will be clean, polished and choreographed,” Woods says. “There wonâ€t be a lot of direct interaction. Itâ€s a nice touch.”

Woods holds a BFA from Rutgers University, and in 2010, she co-founded New Jerseyâ€s largest annual modern dance festival, Your Move, and was given the Dance NJ Jete Award for her work.

The show will be followed by a reception at White Eagle Hall where audiences can meet the Out of Bounds performers.

 â€œThis dance concert offers boundless performances, defying categories with raw, expansive movement inventions,” Woods says. “Out of Bounds offers a nod to the evening’s content and structure: dancers, and audience members, engage without confines in a concert that explores nearness, escapism, rebellion, and impending change.”

If you go
Saturday June 2, 8 pm

OUT OF BOUNDS

White Eagle Hall
335-337 Newark Ave, JC
(201) 795-5386
For tix, go to: www.JCTCenter.org

Tix:$15 – $20

The post LET’S DANCE!   Meagan Woods Curates “Out of Bounds” Dance Show, Sat, June 2nd first appeared on River View Observer.

   Hilarity Abounds in Childrenâ€s Show at Mile Square Theatre

   Back by Popular Demand, Great Family Theater, Runs Thru April

 By Sally Deering

 Photos by Craig Wallace Dale

 Four talented actors transform themselves into a cobra, tailor bird, muskrat and mongoose in THE GARDEN OF RIKKI TIKKI TAVI, the funny and endearing play by Y York now on stage at the Mile Square Theatre in Hoboken.  The show opened Fri, April 13 and will be performed twice a day on Saturdays and Sundays through May 6.

 Back by popular demand, RIKKI TIKKI TAVI first opened at Mile Square Theatre in 2011 and the theaterâ€s artistic director Chris Oâ€Connor has reclaimed the role of director for this 2018 production. Itâ€s an all new cast featuring Andrew Baldwin as Nag the cobra, Cameron Blankenship as Rikki Tikki Tavi the mongoose, and Arielle Legere as Chuchu the muskrat with Blaire Brooks returning in the role of Darzee the Tailor Bird. 

 Arielle Legere as Chuchu

 â€œItâ€s an adaptation of Rudyard Kiplingâ€s short story from The Jungle Book,” Oâ€Connor says. “Kiplingâ€s story is very suspenseful. Y York, who wrote the adaptation, turned it into a gentle comedy. The first production we did had a long life. That was in 2011. That audience has aged out and now we have a new audience for it.”

Yorkâ€s adaptation of the Rudyard Kipling tale tells the story of Nag the Cobra who has issues with Darzee the Tailor Bird, Chuchu the Muskrat and Rikki the Mongoose. Its funny and there are some nice life lessons about sharing and growing up.

Its really the story of the tailor bird who is the queen of the garden, Oâ€Connor says. Rikki Tikki Tavi is a mongoose, and she wants to get rid of him because she wants the garden to herself. The cobra enters, and they discover that the mongoose is the predator to the cobra and they figure out how to get rid of the cobra.

Cameron Blankenship as Rikki Tikki Tavi

“Itâ€s really really funny,” Oâ€Connor says. “Y York is a wonderful writer. She managed to write a play that relates to kids and the humor reaches the adult audiences. Itâ€s really fun to see a young audience piece that hits on both levels and this one does.”

Oâ€Connor gathered a great cast for the 2018 production including Brooks who played the Tailor Bird in the 2011 production.

“Blairâ€s hilarious,” Oâ€Connor says, “one of the funniest actors I know.  I was very excited that she wanted to come back and do the show. Most of her work is TV and film. She has a young child and I think itâ€s a thrill for her to have her young son see it.”

Andrew Baldwin as Nag

Childrenâ€s shows tend to run under an hour and Rikki Tikki Tave clocks in at 50 minutes, Oâ€Connor says, with a talk back at the end so kids and their families can ask questions about the show.

“We do this for all our kid shows,” Oâ€Connor says, so that kids can learn more about theater. Theyâ€re always bursting with questions. They get a real thrill seeing the actors come out from backstage as people. Thatâ€s theater magic.”

 Blaire Brooks as Darzee

 If you go

Sat, 3 pm & 7 pm; Sun, 11 am & 3 pm

Apr 13-May 6

Mile Square Theatre

1400 Clinton St, HOBO

(201) 683-7014

www.milesquaretheatre.org

Tix: $30 adults; $15 kids

Ages 4+

The post KIPLING ON STAGE first appeared on River View Observer.

  Pulitzer Prize Play Resonates in These Turbulent Times

 By Sally Deering

A three-hander – a play featuring three actors – can be an intimate theater experience, especially when its performed in Mile Square Theatreâ€s gem of a performance space on Clinton Street in Hoboken. In this case, the three-hander is the Pulitzer Prize winning play Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Uhry, the story of an aging Southern Belle, Daisy Werthan, and her aging African-American chauffeur, Hoke Colburn. During the course of the play, these two seniors, with a lot of history behind them, cover 25 years of a relationship that begins as a thorny dance between two strangers and develops into a deep love between two friends.

Driving Miss Daisy opens Wed., Jan. 31, and runs through Sun., Feb. 25, and features Barbara Broughton, Count Stovall and Matthew Lawler. Broughton, who plays Daisy, was recently seen on Broadway in the revival of Stephen Sondheimâ€s Sunday in the Park with George. Stovall, who plays Hoke, was in Broadwayâ€s A Streetcar Named Desire. Lawler, who plays Daisyâ€s son Boolie was in MSTâ€s Betrayal and has been seen in ABCâ€s The Family.

The creative team features Matthew J. Fick, set design; Peter Fogel, costume design; Justin Partier, lighting design; and MSTs Associate Artistic Director Mark Cirnigliaro directs.

Cirnigliaro directed last seasonâ€s hit The Net Will Appear – a two-hander about the friendship between an old codger and his young neighbor who help each other through a tough time. With Driving Miss Daisy, Cirnigliaro again directs a very intimate play in MSTs intimate theater.

“How do we find the humanity in each other,” Cirnigliaro says. “Thatâ€s the core tenet of the piece. Race is also a big part of the play. Both Daisy and Hoke are in a place at the top of the play where they are dealing with the other through stereotype. As the play moves forward, they come to see each other as people and in seeing each other as people, they fall in love. When I say fall in love, I mean itâ€s a deep romance. Thatâ€s more accurate.”

Cirnigliaro cast Broughton and Stovall – both Broadway veterans — because they bring years of life experience to their roles, he says. And for Stovall, after understudying James Earl Jones in the revival of Driving Miss Daisy on Broadway, he gets to put his own spin on Hoke. It seems James Earl Jones never missed a performance and, therefore, Stovall never got the chance to step into the role. All thatâ€s changed, and now Stovall will have four weeks to play the coveted role.

“Count gives a wonderful vibrancy and energy to the work,” Cirnigliaro says. “Heâ€s a wonderful person.”

Cirnigliaro speaks highly of Broughtonâ€s portrayal of Daisy, too. Last seen on Broadway in the Sunday in the Park with George revival, Broughton brings a strong commitment and an “open heart” to her part.

Cirnigliaro says: “We have an amazing cast. The play spans 1948-1973. A lot happens in America over that time, technologically, culturally, politically. Thereâ€s a lot that has to be delved into and understood, so that the actors representing these wonderful people understand the world theyâ€re living in at any given moment.”

Some might remember the film, Driving Miss Daisy, which starred two great actors, Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman, who played Hoke to Dana Iveyâ€s Daisy in the original Off-Broadway production. The car, an old classic Oldsmobile, was also an important part of the film, and Cirnigliaro says a good portion of the stage play also takes place in the car, giving the audience the opportunity to use their imaginations.

“What separates theater from film, is that theater allows the audience to be an active participant,” Cirnigliaro says. “That is what makes theater unique. It engages the audienceâ€s imagination in ways the movie can never.”

Chris Oâ€Connell, Artistic Director of Mile Square Theatre says he chose Driving Miss Daisy for the theaterâ€s 2017-2018 season because he wanted to honor Black History Month with an intimate play that would resonate in MSTâ€s intimate space.

“I wanted to find a play that would draw an audience, that would get people in the door to see our work in this part of our development,” Oâ€Connor says. “Then Driving Miss Daisy came to mind. I read it, but had never seen it on stage. So I re-read it, and I was really moved by it. Even though itâ€s a play written by a White writer and through a ‘southern white lensâ€, it is really a play about acceptance, about how we are all connected.”

If you go

Wed, Jan. 31-Sun, Feb. 5

Driving Miss Daisy

Mile Square Theatre

1400 Clinton St, HOB

(201) 683-7014

www.milesquaretheatre.org

Tix: $30-$40; $18 for students/seniors

The post A FINE ROMANCE   Mile Square Theatre’s Driving Miss Daisy opens Jan. 31 first appeared on River View Observer.

NJPAC Teen Jazz Performance   Tuesday, October 24 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm Benjamin J. Dineen III and Dennis C. Hull Galley 71 Sip Ave., 6th Floor    Hudson County Community College welcomes community partner New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) for a year-long partnership of FREE programs. Join the Department of Cultural Affairs for the NJPAC Teen Jazz Performance on Tuesday, October 24 from 5:30-7:30 pm. Light refreshments will be served. Sign up today!   This event is part of our “Twilight Tuesdays” series which includes artist receptions, faculty mixers, author readings, workshops and more. For more information, please visit our website.

The post Hudson County Community College NJPAC Teen Jazz Performance   first appeared on River View Observer.

By Sally Deering

“These violent delights have violent ends
And in their triumph die, like fire and powder
Which, as they kiss, consume.”

Mackenzie Menter as Juliet and Joshua Blount as Romeo in HSCâ€s Romeo & Juliet.

What happens when two feuding families poison the love of their offspring with their hatred? Do the sins of the fathers cast evil on their children?  Can love ever survive when surrounded by hate?

​These are the questions that come to mind in Shakespeareâ€s Romeo & Juliet, the story of two star-crossed lovers who cannot escape the rivalry of their families and although they are madly, deeply in love, theirs comes to a tragic end.  

This new production of Romeo & Juliet by Hudson Shakespeare Company (HSC) opens in Hudson on Wed, July 12^th at 7 pm at the Secaucus Library, and runs Sat, July 15 at 3 pm at Van Vorst Park in Jersey City; Mon, July 17 at Frank Sinatra Park in Hoboken, and Thurs, July 20 at 7 pm at Hamilton Park in Jersey City. It explores the themes of hate and violence that seem to reflect contemporary times, and the cast features HSC newcomers Mackenzie Menter as Juliet and Joshua Blount as Romeo. Noelle Fair directs.

“I said I wouldnâ€t direct Romeo & Juliet until I knew what I wanted to do with it,” Fair says. “These young tempestuous teens fall in love and die.  Thereâ€s a song Mandy Patinkin sings, a mash-up of ‘Youâ€ve Got To Be Carefully Taught†from South Pacific and ‘Children Will Listen†from Into the Woods. It made me think about Romeo and Juliet and how we teach our children hate and we teach them bias. What are we passing down to the next generation? In Romeo & Juliet, the parents donâ€t know any other way to communicate except through violence and thatâ€s what they teach their children.”

The two star-crossed lovers are not immersed in their familyâ€s hate, but they cannot get away from it, Fair says, and in the end it destroys their love and destroys them.

“When you look at Romeo and Juliet, Romeoâ€s indulging himself in the idea of love, poetry, everything possible to avoid what his family wants him to be,” Fair says. “Iâ€m sort of going with this very violent world and Iâ€m putting it within the 1990s, and the issues weâ€re dealing with now. Iâ€m using a lot of grunge music which is based in rebellion. It helps to highlight the themes I want to explore within the text. Itâ€s really cool.”

The Romeo & Juliet cast also features Juliana Valente as Nurse; Kamran Saliani as Friar Laurence/Prince; Tiffany Faulkner as Mercutio/Lady Montague/Apothecary; Leon Morgan as Lord Capulet; Taylor Baskin as Lady Capulet; Matthew Cavender as Tybalt/Paris; and Lindsay Milligan as Benvolio. Combat director is Adele Rylands.

Performing Shakespeare can be tough on its own, but playing outside in make-shift performance venues brings challenges to the actors as well as the director, Fair says.

“One of the biggest challenges for the actors is juggling noise and distractions,” Fair says. “You have to stay really focused. There are going to be kids who canâ€t sit through a long performance. Youâ€re not going to be in a black box where everyone is well-mannered. They deal with heat. Bugs. And different terrain. One park is hilly without a lot of grass another is concrete which is coliseum-like. We have to adjust exits and entrances. An actor in this company has to be able to have fun and be a team player.”

For the director, putting a show up like Romeo & Juliet takes a lot of pre-planning, Fair says.

“I have to pre-plan where props are going to be pre-set,” Fair says. “Children watching the show think the weapons are cool and walk away with them. We donâ€t do an intermission, so the actors†energy has to be sustained for two hours, so Iâ€m mentally preparing them, physically preparing them. I come from a program where we did some weird stuff with Shakespeare. I move scenes.    I weave scenes. I play with time and space.”

Fair, who also works as an actress, teaches at a Middle School in Astoria, Queens. The Jersey City resident just did a production of A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, where she played the role of Stella. Fair enjoys directing, she says, and she believes Shakespeare is as relevant today as it was during Shakespeareâ€s time.

“Why is Shakespeare still so appealing,” Fair says. “Shakespeare was able to touch the human heart. Beforehand, not too many playwrights got to the heart of what it is to be human.”

If you go

Romeo & Juliet

www.hudsonshakespeare.com

​

Wed, Jul 12 @ 7pm

Secaucus Public Library

1379 Paterson Plank Rd, SEC

​

Sat, Jul 15 @ 3pm

Van Vorst Park, JC

​

Mon, July 17 @ 7pm

Frank Sinatra Park, HOB

Thurs, Jul 20 @ 7pm

Hamilton Park (9th St and Jersey Ave) JC

Thurs, Jul 27 @ 6:30pm

Hoboken Public Library

500 Park Ave, HOB

The post LOVE HURTS-Hudson Shakespeare Presents Romeo & Juliet in Hudson Parks first appeared on River View Observer.

 Lucy, Linus, Snoopy, Schroeder, Sally & Charlie Brown on Stage Feb. 3-26

 By Sally Deering

In 1967, Youâ€re a Good Man, Charlie Brown opened Off Broadway at Theater 80 in the East Village, and 50 years later it still charms and delights audiences of all ages. Songs like “Suppertime” and “Happiness” are classics of musical theater and cartoonist Charles M. Schultzâ€s characters Snoopy, Lucy and Charlie Brown are as iconic – and adorable – today as they were back then.

Mile Square Theatre in Hoboken opens its 2017 season with Youâ€re a Good Man, Charlie Brown beginning Friday, Feb. 3 and running through Sunday, Feb. 26. The musical, featuring Schultzâ€s Peanuts Gang is a series of vignettes about Lucy who worships Schroeder who worships Beethoven; curious Sally and Linus, who doesnâ€t feel complete without his blanket; and Charlie Brown and his funny, loyal and precocious pup, Snoopy. Mary Kate Burke directs with musical direction by Terri Gorgone, and choreography by Sarah Weber-Gallo. Jen Price-Fick designed the set.

“Weâ€re doing it pretty faithful to the story, because the story is so strong,” Mary Kate Burke says after a Wednesday rehearsal. “We cast actors who feel faithful to how the comic strip depicts them.”

All the roles are performed by adults. Playing the Peanuts Gang are Mikey LoBalsamo as Charlie Brown, Marcus Beckett as Schroeder, Aiesha Dukes as Lucy van Pelt, Chris Goodrich as Linus van Pelt, Clare Rea as Sally Brown and Brandon Santoro as Snoopy.

Based on the comic strip Peanuts® by Charles M. Schulz, the musical is the work of Clark Gesner who wrote the book (libretto), music, and lyrics. Thereâ€s additional dialogue by Michael Mayer; and additional music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa.

In rehearsals: Aiesha Dukes (Lucy) and Chris Goodrich (Linus) learn dance steps from choreographer Sarah Weber-Gallo.

 â€œYouâ€re a Good Man, Charlie Brown is a classic,” Burke says, “and itâ€s adorable. The show is meatier than what youâ€d expect. Itâ€s got a lot of adult humor in it; itâ€s not just for the kids. I know they say that a lot about childrenâ€s shows, but with this one itâ€s really true. Every day we leave rehearsal singing something.  Itâ€s a fun show.”

Mile Square Theatre just moved into its new space at 1400 Clinton Street last year thanks, in part, to the vision and persistence of the companyâ€s artistic director Chris Oâ€Connor, and the rest of the company and board of directors. Itâ€s a beautiful building with studios for classes and an intimate black-box theater.

A few years back, Burke directed one of Mile Square Theatreâ€s annual productions of “Itâ€s a Wonderful Life.” She makes her directorial debut in the new theater with Youâ€re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.

“When I first walked into the lobby, I felt so much pride for Chris,” Burke says. “Having a ‘home†creates a permanence and it allows you to know who your audience is, program shows for them, and become a part of the fabric of the community. Chris wants to make great art for the community and heâ€s succeeding. As the community continues to grow, Mile Square Theatre does as well. ”

If you go

Fri, Feb. 3 – Sun, Feb. 26; Fri at 7 pm,

Sat at 2 pm & 6 pm; Sun, 11 am & 3 pm

Mile Square Theatre

1400 Clinton St, HOB

(201) 683-7014

www.milesquaretheatre.org

Tix: $30; Student/Senor: $15

For school bookings, and further info

contact Erin: estehli@milesquaretheatre.org.

The post Mile Square Theatre presents the Peanuts Gang in their Hit Musical! first appeared on River View Observer.