MOLLY PICON'S RETURN ENGAGEMENT (1998)|Sun-Sentinel Review

Gary Waldman & Jamison Troutman, theater producers, presented the premiere professional production of the musical-comedy Molly Picon’s Return Engagement at Queens Theatre in the Park, New York, NY (1997), the Drama Center, Deerfield Beach, FL (1998) & the Kaplan JCC (1998), The Hollywood Playhouse (1998) … the following is a review published by the Sun-Sentinel:

Molly Picon's A Star Again _ In Spirit

May 11, 1998|By BILL VON MAURER Special to the Sun-Sentinel

She's tall, has long hair with red highlights and is beautiful in a Helen Hunt sort of way. A Molly Picon look-alike she's not.

What Joanne Borts does have is the warmth, the comic flair and the emotional range that endeared Picon to generations of Yiddish theater fans.

Picon, who died in 1992 at the age of 93, was an icon of New York's famed Second Avenue theater district, later a Broadway and international star and a success in television and films. Any attempt to clone her would have been impossible and the result, no doubt, a travesty.

The producers of Molly Picon's Return Engagement wisely decided to focus on Picon's talent rather than her appearance. They cast Borts to send the message, and she does so with great style and verisimilitude.

Molly Picon's Return Engagement, a two-character musical play by Sarah Blacher Cohen at the Drama Center in Deerfield Beach, is a celebration of its subject rather than a tribute, a revue of Picon's songs and comedy etched against the background of her troubled marriage and the turning points in her career. Her husband of more than 50 years, the controlling playwright Jacob Kalish, is played by Oscar Cheda in a remarkably conflicted performance of love and domination.

Return highlights Picon's struggle for stardom, from her youth as the daughter of immigrant Ukrainians. Amazingly, as a youngster, she couldn't speak Yiddish.

We learn of the remarkable diversity of her career as she worked with such disparate talents as Godfrey Cambridge and Sophie Tucker. She became known as the Yiddish Helen Hayes and tells of a touching backstage encounter with that luminary.

Although her rise as a beloved entertainer under Jacob's iron guidance is the show's focus, Picon's songs light up …Return Engagement. Sung by Borts with great spirit and often with poignancy, they will stir anyone who ever loved Yiddish theater.

Here are only a few of them (some of which Cheda, who has a good voice, sings along with her): Yom Pom Pom; Du Shaynst Vi Di Zun; Hei-Digga-Lai; Vos Zol Ikh Ton Az Ikh Hob Im Lib? and Yidl Mitn Fidl. Many are in English: Steam, Steam, Steam, Busy, Busy, Busy and Chin Up, Ladies!, the latter from Jerry Herman's musical Milk and Honey.

Gary Waldman, who directs with zest, wrote new English lyrics for some of the songs; Michael Larsen accompanies on piano.

Bill von Maurer covered theater for more than a decade for The Miami News and is a frequent contributor to the Sun-Sentinel.

Gary Waldman's new production is a family affair! - Sun-Sentinel Feature Story

Gary Waldman & Jamison Troutman, theater producers, presented the premiere professional production of the musical-comedy Pickles at the Atlantis Playhouse, W. Palm Beach, FL (2003) … the following is a feature story published in the Sun-Sentinel:

:

LISA GODDARD ON STAGE

Production is a family affair

October 17, 2003|LISA GODDARD (link to original article)

The on-again, off-again love affair between Ginger Reiter and comedian Jackie Mason is the subject of Pickles, a new play written by Reiter that will premiere at the Atlantis Playhouse on Wednesday.

Starring in the lead female role is Sheba Mason, the real-life daughter of Reiter and Mason. "I'll be playing my mom starting when she was in her mid-20s and covering about a 10-year span of time," she said.

'Pickles' stage set mimics a Miami Beach delicatessen

Mason, 18, who lives with her mother in Boca Raton, is excited about the opportunity to portray her mother and expand her acting repertoire.

"It's a very interesting experience, playing my mother," said Mason, who attends classes at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. "It's easy in some ways because I'm just like her. She has shtick, and I have an inclination toward that as well. It's fun."

Mason, who has appeared in Little Shop of Horrors at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts and Godspell at the Creative Stage of the Lake Worth Playhouse, says her father is supportive of the effort.

My father knows about the play, but he's not going to be able to be here because he'll be opening on Broadway about the same time," Mason said.

Reiter, who also wrote Solomon's 700 Wives, says she has mixed feelings watching her daughter rehearse.

"It's a real trip watching her play me. On the one hand, I want to hug and kiss her and tell her she's wonderful, and sometimes I want to tell her to sit up straight," says Reiter, who likes to say she's older than Brooke Shields, but younger than Goldie Hawn. "She's a natural actress."

The play, whose title is based on the legendary Wolfie's Restaurant in Miami Beach, is a piece Reiter has worked on for years.

"It's been a work in progress for a very long time, but this is the brand new, finished version. Jackie has always been encouraging of it," said Reiter, who is now married to the cantor for Temple Beth El in Hollywood. "There's comedy and music and a lot of drama, and we have original music with live musicians. Gary [Waldman], the director, and the whole crew have been incredible. It couldn't be better if it was on Broadway."

Reiter "fictionalized everything; she didn't want a Jackie Mason impersonator," Waldman said, "but you do see hints of him and the essence of his personality."

Local actor "Mark Harmon plays the role as a character actor, and that's good."

Singing and entertaining on the South Florida condo circuit with her mom and comedian Frankie Man since the age of 6, Mason hopes to make the theater her career.

Reiter, who performs Women of the Bible, a show featuring belly dancing and comedy, is optimistic about the show.

"It could play elsewhere, you can never tell what will happen," she said.

Previews run through Sunday. Opening night is Wednesday, and the show runs through Nov. 30. Preview tickets are $21.50, $24 for Saturday evening and Sunday matinee. Regular performances are $26.50, $29 Saturday evenings and Sunday matinees. Performance times are 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday; 7 p.m. Sunday; and 2 p.m. Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.

The Atlantis Playhouse is at 5893 S. Congress Ave. in the Shoppes of Atlantis. 

E-mail Lisa Goddard at ladygatr8@aol.com or fax 561-272-3189.

I WRITE THE SONGS (2007) Biloxi Sun-Herald Feature Story

Gary Waldman & Jamison Troutman, theater producers, presented I Write the Songs - A Celebration of the Music of Barry Manilow at the IP Casino Resort & Spa in Biloxi, MS (2007) … the following is a feature story published in the Biloxi Sun-Herald:

IP CASINO RESORT & SPA PRESENTS

INGENIUS MUSICAL TRIBUTE

TO BARRY MANILOW

Biloxi, MS—If you are looking for a romantic summer songfest and happen to be a fan of one of the most romantic composers in show business, then come to Club IP beginning June 8 – July 22. I Write the Songs, a unique musical celebration, will make you laugh, cry, sing and dance and it’s just the show for you and your family when you visit your one stop resort destination, IP CASINO RESORT & SPA in Biloxi, Mississippi. The 5-person stage production creatively showcases one of the most prolific and award-winning composers of this generation, Barry Manilow. 

I Write the Songs is a much deserved honor rarely bestowed on a contemporary singer-songwriter,” according to its originator, nationally acclaimed musical theater artist, Gary Waldman.

Manilow has written hundreds of songs and performed around the world, thrilling millions of fans, picking up a Grammy, an Emmy, Tony Awards, and an Oscar nomination along the way.

To make the Manilow musical that much more exciting, Waldman has cast disco legend Jeanie Tracy as the star of I Write the Songs. Coined by megastar Whitney Houston as “one of the 10 best singers in the world,” Tracy is certain to add additional glitter and glam to the already spectacular 90-minute audio-visual extravaganza.

Tracy has partnered with Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin, Patti Labelle and Celine Dion on various musical projects, including, My Heart Will Go On, the title track from Academy Award winning film Titanic.

Reviewers of the original production were stunned at how Waldman and longtime musical collaborator, Phil Hinton, re-arranged and re-structured the best of Manilow’s work into an entirely new form of entertainment.

Vigorous research led the pair to an amazing repertoire consisting of classic pop, jazz, swing and virtually every other style of 20th Century music that will appeal to the entire family. IP is hosting the smash-hit summer musical on stage in Club IP as an incentive to promote much-needed, family-oriented live entertainment on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The theater boasts a 500 seat capacity, with reserved private booths available for parties of four or more. Tickets are on sale NOW and may be purchased at IP’s Tour & Travel Desk in the IP lobby or by calling toll free, 1-888-WIN AT IP.

Additional information available at www.ipbiloxi.com.

CREDITS

Producers: Gary Waldman & Jamison Troutman in association with IP CASINO RESORT & SPA

Created & Directed by Gary Waldman

Music Director: Phil Hinton

Set Design: Matthew Decker

Sound & Lighting Design: John Wade

Production Stage Manager: Patricia Causey

Performers:

Jeanie Tracy – Los Angeles, CA

Kelly Briscoe – New York, NY

Ryan Flanigan – New York, NY,

Lady Patrice Green – Pascagoula, MS,

Garrit Guadan – New York, NY

Rachel Klein – Hollywood, FL

Like everything else about IP, www.ipbiloxi.com is definitely MORE THAN YOU EXPECT!

1 888 WIN AT IP (1.888.946.2847)

THE LIFE (2004-2005) – Miami Herald Review

Gary Waldman & Jamison Troutman, theater producers, presented The Life, a musical by Cy Coleman, Ira Gasman & David Newman at the Atlantis Playhouse, W. Palm Beach, FL (2004-2005) … the following is a review published in the Miami Herald, June 12, 2004:

 Sing a song about a prostitute

A musical melodrama recalls the seamy years before New York’s 42^nd Street got it’s tourist-friendly makeover

BY CHRISTINE DOLEN

cdolen@herald.com

ALL HANDS: The cast of THE LIFE sings ‘Use What You Got.’

First, the caveat: The brassy musical that has just opened at the Atlantis Playhouse isn’t one of the Jewish-themed shows the company’s audiences have come to expect. Not by a long shot.

The Life, a 1997 Cy Coleman-Ira Gasman Broadway hit, is a down-and-dirty singing soap opera, an ode to the flashy hookers and slick pimps who worked on the edge of Manhattan’s theater district before Rudy Giuliani and company made the 42^nd Street neighborhood safe for Disney shows, chain stores and restaurants.

Crucial to the success of any production of The Life are actors who can sick the heck out of Coleman’s score, a beguiling (if lyrically blunt) blend of jazz, blues and Broadway. Director Gary Waldman has found a killer 13-member cast, one that belts, brays and coos under Phil Hinton’s fine musical direction. They dance well too, working the Kevin Black-Jamie Cooper choreography with a tongue-in-cheek, provocative sass.

The quality of the acting is more erratic, though the melodramatic tone of the show’s script (by Coleman, Gassman and David Newman) makes both the weaker and over-the-top performances easier to forgive. The Life is an amusing, ultimately sobering fantasy about gals who work hard for the money and guys who never treat them right.

The show’s focal characters are Queen (the charismatic Jeanne Lynn Gray), a Georgia gal who’s turning tricks only until she can buy a better life, and her man, Fleetwood (Ben Bagby), a drug-addicted Vietnam veteran who’s increasingly (and exploitatively)pragmatic when it comes to his women.

Jojo (Dean Swann), the weasel of a narrator, is in cahoots with Memphis (Carl Barber-Steel), a fly pimp who works his girls hard and answers any rebellion with violence. Sonja (the wonderful Nadeen Holloway), his main gal, brings down the house with The Oldest Profession, an amusing take on just how wearying years of streetwalking can be. And Mary from Minnesota (Elizabeth King who makes way too many distracting faces), the just-off-the-bus “innocent,” proves that sleaziness comes in many guises.

As Queen, Gray turns her many solos (He’s No Good, I’m Leaving You, We Had a Dream)into aural gold. Her voice has ahoneyed warmth, and she projects the inherent dignity that makes Queen seem different from the other women.

Though it’s simple in design, with the actors moving against a graffiti backdrop on the raised platform of a stage, The Life at the Atlantis is an effectively escapist – if gleefully raunchy – piece of musical theater.

Christine Dolen is the Herald’s theater critic.