Celebrity Readings (NJ) Event
Celebrity Readings (NJ) Event
Celebrity Readings (NJ) Event#0
Posted: 3/27/06 at 11:48pm
The South Orange/Maplewood Adult School (NJ) held their 4th Annual "Celebrity Readings" benefit tonight. I happened to hear about it through a friend, and I'm so glad that I did! The premise of the event was simple- put some stars with local ties onstage, reading a series of short stories (like NPR's Selected Shorts).
So, why post about this event on this board? The performers, of course!
Story #1 was "Don" by Garrison Keillor, read by David Wohl. He was the only actor I didn't recognize by name alone- but when I saw him, I recognized him. Most recently, he was in Fiddler on the Roof and Paper Mill's Diary of Anne Frank. He's also done a ton of tv.
The story itself was hysterical, but his interpretation left the audience howling. His multiple characters really brought the story to life (about a teenager in a punk band that isn't a friend to poultry). Even though it was a long story (probably 30ish minutes), he kept us all transfixed (and laughing). He was spot-on as an angsty teenager who thinks that rock will solve all of his problems. His performances of the terrible original songs were just priceless.
A nice touch to the evening- he actually was sitting in the audience before coming up to the stage, and stayed to watch the other performances (from the audience). I didn't see the other actors in the audience, and they entered from backstage. He seemed to be having a lot of fun.
Story #2 was "Enough" by Alice McDermott, performed by Christine Ebersole. The main problem with her performance was the story she read- it was sweet and touching, and jarring after laughing like crazy at poultry-absuing punk rockers. Ms. Ebersole did a beautiful job of telling the woman's story of a life seeking pleasure. After she got situated onstage (she couldn't see to read at first), she kept the audience listening carefully.
I'd obviously heard of her, but I'd never seen her perform live before. After her interpretation of this story, I hope to be able to catch her onstage in the future. She became the woman during the different phases of her life. The story itself was sweet, so the audience was far more subdued. Still, it was a great performance.
Next came an intermission, followed by the results of a local short story competition. BTW, this event was MC'd by Cheryl Washington (of local tv, WNBC as of late). She was very nice, and happy to be there. I was actually sitting a few rows from her little girl, who she referenced a few times.
The final performance of the night was "Reb Kringle" by Nathan Englander, performed by Norbert Leo Butz. I'm still laughing when I think about this story and performance. The premise of the story is this: a rabbi who is also Santa Claus. Norbert performed it as a character piece, giving each character a different voice/accent. He had the audience laughing from his pre-piece introduction on, after talking about how he discovered these new people when moving to Jersey- Jews! He was a huge hit with this audience (who were mostly 40+)
Now, the story itself was hilarious, but it was the performance itself that left everyone laughing almost to the point of crying. Norbert actually had to stop a few times because the audience was laughing so hard. I was really sad when he reached the end of the story- I could've listened to him read for a lot longer. He didn't just read- he performed the heck out of the story with his whole body, even mostly behind a podium.
After seeing this performance, I'm even more convinced that it's going to be nearly impossible to replace him in July. He's absolutely incredible in DRS night after night, but after being so transfixed while watching him read/perform a story, I'm even more amazed at his talent.
I can expand a bit more about the show if anyone's interested... it was a cheap night ($25), and very local for me. It was a real treat, and I will definately be at next year's event if I'm still in the area.
Stand-by Joined: 11/27/04
re: Celebrity Readings (NJ) Event#1
Posted: 3/28/06 at 12:10am
Great review. I was there, it's great that David stayed for the whole event. I saw Christine leave at the beginning of the intermission. To me, Norbert was the highight of the event. I loved his intro about how a nice Irish German Catholic boy from St. Louis was playing this role of a Rabbi Santa.
I found this my fluke, someone had posted the event online on this forum. I happened to see it at the right time, as when I went back to get the link later, I had to do a search as the post was a few pages in.
A great evening that left me more convinced that Norbert can play any role he sets his mind to.
Eileen
re: Celebrity Readings (NJ) Event#2
Posted: 3/28/06 at 12:18amWow, I am sorry I missed you guys. I was there too. Of course, Norbert blew everyone away. Plus, as a writer, I really enjoyed such fine and interesting pieces of literature. It was certainly a great event!
re: Celebrity Readings Event (NJ)#3
Posted: 3/28/06 at 3:52pm
I just wished that they'd publicized this event more... it was great! SO's parking issues weren't really a problem last night at all, and they could've accomodated so many more people. And it's not that bad of a walk from the train, either. Of course, M/SO has so many talented people around that they had their choice of performers. What a great problem!
To be honest, I wasn't sure what I'd think of the event when I heard it was short stories. I should've known that it was a great event. Norbert stole the show (again).
I'm glad I got there early enough to grab a seat in the front(ish). I may have seen you guys- I was the woman with the studded sidekick.
re: Celebrity Readings Event (NJ)#4
Posted: 3/28/06 at 4:42pmThe town was very impressive. I wouldn't mind living there. Driving from LI alas still took almost 2 hours. Yay to rush hour traffic!
re: Celebrity Readings Event (NJ)#5
Posted: 3/29/06 at 12:09am
Yikes, that's dedication. FWIW, it's only a little more than an hour from SO to Nassau Cty Coliseum when there's no traffic.
SO is a great town, but it needs some work (otherwise it may start to look like its neighbor to the east). Like Montclair, it does have an artsy vibe. I'm actually not a native (last night was the first time I was ever in CHS), but I'm a convert.
They're building a new performing arts center literally in the train station parking lot. I'm hoping it'll house some smaller productions, but most likely not. It's only 10-15 minutes to Paper Mill, though.
re: Celebrity Readings Event (NJ)#6
Posted: 3/29/06 at 1:29am
Thanks for the input, Star. Well, I traveled there for site related reasons (which turned out to be quite fruitful) but again, it was nice to see such a nice area and I imagine without the traffic, its a comfortable hour long drive. I do have one question: Is the area commutable by train? (I assume it is because both Norbert and Christine travel by train to NYC - does it let off at Penn?)
Oh and back to the reading, the improv from Norbert last night was hilarious. Did you guys catch the Last Five Years and DRS influences in his reading?
re: Celebrity Readings Event (NJ)#7
Posted: 3/29/06 at 11:13am
It's absolutely and wonderfully commutable. The Midtown Direct service runs out of these towns. (MC also mentioned Millburn- to the west of M/SO and Montclair- another line. But all easy for commuters) From SO, it's about 35 minutes to Penn. Add another 5-7 minutes each stop further out. It's very easy to get to the Theatre District even if you're lazy and don't want to just walk from Penn- just take the C/E to Port Authority and grab the 44th Street Exit. That makes it a super quick trip.
I'd think they'd have to hurry to catch the last train on weeknights though (11:39, if I remember off the top of my head). It's also a quick drive to Newark if you want to take the PATH. NJT is a lot cheaper than LIRR- a monthly pass is in the $200 range.
Back to the readings, I caught some of the improv. As I said, I was really impressed. I'm glad I wasn't imagining the DRS references.
Stand-by Joined: 11/27/04
re: Celebrity Readings Event (NJ)#8
Posted: 3/30/06 at 11:31pm
I had a laugh at your website review. A friend asked me how the reading was and I said... "Norbert could read from the phone book and it would be funny....". To hear you say the same thing made me laugh.
You guys are dedicated. I drove from a town 15 minutes away in NJ. The main reason I made it was that I had the day off from my NYC job that day.
Stand-by Joined: 11/27/04
re: Celebrity Readings Event (NJ)#9
Posted: 3/30/06 at 11:31pm
I had a laugh at your website review. A friend asked me how the reading was and I said... "Norbert could read from the phone book and it would be funny....". To hear you say the same thing made me laugh.
You guys are dedicated. I drove from a town 15 minutes away in NJ. The main reason I made it was that I had the day off from my NYC job that day.
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